More than just baseball

February 19, 2024 / Greg / Leave a comment

My spring training trip down to the Phoenix area last year wasn’t just about baseball. Ok… so it was pretty much all about baseball. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t find some other fun things to get up to over a week of dashing between ballparks in Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale and downtown Phoenix.

Immediately after arriving in the city and with a few hours to spare before I could check into the apartment I rented for the week, I popped into Walter Station Brewery and lucky for me there was some live music on their patio. After arriving from cold Saskatoon it was a treat to feel a warm breeze while listening to some country music.

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Looking back on 2023

December 30, 2023December 30, 2023 / Greg / Leave a comment

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!

With Slider, the mascot of the Cleveland Guardians

With Paws, the mascot of the Detroit Tigers

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A neighbourhood approach

August 8, 2023 / Greg / Leave a comment

Across a few trips to Vancouver last summer and fall I sampled the bounty that is that city’s craft beer scene. Vancouver is a favourite city of mine for a number of reasons – the direct flight from where I live, the ability to see mountains and water in the same place, the varied food scene, and definitely the abundance of craft beer.

Using a neighbourhood approach to exploration, I got one day kicked off in West Van at the earliest to open patio at Parallel 49. I created a tasting flight of a selection of hazy IPAs from that brewery and also from a couple of guest taps they had of Superflux. Luckily I was doing this neighbourhood tour by public transit and by foot, because these were all potent (and delicious!).

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Some needed time beside the water

February 27, 2023February 26, 2023 / Greg / 1 Comment

A bit of a warning… You’re going to see a lot of beach photos coming up below.

By the summer 2022 portion of the pandemic, my Atlantic Canadian soul needed to spend some significant time sitting beside a fairly substantial body of water. With that in mind, we planned out our Vancouver Island explorations with a few days at a cottage overlooking the Strait of Georgia. Immediately on driving up to the place I could feel my pulse slowing down. My wife and I glanced at each other and with no words passing between us we both knew we had made a perfect decision on location.

As the sun set on our first night in Qualicum Bay we walked the beach with the tide starting to go out. This was a walk we would do a number of times.

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Back to a coast

January 28, 2023January 26, 2023 / Greg / 1 Comment

Our summer west coast adventure around Vancouver Island kicked off with a few days in Victoria. On account of the pandemic and a less frequent travel schedule, we both were looking forward to some time on the coast. This was my second and my wife’s first visit to this beautiful city. We had incredible luck with weather in what can be a very damp, grey and dreary climate. Our stay came during an extended heat wave and perfectly blue skies, perfect for exploring Victoria on foot. What’s a trip to Victoria without a walk around the inner harbour and a stop to gaze upon the Fairmont Empress?

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A perfect unplanned day

January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 / Greg / Leave a comment

Anyone who tried to travel by air in the summer of 2022 in Canada will have some sort of horror story to tell. The day before our planned trip to Vancouver Island I received the dreaded text message from Air Canada with a flight cancelation for our flight the next day. In the end, we lost the first day we were scheduled to spend in Victoria, but on the positive side, we at least arrived just in advance of the airport’s rental car location closing so we could snag our car for an extra late night drive to our downtown hotel.

We woke up fresh the next morning, but quite hungry as the previous day’s delays and flight changes left us woefully little time to actually eat en route to Victoria. My wife had picked out John’s Place, a diner a block from our hotel that had an extensive list of gluten-free goodies (waffles!) and while she had done significant research on this place, I knew nothing about it…. until we walked in and I was greeted by this sign. Instantly, I knew this was a good omen for a great day ahead.

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Looking back on 2022

December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 / Greg / Leave a comment

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.

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When a plan comes together

October 10, 2022October 10, 2022 / Greg / 1 Comment

Through the pandemic a group of our friends started a zoom-hosted wine club where one of us would pick two wines, a few recipes that would pair well, and then we’d get together to eat and drink and stare at the little electronic rectangles of our respective likenesses on our screens as we caught up and laughed. Laughed a lot. During a few of those get togethers, we chatted (as one is apt to do) about doing a real-life wine tasting trip when it was safe to do so again. Fast forward to this May when those wine-soaked plans turned real and landed us in Vancouver to attend the Vancouver International Wine Festival.

My wife and I built a fun and relaxed Vancouver itinerary around the large wine tasting we we all going to. For me, any trip to Vancouver needs to start with a hike around Stanley Park.

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The best Calgary has to offer

August 25, 2022August 24, 2022 / Greg / Leave a comment

Calgary has a vibrant craft beer scene, and while I can get some selected beers at home in Saskatoon, it’s always better to visit the source for a taste of their craft at its freshest. I did my research and lined up my visits to a number of craft breweries so I could taste the “best of the best” that Calgary has to offer. This is obviously a subjective list of breweries and taprooms but I highly recommend each of these.

Stop number one, just as an unexpected snow storm whipped through the city for a few hours, was Annex Ale Project. When I arrived, I noticed they had a number of beers on tap from 2 Crows from my old hometown of Halifax on account of a tap takeover event the previous day. I had previously tried all of the 2 Crows so I stuck to sampling a couple from Annex. My favourite was their “Heavy Meadow” (a saison) and I also quite enjoyed the delicious burger from the attached burger joint. Burgers and beer are always a great pairing!

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A perfect script

August 12, 2022August 12, 2022 / Greg / Leave a comment

Visits back to see my parents in northern New Brunswick follow a familiar and comfortable script now. A long three hop flight journey across the country. Lots of laughter and catching up. Visiting some favourite craft beer bars with dad. Eating some delicious food. Then some tearful goodbyes followed by the reverse of that long three hop flight journey. Even for a short vacation the travel hassles are worth it to see my folks and to get a greeting like this from their dog, Tia.