A Roamancing New Year!

Wishing you, our wonderful community, a year filled with …

Moments of Utter Delight

 

Lori jumping with utter delight!

Lori Yearwood jumping with utter delight!

 

Interesting Perspectives

 

Bogota, Colombia from a pigeon eye view.

Plaza de Bolívar in Bogota, Colombia from a pigeon eye view.

 

Good Music

 

 

Tasty Eats

 

Some seriously tasty eats in Bogota, Colombia.

Some seriously tasty eats in Bogota, Colombia.

 

Smiling Faces

 

Welcomed by a warm smile from a boy in the market in Hurghada.

Welcomed by a warm smile in the market in Hurghada, Egypt.

 

Dancing

 

 

New Friends

 

Daniel Noll, Audrey Scott and Erica Hargreave in Marsa Alam after their talk at the UNWTO Conference on Partnering with Media in Challenging Times

Daniel Noll, Audrey Scott and Erica Hargreave in Marsa Alam after their talk at the UNWTO Conference on Partnering with Media in Challenging Times.

 

Annelise Larson getting set to dive into her first Lobsterblast.

Annelise Larson getting set to dive into her first Lobsterblast at the Yorkton Film Festival.

 

Our two newest Roamancers: Hannia Curi and Megan Ho.

Our two newest Roamancers: Hannia Curi and Megan Ho.

 

Jaime Tenorio, Steve Peters, Caitlin Burns and Lina Srivastava in Plaza de Bolívar, Bogota, Columbia.

Jaime Tenorio, Steve Peters, Caitlin Burns and Lina Srivastava in Plaza de Bolívar, Bogota, Columbia.

 

Old Friends

 

Enjoying a sunset stroll at Point Roberts with Andrew.

Enjoying a sunset stroll at Point Roberts with Andrew.

 

Lucy Duck simply quackers for the lovely ladies of Yorkton.

Lucy Duck simply quackers for the lovely ladies of Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

 

Ken, Cam and Erica waiting to be charioted to the Golden Sheath Gala.

Ken, Cam and Erica waiting to be charioted to the Golden Sheath Gala.

 

Erica and Caitlin exploring Bogota, as photographed by Lina Srivastava.

Erica and Caitlin exploring Bogota, as photographed by Lina Srivastava.

 

Furry Friends

 

Erica and Satchmo having some red boot adventures in the Canadian wilds.

Erica and Satchmo having some red boot adventures in the Canadian wilds.

 

Cato Cat and Lucy Duck road tripping across Canada.

Cato Cat and Lucy Duck road tripping across Canada.

 

New Experiences

 

Me and Audrey Scott quad biking in the desert near Hurghada, as photographed by Daniel Noll.

Me and Audrey Scott quad biking in the desert near Hurghada, as photographed by Daniel Noll.

 

A Bit of the Ridiculous

 

 

Love

 

Alley Cat Amour in Hurghada, Egypt.

Alley Cat Amour in Hurghada, Egypt.

 

Laughter

 

Quad Biking Cat in Hurghada, Egypt

Quad Biking Cat in Hurghada, Egypt

 

Unexpected Beauty

 

 

… and of course, Good Health!

Happy New Year!

With Love from all of us Roamancers.

xoxo

 

Clouds, Natural Beauty the World Over

This week’s #FriFotos reminded me of the beauty created by clouds the world over.  In celebration, here are a few moments in my travels from the past year, where the clouds made me smile!

From the Air

 

Setting my sights on the beautiful blue waters & gentle skies of the Caribbean for the 1st time.

 

Peeking through the clouds at the Middle East for the first time.

 

Clouds over Canada

 

Beautiful in BC

 

Big Sky Saskatchewan

 

Cloudy reflections in Ontario’s North.

 

Elegant over Egypt

 

Peaceful skies over Egypt

 

Magnificent skies over the Sphinx.

 

Colombian Clouds

 

Bogota Courtyard Clouds

 

Clouds over Bogota’s Old Town

A Healing Moment in Travel

Something I haven’t been ready to write about until now, is my last year, and how I have flung myself into travel to distract myself with something fun, that makes me feel good.  Now I should state that we have had the idea for Roamancing for a number of years and had been planning it’s launch for this very week a year ago.  That didn’t happen, because my Dad died, the third death in my family in a month (including Sara the golden retriever and Charlie the cat). Needless to say the launch of Roamancing was put on hold, and when we did return to it, it was an outlet for fun and light-hearted laughs, at times a busy escape from dealing with a lot of loss in the last year (which included a number of beloved friends), and as we move forward an outlet for doing good and opening people’s minds and hearts up to people around the world.  And along the way, it has introduced me to many new friends from around the world, that have found a spot in my heart, and returned me into the open arms of old friends.  It is these old friends across Canada that inspired two road trips from BC to Ontario and back again, that and the need to reflect, cry and process.

This last Spring’s #CrossCanada road trip finally allowed me to do that, and on a day that I was driving to the hospital in Saskatoon to tell a very dear woman that I loved her one last time, I happened on the most beautiful scene on Saskatchewan’s Yellowhead Highway.  It was exactly what I need in that moment.  I pulled over and sat in the quiet, watching the beauty that lay before me for the next hour.  It brought a sense of calm and peace to what was a difficult day.

 

Saskatchewan Beauty

 

Now as the tears for Dad finally flow for me, my mind keeps taking me back to that sunny afternoon and the peaceful beauty at the side of the road in Saskatchewan.

 

Focusing through the cattail.

 

Spying pelicans through the cattail.

 

A healing moment.

 

Many of our tales are about the people we meet in our travels, but it will always be quiet moments, like this in nature that will allow me to reflect and bring me peace.  And it will be through the music, that I will remember Dad with joy, even if tears are flowing down my face.

 

Gentle landings.

Unwinding with the Beauty of a Saskatchewan Sunset

Unwinding after a much needed lazy weekend, enjoying a glass of wine and flipping through photos from our Spring #CrossCanada road trip.

 

I wasn't the only enjoying the beautiful sunset.

 

With still recovering from last weekend’s escapades at the Yorkton Film Festival in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, somehow it feels fitting to share a beautiful, tranquil Prairie sunset, inspiring a bit of r&r until the next adventure begins.

 

Love the Prairie sky!

 

*sigh*

 

Yorkton Film Festival Road Tripping Shenanigans Inspired by Paddock Wood

In case you had not noticed, our lives seem to attract more than a little bit of the ridiculous, which seems to be magnified 10 fold with our yearly pilgrimage to the Yorkton Film Festival to pay homage to our most beloved Canadian film community. This only seems to have been made worse by the likes of Katrina German and the augment of our now Annual Road Trip from Saskatoon to Yorkton, Saskatchewan (yes, google maps says this trip is only meant to take 3 hours and 37 minutes, but when done by Kat and I, it’s epic).

Well, I am not sure who had the bright idea of asking Kat and I to pick up Yorkton Film Festival’s Golden Sheaf Beer from Paddock Wood … but let’s just say I wouldn’t be asking us.  I suppose they thought with Annelise Larson and Erica Hargreave along for the ride, we’d behave ourselves. Fat chance (especially after I’d tasted the rather scrumptious brew – yes, it was 10 am, but thanks to Kat, I needed the hair of the dog)!

Now, I suppose I should state at this point that I was not driving, so a 10 am beer was perfectly acceptable. Kat, however, was, which is why she hashtagged the road trip #HowToDeliverBeerWithoutDrinkingBeerBecauseDriving, while I preferred such hashtags as #HowToDrinkBeerDeliveringAsKatDrives and #HowToMockKatAsSheIsDriving.

Here’s how it all went down:

 

And they're off! Kat - 0 : Me - 1

 

If the question is, do we leave 6 boxes of beer behind, it is amazing how tight the space I'll manage to fit. Kat - 0 : Me - 2

 

The head rush isn't as tasty as the beer. Kat - 0 : Me - 3

 

Strategy Stop - if Kat leaves we still have a ride. Kat - 0 : Me - 4

 

Singing the Paddock Wood Blues. Kat - 0 : Me - 5

 

Okay Princess, you can have a beer! Kat - 1 : Me - 6

 

Really not too sure why Kat didn’t just hand the wheel over to Erica who thought it too early to hit the cases of beer, but then we’re not here to judge Kat’s intelligence.  Especially as said intelligence thought it wise to leave three cases of beer in my room.

 

Kat - 1 : Me - 3 cases

 

PS. In Full Disclosure: As always, the opinions and thoughts shared here are our own and honest ones. We are bought out by no one. In the spirit of disclosure, it should be noted that on this trip, our expenses were paid by the Yorkton Film Festival, where we were speaking.