Travels with Dan

A Brief Recap of 2014

Here are some of the things that have made 2014 so memorable:

I got married to my partner of 10 years in a beautiful ceremony on the shores of Lake Ontario before family and friends, many of whom had travelled from the other side of the world to take part. It was the perfect day.

I swam (twice) with Beluga whales in Churchill, Manitoba, and was treated during the second swim to a display that even the guides hadn’t seen. I can now say I’ve played with Beluga whales.

My first book was published in May and my second accepted in December. Best of all, people liked it.

I took the train from Toronto to Vancouver, seeing more of this country than most Canadians see in a lifetime. And despite what people say about the prairies, they have their own beauty which made my eyes widen and jaw drop.

I skied for the first time, and as well as enjoying it (I wasn’t sure I would), I’m also not bad when it comes to getting down the slopes. I liked it so much that I can wait to go again this season.

We continued our exploration of the Canadian provinces. We added British Columbia (We went to Whistler like all good Australians), Alberta (Banff and the Dinosaur Provincial Park were highlights), Saskatchewan (a drive-through for me but not Glen), Manitoba (Beluga whales and polar bears), Nova Scotia (amazing fall colours in Cape Breton) and Newfoundland (puffins, Vikings and the Labrador sea being my picks on this 11-day trip). (Quebec, PEI and Ontario were covered in 2013, but re explored (except for PEI) in 2014.

We travelled to the Galápagos Islands and spent ten days in this wildlife wonderland. I never thought I’d get there as soon as I did, thinking it would be something I’d be lucky to get to before I turn 40. But in May we explored what the archipelago has to offer, snorkelling with seals, sea turtles, and penguins, and coming face-to-face with boobies (haha), marine and land iguanas and giant tortoises.

I went to New York twice this year, another place I thought maybe I’d get to once in my lifetime. I’m not as in love with the place as some people, but it’s got its charm and there’s still more there left to see.

We went to Salzburg in Austria for a radiology conference–and went on a Sound of Music cycling tour. Soon after I went to the UK (again), visiting family and friends, going to a writer’s conference and checking out Wales for the first time (with my friend Nikki).

In addition to the guests at our wedding, we also had visitors from Germany and Australia, so got to reconnect with old friends from back home. This included two weeks with my sister, one week of which was spent checking out Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa. We also strengthened ties with our family away from home, and made new friendships, and said goodbye to fellows who returned home in the middle of the year.

And we finished the year in Puerto Rico with friends.

I’m hoping that 2015 brings just as much joy and happiness. We’ve already got tickets to the Eurovision final in Vienna in May, and conferences will take us to San Diego and Orlando. We’re going to start skiing imminently.

I’m also hanging out to see the snake pits in Manitoba in April, as well as at least getting to New Brunswick to see the Tides at Bay of Fundy, and Northwest Territories to see the Northern Lights. Somewhere in there my second book will come out and I have to write the third…and all this before our return to Perth in July. The next six months are going to be packed.