Don LaRuffa

Don moved to Southern NH from Long Island when he was 7. He has always loved the outdoors and has a real passion (his wife calls it obsession) for fishing. Don feels very fortunate to grow up in a time when summer vacation equaled getting on his bike in the morning and playing in the woods all day until the sun went down. Most of those days were spent at a small beaver pond in the woods chasing frogs...and fishing.

At the same time that he moved to NH, his grandparents moved to Florida, so, most February vacations were down to visit them. Being able to leave winter and chase frogs, lizards...and yes, fish made him fond of the tropics. For years, his father and him tried to catch a sailfish on those trips to Florida, but they always seemed to come up empty.

This all has a point...trust me...

Part of that trip to Costa Rica, Don stayed in the rainforest in an eco-lodge; totally off grid, solar panels, charging batteries, and running a water pump to fill up a gravity-fed water tower. That experience was almost magical for him; being totally self sufficient, surrounded by amazing wildlife and having their basic needs met, and all powered by the sun. It seemed so simple. He thought, "why aren't we doing this back home in the states?"

Fast forward 15 years from that first trip to Costa Rica to today, with the reduction in cost in solar equipment and being past the "early adopter" stage in the industry, the timing seemed right to make a career change.

Don and his wife, and new puppy, currently live in Newburyport, MA. They moved from their home in NH 3 years ago to a condo in Newburyport. They wanted to downsize their home, be in a walking community, with public transportation. Newburyport fit the bill...and it's WAY closer to the fishing he loves to do.