Two mornings in a row, we were kicked out of some of Vancouver’s finest establishments.  No, I don’t mean the Surrey pub crawl for Zekiah’s 19th. I mean quiet little coffee shops in North Vancouver and White Rock.  Young managers who aren’t used to throwing out rowdy old folk like us. My roots run deep…

Who says you can’t go home? – Jon Bon Jovi, Jennifer Nettles In 2008, life was crazy.  We’d put our 4- and 6-year-old boys to bed then work side-by-side on our laptops until midnight – Sarah running two businesses, me leading a non-profit (ACCES) and serving on too many boards.  We bought a hot-tub just…

Having lived away from our home bases for all but 4 of our 25 years together, we’ve become experts at lightning strike visits.  Packing as many loud gatherings, quiet washing-the-dishes-together chats, and helping-move-furniture-chores into a short visit as possible. Drinking full (or rather, chugging quickly) from the cup of family love to sustain the next…

Three nights in Quebec City – not enough to see everything, but enough to drink it all in, absorb the magic and uniqueness that is North America’s only fortified city (it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site). Taking our own advice from an earlier post, we broke up a long drive out of Nova Scotia into…

When we told locals that our next stop was Pugwash, each one would ask “Why?”  The answer, as always, was that surely something interesting would surface.  And, as always, something did. At the height of the cold war in the 1950’s, Pugwash hosted a series of nuclear disarmament talks with top scientists from both sides…

I’ve lived in some magical places around the world. Communities that immediately and genuinely invited newcomers in – all the way in.  Communities that feel like the Cheers bar, were they’re always glad you came.  In Monteverde, the response to the endless stream of visitors and new short-term residents was an enthusiastic, “What new blessing…