These are my favorite pairs of boots: Chippewa 6" Service Boots for Men with Vibram soles. I purchased them back in March 2014 from Rob Roda, owner of Orn Hansen in Long Beach. Since then he has moved his shop to Portland.
That night and those boots changed my life in ways I never could have imagined.
These boots walked in Saint Peter’s Basilica, crossed the Covered Bridge in Florence, strolled the halls of the Uffizi where once Cosmo Medici strolled.
These boots where in Peru where they hiked the cobble stone streets of Cuzco, climbed Machu Picchu, and patrolled the Plaza Bolivar in Bogota, Colombia where I had the most delicious chicken soup [ever].
These boots took me to El Salvador where I was detained by the Narco Federales (they found no dope) and through the Presidential palace in Ecuador.
I stood on the equator wearing these boots.
In these boots I tromped the Rhine River in Germany, the shore of the North Sea in Tønsberg, and experienced snow for the first time in Trondheim. These boots moved me along the Berlin Wall, through the Brandenburg Gates and escorted me in the Vienna Opera House.
These boots also took me to Hell (in Norway) and back.
Wearing these boots I’ve attended mass in churches and cathedrals throughout the USA, Europe and Central America. While wearing these boots I’ve seen paintings by Caravvagio, Monet, Rembrandt, Munch and Van Gogh.
In those boots I’ve eaten Napoli pizza, Norwegian brown cheese, Pink’s hot dogs and Ecuadorian guinea pig (it did taste like chicken).
In those boots I drank Irish Whiskey, Italian espresso and Viennese coffee…in Ireland, Italy and Vienna.
These boots were with me in Washington DC when I walked the Halls of Congress, the White House, the National Cathedral, the Library of Congress, the National Portrait Museum and Union Station.
I’ve worn these boots while flying.
At a soccer game.
With jeans.
In suits.
In love.
And all this is a short list of the almost five year history of these boots.
Back in March 2014 they cost about $230.
Last summer a pair of flat wax cotton laces cost $6
I had them resoled with original Vibram soles that cost $70.
I absolutely got my money’s worth with these boots and now, they are ready for next series of adventures. If you need a pair of boots, you could not do any better than Chippewa.