We've all had the experience of driving along a road, miles from any hint of civilization when suddenly you see the lone boot, stranded on the pavement. Not a pair of boots, just the one, solitary piece of foot gear. And you wonder how anyone could lose one shoe. There are excuses and stories to explain the loss of both shoes, however, it seems odd that a person could continue on their route, completely unaware that they are traveling with one foot lighter than the other.

Well, the mystery is solved. Yes, that's right – among the other incredible mysteries we have experienced and explained on this journey around the globe – the-lone-boot-on-the-side-of-the-road is no longer a topic that the Fox Network can exploit in hours of "uncut" documentaries and home videos.

It's simple, the event involves an oblivious (yet cute) 8-year old and an Irish ferry. I know that it may seem unlikely that these two elements were involved with many of the solo shoes you have encountered, but we know from personal experience that these are the ingredients to abandoned footwear.

We slid the borrowed Nissan Micra onto the ferry, a fifteen minute trip to another small, Irish town. Cassidy stepped out of the car as the ferry tugged out into the water – barefoot. Unmindful of any items that may have escaped from the vehicle, she climbed back in. It was not until we reached the Waterford Crystal Factory (about an hour from the ferry) and were preparing ourselves for the tour that Cassidy announced she was missing a boot. Of course it had to be tucked under a seat or hiding behind an empty Mr. Kipling's package – there's just no way a person can lose one boot. How does that go unnoticed? But then again . . .

After tearing apart the entire car, we chalked it up to another hazard of the road. After nine months of travel this was the first important thing we had lost. Since she only had one pair of shoes, Cassidy had to walk through a local mall with only one shoe on to buy another set of boots. Maybe the embarrassment of hobbling around a crowded mall in a foreign country was enough to prevent it from happening again, but I think she was oblivious to the odd stares and she never complained.

So we had solved the mystery, Cassidy ended up with a new set of boots, and we were still able to tour the Waterford factory. However, somewhere in Ireland there is a lone boot, cold, frightened and alone.