A Fellow Barefooter - Final Camp Day

Friday was a much easier day.  No rush to get the pools cleaned and we just needed to get them all set for whatever the camp manager had planned next.  By we I mean basically myself.  I did get some volunteers to assist on occasion, but the care of the pools was my sole responsibility.  The head life guard did stick around and help get things tidied up.  He even requested to vacuum a pool.  Seems as though he had a lot of chigger bites and sitting around a pool for a while is a home remedy.  The camp quickly emptied and the soon there was only a fraction of the volunteers so we moved back into the main lodge for lunch. 

As I was seating eating, my supervisor came up to me and inquired about Xero shoes.  I was caught off guard at first and didn't know what he was talking about.  But he explained that his son had given him a gift certificate for some Xero sandals.  I showed him the pair I was wearing and explained I hadn't gotten use to the thing between the toes and would prefer the other sandals, but they cost more.  He told me he went barefoot at home all the time, so while he was not 100% barefoot, he may have been another reason why I was not hassled at this camp. 

We finished getting things cleaned up and I headed back to Springfield, MO.  I would stay at his house for the night and catch my plane first thing in the morning back to Manchester, NH.

A Little Wear and Tear

Today is the last day of activities. We've done a good job of keeping the pools clean and open all week.  In the past I have worked directly with the camp manager, but they reorganized things this year and gave me a supervisor. It was a good thing.  We had more than our fair share of challenges this year and he was always available when needed.  It was like having an extra pair of hands.

I managed to take one long walk on the road today to visit some of the activities and campsites. It is in the high 90's and I still didn't think the dirt road would be so hot, It seems just as hot as black top.  Another added problem is when you step down, the very hot dust from the road rises up and spreads between your toes.  Then the relief you get from lifting your foot is not as complete as when you move along on a paved surface. 

I did get some comments on this walk.  A few thought it was unsafe, but a few were open to the concept and thought my feet must be special.  I was able to discuss the hazards of shoes and benefits of walking barefoot. 

As the week progressed I had noticed a layer or two of my sole had worn off.  I walked just as much on the streets of Manhattan just two weeks prior with no damage.  Now I could see and feel a layer of skin had been worn off and I felt it must have been from the rough gravel around the pools.  In most places the gravel was on a firm bed and other places it had piled up and acted more like sand, so my whole foot got a workout at times.  Every morning my foot was a little stiff, but after a dozen or so steps I would be fine.  If I had to work at the camp for a month, I'm not sure I could have lasted, but for the few days I was able to keep the shoes off.   

Gravel Surface at the Pools

Today is the first day the swimming pools are open and we have only managed to get 3 of the 4 up and running.  The last pool was just filled too late for the water to have been completely filtered, but it should be fine on Tuesday.  Unfortunately this will turn out to be our biggest swimming day since most of the other activities are not open.

The pools are set up on a gravel surface.  There is a concrete pad in the front where the kids enter the pools, but the filters and all around the pools is this small square gravel.  It doesn't hurt to walk on, but it does feel a little bit like sandpaper.  I hope my feet hold up.  After walking a little bit in my new zero sandals I'm not sure they would be much good.  With such a thin base the gravel would constantly be getting stuck under my foot and it would be a hassle to constantly stop to shake it out.  I did bring my VFF, but I grab my older pair that has a hole in the bottom of one.  It is also very hot here in MO and I'm just not thrilled to be wearing VVF.

Flint Covered Roads

My assignment for the week will be maintaining the water quality of the 4 above ground swimming pools. This definitely made it easier for me to attempt being barefoot all week, though after looking and walking on the roads I think I'll be wearing shoes on occasion.  The roads are hard packed dirt with flint rocks that have sharp edges.  Some of the roads have a grass area on the side, but in a few areas their is nothing on the side I can walk on.  One of these areas is from the pools to the dinning pavilion.  I know if I go easy I could do it, but my schedule is pretty tight so I'll probably wear my zero sandals to get there and back in a reasonable amount time.  

  

 

Walking up to the main building today, barefoot I had to cross this road.  Crossing a road is easy, you just pick your path and then walk across.  When I reached the other side I was told I needed to wear shoes.  He was concerned that I would get cut.  I looked at the man and tried to determine his place in the chain of command.  Most people have visible name tags that tell you who they are and what position they hold.  I didn't see any such identification on him and he just didn't seem to be a person I needed to listen to.

 

Three steps away from this conversation was the Safety Officer for the camp.  I had worked with him previously but still was not sure how he would respond to me walking around barefoot.  He overheard the conversation and ribbed me a bit about not listening to the gentleman's advice.  I told him I didn't see any identification that gave him the authority to stop me from walking barefoot.  Nothing further was said and I took that as his permission to hurt myself if I wanted to.   A very good sign, few people would be higher then him in this regards. 

Flying Barefoot

Saturday I took American Airlines from Manchester, NH to Springfield, MO on my way to Eagle Rock, Mo to work at the Royal Ranger Camporama.  The camp is situated in the middle of the Mark Twain National Forest, so cell phone reception was spotty at best, so I was unable to do any posting.  Got back the following Saturday and was totally wiped out, so sorry for the delay.

Arrived at the Manchester airport and as usual was not very busy.  I had only a small bag and had printed out my tickets so skipped the ticket counter and headed straight for the security line.  The TSA person asked if I had any shoes and didn't seem to mind that I was walking around barefoot.

While waiting for my plane I decided to get my steps in and to help stretch my legs before I was stuck in the plan for an hour.  One lady was standing outside of her store noticed I was barefoot and inquired if I had shoes. But it was more curiosity than anything else.  When it was time to board I got in line and boarded the plane without any problems.

We landed in Charlotte, NC and I walked around there for a little while and was able to board the plane to MO without any problems as well.  Upon landing in Springfield, MO a friend picked me up and we headed to McDonald's where ate barefoot.

Arriving at the camp I registered and was told that the same room was being used as a dining hall and I needed to wear shoes.  I told her no health code required shoes and she asked if that was true why did McDonald's require shoes.  I told her they don't and I had just eaten at McDonald's.  She was concerned about a possible up coming health inspection so I promised I would wear shoes in the dinning hall.  So for supper that night I had to put on my Zero sandals.

A little disappointed, since I managed to slip through two airports without having to wear shoes.  The roads here are dirt and have flint rocks, so they might pose a challenge from me being 100% barefoot on this volunteer weekend, even if I don't get challenged by some health or security officer.

A line of 15 planes waiting to take off in NC.

Last Day in New York City

Today we got up early to rush around and do a few more things in NYC.  The first thing we did was take the subway, which is now an easy thing to do, and went back to Time Square.  Here was an exhibit called Star Wars: The Power of the Costume.  My niece is a big Star Wars fan and wanted to see the exhibit.  The exhibit was in a building near the Majestic Theater and contained two other exhibits: The Vikings Exhibition and Body Works (which actually looked a little creepy).  You can find out more at their website  http://www.discoverytsx.com/.  So once again I bought my tickets shoeless and when we got to an employee that was directing traffic I was told I needed to put on shoes.  For my safety I was told.  I wish the consumer hadn't become so dumb.  It is out own fault that the seller is so cautious these days.  You hear all kinds of horror stories about stupid things consumers do and then sue the seller for not warning them of the danger.  What happened to caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).  I put my sandals on and checked my pack (no bags or packs allowed inside the exhibit area).. 

The exhibit was good and everyone enjoyed it.  Being so early there was not that many people and we could really take our time and not feel rushed.  At the end are some mirrors that will take and make you CP30, Darth Vader or a Storm Trooper.  You clinch your fist three times and the image changes between the three, but they do a good job of mirroring you as you fool around.  The kids all had fun with it.  Once back at the baggage check I took my shoes off and put them back inside my pack and headed out.  I think I heard something about a barefoot guy on the security radio, but I just headed straight for the door.

We then took the subway back to Central Park area and visited The Plaza Hotel and swung by the Central Park Zoo, both places have been featured in movies, though one was an animated film.

The drive home was uneventful.  I only had to stop once for gas and used the restroom with no problems.

Statue of Liberty

Bad mustache day with me and my sister at the top of the pedestal on the Statue of Liberty

Before we left I went to purchase tickets for the pedestal and the only ones available were from the New Jersey side.  It took a little figuring out, but after two train rides and a mile walk, we eventually found our way to the ferry.  The pavement was hot and I would walk onto the grass every once in a while to give me feet a break.

We picked up our tickets and boarded the ferry without any problems.  At the gift shop you are required to store your packs, purses and bags before going into the monument.  So we purchased a thumb activated locker and stored my pack along with my sandals.  We enter the security line and as I'm putting my belt and phone into the plastic container the federal security agent asked me if I had any shoes.  I said no.  He looked a little surprised and said okay.  I thought about my answer afterwards.  I did not have any shoes, but I did have sandals back in the locker.  My sister said I gave the correct answer and she was entertained by his reaction.

We checked out the views from the pedestal and got a much better perspective on how large the lady is.  The walk in the hot sun had wiped out my sister and niece, and my daughter wasn't interested in looking at the museum, so we headed back to New York City.  Arriving in Battery Park we walked past the Charging Bull near Wall Street and went to China Town for supper.  On the way I discovered that the black stone is hotter then black asphalt and there is a lot of black stone in downtown Manhattan. I moved ahead a few times to find a shady spot or a lighter shade of pavement.  I had not issue eating at 69 Bayard.  The food was good and the walls had dollar and foreign bills tacked on them with messages or sayings.  

So far I was very pleased.  This made my third day in New York City 100% barefoot.  Though I could definitely feel the wear and tear on my feet.  Once back at the hotel we made plans to head out again.  We wanted to see the Empire State Building or Rockefeller Center.  The only building open at night was the Rockefeller Center.  We ended up purchasing tickets for 9:25 pm, since we had time we took a walk down to see the Empire State Building.

Arriving back at the Rockefeller Center I was finally asked to put shoes on for safety reasons.  You could tell this guy would not budge, so I put on my sandals and proceeded to the Top of the Rock.   It is interesting that I purchased my tickets barefoot one floor below in the same building with no issues.  It seems it takes only one person to decided it isn't proper for you to walk around barefoot.  We had walked almost 15 miles at this point and my feet were certainly feeling it, so I ended up walking home with the sandals on the give my soles a break. I would have toughed it out to claim 3 full barefoot days.

9/11 Memorial, Time Square and Broadway Play

World Trade Center

Another late start and we headed out to the visit the new World Trade Center.  We figured out which subway line to take and then discovered that line was not working.  So we had to figure out an alternative.  Seems the subway is going to be the bane of our trip, though it still beats walking.  We picked the 9/11 Tribute Center.  The Tribute Center offers Walking Tours and their brochure states "Guides at the 9/11 Tribute Center are 9/11 family members, survivors, rescue and recovery workers, civilian volunteers or lower Manhattan residents whose personal stories are shared with you and are a testament to the human spirit."  Our guide was an older gentleman who lived just a few blocks from the twin towers on that fateful day.  His personal story was moving and shed new light onto the tragic events that unfolded that day.  He also talked about the history of the towers, and gave us new insights into events of that day and explained some interesting details about the memorial and the new buildings.  I would take the tour again in a heartbeat and highly recommend this tour to all who visit the site.  We did not visit the 9/11 Museum, but heard it was well worth the admission.

We then headed back to the hotel and took a short break before we headed out to the Phantom of the Opera.  Alana wanted to visit the M&M store so we headed directly for Time Square.  The store was jammed packed so we checked everything out quickly and headed back out.  We saw the New Years Eve Ball and my daughter commented that it looked very tiny.  I had to reminder her how high up it was and we were still a distance from that building.

The crowd in Time Square was very tight.  There is a lot of talk in the barefoot community about how those who walk barefoot watch where they walk more then people with shoes.  I have often felt I didn't pay much more attention where I stepped now then I did when I wore shoes. Especially while site seeing in New York City, always looking at the sites and not paying as much attention to what I was stepping on. Now that we were in a packed crowd of people I had to watch out for the people in front of me and make sure we stayed together as a group.  Even if I looked down I couldn't have seen enough in front of me to see any dangers if I wanted to through the press of all the feet around us. Hiking I certainly do pay more attention to where I step, but in this huge crowd it wouldn't have done me any good to try.

We entered the Majestic Theater and I had no problems with my barefeet.  After being given directions by several hosts we were finally escorted to our seats in the back row on the second floor.  Not the best seats in the house, but it was what we could afford and available when we decided to order the tickets.  We then had to visit the bathroom and had no trouble at all in the theater with my barefeet.  This is the second day in a row I've managed to be barefoot 100%

Bike Ride in Central Park

View from Belvedere Castle in Central Park, New York City

I decided today to ignore the bellhops.  It is not normal for me to disregard the rules so openly, but I was on vacation and I wanted to have a 100% barefoot day if possible, and it being the 4th of July seem to inspire me.  So I did not put on my sandals when we left the building and continued to do so for the rest of the trip.  I was confronted several times, usually when I was heading back up and would tell them, I'm going right to my room and that seemed to appease them.

Today we planned a bike ride in Central Park. We walked to the bike rental place and got the bikes and helmets and then they asked we walk out bikes to the park.  It was a slow ride around the park and we stopped several times to rest.  My sister and her daughter are not use to biking, so we took some breaks to enjoy the views and see some sites.  At one point we stopped and hiked in a bit to see Belvedere Castle.  It is a very nice tiny little castle, basically two rooms on top of each other which are reached by climbing the spiral stairs inside the corner turret.  The second level has a large observation deck where you get some good views of the park and city.  We could also see a crane and turtles down below.

It took us several hours to ride the 6 plus miles around the park and when we were done everyone was beat and ready to relax in the cool room.  So today was my first 100% barefoot day in New York City.  It was also the first time I ever rode a bike barefoot.  I didn't think I would be able to do it, but it was fun and the little raised bumps on the pedals didn't bother me at all.

Splinter from Wooden Deck

On our first full day in New York City we got a late start. I put on my sandals for the lobby and once outside slipped them back into my pack.  We then headed for the subway and our plans were thwarted by the confusing noodle of subway trains.  Now I've used the subway in Boston and Moscow, and you can figure them out in just a few minutes, but I just seemed to have trouble figuring out the NYC Subway system.  So the first day we didn't get as close as we could have to our destination.  But we wanted to see the sites, and we certainly did.  It was later on that I realized that the trains on each side of the platform  went the same direction and there was another platform for the opposite direction.  Also, each line color did not stop at every stop along that line, but rather you needed to pay attention to the numbers or letters for the stop you wanted, and take that train.

Coming out of the subway for the first time I thought how most people thought the floor of the subway was disgusting,  yet my feet didn't seem to think so and then I grabbed the stair railing as I walked up the stairs and my had said yuck, now that was gross feeling.  My sister agreed and said she never grabs the railings unless she has to.

Once off the subway we headed in the wrong direction, this was to be a recurring theme and we joke about it during our trip.  So we trudge onward and finally made it to the Shark Boats.  The dock here was old wood pier in various state of repair.  At one point my foot caught a splinter and my group all heard it snap under my foot.  It definitely hurt, but I assured them I was fine, while at the same time wondering how much my foot was bleeding.  Pride help me resist the urge to do a complete inspection of the damage and I didn't want my group to worry.

Wooden dock at the Shark Boat  

I had no problems boarding the boat barefoot, and I'm sure they had to have noticed my feet since they help everyone on board the boat one at a time.  My foot was still a little sore and I tried to discreetly inspect my foot while waiting for the ride to begin.  I couldn't feel any damage or piece of splinter left in my foot, but I was still wondering if it was bleeding.  Later when I got home and washed my foot I couldn't tell where the splinter had stabbed me.  My tough souls had done a great job of protecting my foot.

The shark boat is a speed boat and it zoomed us around the harbor at tremendous speeds, the sharp turns were not as thrilling as a park ride, but it was a lot of fun.  They do work a little bit at finding all the bumps and on getting you wet.  They stopped so we could get some great shots of the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and the new World Trade Center.  I usually get motion sick and don't like thrill rides, but this was great and I would do it again.

We then decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and grab a pizza in Brooklyn.  I saw one lady carrying her shoes and walking barefoot.  Once across we found a pizza place called Ignazio's and were soon seating with only a few stares at my feet.  It was a Sicilian style pizza and was good.  

It had been a full day, so we headed back and I once again put on my sandals to walk across the lobby to the elevator. A great first day being barefoot in New York City, but I was a bit bummed it wasn't 100% barefoot.  I decided tomorrow would be different.

Heading to New York City Barefoot

My shoes came off on Friday evening at 4:47 pm, for what I hope is the last time for the next week.  The family is heading to New York City for several days of site seeing.  My research says the real tourist places will make me wear shoes, but everywhere else I should be fine.  I didn't bring a keyboard with me, so I'm hoping to get caught up over the next few days of our complete adventure.

On the way down to NYC on Saturday we stopped at two highway service centers with no problems with me being barefoot.  I visited the restrooms at both stops.  Getting out of the van at the second stop I was surprised to feel the pavement was cool, even though it was a dark black color.  I gathered from this sensory input that the sun had not been shining much in that area that day. It was cool that I could gather additional information just from being barefoot.

Once at the hotel we drove up to the valet parking and quickly dropped all our gear onto the side of the driveway.  I headed inside to grab a luggage cart and since I didn't see a bellhop I just grabbed the nearest cart and brought it outside.  Upon returning the bellhop was not very pleased with me.

I checked in barefoot and then I went to see the bellhop again to let him know our room number, he informed me that I was required to wear shoes in the lobby and it didn't matter if I had religious reasons, and he listed several other reasons that didn't matter.  I was none to pleased.

My daughter wanted to see the pool so I put on my sandals and we headed back down to the lobby to get to the pool.  Sandals already and I hadn't spent a day in the city yet.  I was a little bummed out.  My sister was willing to head out so we left the two kids behind and I wore my sandals down to the lobby again and once outside took them off and we headed to Central Park.

My sister had seen a video of a Pizza Rat in NYC and she was hoping to see a rat while we were there.  Our luck was with us, we say several rats and also 5 raccoons.  After just a little exploring we headed back.  Once at the hotel I slipped on my sandals to trudge across the lobby and took them off in the elevator.

So much for being barefoot 100%, but still was barefoot a lot.