Planning Winter Travels and The Year in Review
Wreck Beach in Vancouver, BC, Canada
Our Winter Travel Plans Are Taking Shape!
Itinerary: Europe, South East Asia, South Pacific & New Zealand
In 2015, in the very beginning phases of our 5050 project, one of the questions we tossed around was how we could escape the crisp and cold Canadian winter. We have come a long way by simply moving to Vancouver where the winter months are tolerable, albeit moister.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could travel for the winter months, and take a break from the snow and rain altogether? Well, we found an answer and our dream has become our new reality.
We are excited to be heading out “on the road” again in a couple of weeks. I am not sure we will completely avoid rain and or snow but hopefully, we will still find beauty and adventure as we continue towards our goal to visit 50 countries in the span of 50 months after turning 50. The finishing line is in sight.
In this post, we will bring you up to speed on some updates to the blog and our plans moving forward. As everyone loves photos and to break things up a bit we will also reveal the highlights of the past 12 months since returning from Europe in September 2018.
Throughout this post, you will find photos of our personal highlights from the past year. Be sure to read the captions for all the details. It was hard to limit this to 12, but here goes!
A Visit From Karen and Kristian
The year was filled with friends from near and far, and we loved it. Please come to Vancouver and visit! We have stayed with so many friends around the world and we are thrilled when they make it to our doorstep and we can return the hospitality.
In early October our daughter Emma arrived with her partner Simon as well as Simon’s parents, Karen and Kristian. They made good use of their time in Canada hiking, kayaking, and roading tripping to Vancouver Island, and Whistler.
Luckily we could host them all for Thanksgiving. Wonderful to introduce Karen and Kristian to Vancouver and Canada and hope they return soon.
Gathered with Simon, Karen, Kristian, and Emma in Vancouver
What Goes Into Planning a Winter Away?
The short answer is a lot :) Here is a quick recap and a “to-do list”. I am fairly confident this is only half of it. Preparations have been going on for months and are ingrained in who we are now and what we are trying to accomplish. The list below is probably more of a “last month before leaving scramble” but thought it would be fun to share.
Done already:
A lovely young couple from Brighton England will be subletting our apartment in the West End while we are away. They have just arrived in Canada and we hope our apartment will get them off to a good start in Vancouver
We joined a Buy-Nothing Facebook group and lent out our plastic moving bins. They were returned today. Great timing as we need to pack some of our stuff away prepping the apartment for departure
New 5050 Travelog business cards have been designed and ordered from Moo.com. Getting the word out there
Plane tickets for Dublin, Ireland have been booked. Departure October 19th. Stay tuned for the first blog post.
It was a Halloween wedding for our son Mik and Courtney on October 31st, 2018. It was a magical day, wonderful to see everyone and to see Mik and Courtney so happy together. Grandma came out from Ontario with Don, Jen, Madison, Jorja, Kaylee, and Bridget.
Gore-tex walking shoes for Di have been acquired and test walks are already under the belt
On this trip, we are replacing our roller suitcases with backpacks. For Di, we got the Osprey Porter 30
A backup credit card option has been secured, just in case one card goes lost or there is a glitch in the money world. Scotia Bank’s “You’re Richer than you think” slogan won us over.
Renewal of Permanent Residence Card for Canada for Morten as it was set to expire in February
Cross-checked that our passport won’t expire any time soon
For the 2018/19 holiday season we went to Vernon and Silver Star Mountain to catch up with old friends; Dagny & Philippe, Calvin & Christine, Bernie & Sattu, and Ross & Amanda. This photo is from the sunrise at Silver Star on the last day of the year, 2018. Always great to be back in the Okanagan.
To-Do List:
If this is the first post you read here, we need to remind you that we are into our fifties; meaning the list of body maintenance appointments cannot be ignored. We have both booked a massage
Chiro adjustment coming up next week. Prep for sleeping in who knows how many different beds?
Physio appointment for Morten’s shoulder, which is doing much better. Crossing our fingers that it stays that way
Tire swap, summers off, winters on. Our son Mik and his wife Courtney will have our car for the winter
Change car insurance to reflect the above paragraph
Get an extra key for the apartment
Pause our cell phone subscriptions while away
Look into cell phone data plans in Europe and beyond
Last-minute changes to the travel camera/lens configuration. Stay tuned for updates
Say goodbye to a wonderful group of young colleagues at Starbucks. Morten has been working part-time at a new Reserve Starbucks in Vancouver for the past nine months in order to replenish the travel savings account. October 3rd will be his last shift
Mock pack. Morten has to decide if he wants the same backpack as Di
Great to have Josh and Leighton Duley here for a visit in January. We share a passion for photography so we never run out of things to talk about. Looking forward to seeing all the Duleys and Sharon & Leighton’s new home in late January when we plan to hit New Zealand for a month or so.
5050 Travelog News
In the spring I came across a young Canadian couple, Nick and Dariece, who runs a very successful travelog blog: Goats on The Road. Although younger than us by a couple of decades their story is very similar to ours and it was easy for us to relate to their journey.
They wanted more out of life than the day-to-day grind and have found a way to do so, earning a substantial income from their blog.
Their beginnings were similar to ours and for the first couple of years, they did nothing in regard to search engine optimization. Now, a part of their blog is dedicated to helping other bloggers and I decided to opt-in to their SEO course.
I started in early June and have implemented several of the suggestions from the course. You may have noticed we are updating old posts, adding more content, new photos, and information about the camera gear used in any given blog post. Going forward advertising and affiliate links will be seen across the site.
We hope you will support this decision as we work to grow our blog and audience.
Coal Harbour and the Stanley Park Seawall during a February snow storm.
Camera and Lens Reviews
Since the beginning of digital photography, I have dabbled at camera reviews and taken part in discussions in online forums. I often provide advice to friends and family when they encounter costly camera or lens purchase decisions.
Combine this with a passion for travel and it seemed logical to add a sub-section for camera and lens reviews.
We mostly review gear we would consider buying ourselves or gear suitable for travel. For now, we are focusing on the Fujifilm X Series cameras and lenses but may expand into other brands as we move along. Here is a link to our Camera and Lens Reviews.
Springtime in the West End. Di getting our planters ready. Gardening is so much easier when you live in an apartment. It is hard to believe we are now in our third year of living in Vancouver. Where does the time go?
Where to Next
Three years ago we did a road trip through the northern part of England and Scotland. We especially enjoyed Isle of Skye with its breathtaking landscape and ocean all around.
At the time we did not have enough time to include Ireland or Northern Ireland in our itinerary, so we decided we need more green landscapes and sea breeze.
Dublin is also an affordable gateway to Europe with one-way flights from Vancouver for less than $300 CAD per person. It’s settled. The first stop is Ireland.
We will continue to more European destinations and will spend the holidays in Denmark with Emma and our family. In February we will make our way to New Zealand with a few stops along the way.
Stay tuned for updates as we finalize travel arrangements pending Di weighing the best possible routes, flight times, and options on Skyscanner.
Keep scrolling… We have a few more photos and captions below.
Hanne and Jesper visiting in Vancouver for Easter
Hanne and Jesper
Our lifelong friends from Denmark, Hanne & Jesper have been to Canada several times and paid us another visit around Easter. Dagny and Philippe came and stayed right after Hanne and Jesper left, which made for a wonderful Easter 2019.
Meli
We have a new addition to the family. I should be more specific. Mik and Courtney brought back a rescue kitten from their honeymoon in Kauai. We have been fortunate to have him stay with us a couple of times. This has been a joy as we had to say goodbye to both Frank and Celine, our 20 yr old kitties in the last year.
Meli helping me out with a camera review of the Fujifilm X 100F.
Gerd and Niels
Another visit from Denmark :) This time from Di’s friend from university days, Gerd, and her husband Niels. We go way back to happy days spent in Aarhus. Gerd and Niels toured the Rockies and Vancouver Island before wrapping up their Canada visit in Vancouver.
They explored the city with the energy of twenty-five-year-olds and it was good training for us! We cycled, walked, talked, and had a great time together.
Biking with Gerd and Niels at Vanier Park in Vancouver
Vancouver has a nearly endless choice of beaches. On this July evening, we found a quiet spot at Iona Beach, located near the airport. As usual, I was testing a lens, The Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8.
Candice and Dexter’s Wedding
Our daughter Emma lives in Denmark but was home last week for a special visit. She was in the bridal party for elementary school friends Candice and Dexter’s wedding. The event took place on a fabulous fall day in Vernon & Kelowna and we were on photography duty.
Candice and Dexter’s Okanagan Wedding
It was so nice to spend some quality time with Emma. The whole family did a long hike in Stanley Park and a couple of days later dad and daughter managed a late afternoon bike ride around the seawall where this photo was captured.
5050 Travelog Destinations
All Travel Destinations
Europe
Southeast Asia
Middle East
Canada and USA
New Zealand
The photos in this article are made using a Fujifilm X-Pro2, Fujifilm X-H1. Lenses: XF 14mm f/2.8 R - XF 23mm f/1.4 R - XF 35mm f/1.4 R - XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done in Capture One Express. I have used Fujifilm film simulations.
