This past year was a much more active travel year than 2021. While I didn’t add a stamp to my passport, I was on and off enough planes that even though I didn’t leave Canada, it felt a bit more normal than it has recently. Like everyone who tried to re-establish a travel heartbeat this year, I had my share of delayed and cancelled flights, lost baggage and airport hotels, but it didn’t dampen the fun I had on the road in 2022. Here, in no particular order, are my favourite travel related moments and memories from the past year.

1. Beers with dad – I got out east twice this year to visit my folks, and a good portion of that time was spent in a couple of craft brewery taprooms in Bathurst with dad catching up. These are always some of my favourite times and I’m already looking forward to sitting in this exact same spot at Four Rivers in a couple of months.

2. Unexpected orcas – We were having a quiet afternoon sitting on the deck of our Tofino clamping pod when we heard word of 5-6 orcas making their way out of the harbour. For ten minutes it seemed everyone in town was hustling their way to the waterfront to watch something we had a front row seat for. It was awe inspiring to be so close to this.

3. The annual Rider game – We didn’t get to a game in 2021, the 2020 season was outright canceled, so it was three years almost to the day that we made our return to Regina for this annual tradition. It felt great sitting with 30,000 people cheering on the Riders. Even though they lost, it was a fun evening.

4. Decompressing in Calgary – My first work trip in a couple of years was to present at a conference in Calgary. After wrapping up the presentation, I headed to a brewery just east of downtown, sat outside on an unseasonably warm April afternoon and watched planes take off from the airport north of the city for about an hour. It was a great way to relax after being on stage and it connected me to an inherent love of quiet moments when I travel.

5. Meeting a new family member – It had been forever and a day since I was last in Toronto, and serendipity was on my side with the timing of this trip to visit my sister. She and her husband had just got their first dog a few days before I arrived. Here I am with Mabel, having a late lunch on an outdoor patio in November. Dive bar. Good beers. Delicious food. And Mabel. Perfect!

6. Making a new friend – Speaking of dogs, our AirBnB hosts in Qualicum Bay, BC, had three huskies. One evening as we were sitting outside enjoying the view they let two of their dogs outside to play and we became fast friends. The third husky we were warned wouldn’t be getting too close, but soon enough to the amazement of her owners, she cuddled up beside me and spent a good portion of the evening with me. A very special memory from a great part of our Vancouver Island trip in June.

7. A great meal – We ate so well on Vancouver Island that it is difficult to pick just one memorable meal. In Tofino we stopped for dinner at Wolf in the Fog and elected to order a number of dishes to share. The food kept coming and all of it was amazing, vibrant and delicious.

8. A birthday surprise – On the advice of a friend we had our last meal of a short trip to Vancouver at La Mezcaleria. The cocktails were spectacular. The tacos and ceviche were first rate. This was the kind of place where my wife and I would be regulars if we lived in Vancouver. The topping to this great meal was a surprise to me – when I booked the reservation, the online form wouldn’t let me continue until I selected a special occasion. Since my birthday was going to be two days later, I chose that and forgot about it until some churros, a sparkler and some singing waiters arrived at our table. Can’t wait to get back here on my next trip to Vancouver.

9. Speaking of great meals…. On a late summer solo trip to Vancouver, I found Chupito, a cozy outdoor restaurant off of an alley downtown. The name of the restaurant roughly translates to “small shot” in Spanish, and my meal started out with a chamomile/cucumber margarita in a shot glass. From there, the drinks and food I ordered were limited only by my stomach’s capacity – I’d have been happy to sit here all evening. Making it extra special, I met a dog named “Chewy” like my previous dog and shared stories of our respective Chewys with his owner.

10. The resumption of my annual baseball trip – A perfect Vancouver summer night, a $25 ticket four rows behind home plate, cold craft beer and it didn’t matter that this was minor league baseball at all. The crack of the bat and the sounds of the game were the same and the play on the field that night led to a highly entertaining 10-9 win for the home team. There is something very special about a summer night at a ballpark to me.

11 – Bird, meet Greg – On our way between locations on Vancouver Island, my wife booked us in to visit “The Raptors”, a wildlife sanctuary just outside of Duncan, BC. We had up-close time with a number of raptors, and this moment of one landing on my arm was an incredible experience.

12 – A return to wandering – Vancouver is a city I love dearly, and I visited three times this past year – once with my wife and friends to attend a wine tasting event, and twice solo. I’m not sure much ranks above the simple pleasure of just wandering around a city I’m visiting. Whether it was a long morning hike around the seawall in Stanley Park, heading out on an aimless walk with my wife or exploring murals in Mount Pleasant, all of those gave me such joy this year.

13. Dinner with my folks – I mean…. just look at this picture. Mom, dad and me out for dinner in Bathurst. I had a feast of seafood, but the best part was just getting to hang out with my parents telling stories we’ve all heard a million times before.

14 – Close encounters of the mascot kind – Add another one to my list – Bob Brown Bear, mascot of the Vancouver Canadians. You can tell how happy it made me. He even looks pretty stoked to meet me too!

15 – A perfect travel day – Something I’ve learned about travel – no matter how much planning you put into something, you can never orchestrate the perfect travel day… they just happen. In Victoria, waking up after a much delayed flight essentially killed what was supposed to be our first day, we kind of made things up as we went along – breakfast at a diner, a visit to Butchart Gardens, a beer tasting at Category 12 Brewing, a late lunch of oysters and a wine tasting at Church & State wines (where we picked up a great sparkling that we enjoyed overlooking the Strait of Georgia later in the trip) and then finally, some delicious barbecue sitting on the patio of Jones Bar-B-Que in downtown Victoria that evening. A perfect day with my favourite person.