At the outset, this blog was going to be a space for me to share my adventures and, whenever possible, give any hints, tips etc. on the hows, whys, and wheres. Ultimately, this would include my current top lifetime adventure, having a son. I had some ideas on doing a dad blog as I'm not sure there's as much male perspective for raising a child.
Read More
View from the top of the Burrowing Owl Winery Bell Tower
People Love Lists: My Favourite wineries of Osoyoos and Oliver... so far
My trips to the Okanagan have changed a bit over the years. What used to be a vacation during summer break, where my family and I would head up to stay at the Safari Beach Resort, lay by the pool or beach and play some mini golf at the three courses Osoyoos used to have. Nowadays, they are still spent laying by the pool or beach, but also spent going wine tasting at the plethora of wineries that encompass the Okanagan region (also, I would love to hit up Rattlesnake Canyon to play some mini golf the next time I'm up).
This region has been growing in wineries for a while now and is quite the tourist attraction in the summer months when it's hot and dry. There are shuttles now to take you along on tours, bikes to rent to go on your own winery tour or the manual method by forcing someone to drive you around. I've never done the shuttle tour before, but I have brought my own bike up to do a tour and, let me tell you, make sure your bike is fairly lightweight, some of those hills are a slog. Plus, you'll be sweating so much in between stops, you'll never get drunk or at least I didn't.
Read MoreLife Stories: The ECV
The ECV, otherwise known as the external cephalic version, is a method used to turn the baby from a breech position into the head-down position. Having tried most other things (see previous life stories post), we were running out of time to flip the baby naturally. Thus, with time running out until the baby is too big to flip on its own, we were sent to the Better Births Clinic and with one days notice wound up in the Labour & Delivery room at BC Women's Hospital.
Read More
Na Pali Coast from the top of Waimea Canyon
People Love Lists: Ten Things to do in Kauai
I've been going to Kauai since I was a wee little lad. My grandparents owned a condo in Poipu on the south shore of the island and if I had to guesstimate how many times I've been there it would be upwards of 25. Now I wouldn't say I've done everything there is to do on the island, but I've covered the vast majority. So, this is my post presenting my list of ten things to do in Kauai. Personally, If I'm going to a beach destination, I like to alternate between relaxation (book reading) days and active, adventurous days. I do have a little one on the way, so I reserve the right to adjust or add as we'll eventually start doing more family friendly things. Fun times ahead!
Read MoreWeekend Warriors: Handstands, Dives and Smoking the Toe
It wasn't too long ago that we were sitting in our doctor's office going through our regular baby check-up when I happened to mention that the baby likes to rest on the right side of my wife's stomach. The doctor leans in to feel around for the baby and the way it lays and then let's us know that the baby is in a breached position.
Shocked that our baby didn't want to do what normal babies do and go head down, we listened to the doctor give us advice on what to do and what the process going forward will be. My wife had to go get acupuncture & chiropractic work done. We had to buy these hippy slow-burning sticks called Moxibustion and if all else fails, we have to go to the hospital where they try to flip the baby.
Read More
Our Little Emby
Life Stories: Zika & Expedia
I normally don't book flights using Expedia as I tend to use Air Canada or it's Star Alliance partners for flights so I could either gain or use points. This changed when some friends of ours invited us down to Ixtapa for a week and when I looked at flights, the cost of the Air Canada flights were a bit outrageous. So, I popped over to Expedia and found that If I booked a flight with WestJet down to Ixtapa and Air Canada back home, the price dropped considerably. Sounds good, right!?!
Well, little did we know that at the time we were booking our flights, we would be adding a little one to our family. Turns out it only took us two tries, lucky us!
Read MoreSwitchin' It Up
It's been a while since I've posted on my blog, so much so that my other posts have actually disappeared. That's alright with me though as I was struggling with the way I was attempting to share my experiences. My original idea was that I would document and write everything that happened day-to-day while I was on vacation or traveling, but I found the posts became too long winded and were hard to complete; hence, the two years since my last post.
Only following my travels kept me from highlighting the adventures in my daily life and with a newborn on the way, there will be plenty of adventures to come...so, I am SWITCHIN' IT UP!! That's right, my new format will consist of my epic adventures and resulting recommendations while on vacation, traveling and locally. I've been to a lot of places, most of them while I was younger and in a phase where I didn't even own a camera. I once went to Ireland to live/work for 4 months and didn't even take a single picture!!! Not again!!!
Henceforth, what you are about to experience will be based on things that have tickled my fancy, such as breweries, restaurants, hotels and activities.
Enjoy!