You can’t be a pro the first time you try something new. That’s a repeated theme in my middle grade books, but I’m still learning it! In September, I tried to hike on a famous pilgrimage route–Via Francigena. I thought it was going to work, because I got an excessively-detailed guidebook from the library, set low expectations for how far we could walk, made hotel and train reservations, and kind of expected the weather to cooperate. Because it was Italy. Read about my #PilgrimFail.