This past year was a lot of things, many of which to be honest, weren’t great. I had to say goodbye to my dog and I can still feel the empty spot on the sofa beside me. People I love dearly fought through challenges they didn’t deserve, and while I was privileged to carry some of their weight through the year, it took its toll. I also had a near death experience while traveling – you’ll hear about it in #5 below – that haunted me for a spell this year.

I fancy myself an eternal optimist and while that was put to the test repeatedly in 2023, something that helped this year was a more normal return to travel post-pandemic. Baseball trips. Visiting Europe. Getting back to old stomping grounds. East coast, west coast. New tastes. New people. New experiences. In no particular, here are the things that I’ll remember the most from getting back out on the road in 2023.

#1 – Mascot encounters

My not so subtle love of sports mascots is something people who love me find endearing if a touch odd. On my travels this year for my love of baseball, I got to say hi to the Chicago Cubs mascot, Clark, at spring training in Mesa, AZ. I also got to visit with Slider, the Cleveland Guardians mascot and Paws, the mascot of the Detroit Tigers. To put an end to the speculation, I do travel to watch baseball. The mascots are just a bonus!

#2 – Being back in a big league ballpark

Speaking of baseball, this year marked the first time since 2019 of getting back to my annual tradition of taking a baseball trip. Settling into my seat behind first base in Detroit, a cold beer in my hand, I felt giddy that I had this back in my life. This year’s trip to see games in Detroit and Cleveland now leaves me with 12 ballparks to visit to complete the circuit of all the major league parks. I’m already plotting out my trips in 2024 to try to knock off a few more stadiums.

#3 – Making use of a layover

When my wife and I booked an anniversary trip to Antigua in June, the overnight layover in Toronto was more feature than bug. It let us stash our bags at the airport hotel and spend the day with my sister, her husband and their dog, Mabel. We drank wine, ate Thai takeout, shared stories, and made sure Mabel got more than her share of belly rubs. Pretty great way to start a vacation!

#4 – Honeymoon #11

My wife and I have a tradition of taking an anniversary timed trip each year. We like (maybe I just like?) to refer to it as a honeymoon trip. This year we celebrated our 10th anniversary and our 11th honeymoon in Antigua. We rented an amazing place above Cobbs Cross overlooking Falmouth Harbour. I think it was a total of 13 minutes after arriving that we were in the pool, drinks in hand, to celebrate. That feeling of arriving somewhere special will always stay with me from this trip and that day.

#5 – Near death to fast friends

I mentioned a near death experience in Antigua…..

A very long story short. Backing my rental car down the very steep and twisting driveway into our rental, and on account of its bald tires, lack of 4WD (stupid Avis!) and my only recent introduction to right hand driving, I almost backed the car over a cliff. If it wasn’t for a small tree growing from the cliff’s edge I may not be here today. I somehow rested the car on that tree – the left side tires of the car not on touching the ground. I climbed out the passenger side door with the help of my wife while willing the car not to go over the cliff. That put a damper on my vacation even though I was safe physically and the car eventually got extracted without a scratch on it from the tree for the amazingly low sum of $100 by some people our hosts knew.

On the positive side of this, the incident brought us closer to our hosts who invited us down the hill to their place for some wine and snacks the next night. We had a grand old time, so good, that they brought out their amazing collection of whiskies for sampling. So many laughs were had that night and it ended up being one of the most special memories from all my travels this past year.

#6 – Philadephia connections in Quebec

The evening started typically enough for me… I headed out to a craft beer bar after my conference day wrapped up in Quebec City this past spring. I noticed on the menu board a beer called simply “lager” that had a football symbol next to it. Simultaneously, I also noticed a Philadelphia Flyers trinket on a shelf behind the bar. Joking and in French, I asked my server if that beer was a take on Yuengling from Philadelphia. He was shocked at my correct guess, laughed, and asked me how I knew. He summoned down the brewer, Dan, to chat. Dan was from Philly, fell in love with a woman from Quebec City, moved up there and started brewing. He missed Yuengling so decided to brew a clone. We shared stories of our love for these two cities that are special for both of us while we enjoyed his amazing beer. We also chatted a lot about our Eagles. What was just going to be an evening of a quiet dinner and beer sampling turned into so much more.

#7 – Lunch in Sedona

I took a trip in the spring I had long wanted to do… a week in Arizona for baseball spring training games. On one of the days, I took a road trip to Sedona to see the sights and had a grand time, including a very peaceful lunch at Tamaliza. I sat outside, had a view of mountains in the distance, and ate some amazing Mexican food. I got to chat with the chef, Claudia, who started the restaurant by making the food she makes for her husband every day figuring if he liked it, everyone else would too (she was right!). The combination of home cooking, a kind server, the chat with Claudia, and sitting outside in a peaceful locale made this a non-baseball highlight of my visit to Arizona.

#8 – On the way back from Sedona…

I took a short detour on my drive back into Phoenix to stop at Roses by the Stairs Brewing. “Short detour” is of course relative in Phoenix rush hour traffic, but it was well worth the driving hassle of going a bit out of my way. These were the best craft beers of my spring training visit to the city and I loved the vibe of the taproom.

#9 – A silver fox never forgets

One of the unifying themes of my gratitude for travel this year is the serendipitous meetings with people you have. On my way to Quebec City while waiting in the lounge at Pearson in Toronto, I got to chat briefly with one of my favourite comedians, Steve Patterson. Back in 2019, a friend bought us tickets for one of his comedy shows in Saskatoon….. in the front row. Steve picked me out during his routine and made fun of me off and on through the evening calling me a “silver fox” and remarking on my hair multiple times (he also said I was strikingly handsome, but who’s keeping track?). Getting to meet him in the airport and sharing this story with him was fun, and he was gracious and laughed at his own jokes at my expense.

#10 – Another loss, but this one was sooooo close

The summer Riders game in Regina is a yearly tradition for us. It is also an unfortunate tradition that they never win the game we attend which held up for another year. But this year, there was a remarkable comeback, an amazing deep Hail Mary throw that gave the Riders the late lead to the astonishment of all of us in attendance. And then, like clockwork, they broke our hearts by allowing a last second game winning field goal to Calgary. It’s been a long time since I lost my voice at a sporting match or had as much fun.

#11 – Cocktail bar exploring in Calgary

We had planned a summer trip with friends to the Okanagan over the summer that got canceled last minute when one of our friend group had an out of the blue medical diagnosis that required fairly urgent surgery. After a strong post-surgery prognosis, my wife and I, both in need of some time away, did a short road trip to Calgary, and spent a good portion of the visit in a few of the city’s cocktail bars. One night and location stood out. We visited Shelter after having a drink or two at another bar, and here, the bartender basically was happy to create drinks for you based on things you like. I can’t remember the drinks we ended up having, but what I do remember was an incredibly fun evening with my favourite person in the world.

#12 – How I’ve missed Europe

Getting my feet back in Europe this past year was an absolute treat. In particular, the first four days in Amsterdam let me reconnect with a city that I fell in love with on my first ever trip overseas. I spent a lot of time wandering around the canals and in doing so, found a lovely little beer bar called Proeflokaal Arendsnest just a few blocks from my hotel. Each evening, I sat canal-side, enjoying a couple of pints from their deep list of beers, alone with my thoughts in the most beautiful of surroundings.

#13 – Beer nerd adventures in Antwerp

After arriving in Antwerp by train from Amsterdam, I dropped by bags at the apartment I rented and made a beeline to Cafe Kulminator. This beer bar is eccentric and was only open for two more hours of my stay that afternoon. To get in, you have to convince one of the owners of your worthiness by answering a few questions (luckily, I passed that test). Then, you’re welcomed into what is a cross between a bar and someone’s slightly hoarder-ish living room. I selected two wonderful aged beers from their deep cellar and enjoyed each and every slow sip. After leaving there and having a lovely seafood dinner, I sat down on the patio at Billie’s, another exceptional beer bar. There I was lucky enough to find Westvleteren 12, a beer many think is one of the world’s best and most exclusive beers and one I was hoping to come across in Belgium. It was heavenly, and a great ending to a beer nerd afternoon.

#14 – More beer nerd activities in the Netherlands and Belgium

One of the main drivers for my selection of the Netherlands and Belgium for a European trip this fall was for me to do a deep dive tasting Belgian beers. Craft beer, the old Trappist beers, saisons, wit beer… I tried them all, 72 in total, and all enjoyed in beautiful surroundings in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Gent and Brussels. The joy of sitting outside with a backdrop of architecture and history, left to savour each beer was an amazing experience.

#15 – An altogether different nerd experience

On a visit to Seattle with my wife, we spent an afternoon at the Museum of Pop Culture and I loved watching my wife nerd out as we explored their installations of science fiction and fantasy books and movies. Watching her take in the displays and artifacts and move in anticipation from one area to another of the museum made my heart happy.

#16 – Hockey night in Seattle

The beautiful arena, an abundance of gluten free food for my wife, some outstanding craft beers, and an exciting Saturday night hockey game between the Kraken and the Flames made for a lovely date night in Seattle before my wife left for home to leave me to the rest of the work part of my trip. So much fun!

#17 – Football afternoon in Antwerp

I chose Antwerp for my home base for a few nights on account of a couple of special beer bars and the opportunity to catch a football match. I’m not sure there’s a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon while traveling than sitting in the stands, a fast fan of the home team on a day they dominate their opposition. Royal Antwerp F.C. sent me and about 15,000 others home happy with a 4-1 win.