And so it begins...but wait, a bit of a send off first...

I think I've been planning to go wandergliding for over 2 years now...at least I've been thinking about it for that long, maybe not planning. As is normal with typical human behaviour, I put off some of the tasks required to pull off a 1-2 year journey until last minute but all in all, I felt pretty ready to go when the plane finally took off. Had I professionally procrastinated, I wouldn't have been able to fit in as many fun activities before I left.

The 30,000 foot plan is to go to England for my cousin Gemma's wedding to Chuckling Charles, then head to continental Europe for the summer doing a big counter-clockwise circle. A majority of the time will be spent in the Alps trying to develop my paragliding skill. So after a quick jaunt to Spain, I'll be in France, Switzerland, northern Italy and perhaps even Slovenia. In the fall, I will head to India followed by Nepal, the far east, Australia, New Zealand and if all goes well, finally South America. A lot can happen while travelling so we'll see how it goes...

I quit my job of almost 13 years on the 2nd of March. In addition to becoming jobless, I moved out of my apartment two days before...so add homeless to my current resume. The following day I flew out to Edmonton for a nice visit with my dad and stepfamily for a week. It certainly took a while for my new state of being to sink in...and I'm not sure if it completely has yet.

On my return to Victoria, there was one day for me to complete my final errands and pack. Will it all fit in my backpack? Thankfully yes! I even had room to take a pair of dress shoes for my cousin Gemma's wedding at Easter in England...but no suit, not even jeans made the cut.

There was a great going away party thrown by my good friends, Tony and Adrienne, on my last night in Victoria. It was fantastic to feel the love from many great friends from various facets of my life in BC...although perhaps they were just making sure that I left! ;) Not only was it a great turnout, but many stayed late and we didn't wrap things up until a 4am hot tub was complete.

Up bright and ugly at 9am, Sean and I were off to Vancouver to catch the Canucks with Coolin (yes, Coolin...not Colin...as he bought tickets for all of us!).

To Vancouver and beyond:


We played a bit of disc golf before having a fantastic dinner with his wife Cheryl and their kids Timothy and Emily at the Flatstone Bread Restaurant...super yummy. I thoroughly enjoyed Tim's knitting lesson attempt with his mother! The game was a blast and was accentuated with a 5-1 victory over the Senators. Thanks Colin!!!

We were up early again as Sean was to catch the 9am ferry and I had a 10:30 flight to Seattle. After a slightly confusing 4 hour layover in Seattle (time zone, daylight savings and departure board misinformation), I was off to Iceland....let the Wandergliding begin!!!