#31: A new chapter, you've arrived at BaseCamp

18 months ago (or thereabouts) I sat in an auction to place a bid on a building that would, if the day went as planned, be the new home of our operations.  We got the building and shortly thereafter, started the long winding road of renovating and opening our new place.  We decided that we would call it BaseCamp31 (ironic that this is "episode #31" of my blog don't you think?), which any person who has ever made the trek upward to a peak or summit knows, is the bottom of the mountain.  Why BaseCamp31 and not Summit or Peak?  Well, for us, this would be a redefining moment, the bottom of what we hoped would be another exciting climb, rather than a peak, where, by definition meant it was downhill from there.  Sure, it's been an exciting 12 years of hills and valleys and we feel like we've gotten "somewhere", but definitely not reached our peak......only the beginning.


What I didn't know was that getting to the Base was going to be a ridiculous (some might say Sisyphean) effort in and of itself.  Between rules and regs from the town, the architectural process, working with multiple contractors and trying to keep the whole process organized and financed......we joke that this has been an endurance event more than any Ironman could be.


Well this weekend, we finally got "in" and have been diligently putting the final touches on "camp" so our clients and friends can enjoy it too and we can start the next chapter in our journey.  From moving heavy equipment from the office down the road on Friday afternoon to hanging pictures and installing desks, the place has had some life breathed into it.....a definite refreshing feeling, knowing that finally, it's going to happen.


It really has had many parallels to training for an endurance event from the times when you experience utter frustration and feelings of hopelessness to the moment when the littlest details becomes an opportunity that gives you enough light to see that the end is getting closer, to those "great" training days when things just seem to click and give you confidence, to those nagging injuries/setbacks that seem like they take FOREVER to get better and make you question your own sanity....and of course there's the realization you have after crossing a finish line, that there is more that can be done, that you can do better next time, and that it's worth your effort, no matter how ridiculous it seems. 


I'm certain BaseCamp31 will be a constant evolution and I embrace it......but for now, I'm glad we're here and excited that tomorrow, when 2/3rd of the operations are open and running (Fuel Good Cafe' soon to open) in this "new place" for one full day, I'll sit back and enjoy it for a bit.....but only a bit b/c after a breather, an inventory of the current plan, some regrouping.....it'll be time to roll-up the sleeves and get back to work; the journey isn't over, it's really just beginning and the hard technical climbing is still ahead.


Almost ready for the next stage of the climb,


Mike E.