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Robert Grisham Posts

How I Remember What I Read

Published by on April 14, 2023

I’ve always been a big reader. Each year I set goals for what and how much I want to read, and I track everything on GoodReads. One of the biggest challenges for readers is remembering what we’ve read. Have you ever had a moment where you remembered a bit of a story or idea that you once read, but you had no idea where it came from? It’s happened to me many times.

Through the years I’ve tried many different systems to make sure that I remember, and can locate, what it was that I’ve read and found helpful. When I was a young pastor, after I would read a book I would go back through it and type out quotes and thoughts I had as I read. This obviously took some time, but it was a great solution. This second time through a book allows the major takeaways to become more sticky, which is the whole idea. I actually just located the folder I labeled “My Book Summaries” on my MacBook, and there are over 40 documents.

This addresses one of the issues – that of how to truly internalize what you’ve read. But while it took the best ideas from books and put them into a digital document, it didn’t provide a great solution for easily locating those ideas at a later date. The bigger problem was that as I got busier with work and life, I quit taking notes this way.

The Kindle was a real game changer for me. I’ve never owned an actual Kindle, but I’ve been using the Kindle app for a long time. I actually purchased my first Kindle book way back in 2009. I say it was a game changer because once this technology surfaced, I began reading just about everything digitally. I preferred digital over physical for two reasons. First, I didn’t have to worry about running out of room on my bookshelves. Second, I could highlight important things I read, and then cut and paste those highlights into a word processor doc. So that’s what I began doing. It was way faster. It unfortunately did not have the same impact as when I would read the book the second time and actually type out those notes. But the positive was that I had highlights for many more books.

This summer I started writing the curriculum for a financial workshop I led at my church called Mastering Money. I decided to use Ryan Holiday’s Notecard System. The gist of the system is that you wait a couple of weeks after finishing a book, and then you go through that book a second time and write down the things that impacted you most. So I bought 4×6 notecards and a box to hold them, and then I set out going through every book on money that I had read in the past. I wrote down quotes, questions, big ideas, etc, and in the top right hand corner I would give the card a tag. Once I had gone through all of the books and had several hundred cards, I set out to organize the cards according to tag. From there I started writing the curriculum. This made the daunting task of writing the curriculum for a three hour workshop way less daunting, and I’m so glad that I went through the process.

At the end, however, I decided that this system had some drawbacks. First, my handwriting is terrible. I would write a few sentences on a card, and even I would have trouble reading it! Second, it takes a lot of time to write. I am much faster at typing than writing. Finally, what happens if I lose those cards? I wanted a digital solution.

A few months ago I was introduced to Tiago Forte through the All the Hacks Podcast. It was through this podcast interview, and through further reading about Tiago, including his great book Building a Second Brain, that I began to take steps towards creating a system for remembering and easily recalling what I’ve read.

This interview first introduced me to the app Readwise. I started out with a two month trial, but after a few weeks of using the app I became a paying subscriber. Readwise imports highlights from Kindle, Pocket, Feedly, Instapaper, Apple Books, Twitter, and many other platforms. Every morning, at the time I specified when setting up the app, I receive an email with five random highlights from books I’ve read. It’s fun to read this quick email and be reminded of the books that I’ve read through the years.

Here’s why I love Readwise. When I’m reading in the Kindle app on my iPad, I can add a one word note that begins with a period (.contentment, for example), and then that becomes a tag in Readwise. So just as I sorted those physical notecards by the tags I gave it in that upper right hand column, now I can do that digitally. It’s going to take some time to go back through my books and add those tags, but that is my plan. Once I’ve done this, I’ll be able to go into Readwise, select a tag, and I’ll see every quote or note that contains that tag. It will be so helpful when writing a sermon or article.

Here’s how I’m currently using this system. I recently read the book From Strength to Strength, by Arthur Brooks. It was one of those books that I knew I would want to go back to, so I opened a Apple Notes doc on my MacBook, and had my iPad next to it with this book pulled up. I had a browser tab opened up to this book’s highlights in Readwise. I began to reread the book, and when I would come across something that I highlighted, if it was still meaningful, I would add it to Apple Notes. If it was the entire highlight, I would simply copy and paste it from Readwise. Since I had not started tagging at the time I first read the book, I also used this time to add those tags. Once I was finished going through the book this second time, I had a doc with my main takeaways.

Readwise recently introduced Reader, which is their own RSS reader app, so now I can do the same thing with articles. If I start reading an article online that I think is going to be a good read, I immediately send it to Reader, and I either read it from the Reader app then or save it for later. In the Reader app I can highlight and add notes and tags, and those highlights, notes and tags then sync to Readwise.

I’m am really excited about this new system. Reading a good book is great. A book can provide inspiration, information, or simply fun. It can give you that one idea that takes your life in a new direction. But now I’ll be able to go back to what I read days, weeks or even years before, and allow it impact me once again.

Parenting with Vision and Intentionality

Published by on March 6, 2023

I’ve been thinking a lot about parenting lately. My parenting journey began on June 13, 2005 when Adam entered our world. He is now a senior, and in less than six months we’ll be dropping him off at UT for him to begin his college journey. I pause to reread this last sentence and I admit that I have several different emotions. I’m excited for him. This is how things are supposed to go. But I’m also sad. It’s going to be so strange when he’s no longer living with us.

Parenting is no spectator sport. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, and it’s also been the most challenging job I’ve ever had. I’ve gotten a lot of things wrong. And I feel like I kind of stumbled into a lot of the things that I’ve gotten right.

One of my core beliefs during this parenting journey has been that God loves my kids even more than I do, and God is going to help them during those times when my best efforts simply fall short. That belief has been a foundation that has kept me moving when it seemed like I was on such shaky ground.

While I believe that there’s no way to be fully prepared for parenting, and that you’re going to get things wrong as much or more often as you get them right, I want to share two things that have helped me tremendously.

The first thing is Vision. Mandy and I were married for six years before Adam came along. During those times we were figuring out what it meant to bring two lives together. We moved across the country for grad school. We set up three homes together. We shared lots of adventures. And we also had many conversations about what we hoped for if we were able to have children.

One area that we talked a lot about was music. Mandy and I met and fell in love with music surrounding us. It’s always played a big role in our lives, and we naturally desired for it to play a big role in our kids’ lives as well. We imagined all of the different ways that music would surround our family, with an ultimate goal that music would play a large role in their lives as children but also as adults.

While vision is important, it’s not enough. We also need Intention. We have to make decisions that allow for the vision to be fulfilled. It means saying yes to certain things, and it also, perhaps more important, means saying no to certain things. After all, we can’t do everything.

We knew that there were two extremes that we could be guilty of. The first was forcing music down their throats so much that they ended up hating it. The second was simply doing nothing and just hoping that they vision would happen. We wanted to avoid both of those extremes, but we understood that in seeking to avoid the second extreme, we ran the risk of doing the first. But it was a risk that we were willing to take.

While both boys were little, our house was always full of singing. Mandy was a music teacher, so she had the goods. My guitar was always out. Singing silly songs was my specialty. Adam got his first drum set when he was two. It was a plastic set that didn’t last very long. He got a nicer one when he was three. Not sure this is something I would now recommend, but I guess it fit the vision. Adam’s favorite song at age 4 was “42” by Coldplay, which he called “The Ghost Song.” For Micah at that same age it was Mumford & Son’s “I Will Wait.” Both of those little guys would sing those songs at the top of their lungs. I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m just glad they had good taste in music at such young ages!

Both boys began taking piano lessons when they were seven years old. And when Adam was 9 and Micah was 6 we purchased a baby grand piano. This was an expensive investment into the vision, but it was one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. And to this day that piano is played by someone in our house every day.

During the pandemic the boys stopped piano lessons. To give a bit of accountability, Mandy offered to pay the boys $5 for any song they learned, and $10 for any original song they wrote. They both took her up on this offer, and as a result started playing even more.

So where are we now? Micah is in the American Music Ensemble at his school. He’s one of only two 8th graders who have ever been invited to join this high school rock band. He plays keys. And Adam has shifted to electric guitar as his primary instrument. He told me yesterday that he’s made some videos on the Ultimate Guitar website, and he has several hundred views. I think we’re at a point where music is going to be a part of their lives. We don’t make them sit down and practice. That needed to happen when they were younger, but it’s no longer needed. They play music now because they enjoy it.

This vision and intention has played a role in other facets of our family’s life. We’ve created rhythms around fun activities, travel, reading, sports, academics and faith. Within all of these vision would lead the way, with intention following closely behind.

I will admit that this last one is a tricky one, primarily because of that first extreme I mentioned earlier. When I moved to Memphis after being in California for several years, one of the things that caught me off guard was how many people I met who felt like religion had been shoved down their throats. There was so much hurt and trauma. And because of that they really wanted nothing to do with it. I didn’t want that to happen to my kids, but I also knew that doing nothing was not a healthy option. Once again, we had to risk the first extreme in order to avoid the second.

If I’m being honest, I’d say this one is a mixed bag. Our boys haven’t had some of the opportunities that Mandy and I had when we were teenagers. There aren’t that many kids their ages in our current church. But we’ve sought to supplement where we could. Mandy created a youth ministry collaboration with some other churches a few years ago. We’ve gotten involved with YoungLife at both of their schools. And we’ve sought to encourage our boys to get to know and have mentors from other generations. I’m so grateful for the men and women who have invested in our boys’ lives.

This weekend was a great parenting moment. I had signed up for a men’s retreat at our church. On Friday Mandy texted to ask if I had considered inviting Adam. The thought had crossed my mind a week earlier, but I had just assumed that he wouldn’t be interested. But I decided to ask. He was at school, so I just texted him. I told him that he would be the youngest one there, although he was closer to a lot of their ages than I was. (Yes, I’m one of the older ones at our church). Within about a minute he texted that he’d love to come with me. I was surprised but thrilled.

The weekend was a powerful one. He was around guys who are far from perfect but who are doing the work, and they were vulnerable in sharing about that work. Our retreat ended with writing and then speaking blessings over one another. When it got to Adam’s turn half of the group of men had written blessings for him. By the time it was my turn I was so overwhelmed that I could barely read the words that I had written to him. It was such a moving experience to have these men speak such powerful words over my son. And I believe that it will be an experience that will shape the rest of his life. As we were leaving he told me that he had never had a group of adults treat him like an adult instead of a kid. And when I got home that night Micah asked if he’d be able to go in a few years!

When I retired from vocational ministry a few years ago, one of the main reasons was that I was on the verge of burnout, and I knew that if I continued to live life the way I was living it, which was not working for myself or for those around me, then I was going to risk falling short in my primary job of being a dad. I knew I was coming to the critical teenage years, and I needed to be present and healthy. If I was a hollow version of myself, I was going to be unable to give them what they needed from me. That was one of the hardest decisions I ever made, but it was needed, and I’m thankful for the courage to make it. I’m grateful for these years. I’ll never get them back. And I’m grateful for this parenting journey. For those of you also on this journey, or for those of you who desire to be on this journey one day, I hope that reading this part of my story has been encouraging to you!

My First Ebike

Published by on February 17, 2023

One of the questions that Tim Ferriss asks his podcast guests is, “What’s been your favorite under-$100 purchase this last year?” I’ve always loved that question, as I always have a good answer for it.

In this blog post I’m sharing about a recent purchase that I’m very happy about, and though it was more than $100, it’s been totally worth it.

In October I purchased my first ebike. Before I tell you about it, let me set up the back story. In October, 2021 Mandy and I took a trip to Bar Harbor, Maine. On one of our days there we rented bikes. I rented a regular bike for me and an ebike for Mandy. After riding around Duckbrook Pond together, she wanted to walk around and take photos, so I decided to take the ebike for a spin. I absolutely loved it.

Fast forward to our trip last summer to Switzerland. One of the highlights for me was renting an ebike and riding from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken, and then taking the train back to Lauterbrunnen. What I discovered was that I could ride a much greater distance on an ebike than a regular bike. And a greater distance means more great things to see.

This past fall the four of us were back in Bar Harbor, and we rented bikes again. The boys and I rented regular bikes, and Mandy rented an ebike. And like last time, after spending some time riding together, I took off on my own on the ebike. I think I ended up riding 20 miles that day.

That evening I started doing some research on ebikes, and as luck would have it, Rad Power Bikes was having the biggest sale they had ever had. The Rad Mission was on sale for $500.

I had three goals with this purchase. First, I wanted to ride more frequently. This is the exercise and fun goal. Second, I wanted to be able to ride greater distances when I rode. And third, I wanted to drive my car less often.

This third goal was inspired by Mr. Money Mustache. Based on this, a specific goal was to bike to Kroger whenever I needed just a few items. Like many midtowners, the Kroger on Union isn’t my favorite place to go. One of the issues is the parking lot. This year I purchased a Walmart Plus membership, so we’ve been having our groceries delivered once or twice a month. But there’s still the need to stop by Kroger every once and a while, but “just stopping by” can be aggravating. But riding my bike, and securing it right in front…that sounded appealing.

So those were my three goals. After a few days of research, I took the plunge. I found out later that the reason for the sale was that they were discontinuing the Mission. Some have been concerned about this. I wasn’t.

Here’s what I liked about this bike…

  • Price – just $500!
  • Single speed
  • Lighter than most ebikes yet feels solid
  • Battery is sufficient for my needs
  • Throttle

Besides the bike, I knew that I would need some accessories. Here are the accessories I ended up purchasing.

I spent around $800 total for the bike and accessories. I was quite pleased.

There was one issue, though…

Rad underestimated how many people would take advantage of this sale, which meant that they oversold. I lucked out that I still got a bike, but I ended up getting a different color than the one I ordered, and it also meant that there was a long delay. The bike didn’t arrive until the beginning of December.

It came in a box, which meant that I needed to figure out how to assemble a bike. I ended up buying a torque wrench but had the other tools I needed. Rad provides some helpful video instructions, so it ended up being easier than I thought it would be.

I rode a couple of times in December, but in January I rode several times. Aren’t mild January’s just the best! I’m looking forward to riding even more once spring rolls around.

I can without hesitation recommend an ebike. And though my particular model is no longer available, I can recommend RadPower as a great company.


Favorite Books for 2022

Published by on December 21, 2022

These are some of my favorite books from 2022. They’re in no particular order.

The Psychology of Money, by Morgan Housel, was excellent. There’s a good chance I’ll end up reading it again this year. When it comes to money, our decisions aren’t usually data driven. There are emotions and history and pride and fear all wrapped up, and we need to understand that if we’re going to make wise decisions with our money.

Financial Freedom, by Grant Sabatier, contained a lot of repeat material I had read in other FIRE books, but Grant supplies so much data backing up his teaching, which I found very helpful. There is also a lot of helpful info about earning more money, whether that’s through your current 9-5 job or through side hustles.

Shauna Niequist’s I Guess I Haven’t Learned that Yet was a beautiful read. She shares the struggle of pandemic life, illness, family issues, and moving to a new city. She’s a great writer, and I deeply appreciated her honesty.

Another book I’ll definitely come back to is The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, by John Mark Comer. The title comes from Dallas Willard, who is one of my favorite authors. Comer brings a philosophical yet very practical teaching about the dangers of hurry.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Stanley Tucci read his memoir Taste: My Life through Food. I’ve always enjoyed his work as an actor, but hearing his story, and how food and cooking weaves a path through it, made me even more of a fan.

The AntiSocial Network, by Ben Mezrich, tells the 2020 story of the collision between Reddit, Robinhood and GameStop in a way that would forever change Wall Street.

Michael Hyatt’s Living Foward is not a new book. I’ve had it for awhile, but in January I read it for the first time. Here is a blog post on how I’ve put what I learned into practice this year. I’ll be coming back to it next week as I spend a day planning for next year.

Finally, here are a few of my favorite novels I read this year.

2022 Grisham Update

Published by on December 2, 2022

As we near the end of another year, I thought I would take some time to reflect. It’s been a really good year, and one with thankfully far fewer transitions and scares.

Mandy has had a very healthy year. It’s been a little over a year since her SCAD heart attack, and she has had no issues. She’s been able to taper off of just about all of her medication, and has had no limitations. In June she celebrated a year in her new job as executive pastor at Christ City Church. She is a part of a great team there, and she’s able to use gifts, skills and passions in a way that she wasn’t able to do while she was a teacher. She’s doing a great job.

This summer she also took on a part-time side hustle gig. She is now the executive director of Memphis Choral Arts, which is the choir that she and I have been a part of for ten years. She is bringing those same gifts and skills to help this great organization.

This fall Adam began his senior year. It’s the countdown to college. Some days I feel really good about this. Other days I already feel the sadness of him leaving. What helps me process that is knowing that he’s ready. He’s been accepted to two universities already, and we expect a couple more this month. He continues to play soccer and his coach named him season MVP. He has enjoyed watching the World Cup, and is eagerly anticipating the coming spring season. He raised $2500 for St. Jude in March through a run-a-thon and was celebrated at the St. Jude Leadership Society conference this summer. He continues to develop his musical skills on both the electric guitar and piano. He’s gotten very good on both.

Micah is in his 8th grade year at St. George’s Independent School. He’s on the soccer team, the swim team, and he plays keys in the middle school rock band. The music teachers gave him the Middle School Band award in May. Mandy and I love watching him create, whether it’s new music on the piano or through visual arts. We’re going to be making high school decisions in January. Micah joined Adam in mowing a lot of lawns this summer, which means that they made a lot of money. Mandy and I are very proud of both of them, as they’re both such hard workers.

I’ve continued my real estate work this year. I split my time between being an agent who helps buyers and sellers and as a developer. We have just finished up a construction project where we built a 1500 sq ft house and three 500 sq ft “tiny” houses. Last month I taught my first Mastering Money workshop at our church. More details to come on this, but I hope to teach it at a few other churches this next year.

As is our normal custom, we built some great memories through travel this year. Highlights were Gatlinburg in the spring, Switzerland in the summer, and Acadia this fall. In all three we did lots of hiking, eating and laughing.

Finally, I must mention the newest edition to our family. We brought Sophie home in November. She is a four pound Coton de Tulear, and she is very sweet. It has taken some adjustment from all of us (Bella included) to get used to having a puppy around, but we all love her.

Our hope for you this holiday season is that you would create some space to reflect on the good things in your life and to be reminded of the radical way that God changed the world forever that first Christmas!

30 Hours in Chicago

Published by on September 21, 2022

Our first trip to Chicago was a little over six years ago. Since that time we’ve been back almost once per year. I took the boys by myself five years ago. It’s still hard to believe that I pulled that one off. The next three Decembers Mandy and I took quick trips, coming to realize that if you can get over the cold, it was a great time to travel due to affordable hotel rates and the Christkindlmarket. And then this summer the four of us spent a couple of days there before going to Switzerland.

Several months ago Mandy heard that the musical version of The Notebook was premiering in Chicago this fall. She is a big fan of the book, movie, and of Ingrid Michaelson, who wrote the music and lyrics. So we booked tickets, flights and a hotel for one night.

Before getting into the specifics of this trip, let me tell you some reasons we have made such a habit of going to Chicago. First, it’s a quick nonstop flight from Memphis. Second, the food is great. Third, Southwest’s flight schedule enables us to get there in the morning and leave the next night, meaning we get most of two days there yet only stay one night.

This past Friday morning we got the boys off to school, finished packing, and drove to the airport. We opted for the $6/day economy parking over paying for two Uber pickups. My roundtrip flight set me back 16,000 Southwest points. Mandy’s flight was free since we have the Companion Pass this year and next.

We landed in Chicago around 1pm and then took the Orange Line train downtown. You can get a public transportation day pass for $5. This includes the train from the airport, plus trains and buses downtown. We walked a couple of blocks to Shake Shack (always a winner), then walked a couple more blocks to the Hyatt Centric. One night there cost us 15,000 Hyatt points, which I transferred from Chase. Note: if you’d like to know more of my travel hacking strategy, check out this page.

After resting for a bit we walked four blocks to have dinner at Quartino, our favorite restaurant in Chicago. As is my custom, I ate a bit too much, but it was ok, because we needed to walk a few blocks in order to catch a bus to Navy Pier, which is where the Chicago Shakespeare Theater is located. The Notebook was fantastic. The venue, music and performances were top notch, and I’m sure it is going to do great on Broadway.

On Saturday morning we chilled out at the hotel for a few hours. At 11:00 we checked out, left our luggage at the hotel, and walked a few blocks to RL Restaurant, another of our favorite restaurants. It’s all about the ambiance in this place. You’ll have to see it for yourself, but check out the link for a few photos.

From there we had a few hours to shop on Magnificent Mile, but since neither of us were that into shopping at the moment, we hung out at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, where we enjoyed good coffee, a pastry, and some time to catch up on reading.

Our final hours in Chicago were spent on an Architectural walking tour that I booked through Airbnb Experiences. Mandy and I highly recommend this. We learned so much about Chicago, explored places we would have never discovered on our own, and saw some amazing architecture and art. Our favorite stops would have to be the Chicago Cultural Center and the Chicago Athletic Association, which is now a Hilton hotel. Check out this video about the Chicago Cultural Center.

Macy’s
Milk Room
The Picasso

Mandy walked a couple of blocks to the train station, and I walked back to the hotel to get our luggage, then took a bus to the train station. From there we took the train back to the airport, took the short flight to Memphis, and were back home by 11pm. We were pretty tired, but it was a great trip!

Summer 2022 – Zurich

Published by on June 24, 2022

Our Switzerland adventure has come to a close. We arrived back in Chicago at 6pm CST, which felt to us like 1am. We watched part of the NBA Draft, and I think we were all asleep a little after 8pm, which means that I’ve been up since before 4am! I’m currently in the lobby of the Hyatt Place where we’re staying, and me and a few other guys are eagerly awaiting the coffee to finish brewing!

Being up means that I can write my last blog post. We only had one full day in Zurich, but I think we really made the most of it.

After breakfast we visited the FIFA Museum. It’s such a well done museum. We all really enjoyed our time there.

After that we ate lunch and then went to the Lindt Home of Chocolate. Oh my.

We purchased our tickets online, and we had a set time to enter. Once we entered we went through different exhibits on how chocolate is made, and specifically the Swiss connection to chocolate. After that you come to a room where you get to sample liquid and solid chocolates. A second room has various Lindt chocolates you can sample.

You can tell by this last photo that Micah really loves chocolate.

We got to walk off our chocolate calories in Old Town after this.

We ended our day by visiting Fraumünster, a church that was founded in 853. During the Reformation Zwingli often preached in this church. Today the church is famous for its Chagall stained glass. I was afraid that the boys would be sick of museums, but they enjoyed the audio tour.

In closing, I’m really grateful that we could spend this much time in one country. Traveling in a foreign country has its share of challenges, and there were times that we were tired and lacked patience with each other, but I’m grateful for the memories that were made!

Summer 2022 – Montreux

Published by on June 23, 2022

Over the last few days we’ve been listening to quite a bit of Queen. Why is that? Well, it’s because we spent two days in Montreux. In the center of town is a statue of Freddie Mercury. Montreux was his second home, and it was where the band recorded seven of their albums.

Montreux is a charming town on Lake Geneva. Whereas Zurich, Lucerne and the towns in the Lauterbrunnen Valley are German in language and culture, Montreux is French. I’m pretty amazed by the Swiss people, most of whom speak at least two languages. Key words there are “most” and “at least.”

As I write this, Memphis is experiencing much hotter than normal weather. But when I write that it was really hot in Montreux, understand that this is a hot without central AC. We stayed at Hotel Splendid. I had requested a lake view room, and boy did we have that. But we checked in around 4pm, and the blinds had been left up so that we could see the amazing view. This also meant that the sun had beating down on the room for the past few hours. For our close to 40 hours there that room felt more like a sauna than a comfortable hotel room.

That’s all of my complaining. We did have a fun time in Montreux despite the heat. Highlights included eating gelato several times, going to the Queen Studio Experience, swimming in Lake Geneva, and visiting Chateau de Chillon. Here are some photos!




Summer 2022 – Mürren 

Published by on June 19, 2022

We had a few hours to kill between checkout in Wengwald and check-in in Mürren, so we took the train to Lauterbrunnen, left our luggage at the train station, and then took a train to Brienz. From there we took a ferry across Lake Brienz to Hotel Geissbach. Geissbach Falls is there.

Four years ago we did the ferry cruise and saw the bottom of the water fall. We didn’t realize that there was a hotel until we saw it on the Amazing Race. This time we took a funicular up the mountain and saw the hotel plus more of the water fall. Both are impressive.

We checked into our apartment in Mürren. After getting settled, I went to get a few groceries from the Coop. We had some sausage and cheese, so I bought some fresh bread, and we had a nice little picnic dinner.

On our first full day in Mürren  we did the flower trail. This was a favorite from last time we were there. Unfortunately the hidden playground was closed. That evening we hiked down to Gimmelwald and had pizza at the local hostel. We then took the gondola back up to Mürren.

The next day was a highlight for me. I took the train and then cable car down to Lauterbrunnen, where I rented an electric bike for the morning. My plan was to ride through Lauterbrunnen, then ride up the mountain to Mürren. After riding awhile in the mountains, I would ride to Grutschalp and take the cable car back down to Lauterbrunnen. Unfortunately, once I was ready to start going up the mountain, my directions led to a trail with lots of stairs. I couldn’t figure out where to go, so I improvised.

I biked back through Lauterbrunnen, and then kept going to Interlaken. I met others who were doing the same ride, so we helped each other navigate from time to time. The trail is next to the train track and the river, so the entire ride was beautiful. Interlaken is around 800 feet below Lauterbrunnen, so that made the ride tons of fun. It’s also why I decided to take the train back to Lauterbrunnen.

Once I got back Adam decided he wanted to do the North Face trail by himself. He did it much faster than when we all did it. Then we went out for dinner at the Eiger Guesthouse. They had great pizza and pasta.

Next up is Montreux.

Summer 2022 – Wengwald

Published by on June 17, 2022

We are a little over halfway finished with our Switzerland trip. We spent five nights in Wengwald, in the same chalet where we stayed four years ago. The photo above is from this spot steps from our door that we just can’t get enough of.

On our first full day we met up with Josh, Ginger and Patrick Spickler to hike what is probably my favorite hike. We met up in Wengen, took the cable car to Männlichen, and hiked to Kleine Scheidegg. Here are a few photos.

That evening, Mandy and I took the train to Wengen to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary over some yummy fondue.

The next day was a rainy day, but we did make it down to Lauterbrunnen, where we took in lots of great waterfalls, including Trümmelbach Falls. That evening we hiked up to our favorite spot and the boys built a fire. We also got to celebrate Adam’s 17th birthday. It feels so weird to even type that.

On Wednesday morning we took the train down to Lauterbrunnen, then rode a cable car up to Grütschalp, followed by a train to Mürren. We took a funicular up to Allmendhubel, where there’s a fun view and awesome views. From there we set out on the North Face trail. It was a tough but rewarding hike. At one stop we purchased some amazing cheese and sausage.

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It was unfortunately a little rainy our last full day in Wengwald. I decided to do a solo hike from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, but once I got up there I found out that the trail was closed. So I camped out at what is now my favorite coffee shop and caught up on some reading. The boys hung out in their room. No matter where you find yourself, the views are inspiring.

After five nights in Wengwald, it’s time to move on. You can tell by this photo that Micah is sad that we’re leaving Wengwald. It’s ok Micah. We’re heading to Mürren next!