Jon Bowermaster, Local Hero

While putting the finishing touches on my piece on Istria, Croatia for GONOMAD tonight I took a break and read the local Ulster County Press. In the paper I found out that my town’s favorite traveler is now out of town. Jon Bowermaster is off the coast of Tasmania paddling his kayak. Jon has lived here since 1988 and truly is one of my heroes. Jon’s current trip to Tasmania is his seventh in a series he calls his Ocean Eight Project, in which he is trucking and filming eight sections of the world. I am stuck at the Mobil station and he is living the dream. Not complaining though, I picked up a travel column spot in the newly published Lincoln Eagle here in the Hudson Valley. Finally a print outlet that will leave the topics to me! Congratulations, Robert Ford on a great piece about a great traveler.