Us:

We're an adventurous family, taking all opportunities to travel and get out and about as much as possible. From our quick day trippin' to weekenders to week and even month long trips I hope to capture as much as I can in this Blog.

Please enjoy our photos and my words and feel free to leave a comment at the end of the post; I'd love to hear what you have to say.


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Guest Blog. By Big B.

I hate winter. Period. I try to stay positive and embrace the seasons. I have actually started to enjoy spring and fall, probably because I am slightly overweight and 70 to 80 degrees is more comfortable for me than 90 to 100…but I’ll take 90 to 115 over (switching to Celsius now) 0 degrees or less. Like momma said, I can’t find joy in being uncomfortable in 5 layers of clothing. Have you ever tried to lace up your big frickin winter boots, with your insulated coveralls on and your slightly oversized belly in the way. FU*&!!! Needless to say I LOVE my trips to California, Arizona and Nevada. Luckily for me the desire is actually genetic so I have to go.

My dad’s dad was born in Bermuda, June 1914. Legend has it that he moved to Montreal when he was around 10 years old. (What were they thinking??) As a young adult he and my Nana slowly worked their way across Canada finally settling in Vancouver in the late ‘30s. A very successful shoe salesman he was, and by the early ‘60s my grandparents were going to Palm Springs and Las Vegas in the winter. It started as a couple week jaunt and escalated to the max stay of 6 months less a day. They managed this from the late ‘70s until 2003! YES for nearly 50 years Nana and Grampa would go to California in the winter! After Gramp B’s last trip to Palm Springs, he told me, with a sparkle in his eye, ”One thing you should do in life is make sure you go south every winter…even if you have to go into debt to do it!”

My mom’s dad was born in Vancouver, also in 1914. At the young age of 21 he and his adventurous spirit led him to California as well. Grampa R is still alive and well today at 94 years old! Funny thing is, he’s been alive for soooo long that his perception of what we should remember is much different than his…he asked me if I can remember what the trip was like before the I5. I had to remind him that I am only 33 and that I’m pretty sure the I5 has been around for longer than me! He worked down there for a couple of years, but ended up coming back to Canada to start his “real life”.

Big B and Grampa R, AKA "Pa"

Real life? Real life is what ever is happening in the flesh! My four year boy, Little B, is always referring to situations as “for real life Daddy”. Well this is it!! What ever it is that we are actually doing, is…Real Life. Whether or not it is what society tells us we should be doing. It’s the Real thing baby! So basically I will tell you this. Real life is what ever you limit it to. I think the perfect formula is to do whatever pleases you, so long as it doesn’t take any casualties along the way…The hardest part of the formula (one I have yet, to figure out) is how to balance the chance that I may live into my 90s like every one of my grandparents…or gulp, have this precious life taken from me, like too many of my friends and my mother in law. How do we live it to the fullest, with out going over the top? I think probably by living at the limit! I think that the most successful people around us, are the ones who have the natural ability to maintain a life at the very finite edge of the limit! Where am I going with all this rambling, you ask? HOPEFULLY SOUTH!


Big B.

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