Travel, hiking, milestones and other reasons to wag your tail.
Paul and I are Livin’ la Vida Loca! Seeking warmth and adventure, we escaped the worst of our Canadian winter in early January. Nineteen hours of travel took us from snowy Toronto to sunny Puerto Varas, Chile, where volcanoes loomed over glistening lakes and the Southern Hemisphere summer was in full bloom. Our first flight,…
“Rwanda? Why would you go there?” The disbelief in friends’ voices was unmistakable when we announced our adventure holiday plans. Thirty-one years after the civil war and genocide, the world’s impression of Rwanda remains frozen in that tragic moment. But the country we discovered tells a different story- one of breathtaking beauty, remarkable resilience, and…
Portugal The planning of this European adventure began over a year ago during dinner in Ojai Valley, California with friends Pam and Earle, whom we’d met while cycling in Asia. As we reminisced about our wonderful Backroads trip through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, we decided to put another trip on the calendar. Pam and I…
We frequently travel halfway around the world to see magnificent sights, yet it is remarkable how we sometimes take the treasures in our own backyard for granted. Banff, Alberta is one of those places where the breathtaking beauty leaves me awestruck- my jaw drops at the splendor each time I visit. Perhaps this is why…
In January 2025, Paul and I headed to New Zealand for one of our greatest adventures yet. We chose to take a big break from the toughest part of our Canadian winter and escape to the Southern Hemisphere. Our five-week trip included an eight-day Backroads multi-adventure trip on the North Island, a four-day hiking trip…
When our dear friends, Kathy and Don suggested that we meet them in California for a mid-winter cycling holiday, we immediately said, “Yes!” Saying “yes” has been our mission statement for almost everything since the pandemic. We decided to extend the trip and add some golf to both ends of the cycling week and voila,…
I am not sure why I felt trepidation as we waited to board our Taiwanese EVA Air flight for the longest flight of my life, half-way around the world, to Asia. It was midnight at Toronto Pearson Airport, and I was about to turn into a pumpkin, as we patiently waited amongst a sea of…
We love to explore the world with our kids and have done so since they were very young. The pandemic put a stop to our grand family adventures, however, in late 2022, with quarantines and lockdowns behind us, we checked our calendars and booked a cycling trip to beautiful Burgundy, France. Two of the kids…
Paul and I love the beautiful island of Nevis in the West Indies. We love everything about this island- the people, the food, the tennis, the golf and a special stray dog we befriended on our first visit, named Coco. We first met Coco on the golf course, where the drink-cart attendant told us her…
Friends and family looked at Paul and me with bewilderment when we told them that we had booked to go on a riverboat cruise. They asked, “Isn’t that something you do when you are old?” But this was no ORDINARY riverboat cruise. Our Newfoundland friends, Mark and Sandra, invited us to join them and a…
Paul and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on August 8th, 2022, and to mark this tremendous milestone, we decided that an epic trip was in order. Our worldly adventures had been put on hold for over 30 months, due to the pandemic. It was finally time to see the world again and The Dolomites,…
I have been in my book club since 2002, when a good friend gathered a group of like-minded women to meet monthly and discuss books. Many of us had put our careers on hold to raise our families and support our ambitious and hard-working husbands, as their careers soared. We were living within blocks of…
Hawaii has always been on our travel bucket list, yet until now, has been pushed aside for more exotic, challenging or nearer destinations. Friends and family have travelled to Hawaii and come back with rave reviews. When we could not decide where to travel for our November 2019 trip, Hawaii appeared on our shortlist. All…
Our family has been travelling the world together since the kids were born. Lexi travelled with us to Banff, Alberta when she was four months old, beginning a tradition of summer family adventures. We know that our time as a party of five is fleeting, as in the near future, the dynamic will change when…
It all began with a chat around the lunch table, after golf one day in June. We were talking about hiking holidays and my friend Trish said that Newfoundland was on her travel bucket list. I mentioned that I had been to Newfoundland many times and would be thrilled to visit again. Remelyn, another friend…
I do my best to embrace Canada’s long winters. We own a lovely ski chalet in the Caledon Hills and participate in our ski club’s adult ski racing program. I take long, rigorous walks in the snow and I have a closet full of winter gear to keep me warm. That all said, there comes…
In July 2006, our family travelled to Newfoundland for an adventurous family holiday. Little did we know at the time, soon Newfoundland would become a place of business and regular visits for Paul for the next ten years and an annual destination for me. In our travels to Newfoundland, we have visited only a small…
Our airport limo bobbed and weaved around horse drawn carriages, scooters, pedestrians, donkey carts and yellow cabs, as we made our way to our hotel, just outside the Medina in Marrakech. We felt a rush of excitement at arriving in this exotic and magical place. We arrived at La Mamounia, a stunningly elegant hotel that…
I first heard about the Camino de Santiago when I saw the Martin Sheen movie, The Way a few years ago. While it was a sad story about loss, it showcased a beautiful part of the world where people from all over have walked since the Middle Ages. What could be better than a hiking…
There is nothing like a week in the sun in the midst of the long, cold Canadian winter. For the third time in six months we convinced the kids to join us for a family holiday. I know that these family holidays are fleeting, as the kids get older and busier. We look forward to…