Let the Magic Begin

I have come to realize that I’m writing and posting blogs much less frequently than I have been historically. For a few years, I endeavored to write at least 1-2 posts per month, but this has fallen by the wayside over the course of the post-COVID world. When taking a moment to assess, I’ve realized recently that I have not been at my best. I think one of the reasons (not the sole source of my lower-energy states, but one factor) is that I haven’t really had anything major to look forward to in some time. Yes, we went to Paris last spring, but that was a semi-impulsive trip that was only planned out a few weeks prior. And since then, there has been nothing big to speak of.

Until this past week.

Continue reading “Let the Magic Begin”

Vacation Interruptus

Following up on my most recent blog post, here’s another slice of true life in the world of Chris.

Today is my wedding anniversary. Eleven years ago today, Isabelle and I tied the knot and have lived truly blessed lives since that day. I am very recognizant of the privileged life that I live, and I am eternally grateful for all of the abundance that I have in my life. But even a privileged life like mine isn’t always perfect, despite what social media may tell you. Here’s the brief rundown of our long-simmering trip to Cape Breton.

Continue reading “Vacation Interruptus”

Dink Diaries – Happy Anniversary

As most of you who read my blog posts semi-regularly, my wife and I were celebrating our tenth anniversary this year. Ten years! We had decided on our anniversary plan about nine years ago – an epic two-week trip, along with my brother and his wife, to Disney World. The reasoning being that our anniversary coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom. Eight years of putting money away week by week so that we would have a nice little nest egg to use for our trip. It was going to be amazeballs.

You can likely guess by the tone that the trip did not occur. Thanks to COVID-19, our plans were quashed. But we would not let this disappointment ruin our big anniversary. Given the travel constraints we faced, we instead opted to do a smaller-scale trip, but a fun one, nonetheless. Rather than head south to Florida, we headed north-west towards Quebec.

Continue reading “Dink Diaries – Happy Anniversary”

298 Days

If everything were to go according to plan, in 298 days, my wife and I, along with my brother and his wife, would be arriving in Walt Disney World. The purpose of our trip – twofold. Firstly, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World on October 1st. Secondly, and more importantly, to celebrate mine and Isabelle’s 10th wedding anniversary on October 1st.

Of course, our long-gestating plan may not play out as intended thanks to this lovely pandemic that we are still dealing with.

Continue reading “298 Days”

Adventures in Old Québec

When you’re given the opportunity to have two days to yourself in Québec City, you take it. Or at least that’s what I did recently.

My wife had flown up earlier in the week on a work-related trip. On Wednesday morning, at the crack of first light, I hopped in the car and started my 7-hour ride to meet up with her.

Fair warning – it’s a slightly longer post.

Continue reading “Adventures in Old Québec”

And Now for Something Completely Different (for us)

It was a new experience for my wife and I over the last two weeks of August. While we always take vacation during this time of the year (both of our birthdays fall at the end of August, some 5 days apart), it was a bit of a departure for us this time. Firstly, my wife, no longer working in the school system, was relegated to only having a few weeks of vacation to use for the year rather than having the summer off. Secondly, we opted to not take any trips this year for our vacation. This meant that we had two weeks of rest, relaxation and quiet.

And boy did I need it.

Continue reading “And Now for Something Completely Different (for us)”

DINKs and Death Cab

Last week, my wife and I took off on a short little getaway vacation to Toronto.  Although only a three-night stay, the fact of traveling to another city, in another province, did a lot of good for both of us. I find that going away forces your brain to realize, “Hey, I’m not at home.  I don’t have to worry about my job, or laundry, or yard work, or anything else.” 

We were in Toronto for a total of 72 hours (landed at 2:30 on Wednesday, took off at 2:30 on Saturday), and got in a total of 50 KM of walking over those 72 hours.  Here’s a quick rundown of our DINK Days.

Continue reading “DINKs and Death Cab”