Life Before the trip

Our blogs written before our year-long adventure.

Less than 4 weeks to go

Hi everyone, sorry it’s been a while since I’ve last updated. We’ve been going a little crazy getting things ready. It’s crunch time less than 4 weeks to go. For those of you who have been following along, Easter weekend put a big detour sign for our plans. Everything was moving along when our friends, who were going to rent the house from us, had to back out. They wanted to renovate their home this year, and unfortunately, they did not get the permits to do this. So, detour ahead! […]

By |2020-04-24T01:54:42-04:00June 9th, 2019|Life Before the trip|4 Comments

Three months to go! Planning update

I love this shirt! Some of the greatest stresses in life have to do with money and moving houses. Can I add a year-long journey to that list? After all, how many of us plan a weekend away. You look for a good deal, a place to stay, and then look for a few things to do. Imagine now multiplying that weekend by 52, and having all those days in between to figure out as well. It’s a full-time job! […]

By |2020-04-24T01:55:04-04:00April 4th, 2019|Life Before the trip|3 Comments

Multiple Visits for Travel Vaccinations

They really have no idea! Look at them. Watching Netflix, no care in the world. After all, we've been warning them for days that we were going to have to get our travel vaccinations. Last week we reached that day. I want to say that we all took it like champs. Before I talk about all the vaccines we were inoculated with, I think all the kids deserve accolades for getting past these days. 1st place: Mateo Category: Bravery This was perhaps the most surprising winner of this category. After he was finished the first injection, he said "next" to my surprise. Mateo ran through the three needles, quickly, with a few tears. This is from a kid who got scared watching the new Mary Poppins movie because he "just couldn't handle it!" 1st place: Daniela Category: Most tears shed Daniela started crying from the moment she saw the first needle. With the help of her rainbow stuffy, and hugging her dad, she was able to get through all three needles. Lots of tears, but she did it. Before I give Marco his award, please note. This photo was taken about 5 minutes after his final needle. Trust me, he rivalled Daniela for the previous award. 1st place: Marco Award: 100-yard dash At the time of writing this, we've already received another vaccination. On the second go-around, Marco got so nervous that he ran away from the nurse, out of the office and down the plaza. Apparently, the first time around was pretty painful. So taking it like Champions, all our champs got a much-deserved reward! They got to go to Dollarama and get a treat of their choice. My champions [...]

By |2020-04-24T01:55:43-04:00March 24th, 2019|Life Before the trip|1 Comment

Why we enjoy Couchsurfing!

Way back in September, I wrote about couchsurfing, called Ride the Wave. At the time I didn’t know what we were in for. Truthfully, we started this with the intent of hopefully finding some free accomodation for our year long trip. Spending a year on the road is going to be costly. After hosting several sets of surfers we’ve found a better reason to be a part of the couchsurfing culture. I know, some of you are still skeptical about introducing people into our house that we don’t even know. I agree, but you don’t have Charo screening every single person that puts in a request. We have received at least 2 dozen requests to come to stay with us, and of those only a few have passed Charo’s qualifications to be in our house. When people ask to stay, she reads their profile and searches through their references as well. So far, she’s done an amazing job and it seems everyone she’s matched up with us has enjoyed their stay with us as well. A Few Experiences We’ve Had A couple of weekends ago we hosted a couple from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I enjoyed meeting Tanya and Joshua from the moment they arrived. Over the next couple of days we had great conversations about Mexico, Canada, and travelling just to name a few topics. The first full day here, they went downtown to check out some sites. Before they left, we decided to have dinner together that night. When they arrived back, Tanya and Joshua made homemade tortillas for us. They even got Mateo and Daniela involved in the process. The end result was very tasty. Charo was working that [...]

By |2020-05-01T03:47:57-04:00March 11th, 2019|Couch Surfing, Life Before the trip|2 Comments

The First Two Weeks Planned

Our first two weeks It’s been a while since I last wrote. In between shovelling, going through our things, shovelling, taking the kids to different activities and more shovelling we’ve been trying to figure out what the first part of our trip will look like and I think we’ve finally decided our first two weeks after changing our route several different times. Before I continue, I’d like to acknowledge that Charo does the bulk of the planning. She is doing a fantastic job researching all the places we are going. With my researching, we’d probably only make it to the airport. Who am I kidding, we would only make it to the bus stop. What Are Story Will Look Like July 2nd, we will be arriving in Cancun. We are going to soak up the vibe of Cancun just long enough to catch a bus to (1) Tulum. There we are going to investigate for two nights. I enjoy that we’re starting at a beach area, especially being so close to the end of the school year.  After Tulum, we are going to hop on a bus and travel to (2) Mahahual, and you guessed it, more beach time. WOOHOO!!!! We will be staying there two nights and then off to (3) Laguna Bacalar. I’d love to tell you anything about this area, but I know nothing. As I said, I’ve got Charo figuring it out, and I’m just along for the ride. We will be in Bacalar for two nights and then off to Belize. As of right now, our trip to Belize will be seven nights, and before I give you a brief synopsis, I’d like to thank our [...]

By |2020-04-24T01:56:34-04:00March 3rd, 2019|Life Before the trip|2 Comments

Adventures in Toronto

The best snow removal team in the city Approaching this year away I have to admit I really can’t wait to not see winter. You see, I dislike winter. If it weren’t for hockey, I think I’d hibernate and try to miss the whole season. Over the past few weeks we’ve been trying to get over the winter blahs by going out around the town and trying some different things. Rose the Musical Waiting to see Rose Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. It was the first time we were taking the kids to a play, let alone a musical. From the moment we were taken into the town of Somewhere till the final curtain we were captured by the music, the characters and the story. The costumes and set design was very colourful, it was as if it were a cartoon turned into real life. The adventure has Rose going through her world trying to figure out who she is and what is her place in it. While watching Rose I thought of my kids going on our adventure. Just like Rose they have a big world to conquer, and I hope they are fearless when they question it. I’d have to say this is one of my favourite musicals and highly encourage you to see it. It definitely was a great day in Somewhere! https://soulpepper.ca/performances/rose/6173 Toronto Light Festival This was an amazing display of lights in the Distillery district. Kind of a two for one deal! Go see Rose, and then go see this amazing display of lights. A visit from family Last Saturday night, I went to the airport to pick up family. Charo’s cousin, [...]

By |2020-04-24T01:56:55-04:00February 10th, 2019|Life Before the trip, Toronto|6 Comments

So long, and thanks: A nod to Marie Kondo

Finishing off Step 2 While we’re gone, our family will be renting out our house to help make ends meet. When we do rent it out, we will be using the crawl space to keep all the things we own for the year. The last thing I want to do is rent out a storage unit to hold all the stuff we have. Who knew my solution would be as easy as watching some TV! If you haven’t had a chance to watch the Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, what are you waiting for? […]

By |2020-04-24T01:57:24-04:00January 20th, 2019|Life Before the trip, Prep|0 Comments
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