For a host of reasons, I’ll be glad to put 2018 to bed and move on to 2019. Life threw quite a few curveballs this year, and throughout 2018, travel was a nice escape and respite. Like most years, many of my favourite moments came while I was away and exploring. Whether it be on a couple of baseball trips (New York, Philadelphia), a few first time adventures (Portugal, Calgary), some return visits to favourite places (Vancouver, Austin, Alberta’s Rocky Mountains), family-related travel (northern New Brunswick, Halifax, Edmonton, even here in Saskatoon), or the annual pilgrimage to a Riders game in Regina…. travel made me laugh, feel alive, and filled my heart and mind with memories that I’ll cherish forever.

In no particular order, here are my favourite travel memories from the past year.

1. The day brought to you by the letter M (part 1, mountains and Maize) – On a spectacular road trip into the mountains in June, I had a chance encounter with one of my favourite musicians, Andy Maize, from the band Skydiggers. He was gracious, charming, and I enjoyed the time we spent together chatting about one of my favourite bars in Canada, the Carleton, back in my old hometown of Halifax.

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