Welcome to Great Canadian Parks

I have had the privilege of going to a few places in my short lifetime. I've been to all sorts of places in the US including Dayton and Cleveland (Ohio),Chicago (Illinois), New York, Syracuse, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo (New York), Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Atlantic City (New Jersey), Baltimore (Maryland), Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Beach (Virginia), Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach (Florida), Houston Airport (Texas), Detroit, Ann Arbor and Auburn Hills (Michigan), Oahu and Big Island (Hawaii) and finally Salt Lake City and surrounding areas (Utah). There are many more places there I want to visit. Las Vegas is amongst the top of the list. I am always amazed when I meet people who have not been anywhere in the US. With the border just an hour and a half away, I just don't understand why one would not venture on down.

Elsewhere in the world, I've been to Barbados on a high school trip, the airports in St. Lucia and Grenada and of course, all over the place in Trinidad and Tobago. I also had the privilege, through work, to visit Mexico City and Monterey to study the university's IBM Thinkpad setup down there. It is an awesome undertaking and I hope one day to return to see what they have advanced to since 1999. I fell in love with Mexico for the friendly people, the food and drink (Dos cervezas, pour for vour) and the architecture (I climbed the pyramid at the Sun and the Moon).

Of course, I cannot forget the awesome time I had in St. Martin/Sint Maarten. After all, it was our honeymoon and it was an awesome time for an awesome value.

In Canada, I have been lucky enough to get to drive around myself and to get shunted to various places for work. I still have many places to go. I've been through the usual corridor in the Golden Horseshoe and along the Highway 401 beltline. Playing soccer competitively for thirteen years helps in that traveling as well. I've been as far as Quebec City when a cousin lived there, but we primarily stick to no further than Vaudreuil-Dorion where my Goddaughter's family lives. Unfortunately, that is as far east as I have ever gotten and my LB and his family recently beat me out to the east coast as they took a short vacation driving out there from the Capital City. To the north, I made it all the way to North Bay and Sudbury but never got to see the Nickel. I was supposed to go to a bunch of places you have to fly into but then I left that project to become a teacher. Ah well.

To the west, again for work, I was able to taste some succulent Grade A Canadian beef in Calgary and see what a downtown had the potential of being when laid out correctly. An added thrill was to have a student take me on a quick tour and be able to stand up at the Olympic park. The mountains were an unbelievable sight that I wish I had my current camera with me to take some spectacular shots. Further west, I was able to visit a view places in British Columbia including Vancouver, Victoria Island, Abbotsford, and a few other smaller cities and towns. I did not get to go into the interior and there was not enough time to hit Whistler (or have Whistler as it would be in reality). I will be out there in 2010 for the Winter Olympics though as we have friends that live out there whose parents own a condo in Whistler. Hee hee.

So, wanderlust has been creeping in again and when I came across this site is Canoe, I had to share it with you all. I know better than anyone how work and other stuff can tie you down to the 20 square miles around you. I also know that you sometimes have to break free and enjoy what is a little further out from the fringe. This summer, do some planning, take a little road trip (flying is too frickin expensive in Canada) and enjoy this majestic land.

Ciao.



Welcome to Great Canadian Parks