Good evening everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving long weekend. I'm happy to say that we're all having a wonderful time up here in Killarney. Unfortunately I haven't managed to get a blog post in because of some unexpected technical changes. I attempted to post Friday night to let everyone know that I was here safe and sound, but apparently they've changed up their WiFi policies here at KML and you now need to obtain a username and password from the front desk which will only function for a limited time. I guess they had a lot of people abusing the free internet around here. It was too late on Friday to get a pass for the internet, so I tried to post using my mobile upload e-mail address... and I got a bounced e-mail. Blogger has undergone a lot of changes recently, and it's been a long time since I've attempted a mobile upload, and I guess some of the changes must have invalidated my secret e-mail address for mobile posting. I'm hoping that I'll be able to re-enable that at some point because it's always been a good contingency plan in the past. Yesterday I ran into the same problem where I ended up getting into blogging mode after the front desk had closed and it was too late to get online. Same story tonight... just having too much fun during the day and not thinking about getting online. Tonight I decided to tether my laptop to my cell phone to get internet access that way. I'm a bit concerned about data usage when I'm doing that so I'm not going to upload any pictures until I get back, but at least I'm able to blog by doing this.
Okay, tech problems/excuses are out of the way, time to catch up.
Friday was mostly a travel day, so not much to report there other than that we had a very nice ride up. Unfortunately Gray and Susan had to work on Friday so they weren't coming up until much later and they hit some BAD traffic on the way up. Even after getting off work very early they still didn't arrive until 9:30. Fortunately we were able to save them some dinner because they'd had a pretty brutal trip up here.
Saturday morning we set out immediately after breakfast to make a run at The Crack. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the sunlight made the Fall colours stunning. It was everything I'd hoped for in my previous Fall trips, and it made for an amazing hike. The second half of the Crack hike is very strenuous and it proved a bit too much for Euphy, who isn't an experienced hiker. In hindsight I shouldn't have started her off on such an arduous hike, but she was a trouper and we made it most of the way up. Dad, Gray, and Susan made it to the top and Euphy and I chilled out on a ridge below them. We were still way up in the air and got some fantastic pictures from up there which I look forward to posting when we get home. It was a tiring hike for everyone involved and we mostly just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. Just before dinner I got Euphemia out for her first ever kayak paddle though. We just did a brief paddle around in the channel outside of the lodge, but she was really getting the hang of things by the end, and we had fun out there.
Today Dad, Gray, and Susan headed out for some fishing while I went shopping for souvenirs with Mom and Euphy. We followed that up with a visit to George Lake, a bit of lunch, and then a nice, easy hike along the Lighthouse Trail. That hike was much more to Euphy's taste and we really enjoyed the scenery. During the times we spent at the Lodge Euphy was entertaining herself by feeding peanuts to the local chipmunk population. I think I'm going to have a very difficult time convincing her to come home on Tuesday without smuggling one out in her coat pocket. She's very much in love with her new pet Chippy.
We've been hanging out in the Carousel lounge this evening looking over all the pictures everyone's taken over the last few days. I'm not sure what tomorrow holds, but this cellphone tethering thing seems to be working out fairly well, so I think I'm safe to say that I should be able to check in again tomorrow night to tell you all about it. Until then, keep enjoying your long weekend!
Sunday 9 October 2011
Sunday 2 October 2011
Some Changes, But Still Lots of Excitement
Howdy everyone! I hope this week has been good to all of you. I've got some good news for this week: Euphemia has got a job at BMO! That's really exciting for her and should be a great opportunity for her to start building a career. On the travel side of things though it has a real potential to derail our plans for a trip to China next year. Obviously the start of any new job is a time of uncertainty, and we can't really say right now that she'll be able to just take off for 3 weeks in the Spring. A career is more important than a vacation right now though, so we're basically assuming that China is off the books for the time being and we'll be playing 2012 by ear. I just wanted to get that out there since I've already been talking-up this proposed trip. There's no question that we'll get there eventually, but the timing is uncertain for now. I'm not terribly worried... I'm sure China will still be there when we get our vacation schedule sorted out.
The remained of 2011 still has some great opportunities for travelling fun though, starting with our adventure to Killarney this coming weekend. I don't have much to say this week outside of the job news, but starting on Friday I should be back in Travel Blogging Mode. Friday will just be a transit day, and I'm not expecting that I'll have any wild stories to tell, but check-in sometime in the evening and I should have a post up just to kick the vacation off. From that point on I'll try to get regular daily posts out for the duration of the weekend. With any luck I'll get lots of pictures uploaded too, but the Internet connection up there can be a bit spotty, so picture quantity will be entirely dependent on my ability to quickly upload them.
On that note, I've actually got a new camera that will be coming with me on this trip. I decided a few weeks back that it was time to retire the old Olympus point-and-shoot and upgrade it. I opted for a Fujifilm offering that's similar in specs to what I was using before; it's waterproof and shock proof, and is a compact point-and-shoot. The big upgrades are that I've gone from 3x optical zoom to 5x, and 7.1 megapixels to 14. So far I've only had the opportunity to take a few photos with it, so I haven't really put it through it's paces yet, but I'm finding that the old warning of "more megapixels does not equal more better" is holding true. (Yes, the appalling grammar was intentional.) Despite having double the megapixels I'm not thrilled with any of the pictures I've taken yet. I'm really hoping that it's just a question of less-than-ideal lighting conditions and that I'll still get some decent pics while I'm up in Killarney. The weather forecast is VERY promising for the time that we'll be up there, and there could be an unprecedented opportunity to get some truly fantastic pictures of the Fall foliage. If they turn out sub-standard because of my camera I'll be greatly disappointed. We'll just have to wait and see.
To demonstrate why I'm making a fuss about the new camera here's a shot I took yesterday of Euphemia on my back deck, trying to get a bit of Fall colour in the background:
The remained of 2011 still has some great opportunities for travelling fun though, starting with our adventure to Killarney this coming weekend. I don't have much to say this week outside of the job news, but starting on Friday I should be back in Travel Blogging Mode. Friday will just be a transit day, and I'm not expecting that I'll have any wild stories to tell, but check-in sometime in the evening and I should have a post up just to kick the vacation off. From that point on I'll try to get regular daily posts out for the duration of the weekend. With any luck I'll get lots of pictures uploaded too, but the Internet connection up there can be a bit spotty, so picture quantity will be entirely dependent on my ability to quickly upload them.
On that note, I've actually got a new camera that will be coming with me on this trip. I decided a few weeks back that it was time to retire the old Olympus point-and-shoot and upgrade it. I opted for a Fujifilm offering that's similar in specs to what I was using before; it's waterproof and shock proof, and is a compact point-and-shoot. The big upgrades are that I've gone from 3x optical zoom to 5x, and 7.1 megapixels to 14. So far I've only had the opportunity to take a few photos with it, so I haven't really put it through it's paces yet, but I'm finding that the old warning of "more megapixels does not equal more better" is holding true. (Yes, the appalling grammar was intentional.) Despite having double the megapixels I'm not thrilled with any of the pictures I've taken yet. I'm really hoping that it's just a question of less-than-ideal lighting conditions and that I'll still get some decent pics while I'm up in Killarney. The weather forecast is VERY promising for the time that we'll be up there, and there could be an unprecedented opportunity to get some truly fantastic pictures of the Fall foliage. If they turn out sub-standard because of my camera I'll be greatly disappointed. We'll just have to wait and see.
To demonstrate why I'm making a fuss about the new camera here's a shot I took yesterday of Euphemia on my back deck, trying to get a bit of Fall colour in the background:
That photo has been shrunk to 25% of its original size for easy blogification (now I'm making up words) but if you view even this smaller offering at it's full size you'll see a lot of graininess. Look around the inner edge of her glasses frames and it's pretty rough. Like I said, I'm hoping that it's just that I was shooting into the sun, but my initial impression is that I'm not getting as good an image as I would have on the old Olympus. Time will tell.
Well folks, that's all for now. I hope you all have an excellent week, and I'll touch base again on Friday!
Sunday 25 September 2011
Coming Soon, To a Toronto Near You
Good evening ladies and gents! I hope today finds you all in good health and better spirits. It's been an unseasonably warm weekend and I've been making every effort to enjoy the fine weather while it lasts.
I know that November isn't exactly right around the corner, but I wanted to give everyone plenty of warning in advance this year: The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo is coming! This is an annual event that I haven't missed the past four or five years running, but always seem to remember at the last possible moment. This time I wanted to get a post out early in the hopes that some of you will be able to join me for this year's event. Some of you may recall that I've mentioned the Expo before, here's last year's post-show post:
http://colinswanderings.blogspot.com/2010/11/food-wine-and-travel.html
For those readers who don't feel like re-reading my old posts, I'll attempt to summarize the show. Food. Wine. Lots.
All jesting aside, it's a great way to get out and try some new wines. I've frequently been introduced to something amazing at the show; it was at a similar show that I discovered Mediera, which remains a personal favourite in the fortified wine category, I tried a tequila there once that totally changed my perception of the beverage, I got my first taste of what amazing whites are being produced in New Zealand, and last year I found out that The Republic of Georgia makes incredible reds. The show really hits the three I's: interesting, informative, and intoxicating.
I got a discount code via e-mail this weekend, and while I'm not sure if there's a limit on how many tickets I can apply that to I'm certainly willing to put in an order for all my friends and family in the hopes of getting us all in there on the cheap.
This year's show runs from November 17-20 and I expect that I'll be heading in there on Saturday the 19th. We've discovered through trial and error that the best experience can be had by attending the show as early in the day as possible, before the crowds set in. On Saturday the doors open at noon (presumably to conform to appropriate social conventions around what time of day to drink) and I will be making every effort to be among the first people through the doors.
Here's the link to the official website:
http://www.foodandwineexpo.ca/sitepages/
I'm recommending that anyone who has the opportunity to be in Toronto during that weekend send me an email so that I can get some tickets. Gray, Susan, and I had a blast there last year, but this year I'd love to make it a group event. Give me a shout if you're interested!
I know that November isn't exactly right around the corner, but I wanted to give everyone plenty of warning in advance this year: The Gourmet Food and Wine Expo is coming! This is an annual event that I haven't missed the past four or five years running, but always seem to remember at the last possible moment. This time I wanted to get a post out early in the hopes that some of you will be able to join me for this year's event. Some of you may recall that I've mentioned the Expo before, here's last year's post-show post:
http://colinswanderings.blogspot.com/2010/11/food-wine-and-travel.html
For those readers who don't feel like re-reading my old posts, I'll attempt to summarize the show. Food. Wine. Lots.
All jesting aside, it's a great way to get out and try some new wines. I've frequently been introduced to something amazing at the show; it was at a similar show that I discovered Mediera, which remains a personal favourite in the fortified wine category, I tried a tequila there once that totally changed my perception of the beverage, I got my first taste of what amazing whites are being produced in New Zealand, and last year I found out that The Republic of Georgia makes incredible reds. The show really hits the three I's: interesting, informative, and intoxicating.
I got a discount code via e-mail this weekend, and while I'm not sure if there's a limit on how many tickets I can apply that to I'm certainly willing to put in an order for all my friends and family in the hopes of getting us all in there on the cheap.
This year's show runs from November 17-20 and I expect that I'll be heading in there on Saturday the 19th. We've discovered through trial and error that the best experience can be had by attending the show as early in the day as possible, before the crowds set in. On Saturday the doors open at noon (presumably to conform to appropriate social conventions around what time of day to drink) and I will be making every effort to be among the first people through the doors.
Here's the link to the official website:
http://www.foodandwineexpo.ca/sitepages/
I'm recommending that anyone who has the opportunity to be in Toronto during that weekend send me an email so that I can get some tickets. Gray, Susan, and I had a blast there last year, but this year I'd love to make it a group event. Give me a shout if you're interested!
Sunday 18 September 2011
Back on Track with Travelling
Hello ladies and gents! Sorry for another prolonged quiet period there. Euphy and I had both been pretty sick for awhile with a nasty cold that just wouldn't let up. Work hasn't exactly been a sunny vacation spot either. I'm happy to say though that the rough transition period at work is coming to an end and we're starting to get in to a more normal routine. I didn't work at all this weekend!
I'm also happy to announce that your travelling blogger is finally going to be getting his butt in gear and doing some travelling! Go figure!
The first trip on this brave new agenda is a weekend in Killarney. The whole family is heading up for the Thanksgiving long weekend. It will be Mom, Dad, Graydyn, Susan, Euphemia and I for four days at the Killarney Mountain Lodge and I couldn't be more excited! I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that too... the levels of excitement from everyone have been palpable. It will be Euphy and Susan's first trip up there, so there's the Adventure Excitement on that front, and of course the rest of us are very familiar with just how awesome it is up there, so we're all exited just to get up there and have a great weekend. I'm hoping for some good weather so that we can get out there and enjoy some hiking. I don't think I've ever been to Killarney quite that late in the year, so I'm not sure what to expect in terms of Fall colours, but I certainly have my hopes up that we'll be treated to a really great show. With that much time to work with we should be able to fit in one of the more substantial hikes like Silverpeak or The Crack.
I'd also love to do a nice bit of kayaking while we're there. It's been awhile since I've done any kayaking without some included camping... and all the gear that accompanies such an adventure. It'll be fun to get out in some unladen kayaks and splash around. Euphy's never been in a kayak before, but I'm confident that she'll get out there and love it given the opportunity.
On that note I'm proud to say that Euphemia was brave enough to hop on the back of my bike this afternoon for a trial run! She was understandably reluctant to let me buy her the necessary (and pricey) safety equipment for motorcycling when she wasn't even sure if she'd enjoy it. We made due this afternoon by having her wear my entirely too large jacket and gloves and just confined ourselves to the (relative) safety of a parking lot. It wasn't a perfect taste of the world of motorcycling but it was a good opportunity for me to get my first experience of having a passenger, and it let Euphy get a basic idea of how it feels to be on the back of a bike. She really seemed to enjoy it, and we're planning on hitting the motorcycle show this December to try to score some off-season deals on a bit of gear for her so that we can start doing some more substantial rides next season.
The last, but definitely not least, bit of travel news for today is that we booked a trip to Cuba! WOOHOO! It's something we've been talking about for awhile now. Euphemia's never been to the Caribbean before and I really wanted to take her somewhere exciting for her birthday on December 12th. We decided to head down from Saturday the 10th to Saturday the 17th so that we'd be somewhere sunny and warm on her birthday. We were strongly considering Negril in Jamaica since I'd had such a great time down there for my cousin's wedding back in '09, but the Paradisus Rio de Oro in Holguin, Cuba came highly recommended from my parents as well as my friends Chris and Beth who got married there a few years back. I was inclined towards Jamaica because I really want Euphy's first Caribbean vacation to be a great experience, and I was confident that we'd have a good time there. In the end the Paradisus won out largely because we got a great deal on it, and it was important to Euphy that I have a bit of an adventure too instead of going somewhere I'd been before. Holguin was a good compromise there; I've had great feedback from a couple trusted sources, so I can be confident of a great trip, but it's still new to me, so there's the important element of adventure. We just booked the trip today, and I'm buzzing with excitement! It's a good thing I've got the trip to Killarney to hold me off or I'd be running circles in my living room right now!
Well, that's all for now folks. I'll check in next week, most likely with one of more generic travel-related posts. We're just getting started with getting a general timeline laid out for next year's proposed trip to China, so there's not much to comment on in that space yet, but I'll keep you all posted as we start to get things worked out there. Until next week, have fun!
I'm also happy to announce that your travelling blogger is finally going to be getting his butt in gear and doing some travelling! Go figure!
The first trip on this brave new agenda is a weekend in Killarney. The whole family is heading up for the Thanksgiving long weekend. It will be Mom, Dad, Graydyn, Susan, Euphemia and I for four days at the Killarney Mountain Lodge and I couldn't be more excited! I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that too... the levels of excitement from everyone have been palpable. It will be Euphy and Susan's first trip up there, so there's the Adventure Excitement on that front, and of course the rest of us are very familiar with just how awesome it is up there, so we're all exited just to get up there and have a great weekend. I'm hoping for some good weather so that we can get out there and enjoy some hiking. I don't think I've ever been to Killarney quite that late in the year, so I'm not sure what to expect in terms of Fall colours, but I certainly have my hopes up that we'll be treated to a really great show. With that much time to work with we should be able to fit in one of the more substantial hikes like Silverpeak or The Crack.
I'd also love to do a nice bit of kayaking while we're there. It's been awhile since I've done any kayaking without some included camping... and all the gear that accompanies such an adventure. It'll be fun to get out in some unladen kayaks and splash around. Euphy's never been in a kayak before, but I'm confident that she'll get out there and love it given the opportunity.
On that note I'm proud to say that Euphemia was brave enough to hop on the back of my bike this afternoon for a trial run! She was understandably reluctant to let me buy her the necessary (and pricey) safety equipment for motorcycling when she wasn't even sure if she'd enjoy it. We made due this afternoon by having her wear my entirely too large jacket and gloves and just confined ourselves to the (relative) safety of a parking lot. It wasn't a perfect taste of the world of motorcycling but it was a good opportunity for me to get my first experience of having a passenger, and it let Euphy get a basic idea of how it feels to be on the back of a bike. She really seemed to enjoy it, and we're planning on hitting the motorcycle show this December to try to score some off-season deals on a bit of gear for her so that we can start doing some more substantial rides next season.
The last, but definitely not least, bit of travel news for today is that we booked a trip to Cuba! WOOHOO! It's something we've been talking about for awhile now. Euphemia's never been to the Caribbean before and I really wanted to take her somewhere exciting for her birthday on December 12th. We decided to head down from Saturday the 10th to Saturday the 17th so that we'd be somewhere sunny and warm on her birthday. We were strongly considering Negril in Jamaica since I'd had such a great time down there for my cousin's wedding back in '09, but the Paradisus Rio de Oro in Holguin, Cuba came highly recommended from my parents as well as my friends Chris and Beth who got married there a few years back. I was inclined towards Jamaica because I really want Euphy's first Caribbean vacation to be a great experience, and I was confident that we'd have a good time there. In the end the Paradisus won out largely because we got a great deal on it, and it was important to Euphy that I have a bit of an adventure too instead of going somewhere I'd been before. Holguin was a good compromise there; I've had great feedback from a couple trusted sources, so I can be confident of a great trip, but it's still new to me, so there's the important element of adventure. We just booked the trip today, and I'm buzzing with excitement! It's a good thing I've got the trip to Killarney to hold me off or I'd be running circles in my living room right now!
Well, that's all for now folks. I'll check in next week, most likely with one of more generic travel-related posts. We're just getting started with getting a general timeline laid out for next year's proposed trip to China, so there's not much to comment on in that space yet, but I'll keep you all posted as we start to get things worked out there. Until next week, have fun!
Sunday 7 August 2011
Need to Travel... NOW
Good afternoon everyone! Just trying desperately to get into the groove of writing on Sunday afternoons as opposed to my old Tuesday morning schedule. Clearly I have difficulties breaking out of ruts when I get in them, but I'm also facing the extraordinary difficulty of not having any concrete travel plans in my future. This is not something that I've often dealt with! I'll be the first to admit that it's really taking the wind out of my sails right now, and I think I need to get myself organized and start putting the wheels in motion on some serious travel plans. Any suggestions? I'm certainly still committed to making a trip to China happen next year, but it's still too early to get anything definitive on paper, and I think I need to get a little something going before that to keep myself from going completely around the bend.
In other news I'm FINALLY wrapped up on the process of making my new bike officially mine. It's insured and I've been to the ministry to get the ownership in my own name. Just yesterday I went out with wrenches triumphantly in hand and put my own license plate on my lovely new ZZR600! It was a process that took considerably longer than it needed to, but it's all done now and I'm ready to ride. Sadly I've been entirely too busy with work this weekend to get out and actually ride! With any luck I'll be settling into the new position shortly and able to get some weekend time to myself within a couple weeks.
Sorry for the brief check-in, but like I said, things have been pretty busy lately. Hopefully things will normalize soon. Until then, be well my friends.
In other news I'm FINALLY wrapped up on the process of making my new bike officially mine. It's insured and I've been to the ministry to get the ownership in my own name. Just yesterday I went out with wrenches triumphantly in hand and put my own license plate on my lovely new ZZR600! It was a process that took considerably longer than it needed to, but it's all done now and I'm ready to ride. Sadly I've been entirely too busy with work this weekend to get out and actually ride! With any luck I'll be settling into the new position shortly and able to get some weekend time to myself within a couple weeks.
Sorry for the brief check-in, but like I said, things have been pretty busy lately. Hopefully things will normalize soon. Until then, be well my friends.
Monday 1 August 2011
New Wheels... Two of Them!
Yes that's right ladies and gentlemen, there's a new pair of wheels sitting in my parking garage now!
That fine machine in the foreground in a 2004 Kawasaki ZZR600, previously owned by the shadowy figure in the background, but now in the possession of the handsome devil seen straddling it. This past week I was able to sell my old CBR125, and though I was sad to see it go, I'm happy to be able to bring my new ride home. This photo was taken a few weeks ago when I first took the bike for a test drive, and since then I've unfortunately been on it one other time... and that was yesterday. I'm hoping to remedy that neglect in the very near future. Moving from 125cc to 600cc wasn't nearly as daunting as I'd originally feared, and the only aspect of the bike that I'm struggling with is managing the weight (a good 150-200 lbs heavier than my previous bike) when I'm stationary or maneuvering at very low speeds. Once I've given it some gas and got things moving it might as well weight 2 lbs for all I can tell.
I had an excellent ride yesterday; Jay drove me out to Mike's place and then joined our biking caravan in his Mini. Mike has a spectacular Yamaha YYZ1300, but was kind enough to not leave me completely in the dust, which was always an option given that he easily had 50 more horsepower to play with. We meandered our way through the country side, finding our way West of Airport Road, but considerably farther North. There aren't many roads in Southwestern Ontario to offer any sort of joy to a motoring enthusiast, but we managed to find a few that had some entertaining curves, and Jay, having been betrayed by his GPS, was even able to discover a rather thrilling stretch of road with some significant uphill and downhill bends. It gave me a great chance to see what I was capable of on the new bike, and get a feeling for where my comfort level is in a corner. All told it was great being out with my friends on a beautiful day enjoying some good driving.
A feature of the bike that can be seen in the photo above (but that I haven't yet put to use) is the hard case that's resting on the back. That's actually one of a pair, and when they're both in play that can be secured to the sides of the bike. They're pretty substantial; just as a test this evening I found that I can easily stuff all my gear, helmet, jacket, pants, boot, and gloves, in both cases with room to spare. They'll be great when I want to go for overnight trips.
At this point I haven't convinced Euphemia to take a ride with me. She seems quite keen to try it out, but is concerned about the up-front costs involved. There's a lot of money to be spent on safety equipment, and she's pretty concerned about investing that kind of cash on something that she may find not to her taste. An understandable worry to be sure.
I've made one other upgrade to my motorcycling repetoir this weekend, and that's a new helmet. My use of the word "upgrade" is no understatement either; I've acquired a Shoei RF-1100, which is an excellent piece of equipment. The weight reduction from my old helment is really noticeable, and I found when riding that there was a lot less fatigue on a number of levels: the fit is better and didn't pinch my ears, the lower weight meant less neck strain, and the aerodynamics are significantly better, so I didn't feel as buffeted by the wind at high speeds, and it didn't feel like my head was about to be torn off when I turned my head to look over my shoulder. Another fantastic thing about this helmet is that it's got a much wider than normal visor, so even the previously mentioned turning of the head didn't need to be as extreme. If I looked as far as possible to one side I could just barely see the edge of the helmet, it really does a fantastic job of maintaining visibility. Speaking of visibility, I went with a solid white helmet, so I should stand out... also it matches my jacket.
Well, that's all the motorcycling news for now. I've got the attached luggage for my bike, and a big enough engine to make highway driving a smooth and comfortable experience, now I just need to get out there and go for a trip. Not sure what my first real voyage will be, but I'm looking forward to it all the same. I hope you're all doing well this week, and I'll talk to you all next week... maybe even on time for once.
Sunday 17 July 2011
Slacking? Who has been slacking?
Okay, I know, I know. This hasn't exactly marked a high-point in my blogging career! I apologize for the total lack of communication, but I hope I can earn some bonus points for posting on a Sunday afternoon for the first time since I announced that I'd be posting on Sunday afternoons. Now it's time for some catch-up...
First things first: the trip to Brucedale! That was a fantastic bit of nice, easy camping. Obviously a conservation area just off Highway 21 isn't going to hold a candle to the isolation and beauty of Killarney but there's something to be said for being able to store sensitive equipment in the truck when it's looking like rain. Also, showers. There's a LOT to be said for showers.
We really lucked out with the weather and it stayed clear for us for most of the trip. We got a few rumblings of thunder early in the morning on Saturday while we were still safe it our tents, and it rained for about 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon, but aside from that we had great weather. Actually, that led to us spending the majority of the trip on the beach. Anyone who looks at Brucedale on a map and thinks "Wow! That's right on the water, we can hang out on the beach!" may be making a slight calculation error. It's right on the water, yes, but do not count on a beach. That said, it's a pretty short drive up to Port Elgin, which has a lovely stretch of beach to sun yourself on.
Short of any sand-based lounging we just engaged in the usual camping activities of sitting around a campfire, roasting wienies, and regaling each other with tales of our past victories in battle. Well, two out of three ain't bad...
Since then I've been keeping fairly busy with work. There's been a lot of excitement around the office lately. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to go into any details, but I can say that the company I work for has been bought by Zynga. I'm sure that any of you who use Facebook will be familiar with the name, and if you're not I strongly suggest you take a look at their website. For the official press-release on our acquisition please have a look here:
http://zyngablog.typepad.com/zyngacom/2011/07/zynga-acquires-toronto-based-five-mobile-team-creates-toronto-mobile-studio-.html
Like I said, I can't discuss the details of the move except to say that I'm incredibly excited about it and that I think on a personal level that this is going to be amazing for my career. I'm really happy to be a part of the Zynga family!
In martial arts news Kai-sensei has come from Japan to visit us. Unfortunately we haven't had much time to study with him. Brahmjot has formed his own dojo called Tendokan which I am a member of, and during Kai-sensei's visit he has officially closed Seibukan Canada. It's been a pretty tough time for those of us who started studying under the Seibukan name, but I have been assured that this move was entirely necessary, and not taken lightly.
So, that's where I'm at right now. A lot has been shaken up in both my work and personal life, but the future looks rosy! I'm pretty tired at the moment, but feeling pretty good about what's to come. In the short term I don't have much planned, but I'm in the very early stages of trying to put together a trip for Euphemia and I to go visit her family in China. I'm really hopeful that I can arrange to get 3 weeks off work to turn this into an epic trip on par with the great voyage to Japan that originally spawned this blog. Right now we're aiming for Spring 2012, so it's still in the very early planning stages, but just like any of my trips I'll keep you all posted as things start to take shape.
My apologies again for making it so long between posts. I hope that I can get back in to the rhythm of writing regularly again from this point forward.
First things first: the trip to Brucedale! That was a fantastic bit of nice, easy camping. Obviously a conservation area just off Highway 21 isn't going to hold a candle to the isolation and beauty of Killarney but there's something to be said for being able to store sensitive equipment in the truck when it's looking like rain. Also, showers. There's a LOT to be said for showers.
We really lucked out with the weather and it stayed clear for us for most of the trip. We got a few rumblings of thunder early in the morning on Saturday while we were still safe it our tents, and it rained for about 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon, but aside from that we had great weather. Actually, that led to us spending the majority of the trip on the beach. Anyone who looks at Brucedale on a map and thinks "Wow! That's right on the water, we can hang out on the beach!" may be making a slight calculation error. It's right on the water, yes, but do not count on a beach. That said, it's a pretty short drive up to Port Elgin, which has a lovely stretch of beach to sun yourself on.
Short of any sand-based lounging we just engaged in the usual camping activities of sitting around a campfire, roasting wienies, and regaling each other with tales of our past victories in battle. Well, two out of three ain't bad...
Since then I've been keeping fairly busy with work. There's been a lot of excitement around the office lately. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to go into any details, but I can say that the company I work for has been bought by Zynga. I'm sure that any of you who use Facebook will be familiar with the name, and if you're not I strongly suggest you take a look at their website. For the official press-release on our acquisition please have a look here:
http://zyngablog.typepad.com/zyngacom/2011/07/zynga-acquires-toronto-based-five-mobile-team-creates-toronto-mobile-studio-.html
Like I said, I can't discuss the details of the move except to say that I'm incredibly excited about it and that I think on a personal level that this is going to be amazing for my career. I'm really happy to be a part of the Zynga family!
In martial arts news Kai-sensei has come from Japan to visit us. Unfortunately we haven't had much time to study with him. Brahmjot has formed his own dojo called Tendokan which I am a member of, and during Kai-sensei's visit he has officially closed Seibukan Canada. It's been a pretty tough time for those of us who started studying under the Seibukan name, but I have been assured that this move was entirely necessary, and not taken lightly.
So, that's where I'm at right now. A lot has been shaken up in both my work and personal life, but the future looks rosy! I'm pretty tired at the moment, but feeling pretty good about what's to come. In the short term I don't have much planned, but I'm in the very early stages of trying to put together a trip for Euphemia and I to go visit her family in China. I'm really hopeful that I can arrange to get 3 weeks off work to turn this into an epic trip on par with the great voyage to Japan that originally spawned this blog. Right now we're aiming for Spring 2012, so it's still in the very early planning stages, but just like any of my trips I'll keep you all posted as things start to take shape.
My apologies again for making it so long between posts. I hope that I can get back in to the rhythm of writing regularly again from this point forward.
Sunday 19 June 2011
Camping Prep
Good evening all, and Happy Father's Day to all those of you for whom that is applicable. I know I was going to try to write on Sunday afternoons, but I suppose it's better late than never.
We're less than two weeks out from our Canada Day camping trip and things are starting to come together. I'm taking a much more hands-on role in the preparation this time... can't count on Dad to just provide me with a list of everything I need. Of course, he's helped out with that; I just called him today and he reminded me of a few things that I would have forgotten about. It's funny how easy it is to forget something as simple as a camp chair, and it's also funny how big an impact that could have on your comfort at camp. In the end though this is a pretty stress-free camping prep since we're not going into the deep woods. Knowing that we'll have a vehicle handy for quick supply runs is pretty comforting.
It looks like we'll be getting an addition to our camping crew as well. Euphemia's friend Bing has expressed an interest in joining us, and since we've got a reservation for six people and only three of us scheduled to go it was no problem. Now we are four. The closer it gets to Canada Day the more excited I'm getting! This should be an easy, relaxing camp and I'm really looking forward to it.
In totally unrelated news I've purchased a new motorcycle! I went out today to visit my friend Mike and took his Kawasaki ZZR600 for a test drive. That was, without question, the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle! I've really enjoyed my little CBR125, but the bigger bike was a whole different world. There was way more power on tap than I needed, but it was very comforting to know that the power was there when I needed it. We toured around for a couple hours and at the end of our run I made the purchase. Mike's going to hang on to the bike for me while I sell my current one and then I'll try to get some pictures up.
Well, that's all for now folks. I've got one more post to go up before the camp, so I'll provide details then. See you all next Sunday.
We're less than two weeks out from our Canada Day camping trip and things are starting to come together. I'm taking a much more hands-on role in the preparation this time... can't count on Dad to just provide me with a list of everything I need. Of course, he's helped out with that; I just called him today and he reminded me of a few things that I would have forgotten about. It's funny how easy it is to forget something as simple as a camp chair, and it's also funny how big an impact that could have on your comfort at camp. In the end though this is a pretty stress-free camping prep since we're not going into the deep woods. Knowing that we'll have a vehicle handy for quick supply runs is pretty comforting.
It looks like we'll be getting an addition to our camping crew as well. Euphemia's friend Bing has expressed an interest in joining us, and since we've got a reservation for six people and only three of us scheduled to go it was no problem. Now we are four. The closer it gets to Canada Day the more excited I'm getting! This should be an easy, relaxing camp and I'm really looking forward to it.
In totally unrelated news I've purchased a new motorcycle! I went out today to visit my friend Mike and took his Kawasaki ZZR600 for a test drive. That was, without question, the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle! I've really enjoyed my little CBR125, but the bigger bike was a whole different world. There was way more power on tap than I needed, but it was very comforting to know that the power was there when I needed it. We toured around for a couple hours and at the end of our run I made the purchase. Mike's going to hang on to the bike for me while I sell my current one and then I'll try to get some pictures up.
Well, that's all for now folks. I've got one more post to go up before the camp, so I'll provide details then. See you all next Sunday.
Monday 13 June 2011
Introducing Euphemia Zhang
Good evening ladies and gents! Big news for this particular post. I've been spreading the word through my various forms of social media for the last week, and I thought I might as well make things official on my blog for those of you who don't follow my merry adventures on Facebook.
Long time readers will recall that I've had reason to lament a lack of travelling companions in the past. My trip to Iceland in particular comes to mind as a fantastic trip that would have been elevated even further if I'd not been flying solo. This is not in anyway belittling the massive contributions made by Graydyn, Jay, and my parents in providing company on my travels, but still, I've found myself looking for a more constant form of travelling companion. I dedicated several lengthy years of research in trying to determine a viable and effective solution to my obvious problem. After countless months of browsing all the scientific literature I could come across I discovered a solution often employed by the Adult Human Male: if you stop playing video games and leave the house every now and then, maybe you'll find a girlfriend. I'm happy to announce that I've found a beautiful young lady who has expressed a keen interest in seeing this vast world of ours by my side, and I present to you, my loyal readers, Miss Euphemia Zhang!
Took that picture myself with my new phone! The lovely backdrop is the Rouge River Valley, which will be the subject of a post in the very near future.
Admittedly I think most of you know that Euphemia and I have been going out, but I know she's going to be coming up in this blog in the very near future, as she's already agreed to accompany me on my next camping trip (more on that very soon) and I felt that a formal introduction was important to maintaining a steady narrative in this blog. Also it gave me a terrific opportunity for that lengthy, self-deprecating introduction to this week's post.
Okay, I'll attempt to stop being a clown now and get into the details. Euphemia was born in Zhuhai, in the province of Guangdong, China, where she lived until moving to Canada at the age of 15. She's fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and just recently graduated in Honours Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. Those factors combine to make her much, much smarter than the humble author of this blog.
I'm going to refrain from getting into any more of my girlfriend's life story, but I just wanted to provide a brief introduction. She's likely to be a major contributing character in the story of my travels, and I wanted to make sure everyone knows who I'm talking about before I start dropping her name throughout the course of my blogging adventures.
I'm wrapping things up for the day here. Tune in later in the week when I plan on popping in a special report that I've been wanting to write about, and then keep updating every week as we're starting to get the details of a camping trip hammered out (as those of you who follow Jay's blog will already know) and I'm sure to be reporting on the preparations for that as we approach the July 1st departure date. Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll talk to you all again soon.
Long time readers will recall that I've had reason to lament a lack of travelling companions in the past. My trip to Iceland in particular comes to mind as a fantastic trip that would have been elevated even further if I'd not been flying solo. This is not in anyway belittling the massive contributions made by Graydyn, Jay, and my parents in providing company on my travels, but still, I've found myself looking for a more constant form of travelling companion. I dedicated several lengthy years of research in trying to determine a viable and effective solution to my obvious problem. After countless months of browsing all the scientific literature I could come across I discovered a solution often employed by the Adult Human Male: if you stop playing video games and leave the house every now and then, maybe you'll find a girlfriend. I'm happy to announce that I've found a beautiful young lady who has expressed a keen interest in seeing this vast world of ours by my side, and I present to you, my loyal readers, Miss Euphemia Zhang!
Took that picture myself with my new phone! The lovely backdrop is the Rouge River Valley, which will be the subject of a post in the very near future.
Admittedly I think most of you know that Euphemia and I have been going out, but I know she's going to be coming up in this blog in the very near future, as she's already agreed to accompany me on my next camping trip (more on that very soon) and I felt that a formal introduction was important to maintaining a steady narrative in this blog. Also it gave me a terrific opportunity for that lengthy, self-deprecating introduction to this week's post.
Okay, I'll attempt to stop being a clown now and get into the details. Euphemia was born in Zhuhai, in the province of Guangdong, China, where she lived until moving to Canada at the age of 15. She's fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and just recently graduated in Honours Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. Those factors combine to make her much, much smarter than the humble author of this blog.
I'm going to refrain from getting into any more of my girlfriend's life story, but I just wanted to provide a brief introduction. She's likely to be a major contributing character in the story of my travels, and I wanted to make sure everyone knows who I'm talking about before I start dropping her name throughout the course of my blogging adventures.
I'm wrapping things up for the day here. Tune in later in the week when I plan on popping in a special report that I've been wanting to write about, and then keep updating every week as we're starting to get the details of a camping trip hammered out (as those of you who follow Jay's blog will already know) and I'm sure to be reporting on the preparations for that as we approach the July 1st departure date. Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll talk to you all again soon.
Monday 6 June 2011
Nexus S
Hey, sorry to everyone who has been trying to get into my new routine of posting on Sunday! I guess I'm not 100% used to that routine yet! Oh well, hopefully this is better late than never...
I've wanted to do a quick product review on my new phone, just because I've mentioned it a couple times already, and also because I consider it to be an essential piece of my travel gear. I'll try not to dwell on the technical aspects too much... if I wanted to talk shop I'd be at work right now.
First of all, the reason for the switch: my BlackBerry was getting really, really old. I'd had it for almost three years, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's an eternity in Cell Phone Years. The rate at which we are advancing it technology is staggering, and as someone who works in the industry I feel the need to keep up. Also, I love my gadgets, and I've been very excited by some of the new phones that have been coming out lately.
My new phone is a Google Nexus S, sometimes called a Samsung Nexus S because, while it was built for and marketed by Google, it was Samsung who provided the hardware. Google just requisitioned this piece because they wanted something to really show off Android, which is the mobile operating system that they've developed. Anyone familiar with Samsung's Galaxy S phone will notice a lot of similarities.
One of the many really cool features of this phone is that it's got a very slight concave curve to the screen, just subtle enough that you don't really notice when using it as a touch screen, but it fits against your face a little better when you're using it as a phone. Also it makes it look really cool. The screen itself is one of Samsung's new Super AMOLED screens; again, I won't get into the tech details, but just rest assured that it's bright, the colours are beautiful, and in my opinion it's the best screen on the market right now.
Something I've been having a lot of fun with is the multimedia capabilities of this phone. That big, beautiful touch screen allows for a really great display and interaction with games, and with social networking applications. I've found that I'm getting back into using Twitter, I'm on Facebook more, and I'm taking my phone out purely as an entertainment device now. All around it's just getting a lot more use than my old phone. It's also got a tight integration with GMail, so for those of you with my GMail address I'm still getting those e-mails as soon as you send them.
From a travelling perspective, this phone has quad-band GSM, as well as an HSPA radio, so just like my old phone I should be able to use it anywhere in the world.
One of my big concerns with this phone is that the entire front of the phone is one big touchscreen, and that's the only way to interact with it. That means that when I'm typing out messages I'm doing it by hitting buttons on a virtual keyboard displayed on the screen. Without the tactile sensation of a physical keyboard I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle typing out some of the lengthy messages I've been known to pound out on my BlackBerry. Turns out that I'm adapting to it pretty quickly. I'm not sure if I'm at the same speed as I was on my BlackBerry, but I certainly feel like I'm close. The phone tries to guess what you're typing, and that can be really helpful sometimes too.
Anyone who read my Killarney wrap-up has already seen one phone from the camera built into this phone. I'll be the first to admit that when they started putting cameras in phones I thought it was ridiculous. Now I love it! In my defence, when they first started putting cameras in phones they were about 0.1 megapixels, which genuinely was ridiculous. I've got a 5MP camera in my new phone though, and sometimes it's just really convenient to be able to take a quick photo with your phone. I'm pretty sure that I left my photo that I took with my phone at its full size when I uploaded it to the blog, so if you click on it you'll see the full image in it's uncompressed glory. Honestly I'm pretty impressed with it for something that's not a dedicated camera! I'll try to get some more examples up later.
So that's my early thoughts on this new piece of hardware that I'm carrying around. I know it's not very travel oriented, but you know how excited I get about my gadgets, so I can hope you can all forgive the indulgence.
I've wanted to do a quick product review on my new phone, just because I've mentioned it a couple times already, and also because I consider it to be an essential piece of my travel gear. I'll try not to dwell on the technical aspects too much... if I wanted to talk shop I'd be at work right now.
First of all, the reason for the switch: my BlackBerry was getting really, really old. I'd had it for almost three years, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's an eternity in Cell Phone Years. The rate at which we are advancing it technology is staggering, and as someone who works in the industry I feel the need to keep up. Also, I love my gadgets, and I've been very excited by some of the new phones that have been coming out lately.
My new phone is a Google Nexus S, sometimes called a Samsung Nexus S because, while it was built for and marketed by Google, it was Samsung who provided the hardware. Google just requisitioned this piece because they wanted something to really show off Android, which is the mobile operating system that they've developed. Anyone familiar with Samsung's Galaxy S phone will notice a lot of similarities.
One of the many really cool features of this phone is that it's got a very slight concave curve to the screen, just subtle enough that you don't really notice when using it as a touch screen, but it fits against your face a little better when you're using it as a phone. Also it makes it look really cool. The screen itself is one of Samsung's new Super AMOLED screens; again, I won't get into the tech details, but just rest assured that it's bright, the colours are beautiful, and in my opinion it's the best screen on the market right now.
Something I've been having a lot of fun with is the multimedia capabilities of this phone. That big, beautiful touch screen allows for a really great display and interaction with games, and with social networking applications. I've found that I'm getting back into using Twitter, I'm on Facebook more, and I'm taking my phone out purely as an entertainment device now. All around it's just getting a lot more use than my old phone. It's also got a tight integration with GMail, so for those of you with my GMail address I'm still getting those e-mails as soon as you send them.
From a travelling perspective, this phone has quad-band GSM, as well as an HSPA radio, so just like my old phone I should be able to use it anywhere in the world.
One of my big concerns with this phone is that the entire front of the phone is one big touchscreen, and that's the only way to interact with it. That means that when I'm typing out messages I'm doing it by hitting buttons on a virtual keyboard displayed on the screen. Without the tactile sensation of a physical keyboard I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle typing out some of the lengthy messages I've been known to pound out on my BlackBerry. Turns out that I'm adapting to it pretty quickly. I'm not sure if I'm at the same speed as I was on my BlackBerry, but I certainly feel like I'm close. The phone tries to guess what you're typing, and that can be really helpful sometimes too.
Anyone who read my Killarney wrap-up has already seen one phone from the camera built into this phone. I'll be the first to admit that when they started putting cameras in phones I thought it was ridiculous. Now I love it! In my defence, when they first started putting cameras in phones they were about 0.1 megapixels, which genuinely was ridiculous. I've got a 5MP camera in my new phone though, and sometimes it's just really convenient to be able to take a quick photo with your phone. I'm pretty sure that I left my photo that I took with my phone at its full size when I uploaded it to the blog, so if you click on it you'll see the full image in it's uncompressed glory. Honestly I'm pretty impressed with it for something that's not a dedicated camera! I'll try to get some more examples up later.
So that's my early thoughts on this new piece of hardware that I'm carrying around. I know it's not very travel oriented, but you know how excited I get about my gadgets, so I can hope you can all forgive the indulgence.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Air Mattresses
Hello everyone! Are you all excited about today's post after seeing the title? AIR MATTRESSES!!!
Okay, I know, not the world's most interesting subject, but I wanted to do a gear-review post after our recent camping trip since I've had an epiphany in regards to what I sleep on. For years now whenever we go camping we make use of one of Dad's self-inflating air mattresses. I've been a big fan of these products for awhile now; they provide a soft, comfortable sleeping area and require zero effort to inflate. It wasn't until I'd talked to Dad a bit about the concept of saving space in regards to my proposed motorcycling tours that the concept of a manually inflated mattress came up. He'd been reading about some particularly small mattresses and I thought it might be worthwhile to check in to the matter.
Just before our recent trip to Killarney I stopped by MEC to pick up a few things and decided to have a look at the camp mats. As usual there were a number of options for self-inflating mats, going right down to something that folded down quite small, but only inflated to about a centimetre thick of padding. Not very useful. Then I saw another batch of pads that needed to be inflated manually and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Huge, luxurious looking pads that my eyes had likely glossed over in the assumption that they would fold down to something the size of a Volkswagen, but on closer inspection were in the tiniest of packages when deflated. The greatest problem that we've encountered with the self-inflating mats is that a single mat will take up something to the tune of half of a hatch in a kayak. That's a significant portion of your total storage space. I ended up buying two mats: one for myself and one for Dad as a birthday present. Here's the links if you'd like to examine the specs:
Mine: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442592739&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
Dad's: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442629244&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
We both took our new camp mats out for a test-drive on this recent trip. The first thing we noticed? All of our gear fit in the boats! It's not uncommon for us (especially when we're packing lots of food, which we did) to have loads of stuff mounted on to the decks of our kayaks, which makes them a bit unpleasant to paddle. Not this time. I just measured my pad, deflated and in it's carrying bag, and it's a cylinder about 28cm long and about 14cm in diameter, and that's after I've re-rolled it, so it's not the usual situation of something being much smaller when it comes from the factory. For the first time ever my camp pad wasn't in it's own drybag; I just tossed it in with my clothes.
Now for the fun part - getting set up. My little guy just unrolls and has a valve that you can blow in to. Old-school. Honestly it was about 5 minutes of huffing and puffing and I was done. Couldn't be simpler. Actually, wait, it could. I could have got what Dad had. If you've followed the link to MEC's website for the Exped mat that I got for Dad you'll see that there's a white strip (not very clearly visible in the picture) along one side. That section of the tube is self-inflating through a one-way valve, and when you push down on it the air in that chamber is forced into the rest of the mat, and then that small chamber re-inflates. Essentially it's a built-in pump. A few minutes of giving your mattress CPR and it's inflated.
What really amazed me about my mat though was the comfort. The MEC page lists it as being 6.3cm thick, and when it's 6.3cm of pure air underneath you, you aren't noticing any little bumps or rocks on the ground. By comparison the ultra-light Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad that MEC lists as being a similar size to mine when rolled is 3.8cm thick. Looking at some of the self-inflating pads that we've taken in to camp previously, I'd say that my new one easily rolls down to a quarter of their size and is twice as comfortable. For a little bit of effort to inflate them? Yeah, I think that it's a worthy trade-off.
I think this lovely new piece of equipment is going to make a huge difference to me when I'm trying to get some over-night gear packed on to a motorcycle. Sadly, no new news on that front, but I'll keep you all posted and let you know as soon as I've got a bike that's capable of some light touring. At that point I hope to regale you all with tales of my motorcycle-based camping voyages.
Okay, to all my readers who aren't camping enthusiasts, I apologize for what must have been an incredibly dry read. I wish you all a lovely week, and I'll talk to you again next Sunday.
Okay, I know, not the world's most interesting subject, but I wanted to do a gear-review post after our recent camping trip since I've had an epiphany in regards to what I sleep on. For years now whenever we go camping we make use of one of Dad's self-inflating air mattresses. I've been a big fan of these products for awhile now; they provide a soft, comfortable sleeping area and require zero effort to inflate. It wasn't until I'd talked to Dad a bit about the concept of saving space in regards to my proposed motorcycling tours that the concept of a manually inflated mattress came up. He'd been reading about some particularly small mattresses and I thought it might be worthwhile to check in to the matter.
Just before our recent trip to Killarney I stopped by MEC to pick up a few things and decided to have a look at the camp mats. As usual there were a number of options for self-inflating mats, going right down to something that folded down quite small, but only inflated to about a centimetre thick of padding. Not very useful. Then I saw another batch of pads that needed to be inflated manually and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Huge, luxurious looking pads that my eyes had likely glossed over in the assumption that they would fold down to something the size of a Volkswagen, but on closer inspection were in the tiniest of packages when deflated. The greatest problem that we've encountered with the self-inflating mats is that a single mat will take up something to the tune of half of a hatch in a kayak. That's a significant portion of your total storage space. I ended up buying two mats: one for myself and one for Dad as a birthday present. Here's the links if you'd like to examine the specs:
Mine: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442592739&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
Dad's: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442629244&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
We both took our new camp mats out for a test-drive on this recent trip. The first thing we noticed? All of our gear fit in the boats! It's not uncommon for us (especially when we're packing lots of food, which we did) to have loads of stuff mounted on to the decks of our kayaks, which makes them a bit unpleasant to paddle. Not this time. I just measured my pad, deflated and in it's carrying bag, and it's a cylinder about 28cm long and about 14cm in diameter, and that's after I've re-rolled it, so it's not the usual situation of something being much smaller when it comes from the factory. For the first time ever my camp pad wasn't in it's own drybag; I just tossed it in with my clothes.
Now for the fun part - getting set up. My little guy just unrolls and has a valve that you can blow in to. Old-school. Honestly it was about 5 minutes of huffing and puffing and I was done. Couldn't be simpler. Actually, wait, it could. I could have got what Dad had. If you've followed the link to MEC's website for the Exped mat that I got for Dad you'll see that there's a white strip (not very clearly visible in the picture) along one side. That section of the tube is self-inflating through a one-way valve, and when you push down on it the air in that chamber is forced into the rest of the mat, and then that small chamber re-inflates. Essentially it's a built-in pump. A few minutes of giving your mattress CPR and it's inflated.
What really amazed me about my mat though was the comfort. The MEC page lists it as being 6.3cm thick, and when it's 6.3cm of pure air underneath you, you aren't noticing any little bumps or rocks on the ground. By comparison the ultra-light Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad that MEC lists as being a similar size to mine when rolled is 3.8cm thick. Looking at some of the self-inflating pads that we've taken in to camp previously, I'd say that my new one easily rolls down to a quarter of their size and is twice as comfortable. For a little bit of effort to inflate them? Yeah, I think that it's a worthy trade-off.
I think this lovely new piece of equipment is going to make a huge difference to me when I'm trying to get some over-night gear packed on to a motorcycle. Sadly, no new news on that front, but I'll keep you all posted and let you know as soon as I've got a bike that's capable of some light touring. At that point I hope to regale you all with tales of my motorcycle-based camping voyages.
Okay, to all my readers who aren't camping enthusiasts, I apologize for what must have been an incredibly dry read. I wish you all a lovely week, and I'll talk to you again next Sunday.
Saturday 28 May 2011
Picasa
I've recently created a Picasa account and downloaded their software for uploading pictures to the web. I've started the experiment by uploading all of my photos from the recent Killarney trip and it seems to be a fairly smooth process. So far, so good. The next big test will be to see how it works for all of you! Please follow this link and let me know how it goes:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103388161460296980507/May_2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiKl4Ld2b2JcA#
https://picasaweb.google.com/103388161460296980507/May_2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiKl4Ld2b2JcA#
Wednesday 25 May 2011
The Big Killarney Recap
Good evening everyone!
As previously stated I spent this past long weekend in Killarney. I brought my netbook with me, with the thought that I might post from the lodge on Monday evening, but decided to just chill out and lick my wounds instead. Anyone who witnessed my grand display of camping skill this weekend would have thought it was my first weekend in the woods. I managed through a total lack of foresight to get a rather spectacular sunburn on the tops of my hands, and a healthy array of black fly bites on my hands, behind my ears, and on my scalp. Coupled with a bruised hip from a slip on some wet rocks and I managed to get myself fairly well battered on this particular voyage, and am feeling a bit embarrassed about my display of general woodcraft.
All that we shall come to in time. Let's get on track though and tell this tale chronologically. Dad came up to Toronto on Thursday night. It's a nice way for him to cut the drive to Killarney in half, and also a chance for a nice meal in Toronto. We went with Gray and Susan to Cava, a local tapas restaurant which was a new experience for both Dad and I. What a meal! The entire affair consumed the whole evening, but it was just a constant parade of great food and wine. I can think of few better ways to pass an evening.
Well fed and well rested Dad and I set off on Friday morning for Killarney. We made a planned stop about half way up, just outside of Parry Sound, at White Squall. This is a huge Canoe/Kayak store and we spent a good amount of time perusing the wares. The nice thing about White Squall is that they are on the shores of a substantial lake and this provides to opportunity to "test drive" any boats that you have the intention of buying. I got a picture of Dad in the boat that he eventually ended up deciding on:
As previously stated I spent this past long weekend in Killarney. I brought my netbook with me, with the thought that I might post from the lodge on Monday evening, but decided to just chill out and lick my wounds instead. Anyone who witnessed my grand display of camping skill this weekend would have thought it was my first weekend in the woods. I managed through a total lack of foresight to get a rather spectacular sunburn on the tops of my hands, and a healthy array of black fly bites on my hands, behind my ears, and on my scalp. Coupled with a bruised hip from a slip on some wet rocks and I managed to get myself fairly well battered on this particular voyage, and am feeling a bit embarrassed about my display of general woodcraft.
All that we shall come to in time. Let's get on track though and tell this tale chronologically. Dad came up to Toronto on Thursday night. It's a nice way for him to cut the drive to Killarney in half, and also a chance for a nice meal in Toronto. We went with Gray and Susan to Cava, a local tapas restaurant which was a new experience for both Dad and I. What a meal! The entire affair consumed the whole evening, but it was just a constant parade of great food and wine. I can think of few better ways to pass an evening.
Well fed and well rested Dad and I set off on Friday morning for Killarney. We made a planned stop about half way up, just outside of Parry Sound, at White Squall. This is a huge Canoe/Kayak store and we spent a good amount of time perusing the wares. The nice thing about White Squall is that they are on the shores of a substantial lake and this provides to opportunity to "test drive" any boats that you have the intention of buying. I got a picture of Dad in the boat that he eventually ended up deciding on:
That shot was actually taken with the camera on my new phone! The Google Nexus S takes a pretty nice shot for a phone! I'll have to do a more in-depth discussion on that piece of hardware in a product review post some other day. As you can see though it was a beautiful day, and it made for a really nice drive. Also, Dad managed to get a pretty cool boat! We actually left it at White Squall and picked it up on our way back through on Tuesday, so it didn't make it out for a paddle this past weekend. The boat is a hybrid of fiberglass and kevlar; combined with the fact that it's a short boat it makes for an unbelievably light kayak.
I also made a purchase there, though on a much smaller scale. I've been shopping for a PFD for awhile now, intending to get my own for the sake of comfort, and just because I go on enough boating trips with Dad that I shouldn't really expect him to have to provide a lifejacket every time. I ended up getting the same vest that Dad always wears, just in orange to distinguish myself a bit.
After our shopping spree we got back on the road and finished the trek up to Killarney. The rest of the day was spent lounging about enjoying the good food and hospitality of the Killarney Mountain Lodge, which was exactly what the game plan called for. It's unsurprising to see that Dad has become a familiar face at the lodge, but I was surprised to see how much recognition I'm starting to get by association. I guess I'm starting to become a regular up there!
We started the next morning with a good breakfast at the lodge, and then made our way down to the boat launch at the Chikanishing Creek. Here I was introduced to something I'd only really known in legend: The Bloody Black Fly. Black flies live in infamy throughout the North, but I've never had anything more than brief, mildly annoying run-ins with them. This weekend gave me a small taste of the menace that they can truly become. Any attempt to hold still and stay in one position causes the little buggers to land and proceed with the feasting, which made loading the boats an irritating task. One of the reasons that we tend to camp in the Spring and Fall is that the bug populations are significantly reduced, but apparently this was a good year for them and they decided to come out early. I've been informed that what I experienced in terms of black fly harassment is nothing compared to what can be encountered further North and down East, but I still can't recommend them as a thrilling experience.
The presence of the flies was entirely unexpected because the forecasts leading up to our trip indicated foul weather from beginning to end. This turned out not to be the case since Saturday was absolutely beautiful. This, however, brings me to my learning experience for the trip: the term "always be prepared" does not refer solely to being prepared for the worst. While packing for the trip I looked right at my bug shirt and thought "oh well, the weather will be terrible, there won't be any bugs." Yeah. That worked out great. Also, being caught totally by surprise by the onset of good weather I forgot to cover my hands. With the backs of my hands facing up for the entirety of the paddling voyage I managed to procure a fairly magnificent sunburn which persists to this day. Thus my feelings of camping inadequacy. I was beating myself up pretty good for my lack of preparedness on this outing.
Okay, now that I've explained my earlier self-belittling, let's get back to the story.
The Chikanishing Creek (really hope I'm spelling that correctly) leads by a short paddle out into Georgian Bay, right off the Western point of Philip Edward Island. Here's a picture of Dad on the Creek:
Once we were out of the Creek we quickly got into the channel between the mainland and the island and began an eastward journey along the North coast of the island.
That's Philip Edward Island on the right, Killarney Park on the left, and my backpack in the middle.
We made our way casually down the channel, always keeping an eye out for a likely camping spot. We even got out at one point to check out appealing prospect but decided against it for lack of level space for the tents. Our only real criteria was that we keep a reasonable amount of shelter to the South since the weather reports were calling for some storms to be heading from that direction on Sunday.
After a couple hours of leisurely paddling we settled on this point.
The water below that jutting point of rock to the left of centre appeared quite deep for the channel, and I think that our site would make a beauty spot for a swimming in the summer. You can't see it in this picture, but just to the left was a pre-built fire ring, which made the spot even more appealing. It's nice to know that we can have a fire without causing any additional scars to the landscape.
It didn't take us long from the point where we landed to turn this:
into this:
With the fire ring and our boats out on the rocks, and our tents tucked safely amongst the shelter of the trees we had ourselves a pretty cozy little spot.
The rest of the day was spent mostly in getting a fire going and then standing around in the cloud of smoke that it provided to discourage the relentless feasting of the flies, who took approximately a millisecond to be alerted to our presence.
At one point I wandered down to the area where we'd taken the boats out. There was a long rock that was low to the water that I could stand on to wash my hands. As it turns out there was a particular spot, free of any visual indication to its difference from the surrounding rock, that became very, very slippery when moistened. As a motorboat had just passed and provided the necessary hydration I, quite without warning, found myself deposited on my backside. It has been noted that I'm hard as rock, but whatever rock that may be, it's clearly no match for Georgian Bay Granite. Thus the previously mentioned bruise to my right hip, and further embarrassment due to my clear inability to even walk about without injury.
We went for a walk later in the day, and as you can see the skies did begin to get cloudy as the day wore on:
Still, it was a lovely end to a day of unexpectedly beautiful weather.
Our tents didn't end up on perfectly level ground, and Dad and I both found that we were up frequently in the night pulling ourselves back up from whichever corner of our respective tents tended to be at the lowest point in the slope. Still, we were both using brand new and rather spectacular ground pads (which shall be the subject of their own glowing reviews in another post down the line) and got a great night's sleep. I awoke the next day with just enough time to get dressed and slip out for a few early-morning photos before the rain started.
Given that the forecast was calling for grim, rainy weather for the remained of the weekend we prepared ourselves for a rainy day. To be honest I was thrilled with the drizzling rain since I'd packed appropriate clothes for it and found it to be entirely more pleasant than the affections of the flies.
We spent most of the morning in the difficult lighting, and continued maintenance of a camp fire. The fire right was pretty soaked, so it was no easy task getting the fire going, but once lit a good camp fire takes a whole lot of rain to be put out. I carefully tended the fire for the rest of the day since it provided an excellent way to dry out, even while the rain persisted.
Surprisingly the rain didn't last past the morning and we were left with a dry (if cloudy) and bug-free afternoon. This gave us ample opportunity for a good lunch, and if there are any people out there who doubt our ability to make a good lunch at camp, I would like to refer you to Exhibit I:
Yeah, that's right.
One funny thing happened in the afternoon. Please note the presence of the substantial rock which Dad's hat is resting on. Please also note that it is entirely intact. Through the constant bombardment of fire on one side and rain on the other we apparently weakened this great piece of the earth so that, later in the day, when I just casually rested my foot on it, this happened:
I have every intention of spending the rest of my days claiming that I kicked a piece of granite in half.
The break in the weather gave Dad and I an opportunity for an exploratory paddle, the beginning of which I was able to capture through the miracle of the camera timer:
You will observe how the section of this rock directly under my elbow looks no different from the rest of the slab? Yeah, that was the "fun bit" that caused me to go hurtling through the air the day before. Just trying to justify my clumsiness here.
After dinner we started to get signs that the day's rain was not entirely finished, and as we sheltered under the tarps I even began to hear thunder. We ended up with some moments of heavy rain, some strong winds, and some ominously close thunder, but never a sign of lightning or anything that really made us feel threatened. Intermittent breaks in the cloud and rain also made for some great evening photos:
A brief respite from the rain. Followed by a lovely sunset:
You can just make out where the sun has dipped below the hills to the right of the photo. Interestingly I found that the sunset was much more spectacular in the Eastern sky:
With the help of our fine tents and a couple quality tarps we spent the night in dry comfort and woke up the next morning ready to pack up and make our way back in to town. It was a drizzly morning which made it pretty difficult to get things packed up without them ending up soaked. Unfortunately it also made things very slick, and just as I was rushing to get my boat packed up I forgot about the infamous stretch of our boat-loading rock. Yup, slipped again. This time I went right into the water, not catching myself until I was in right up to my waist. As I went down I managed to knock my kayak out into the channel as well, so Dad had to get his boat into the water to go retrieve it. Why not end the trip with further embarrassment I thought. Might as well make it a hat-trick. As it turns out we'd forgotten to grab the spray skirt for the boat I was paddling, and just as we were finishing things up it really started to pour, so my legs would probably have ended up soaked anyway.
Despite the rain it was actually a really still, beautiful morning and it made for a great paddle back to the Creek.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. We made it back to the lodge without further mishap and enjoyed the comfort of warm showers and good food. It's always an excellent way to end a camping trip, and the promise of such reliable comfort always makes any amount of cold and damp tolerable. We got up Tuesday and headed back towards Toronto, pausing at White Squall to retrieve Dad's new boat.
That concludes my (rather lengthy) log of this trip. In hindsight I probably should have taken the time to write something on Friday when we arrived at the lodge so that I could have shortened this beast of a post up. I'm intending to really get a good start on my new tradition of Sunday posts (no pun intended there) this week. Sometime Sunday afternoon I'll get something posted, and I hope to continue the momentum and really get into that new habit. Until then, I hope everyone had a great long weekend, and I'll talk to you all soon.
Sunday 15 May 2011
Not Dead, Just Dead Tired
Greetings loyal readers! I say "loyal" because you must be pretty darn loyal if you're still reading this after what have been a few incredibly dry weeks. I apologize that you've had nothing even remotely interesting to read since Gray and Susan got back from Europe. I picked really terrible time to attempt a schedule change for the blog. I wanted to switch up to a Sunday afternoon post, but I immediately followed that decision up with a weekend where I worked the entire time because of a crazy project. Then there was a weekend at home with a concert on Sunday when I got back to Toronto which left me no time to myself on Sunday. Now I reach today and I've been feeling decidedly unwell all day and didn't even think of writing until tonight when I'm finally starting to come around. So yeah, not great timing all around. Interestingly I'll be off my usual schedule next weekend as well, since I'll be in Killarney with Dad. At least there's some R&R to be had there, and hopefully some interesting stories and good photos to share with you all.
The camping trip will start this Friday with a journey to Killarney and a night at the Mountain Lodge. We head out to Philip Edward Island on Saturday morning; we'll be forgoing the usual trip to park and will instead just paddle up Collins Inlet and camp on Crown Land on the island. Saturday and Sunday night will be spent at camp, and Monday we extract ourselves and spend another night at the lodge. I may be able to get something posted Monday night from the lodge - if not I'll try to get some photos up on Tuesday once I'm back in Toronto.
In other news (since this really is just a catch-up post) I have got a really positive feedback on my idea of going up to Barrie for a dirtbike course. I'm certain that there's enough interest to put a group together, so I'll be calling them soon to see what kind of options are available for a group. Just wanted all those who are interested to know that I haven't forgot about you. Also, if you are interested but haven't let me know, by all means send me an e-mail, and keep your eyes on the blog for more info as I get it.
No news yet on the new motorcycle, but things are starting to shape up. My friend Mike has got his in the shop getting it tuned-up and certified at which point I intend to take it for a test drive. If all things work out according to plan I should be purchasing a 2004 Kawasaki ZZR600 sometime within the next few weeks. I've already started to expand my collection of camping gear, and I'm hoping to start making small tours this summer, just driving for the day and then camping for an evening. It should be a fun way to spend a weekend and get me out of the city without having to use any of my precious vacation days.
As for the vacation days, I'm saving those up for September. Jay and I are hoping to make it down to The Dragon this fall for a roadtrip. At this point it's all very tentative, but we'd like to get in some hiking and paddling. It's a great trip for driving enthusiasts, but there's also a lot of magnificent opportunities to get out and enjoy nature, so we'll be trying to blend those two elements on the area. More details as we start to get our plans in order.
Well, that's all the news for now. Again, sorry I haven't be keeping this page up to date. Hopefully I'll have some good material to post after this coming weekend and then settle into my new routine and start getting some quality content back up here on a regular basis. I'm optimistic that work will calm down a bit in the coming weeks and I should be able to get myself organized again. I've still got a ton of topics that just need a bit of research to make some interesting posts. Stay tuned everyone, and thanks for your patience.
The camping trip will start this Friday with a journey to Killarney and a night at the Mountain Lodge. We head out to Philip Edward Island on Saturday morning; we'll be forgoing the usual trip to park and will instead just paddle up Collins Inlet and camp on Crown Land on the island. Saturday and Sunday night will be spent at camp, and Monday we extract ourselves and spend another night at the lodge. I may be able to get something posted Monday night from the lodge - if not I'll try to get some photos up on Tuesday once I'm back in Toronto.
In other news (since this really is just a catch-up post) I have got a really positive feedback on my idea of going up to Barrie for a dirtbike course. I'm certain that there's enough interest to put a group together, so I'll be calling them soon to see what kind of options are available for a group. Just wanted all those who are interested to know that I haven't forgot about you. Also, if you are interested but haven't let me know, by all means send me an e-mail, and keep your eyes on the blog for more info as I get it.
No news yet on the new motorcycle, but things are starting to shape up. My friend Mike has got his in the shop getting it tuned-up and certified at which point I intend to take it for a test drive. If all things work out according to plan I should be purchasing a 2004 Kawasaki ZZR600 sometime within the next few weeks. I've already started to expand my collection of camping gear, and I'm hoping to start making small tours this summer, just driving for the day and then camping for an evening. It should be a fun way to spend a weekend and get me out of the city without having to use any of my precious vacation days.
As for the vacation days, I'm saving those up for September. Jay and I are hoping to make it down to The Dragon this fall for a roadtrip. At this point it's all very tentative, but we'd like to get in some hiking and paddling. It's a great trip for driving enthusiasts, but there's also a lot of magnificent opportunities to get out and enjoy nature, so we'll be trying to blend those two elements on the area. More details as we start to get our plans in order.
Well, that's all the news for now. Again, sorry I haven't be keeping this page up to date. Hopefully I'll have some good material to post after this coming weekend and then settle into my new routine and start getting some quality content back up here on a regular basis. I'm optimistic that work will calm down a bit in the coming weeks and I should be able to get myself organized again. I've still got a ton of topics that just need a bit of research to make some interesting posts. Stay tuned everyone, and thanks for your patience.
Tuesday 3 May 2011
Long Week
Hey everyone, sorry about the late post. I was actually intending to post on Sunday in order to start making a move to that new schedule, but unfortunately it's been quite the week at work. Actually it was quite the weekend too. I worked 11 hour days on Saturday and Sunday in an attempt to get my project completed, and it left very little time for writing. Things are starting to calm down again and I should be making a proper post on Sunday as I start to get into that routine. Sorry for the lack of correspondence in the last couple weeks.
Tuesday 26 April 2011
Considering a Format Change
Hey guys, just a short post today... for reasons that will become evident as I explore the topic of this post.
With my new job and the extensive commute that comes with it I'm finding myself with a lot let time to work with in the mornings. As it stands I've just got my usual morning routine dealt with and am ready to settle down and write my blog post... but I've got to get out of here in about 2 minutes. It's become a bit of a challenge. I've got two options here and I'd like to put it out to you, the community of readers, to determine which is the best course of action. I still think my once-per-week format is perfect for when I'm not actually travelling, so I'd like to stick with that. I can start making my weekly posts on a weekend when I've got more time to really sit down and write. However, if everyone is pretty keen on the Tuesday posts (which was a pretty arbitrary day for a post anyway) then I can just start writing these things on the weekend and not posting them until Tuesday. Everyone okay with switching to a Sunday post (no pun intended) or would you all prefer that I left things as they stand and kept posting on Tuesdays?
Okay, thank in advance for the input everyone. Hope you're all doing very well today! I know Jay is having a blast down in Fontana, go check his blog out for more details on that. Stay safe, have fun, and I'll talk to you all again soon.
With my new job and the extensive commute that comes with it I'm finding myself with a lot let time to work with in the mornings. As it stands I've just got my usual morning routine dealt with and am ready to settle down and write my blog post... but I've got to get out of here in about 2 minutes. It's become a bit of a challenge. I've got two options here and I'd like to put it out to you, the community of readers, to determine which is the best course of action. I still think my once-per-week format is perfect for when I'm not actually travelling, so I'd like to stick with that. I can start making my weekly posts on a weekend when I've got more time to really sit down and write. However, if everyone is pretty keen on the Tuesday posts (which was a pretty arbitrary day for a post anyway) then I can just start writing these things on the weekend and not posting them until Tuesday. Everyone okay with switching to a Sunday post (no pun intended) or would you all prefer that I left things as they stand and kept posting on Tuesdays?
Okay, thank in advance for the input everyone. Hope you're all doing very well today! I know Jay is having a blast down in Fontana, go check his blog out for more details on that. Stay safe, have fun, and I'll talk to you all again soon.
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Internet Woes
Good morning all. My internet connection was down this morning, and hadn't restored itself by the time I left for work. I'm afraid that today's post will be quite delayed. Hope you're all having a lovely day.
Saturday 16 April 2011
Last Post - Rome
It's hard to believe that this isn't the high season for travel in Rome. It's a zoo out there.
The Vatican was worth doing. Some of the rooms and hallways make even my steely jaw drop. The photos probably won't do it justice, but Susan documented the place like it was a crime scene.
It's fun to see some of the more famous artwork. The old man lent me some nice books so I could get some familiarity with the Italian renaissance, so I could pick out a lot of what I was seeing. It was nice being able to point and say "This wall was painted by Raphael", "That ceiling is from Michaelangelo", or "This piece was crafted by Master Splinter". (Note: too obvious?)
For me the Capuchin monastery was a must see. It's a crypt made out of dead people. Great place for a picnic. Susan liked the chandeliers which I believe were mostly made out of finger bones and vertebrae. Spookiest bit was definitely the skeleton of a small child all done up like The Reaper. He even has a little scale and scythe made out of some other guy. They have a lovely plaque there that reads (approximately) "We were once what you are. You will be what we are."
There are a bunch of hippies outside protesting at some nearby government building. The cops aren't hitting them for some reason. I'm not sure on the details but I think they're protesting the fact that their president is a blatantly criminal fascist. Cry me a fucking river.
They're playing Rage Against the Machine songs now. Ya, that'll show 'em.
We had one more great meal and it was a doosie. The restaurant name was Il Pagliaccio. The service was perfect, and the front of house oozed style out their ears. The food was all about subtlety, but every dish packed some 'wow factor'. Standout dish is hard to pick, but I'm going with the salted cod cannelloni in onion and leek broth, just because the broth was so good it made me feel all emotional. The last dessert came with a small serving of rose hip tea that nearly made me fall asleep in their big comfy chairs. Pagliaccio has swept in at the end and stolen the meal of the trip award away from Moo.
I've noticed a bit of a pattern. We used the Michelin guide a little bit in planning our meals for this trip. The thing is, I'm still yet to really love a 3-star restaurant. 2-stars on the other hand have always been really special. Could it be that 3-star restaurants are crossing some kind of border, and ending up in territory where great noms take second position to dressing up like a douche and having an 'extensive water menu'?
The last two night of the trip have been great. Me and Susan stayed in our room, dined on junk food, and drank beer (Susan drank a whole beer to her self!). I feel strongly that vacationing needs nights like this. No pushing through crowds to look at some church or pile of old rocks. It's a nice change of pace.
This part of the world is a great place to visit... but it gets old. Three weeks may have been a bit too long for this trip. I remember having 'temple fatigue' in Japan, and I feel the same here. All the old buildings are starting to look the same, and I just don't care to look at another painting of Jesus.
Now for something really controversial.
The food in America is better than in Europe (this part of it at least). I'm sorry but it just is. Italy has fresh pasta. So what? It takes like 3 minutes to make fresh pasta. I keep thinking back to Lola's (Knoxville, I think?) An amazing meal for 4 people for just over 100 dollars. For 25 bucks in Europe they won't even heat up your catfood.
Fine dining is on par, not just because you're dishing out the cash, but because if you're going to the trouble of making reservations for a meal, you've probably checked their credentials before hand. When traveling though, you can't eat at a place you've looked into before hand every night. Making reservations for 21 restaurants isn't feasible.
You can't just walk into a restaurant in this part of the world and expect to be served something even remotely edible, because the major cities are riddled with tourist traps. Don't believe the bloggers that tell you if you leave the main tourist districts you'll be fine (I've already discussed my beef with those blogger people.) I've picked a direction and walked for miles, only to find myself with a cover charge and a tourist menu.
If you want to have an amazing food based vacation, it's not far from home. Montreal, Chicago, Boston, any southern state, hell even good old Toronto. The noms may not be perfect, but at least most restaurants aren't specifically there to try and rip you off.
All in all, it's been a great vacation. We've seen and done a lot in 3 weeks, and we've learned a lot about travel in general. Next time I'm doing something less gimmicky than Europe though. English speaking would be a treat. Maybe somewhere where the trees seem to go on forever.
Is it still traveling if you only drive 100km?
The Vatican was worth doing. Some of the rooms and hallways make even my steely jaw drop. The photos probably won't do it justice, but Susan documented the place like it was a crime scene.
It's fun to see some of the more famous artwork. The old man lent me some nice books so I could get some familiarity with the Italian renaissance, so I could pick out a lot of what I was seeing. It was nice being able to point and say "This wall was painted by Raphael", "That ceiling is from Michaelangelo", or "This piece was crafted by Master Splinter". (Note: too obvious?)
For me the Capuchin monastery was a must see. It's a crypt made out of dead people. Great place for a picnic. Susan liked the chandeliers which I believe were mostly made out of finger bones and vertebrae. Spookiest bit was definitely the skeleton of a small child all done up like The Reaper. He even has a little scale and scythe made out of some other guy. They have a lovely plaque there that reads (approximately) "We were once what you are. You will be what we are."
There are a bunch of hippies outside protesting at some nearby government building. The cops aren't hitting them for some reason. I'm not sure on the details but I think they're protesting the fact that their president is a blatantly criminal fascist. Cry me a fucking river.
They're playing Rage Against the Machine songs now. Ya, that'll show 'em.
We had one more great meal and it was a doosie. The restaurant name was Il Pagliaccio. The service was perfect, and the front of house oozed style out their ears. The food was all about subtlety, but every dish packed some 'wow factor'. Standout dish is hard to pick, but I'm going with the salted cod cannelloni in onion and leek broth, just because the broth was so good it made me feel all emotional. The last dessert came with a small serving of rose hip tea that nearly made me fall asleep in their big comfy chairs. Pagliaccio has swept in at the end and stolen the meal of the trip award away from Moo.
I've noticed a bit of a pattern. We used the Michelin guide a little bit in planning our meals for this trip. The thing is, I'm still yet to really love a 3-star restaurant. 2-stars on the other hand have always been really special. Could it be that 3-star restaurants are crossing some kind of border, and ending up in territory where great noms take second position to dressing up like a douche and having an 'extensive water menu'?
The last two night of the trip have been great. Me and Susan stayed in our room, dined on junk food, and drank beer (Susan drank a whole beer to her self!). I feel strongly that vacationing needs nights like this. No pushing through crowds to look at some church or pile of old rocks. It's a nice change of pace.
This part of the world is a great place to visit... but it gets old. Three weeks may have been a bit too long for this trip. I remember having 'temple fatigue' in Japan, and I feel the same here. All the old buildings are starting to look the same, and I just don't care to look at another painting of Jesus.
Now for something really controversial.
The food in America is better than in Europe (this part of it at least). I'm sorry but it just is. Italy has fresh pasta. So what? It takes like 3 minutes to make fresh pasta. I keep thinking back to Lola's (Knoxville, I think?) An amazing meal for 4 people for just over 100 dollars. For 25 bucks in Europe they won't even heat up your catfood.
Fine dining is on par, not just because you're dishing out the cash, but because if you're going to the trouble of making reservations for a meal, you've probably checked their credentials before hand. When traveling though, you can't eat at a place you've looked into before hand every night. Making reservations for 21 restaurants isn't feasible.
You can't just walk into a restaurant in this part of the world and expect to be served something even remotely edible, because the major cities are riddled with tourist traps. Don't believe the bloggers that tell you if you leave the main tourist districts you'll be fine (I've already discussed my beef with those blogger people.) I've picked a direction and walked for miles, only to find myself with a cover charge and a tourist menu.
If you want to have an amazing food based vacation, it's not far from home. Montreal, Chicago, Boston, any southern state, hell even good old Toronto. The noms may not be perfect, but at least most restaurants aren't specifically there to try and rip you off.
All in all, it's been a great vacation. We've seen and done a lot in 3 weeks, and we've learned a lot about travel in general. Next time I'm doing something less gimmicky than Europe though. English speaking would be a treat. Maybe somewhere where the trees seem to go on forever.
Is it still traveling if you only drive 100km?
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Florence and Naples
We took Florence real easy. Did lots of gawking at old buildings, ate some gelato and pasta, etc. We saw David, he's really super. We also got completely lost and ended up on a big hill with a view of the whole city, and a Medici villa that was converted into a few museums. Them Medici folk sure knew how to live.
We get lost a lot. Europe is hard sometimes, but we always end up at something cool.
Me and Susan attempted to tackle a Florentine steak. It bested us, but we gave it a good go.
We got lots of 'upkeep' done in Florence as well. We did laundry, which was a relief. Back in Venice I had me first 'washing socks in the sink' experience and it wasn't to thrilling. I saw a doctor to, and he gave me some fancy new antibiotics for my stupid ears. Since it was a Florentine doctor I was glad he didn't prescribe a tonic of pomegranates and lead. The antibiotics did resulted in 6 days with no booze allowed (the horror!) I'm in Rome now and will be finishing the dosage in a couple days and intend to celebrate.
I wrote up Naples last night so here it is:
Naples is shitty. I mean that in the literal sense. It's covered in shit. There are also a lot of flowers in the area. The smell reminds me of a woman I once knew. Also, here's a little tip for the government of Naples: (or should I just forward this directly to the Mafia?) If a garbage bin never gets emptied, it's not a garbage bin anymore. It's a garbage pile.
Naples is like Detroit with a view.
I was riding a on a little train today, just a couple stops to get on a bigger train. I thought to myself, "Surely, since commuters need to sit on the bigger train for over an hour, it can't be allowed to smell as strongly as piss as this little train." I was wrong.
I was wrong.
How is it that nobody ever mentions this kind of thing? Of all the magazine articles and blog posts I read in my research, nobody ever used the term "shit-hole". Send a blogger to hell and they would post "It's so warm here LOL! The torture is sooooo authentic LOL!!"
Our 5 star hotel, The Grand Parkers Hotel, could only be described as Naplish (bad smell, overpriced, great view). I think it's like in the Dominican Republic where the rating system is a little skewed.
OK, I'll write some positive stuff now.
Pompeii kicks ass. I loves me a good ruin, and the preserved nature of this one took it to a whole new level. The paintings on a lot of the walls are even intact. The cemetery was a lot like or modern cemeteries, in that there are huge monuments to a couple rich folk, and a couple rocks stuck in the ground for everybody else. We walked through a neat building that was all beds and there were paintings of people doing naughty things on the walls.
The ashy soil and the mountain with a big chunk of it missing add to the eerie effect. The 10000 other tourists not so much. There are also a lot of stray dogs there, so, that's a plus? I think it's a plus anyway.
I just got back from an admittedly bitter-sweet experience: having my first ever pizza that was better than my own. Needless to say, it was very good, and worth the trip to stink-town to try it.
We get lost a lot. Europe is hard sometimes, but we always end up at something cool.
Me and Susan attempted to tackle a Florentine steak. It bested us, but we gave it a good go.
We got lots of 'upkeep' done in Florence as well. We did laundry, which was a relief. Back in Venice I had me first 'washing socks in the sink' experience and it wasn't to thrilling. I saw a doctor to, and he gave me some fancy new antibiotics for my stupid ears. Since it was a Florentine doctor I was glad he didn't prescribe a tonic of pomegranates and lead. The antibiotics did resulted in 6 days with no booze allowed (the horror!) I'm in Rome now and will be finishing the dosage in a couple days and intend to celebrate.
I wrote up Naples last night so here it is:
Naples is shitty. I mean that in the literal sense. It's covered in shit. There are also a lot of flowers in the area. The smell reminds me of a woman I once knew. Also, here's a little tip for the government of Naples: (or should I just forward this directly to the Mafia?) If a garbage bin never gets emptied, it's not a garbage bin anymore. It's a garbage pile.
Naples is like Detroit with a view.
I was riding a on a little train today, just a couple stops to get on a bigger train. I thought to myself, "Surely, since commuters need to sit on the bigger train for over an hour, it can't be allowed to smell as strongly as piss as this little train." I was wrong.
I was wrong.
How is it that nobody ever mentions this kind of thing? Of all the magazine articles and blog posts I read in my research, nobody ever used the term "shit-hole". Send a blogger to hell and they would post "It's so warm here LOL! The torture is sooooo authentic LOL!!"
Our 5 star hotel, The Grand Parkers Hotel, could only be described as Naplish (bad smell, overpriced, great view). I think it's like in the Dominican Republic where the rating system is a little skewed.
OK, I'll write some positive stuff now.
Pompeii kicks ass. I loves me a good ruin, and the preserved nature of this one took it to a whole new level. The paintings on a lot of the walls are even intact. The cemetery was a lot like or modern cemeteries, in that there are huge monuments to a couple rich folk, and a couple rocks stuck in the ground for everybody else. We walked through a neat building that was all beds and there were paintings of people doing naughty things on the walls.
The ashy soil and the mountain with a big chunk of it missing add to the eerie effect. The 10000 other tourists not so much. There are also a lot of stray dogs there, so, that's a plus? I think it's a plus anyway.
I just got back from an admittedly bitter-sweet experience: having my first ever pizza that was better than my own. Needless to say, it was very good, and worth the trip to stink-town to try it.
Off-road Riding Training
Good morning everyone! I hope you've all been keeping up with the posts from Gray and Susan as they progress through Italy. I believe that they're heading to Rome today and will be remaining there until they return to Toronto on Sunday. Keep checking in through the week to see if they give us any more updates.
I don't have much to say on this morning's topic, but I wanted to throw it out there anyway to gauge interest. When I was at the Outdoor Adventure Show I met a guy who runs rider training courses for all manner of off-road vehicles. He was not the first person to tell me that a motorcycle rider's skills can be greatly improved by learning the techniques necessary to ride a dirt bike. The primary concern for an off-road rider is maintaining control of the bike when the rear wheel is getting less-than-ideal traction. The idea here is that riding off-road will establish the knowledge and muscle-memory to deal with a skid on gravel, and make you that much more capable of successfully navigating such an event if you encounter it on your street bike.
So that's why I want to take a course in trail riding. The benefit to non-riders? It's supposed to be a TON of fun!
Check out this website: http://www.cmts.org/
The training facility is located just North of Barrie, which makes it easily accessible from Toronto. Also, they are recommending the Horseshoe Valley Resort as a nearby place to stay, which could be pleasant if we wanted to get there the night before, since I think the classes start early.
I'd really like to get a group together for this, so if you're at all interested in getting out on the trails and seeing what it's like to ride an off-road motorcycle please let me know.
I'll leave you all to ponder that for the time being, but please get back to me if you're interested in coming out for the rider training. Keep checking in for updates from Gray and Susan, and I'll talk to you all next week.
I don't have much to say on this morning's topic, but I wanted to throw it out there anyway to gauge interest. When I was at the Outdoor Adventure Show I met a guy who runs rider training courses for all manner of off-road vehicles. He was not the first person to tell me that a motorcycle rider's skills can be greatly improved by learning the techniques necessary to ride a dirt bike. The primary concern for an off-road rider is maintaining control of the bike when the rear wheel is getting less-than-ideal traction. The idea here is that riding off-road will establish the knowledge and muscle-memory to deal with a skid on gravel, and make you that much more capable of successfully navigating such an event if you encounter it on your street bike.
So that's why I want to take a course in trail riding. The benefit to non-riders? It's supposed to be a TON of fun!
Check out this website: http://www.cmts.org/
The training facility is located just North of Barrie, which makes it easily accessible from Toronto. Also, they are recommending the Horseshoe Valley Resort as a nearby place to stay, which could be pleasant if we wanted to get there the night before, since I think the classes start early.
I'd really like to get a group together for this, so if you're at all interested in getting out on the trails and seeing what it's like to ride an off-road motorcycle please let me know.
I'll leave you all to ponder that for the time being, but please get back to me if you're interested in coming out for the rider training. Keep checking in for updates from Gray and Susan, and I'll talk to you all next week.
Thursday 7 April 2011
Monaco, Venice, Modena
We arrived in Florence today, will be here for 3 nights, and will have an electric socket the whole time. My phone is so happy! We have wonderful things to say about Florence, but that can wait until next post.
In an attempt to catch-up, I'm going to do a multi-city post.
One thing that applies to these cities, and the two prior posts, is that the weather was amazing. It's been 20ish degrees and sunny for this entire trip. Suck it Torontonians.
Monaco was about what we were expecting (it wasn't Susan's first time there). Monte-Carlo was jammed with classic cars and luxury, while the rest of Monaco is a natural paradise. The city is built into a cliff face which makes for some great vistas, and a whole lot of stairs. I'm not going to attach pictures, but we will send some around after we get home and sort through them. Susan took her 500th picture while we were there, so don't worry, there will be lots.
A highlight of the town was their exotic garden (mostly a cactus garden) with it's very deep grotto.
My personal favorite thing about Monaco was our hotel, the Metropole. Our room was all luxury and breakfast was worth waking up for (for a change). It also has a restaurant by Joel Robuchon(sp?) that was once again fantastic but with enormous portions. Susan had her 3rd day in a row of eating duck. They had a duck press in the kitchen, but unfortunately non of the dishes on the menu that day were using it. We didn't have a camera with us so we didn't catch a picture of it, but I assure you it was very cool.
On our way to Venice we stopped in at Padova for another dinner. This time at Le Calandre. It made for a very interesting meal, but a bit more French than we were going for with our first meal in Italy. Highlight of the meal was called the 'plate of chocolate' and consisted of 11 different desserts, and came with a little video that they play on a projector. They liked the tech there, their wine list came on an Ipad app. The app looked really nice, and worked great, it had some data and sommelier notes available for each wine, and I bet it saves a lot of work for the staff.
Venice itself was almost a theme park, but we still had some great pies, and it beats the hell out of Disneyland. The whole gondola thing is an enormous rip-off, but we bit the bullet and did it anyways, and it was a pretty relaxing trip.
I actually bought a couple trinkets, and mailed them to Toronto. The rest of my shopping (if there is any) will likely happen in Rome so I can just carry it back, as mailing from here was a hassle.
Our trip to Modena was primarily food focused, and did not disappoint. We have found that since leaving the tourism focused towns food has gotten better, and a lot cheaper. The number of sports cars in town was cool (out front of the bank may as well have been a car show), but oddly enough I didn't see any of the famous brands that are made in the immediate area.
We had one more big dining meal here, possibly as good as Moo. The place was called Osteria Francesscana(sp?). Highlight dish for me was a fancied up sous-vide version of bolito misto. The only thing that brought this meal down for us was dining fatigue. It's all become too much rich food. Susan was full after the second course, and I'm at the point were I could go for a hot dog. So we might have one more big meal in Rome, but the dining portion of our trip is pretty much complete. On to the tiny trattorias and pizzerias!
I got some balsamic in Modena because it seemed logical. I think I got a good deal. Can anybody think of anything else I should be bringing back? Any souvenir requests? I assume traveling with cured meats is frowned upon.
In an attempt to catch-up, I'm going to do a multi-city post.
One thing that applies to these cities, and the two prior posts, is that the weather was amazing. It's been 20ish degrees and sunny for this entire trip. Suck it Torontonians.
Monaco was about what we were expecting (it wasn't Susan's first time there). Monte-Carlo was jammed with classic cars and luxury, while the rest of Monaco is a natural paradise. The city is built into a cliff face which makes for some great vistas, and a whole lot of stairs. I'm not going to attach pictures, but we will send some around after we get home and sort through them. Susan took her 500th picture while we were there, so don't worry, there will be lots.
A highlight of the town was their exotic garden (mostly a cactus garden) with it's very deep grotto.
My personal favorite thing about Monaco was our hotel, the Metropole. Our room was all luxury and breakfast was worth waking up for (for a change). It also has a restaurant by Joel Robuchon(sp?) that was once again fantastic but with enormous portions. Susan had her 3rd day in a row of eating duck. They had a duck press in the kitchen, but unfortunately non of the dishes on the menu that day were using it. We didn't have a camera with us so we didn't catch a picture of it, but I assure you it was very cool.
On our way to Venice we stopped in at Padova for another dinner. This time at Le Calandre. It made for a very interesting meal, but a bit more French than we were going for with our first meal in Italy. Highlight of the meal was called the 'plate of chocolate' and consisted of 11 different desserts, and came with a little video that they play on a projector. They liked the tech there, their wine list came on an Ipad app. The app looked really nice, and worked great, it had some data and sommelier notes available for each wine, and I bet it saves a lot of work for the staff.
Venice itself was almost a theme park, but we still had some great pies, and it beats the hell out of Disneyland. The whole gondola thing is an enormous rip-off, but we bit the bullet and did it anyways, and it was a pretty relaxing trip.
I actually bought a couple trinkets, and mailed them to Toronto. The rest of my shopping (if there is any) will likely happen in Rome so I can just carry it back, as mailing from here was a hassle.
Our trip to Modena was primarily food focused, and did not disappoint. We have found that since leaving the tourism focused towns food has gotten better, and a lot cheaper. The number of sports cars in town was cool (out front of the bank may as well have been a car show), but oddly enough I didn't see any of the famous brands that are made in the immediate area.
We had one more big dining meal here, possibly as good as Moo. The place was called Osteria Francesscana(sp?). Highlight dish for me was a fancied up sous-vide version of bolito misto. The only thing that brought this meal down for us was dining fatigue. It's all become too much rich food. Susan was full after the second course, and I'm at the point were I could go for a hot dog. So we might have one more big meal in Rome, but the dining portion of our trip is pretty much complete. On to the tiny trattorias and pizzerias!
I got some balsamic in Modena because it seemed logical. I think I got a good deal. Can anybody think of anything else I should be bringing back? Any souvenir requests? I assume traveling with cured meats is frowned upon.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Arles
Here is Susan's report on Arles.
After Spain, we were off to France to a small town in Provence - Arles. It was a nice
change of pace going from a bustling city to a small town. Even though there were many
tourists during the day, it was incredibly quiet at night.
We stayed in a hotel close to the Arena and Ampitheatre, both of which were pretty
structures. We wondered around the city by foot, everything was a lot closer than it
appeared on the map. We walked along the harbourfront, which runs along the Rhone. Then
we wondered around town and visted a church, a cloister, and a cryptoportico.
Cryptoportico is an underground gallery, located under the Place du Forum. We also went
to the cemetery where we saw a monument for soldiers who died in the first
World War.
The food in Arles was wonderful, but pricey. While in Arles, Gray noticed
a Michelin star restaurant in which he promptly looked up. Unfortunately, we didn't go
to that one, but we ended up going to another Michelin star restaurant Cilantro. The meal
was HUGE. We thought we were getting a four-course meal with cheese and dessert but it
seemed like it was a 10 course meal with cheese and dessert. We were stuffed.
After Spain, we were off to France to a small town in Provence - Arles. It was a nice
change of pace going from a bustling city to a small town. Even though there were many
tourists during the day, it was incredibly quiet at night.
We stayed in a hotel close to the Arena and Ampitheatre, both of which were pretty
structures. We wondered around the city by foot, everything was a lot closer than it
appeared on the map. We walked along the harbourfront, which runs along the Rhone. Then
we wondered around town and visted a church, a cloister, and a cryptoportico.
Cryptoportico is an underground gallery, located under the Place du Forum. We also went
to the cemetery where we saw a monument for soldiers who died in the first
World War.
The food in Arles was wonderful, but pricey. While in Arles, Gray noticed
a Michelin star restaurant in which he promptly looked up. Unfortunately, we didn't go
to that one, but we ended up going to another Michelin star restaurant Cilantro. The meal
was HUGE. We thought we were getting a four-course meal with cheese and dessert but it
seemed like it was a 10 course meal with cheese and dessert. We were stuffed.
Tuesday 5 April 2011
Following Jupiter
Pre-post Note: Gray and Susan are alive, well, and blogging! They've put a couple of posts up recently, so if you haven't checked in since last Tuesday be sure to scroll down and check out the new content! Now, on with the show...
----------------------------------
I've decided to try something a little different today: a book review! Don't worry though, I'm not straying too far from the path here as this is, in fact, a book about travel.
I just recently finished reading Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon, and will give you a quick summary. The esteemed Mr. Simon set out in 1973 to travel around the world on a motorcycle. He accomplished this feat on a 500cc Triumph Tiger 100, travelling approximately 103,000km over the course of four years, and detailed the adventure in the aforementioned book. The route started in London, passed quickly south through France and Italy (familiar territory for Simon) and made the jump into Tunisia. From there he travelled East along Northern Africa, and then South along the East coast. When he got to South Africa he got a ship to Brazil and travelled South then North covering a huge amount of South America before heading through Central America and into the United States. He caught another ship in California to Australia, did a tour of duty there, and then proceeded to hop through Malaysia and into India. From there it was a straight shot through the Middle East and back in to Europe. Quite the adventure!
The fascination with this story for me runs very deep, and goes far beyond the simple love of travel and motorcycles. It's true that I've had a growing desire to get a bigger bike (something I'm actively working on still) and attempt some long-distance travel via motorcycle, and I've got a lot of inspiration just from the logistics of Simon's epic voyage. Taking the motorcycle out of the equation though, I still find the concept of global travel thrilling, and more than a little intimidating. It's an amazing thing to be able to walk away from everything and just wander the earth, and I've wondered for a very long time if I could ever have it in me to accomplish a similar task. Sadly, Jupiter's Travels has failed to answer that question for me. While there are some hints there about the methods of getting around the world with very limited support and resources, ultimately it's something that still eludes me. I think I'm starting to understand that such a trip, with all it's limitations also requires a limitation on planning. I'd always tried to piece together how you can plan things like food and accomodation so far in advance... and you can't. It just can't be done, and that's the trick. More than anything else I think that's the hard part of a truly epic adventure - letting go of the plan. I like to have everything figured out before I go somewhere. I REALLY like it. EVERYTHING. I think that's been my greatest barrier to the concept of true adventure, why the "how" of it has always eluded me. Even with that revelation it still seems like a slightly alien concept. I've been trying to divine the key skills that make up the global traveller; what must a man learn in order to successfully make his way around the world? I'm beginning to wonder if the sole ingredient here is courage. Perhaps that's all there is to it. Just jump in with both feet, and once you're on the road the will to survive will keep you going.
Another area of great interest to me in Jupiter's Travels was looking at the book as the work of a fellow travel writer. I actually had a difficult time writing that last statement... it seems just a bit pompous to suggest that I am in some way the peer of Ted Simon, Patron Saint of Insane Motorcyclists, but a boy can dream. What really caught my attention as I read Simon's accountings of his journey was the honesty, and it took me awhile to realize it for what it was. He was not in any way shy about detailing incidences where he was foolish or rude, and made no qualms about describing how despondant he could get at various points along the road. Just as easily as he would describe a great kindness from one person he would detail the horrible, unjust thoughts he'd have about another just because he was in a black mood. At first I looked down my nose at this sort of behaviour, as if by writing it about The Hero of the Story he was in some way justifying his thoughts and actions. It took me awhile to realize that he was just being perfectly honest about the state of mind he was in at any moment in time. He managed to rise above the temptation to write himself as the Legendary Hero and just showed himself as he was on the journey - the good and the bad. I've been in some truly remarkable places, been surrounded by calm and beauty and been unable to enjoy it because of some deep shadow over my thoughts that just made me want to go home, sleep in my own bed, and play on my computer. If nothing else it was very uplifting to know that even one of this world's great adventurers has experienced this same feeling, and is equally as baffled by the experience as I am.
So, as a complete work I found Jupiter's Travels to be quite engaging. It spoke to me as a traveller, a writer, and a motorcyclist. If you put yourself in any of those categories I'm sure you'd get a lot of enjoyment out of reading Simon's works. Little snippets from the book, as well as notes on his more recent journey can be found on Ted Simon's personal page: http://www.jupitalia.com/default.html
I found it interesting that the entire trip around the world was accomplished on a 500cc bike since that's actually what I've been looking at upgrading to. I'm currently balancing out the pros and cons of the Kawasaki Ninja 500, and the Suzuki GS500F right now. Not that I wouldn't mind following in Ted Simon's footsteps and getting a Triumph!
My consumption of media in the Motorcycle Adventure genre has continued since then as I've started watching Long Way Round, a TV show inspired by Jupiter's Travels. In it actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor travel from London to New York on motorcycles. So far I'm really enjoying it. Between Jupiter's Travels and Long Way Round I'm absolutely DYING for a road trip right now!
So, that's all for now everyone. I've read something that's captivated my mind, made me realize areas where I need to grow as a traveller and a writer, made me question my mettle, and ultimately left me inspired. I hope you all have a lovely week, and again I encourage you to check back regularly for updates from Graydyn and Susan, and don't forget to go read their earlier posts and give them your support on their great adventure! As for me, I'll see you all next Tuesday!
----------------------------------
I've decided to try something a little different today: a book review! Don't worry though, I'm not straying too far from the path here as this is, in fact, a book about travel.
I just recently finished reading Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon, and will give you a quick summary. The esteemed Mr. Simon set out in 1973 to travel around the world on a motorcycle. He accomplished this feat on a 500cc Triumph Tiger 100, travelling approximately 103,000km over the course of four years, and detailed the adventure in the aforementioned book. The route started in London, passed quickly south through France and Italy (familiar territory for Simon) and made the jump into Tunisia. From there he travelled East along Northern Africa, and then South along the East coast. When he got to South Africa he got a ship to Brazil and travelled South then North covering a huge amount of South America before heading through Central America and into the United States. He caught another ship in California to Australia, did a tour of duty there, and then proceeded to hop through Malaysia and into India. From there it was a straight shot through the Middle East and back in to Europe. Quite the adventure!
The fascination with this story for me runs very deep, and goes far beyond the simple love of travel and motorcycles. It's true that I've had a growing desire to get a bigger bike (something I'm actively working on still) and attempt some long-distance travel via motorcycle, and I've got a lot of inspiration just from the logistics of Simon's epic voyage. Taking the motorcycle out of the equation though, I still find the concept of global travel thrilling, and more than a little intimidating. It's an amazing thing to be able to walk away from everything and just wander the earth, and I've wondered for a very long time if I could ever have it in me to accomplish a similar task. Sadly, Jupiter's Travels has failed to answer that question for me. While there are some hints there about the methods of getting around the world with very limited support and resources, ultimately it's something that still eludes me. I think I'm starting to understand that such a trip, with all it's limitations also requires a limitation on planning. I'd always tried to piece together how you can plan things like food and accomodation so far in advance... and you can't. It just can't be done, and that's the trick. More than anything else I think that's the hard part of a truly epic adventure - letting go of the plan. I like to have everything figured out before I go somewhere. I REALLY like it. EVERYTHING. I think that's been my greatest barrier to the concept of true adventure, why the "how" of it has always eluded me. Even with that revelation it still seems like a slightly alien concept. I've been trying to divine the key skills that make up the global traveller; what must a man learn in order to successfully make his way around the world? I'm beginning to wonder if the sole ingredient here is courage. Perhaps that's all there is to it. Just jump in with both feet, and once you're on the road the will to survive will keep you going.
Another area of great interest to me in Jupiter's Travels was looking at the book as the work of a fellow travel writer. I actually had a difficult time writing that last statement... it seems just a bit pompous to suggest that I am in some way the peer of Ted Simon, Patron Saint of Insane Motorcyclists, but a boy can dream. What really caught my attention as I read Simon's accountings of his journey was the honesty, and it took me awhile to realize it for what it was. He was not in any way shy about detailing incidences where he was foolish or rude, and made no qualms about describing how despondant he could get at various points along the road. Just as easily as he would describe a great kindness from one person he would detail the horrible, unjust thoughts he'd have about another just because he was in a black mood. At first I looked down my nose at this sort of behaviour, as if by writing it about The Hero of the Story he was in some way justifying his thoughts and actions. It took me awhile to realize that he was just being perfectly honest about the state of mind he was in at any moment in time. He managed to rise above the temptation to write himself as the Legendary Hero and just showed himself as he was on the journey - the good and the bad. I've been in some truly remarkable places, been surrounded by calm and beauty and been unable to enjoy it because of some deep shadow over my thoughts that just made me want to go home, sleep in my own bed, and play on my computer. If nothing else it was very uplifting to know that even one of this world's great adventurers has experienced this same feeling, and is equally as baffled by the experience as I am.
So, as a complete work I found Jupiter's Travels to be quite engaging. It spoke to me as a traveller, a writer, and a motorcyclist. If you put yourself in any of those categories I'm sure you'd get a lot of enjoyment out of reading Simon's works. Little snippets from the book, as well as notes on his more recent journey can be found on Ted Simon's personal page: http://www.jupitalia.com/default.html
I found it interesting that the entire trip around the world was accomplished on a 500cc bike since that's actually what I've been looking at upgrading to. I'm currently balancing out the pros and cons of the Kawasaki Ninja 500, and the Suzuki GS500F right now. Not that I wouldn't mind following in Ted Simon's footsteps and getting a Triumph!
My consumption of media in the Motorcycle Adventure genre has continued since then as I've started watching Long Way Round, a TV show inspired by Jupiter's Travels. In it actors Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor travel from London to New York on motorcycles. So far I'm really enjoying it. Between Jupiter's Travels and Long Way Round I'm absolutely DYING for a road trip right now!
So, that's all for now everyone. I've read something that's captivated my mind, made me realize areas where I need to grow as a traveller and a writer, made me question my mettle, and ultimately left me inspired. I hope you all have a lovely week, and again I encourage you to check back regularly for updates from Graydyn and Susan, and don't forget to go read their earlier posts and give them your support on their great adventure! As for me, I'll see you all next Tuesday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)