There is a fairly tight correlation between my happiness at any given point in time and the number of airline tickets I have stacked up waiting for upcoming trips. In that respect, 2019 was a pretty great year. I flew to places near and far, new to me destinations as well as some old favourites, to the tune of a touch more than 70,000km. All that time in planes led me to some amazing experiences in 2019. In no particular order, here are some of my favourite memories and moments.

1. Playoff baseball, Japan-style – I couldn’t believe my good fortune as a baseball nerd to have the opportunity to be in Tokyo during the Japan baseball league playoffs and to snag a ticket to attend a Yomiuri Giants game. 50,000 people singing and chanting all game long, a 1980s feel to the baseball being played with steals, bunting, balls in play (all things sorely lacking in today’s Major League Baseball)… I was enthralled throughout an entertaining 6-1 win by the Giants over the Hanshin Tigers.

2. Eating our way through Chicago – This was supposed to be a baseball trip for me, which due to some serendipity became a foodie trip with my wife instead. Delicious Mexican food took centre stage as we visited multiple Rick Bayless restaurants. Each night, sitting across from my wife was a delight as we ordered liberally. Much of my traveling this year was by myself, so this trip and those meals were extra special.

3. A live podcast in wintery Regina – It was -30. I was deathly sick and the only reason I ended up actually making this trip was a critical business meeting that morning in Regina. Post meeting, some cold meds, a long afternoon nap and some craft beer at Malty National (my favourite Saskatchewan craft brewery) fortified me to take in a live Taggart & Torrens podcast show. I laughed, I made a new friend named Marion from Sydney, NS, and for a couple of hours, forgot that I was only in Regina and under the weather.

4. Tapas in Washington – A solo meal can be a great, indulgent experience. That is something I’m glad to have learned over the past decade or so of my life. At Jaleo, I ordered the chef’s tasting menu, and a parade of delicious dishes hit the table in front of me. Iberico pork sliders, chorizo, cheeses, garlic shrimp and so, so much more. It was two hours of decadent, delicious dining.

5. An afternoon with one of the greatest goaltenders of all time – Travel serendipity is the best! Through a family friend, an afternoon set aside to explore Edmonton with my Dad turned into an afternoon hanging out with Glen Hall at his house and swapping stories over a couple of beers. The best line from Mr. Goalie was about the famous goal Bobby Orr scored on him… “I was dressed and on the bus before he hit the ice.”

6. Seeing my dad’s reaction to the Rocky Mountains – We arrived at Lake Louise just after 6am on a Sunday morning and had the place to ourselves. While I took in the beauty around me, I had a lot of fun just watching my dad soak in his first experience seeing mountains in his life. His reactions were priceless and something I’ll always cherish from our road trip together.

7. Halifax homesickness – I’m not prone to feeling homesick, but on a quick trip back to Halifax for a day of meetings, as I wandered around the downtown on a Friday night in June, a lot of the past came flooding back to me. While there’s no shaking my belief that home is where my feet are, it was a nice reminder of how much of me is made up from my experiences in Halifax.

8. Green is the colour – While I was homesick in Halifax, I was perfectly at home as we attended our fourth annual Riders game down in Regina. All decked out in green, I love how this feels like it has always been mine. The good guys lost, but I was all smiles at one of my favourite summer traditions on the prairies.

9. A Friday night with my old Expos – It was a perfect night for baseball. The Nationals and the Dodgers were starting a series that looked like it could be a playoff preview (it was, as it turned out). The game itself was a beauty – pitching, timely hitting, some great defensive plays made it absorbing to watch. From my perch high behind home, I loved every minute of nerding out on baseball.

10. A train ride to Osaka – I took my seat on the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, opened up a ice cold Asahi and dug into my ekiben (which was amazingly delicious). The scenery flew past and I was relaxed with my mind wandering in a way that only travel can achieve for me. The beautiful and melancholy love song “Back to Nova Scotia” by Daniel Champagne song played through my headphones and I felt myself start to cry. They weren’t tears of being sad or lonely or overwhelmed, but I was relaxed and happy and a beautiful song touched me. It was one of my favourite moments of the trip.

11. Exploring sake – My Japan vacation was mostly a food and drink trip, and one of my favourite experiences was spending a few hours with a sake sommalier to first learn about sake, and then sample liberally. My favourite part of the evening was heading to a sake bar in the Monzennakacho neighbourhood. My guide, Satoko, tried to gross me out with regional drinking snacks, but I devoured everything including the “acquired taste” fermented squid which made me popular in the bar as most westerners can’t stomach the stuff. A grand time all around!

12. The clinching reason I came to Japan – The Osaka episode of the Netflix special “Street Food” featured the story of Toyo and his izakaya. Instantly, I wanted to visit. Lining up 45 minutes before it opened on the last afternoon of my trip, I could feel an energy I haven’t felt before. The meal was exceptional – crab, scallops, fatty tuna, roe and uni all washed down with a gigantic, ice cold bottle of beer. For as delicious as the food was, what made it special was Toyo. Watching him cook with his exaggerated movements was enthralling. He interacted with everyone, cracking jokes the whole time, making sure everyone was having a great time. I think his izakaya is the happiest place on earth.

13. Expos fans unite – In Denver at a Rockies game, a man came toward me smiling from ear to ear. As soon as I saw him I knew why. He saw my hat and I saw his. This is Robert. He’s from Edmonton. We had a great chat and shared a few laughs and hope to meet up again someday at the Expos next home opener in Montreal.

14. Patio beers in November. Sometimes it’s the simple stuff when traveling. Back home in Saskatoon it was -20 while I made a number of visits to the beautiful craft beer bar patio at Arizona Wilderness in downtown Phoenix. I read books, people watched, relaxed, and enjoyed the novelty of patio beers in +30 temperatures in the middle of November.

15. Hockey night in Bathurst – On a visit to see my parents in northern New Brunswick, my dad picked up tickets for us to take in a hockey game like old times… the best part was the visiting team was my old hometown Halifax Mooseheads. While the 3 hop, 3,000km flight was a bit different than walking a few blocks to the rink in downtown Halifax, it was worth it for a guys night out with my dad.

16. Making the most of a Pearson layover – Coming back from that trip to New Brunswick, an extended layover in Toronto was made so, so much more fun by popping out to the other side of security and having a couple drinks with my sister and brother-in-law. We shot the breeze and made fun of each other like old times and I arrived at the gate for my flight home full of good humour (and a reasonable quantity of beer). 

17. Laughing at the aquarium – My wife couldn’t control her laughter watching an otter take a bright orange ball and repeatedly bang it against the glass in what looked like an attempt to break out of the enclosure. The sound of my wife’s laughter is my favourite sound in the world and this was a highlight of our brief holiday excursion to Vancouver at the end of 2019.