Life Before the trip

Our blogs written before our year-long adventure.

IP rating… not just an address

My iPod. Its IP rating is currently 00 A few days ago, I was at a friend’s house when a modern disaster happened. A cell phone was dropped into a bathtub! Many of us know the pain of what could have happened next. What did happen was what I thought nothing short of a miracle. The phone survived. But how? […]

By |2020-04-23T09:44:43-04:00October 13th, 2018|Life Before the trip|0 Comments

Couchsurfing: Our First Guests

A few weeks ago, I wrote to you about Couchsurfing. Today I’m going to tell you about hosting our first guests. Before I begin to tell you about our experience, I want to explain the use of names. You’ll notice today I’m going to refer to our guests as Betty and Cathy. Betty explained to me that although Couch surfing is very social, some parts of their lives are private and should remain so. So forgive my effort to keep their lives anonymous. For today’s blog, I’m also not going to give you any of their background info like where they are from, well, other than they are somewhere from Earth. I’ll also not talk about their jobs, which are both pretty cool and highly respected. I don’t think the rest of their background is essential for today. […]

By |2020-04-23T09:44:09-04:00October 7th, 2018|Couch Surfing, Life Before the trip|8 Comments

Toronto Eggfest: A BBQ Celebration!

Eggfest/Toronto Smoke Show = BBQ Holiday in September (June 29th, 2018) For those of you who know me, you know I enjoy playing hockey and generally having a good laugh. For those of you who know me, you know that one of my favourite hobbies is BBQ. This weekend, Charo and I enjoyed Eggfest/Toronto Smoke Show at Woodbine Racetrack, and it was worth every penny! […]

By |2020-04-23T09:43:43-04:00September 30th, 2018|Life Before the trip|0 Comments

Beginning the Keto Diet

Homemade Bbq chicken Until recently, I’ve been on the see-food diet. I see food, and I eat it. During the winter, I play a lot of hockey and can maintain my weight. The summer is my nemesis. Lots of good food and very little activity in terms of exercise has me gaining a few pounds. This year, at the beginning of September, I was tipping the scale at just around 200 pounds. Charo has the same problem with summer weight gain. We both looked at each other and wanted to change our lifestyles. Our upcoming trip has been a wake-up call to get in better shape and to eat better so we can be more active when we are away. We decided to try the Keto diet two-week challenge. […]

By |2020-04-23T09:43:21-04:00September 23rd, 2018|Life Before the trip|4 Comments

Couchsurfing: Ride the Wave

This photo was inspired by my brother. I can’t wait to get started on this adventure! All the different places to go, people to meet. Will we be staying in hotels? AirBnB? Hostels? All different, all with their benefits and downfalls. Are these our only options? Nope! Charo’s been doing some research, and she’s signed us up for some surfing – Couchsurfing. […]

By |2020-04-23T09:43:06-04:00September 16th, 2018|Couch Surfing, Life Before the trip|2 Comments

6 Things to Think About before our trip

I’m not a big fan of lists. They scare me. They never seem to be manageable, and they never seem to end! Much like my students, I like tasks that have just a few to-do items, finish them and move on to the next job. However, considering what we are going to do, I thought, “Hey, why not. How bad can it be.” Well, success! I am scared! […]

By |2020-04-23T09:42:03-04:00September 9th, 2018|Life Before the trip|6 Comments

The Bucket List

When we announced to our friends and family that we were travelling the world as a family, we received a lot of encouraging comments. One comment has me questioning the motives for this trip more than any others. […]

By |2020-05-03T02:56:06-04:00August 27th, 2018|Life Before the trip|Comments Off on The Bucket List

It Begins

The Joe From T.O. blog is now live. I'll create logins for the Cini family and show everyone how to post. The next entry you read is from them. My work here is done. - Mike

By |2020-04-24T02:00:28-04:00August 27th, 2018|Life Before the trip|Comments Off on It Begins
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