Misc.

After one 14 hour flight to Doha, Qatar, a 3 hour layover, and a 3 hour flight to Delhi, I arrived in India at 2AM. After clearling customs and grabbing my bag, I found my driver and headed to our first hotel to meet Amanda – where I quickly passed out. 

Our first day in India was overwhelming. We saw a lot in a short period of time. After an amazing breakfast (potato crepes and masala chai) we headed out on our private tour. First stop was at the Qutb Minar, a tower built by the Muslim Sultinate rulers of India. Each ruler added another portion to the tower, which stands at around 80 meters today. 

The grounds were filled with other amazing sandstone structures, all you could walk up to and touch. This was a much different experience than other UNESCO historical sites I’ve visited. 

After our visit we drove to the Loutus Temple and famous Red Fort in Delhi. Both were beautiful structures, which seem to be abundant throughout the city. 

Next, we visited one of the largest Hindu temples in the world, and the flat out most beautiful temple I’ve ever seen. Swaminarayan Akshardham was built in 2005 so it’s a modern temple, constructed entirely of volunteers 45 years under schedule. The attention to detail was amazing. No pictures are allowed inside or around the temple, so I pulled one from Wikipedia below. 

For the last part of the day, we had an a great lunch of butter chicken and aloo phujia. Then we headed to the spice market via tuk tuk, which was one of the most intense experiences of my life. It compares with skydiving honestly. We spent about an hour driving the streets of old Delhi, which were packed – and I mean packed. Countless motorcycles, cars, bikes, rick shaws and tuk tuks made up the street, while thousands of people crammed the side walks and market place. We felt the eyes of everyone, had the fumes of all the cars around us blowing in our lungs, and were less than a centimeter away from too many vehicles to count. It was truly unbelievable that it was all working, but the traffic just seems to ebb and flow in a beautiful way. I couldn’t stop smiling for the entire trip – it was my first taste of culture shock in a long time. 

We ended our day after Amanda bought some scarves at a local shop. I came away from the market empty handed. My brain was spinning from what I’d just experienced. We both fell asleep at 6pm and missed our arranged dinner – Delhi is certainly an overwhelming, and intense city. 

This was a hell of a summer. 2016 has been a great year thus far, and after returning to Florida for the rest of the year, I figured I would write a quick recap of what I’ve been up to this July and August.

The summer started with a quick trip to Saskatchewan. My grandma has a cabin in Waskesui, Saskatchewan, and most of my family took a week long trip to the cabin in early July. We had a great time visiting with relatives from both sides of my family. The sunsets at Waskesui Lake were particularly beautiful.

After 5 days of golfing, visiting, and hanging out by the lake, I packed up and headed to Vancouver. My brother Taylor came into town in July, and we tried our hardest to show him the best of BC in just 7 days. We started his visit with a trip to Coal Harbour, and a tour of the downtown core.

After touring Vancouver, we hiked to the top of Cypress to show Taylor the city from above. Eagle Bluffs is a great hike that isn’t too challenging – about 3 hours round trip. The hike ends at a viewpoint that really shows off the lower mainland – personally it’s one of my favorite views. We did the hike with my girlfriend and her sister, and got some really great photos from the day.

After showing off Vancouver, I really wanted to take Taylor up to Kalamalka Lake near Vernon, BC. My girlfriend Amanda has a trailer between Wood Lake and Kalamalka Lake, and it’s one of my favorite spots in the province. We spent the August long weekend on the boat trying our best to wake-surf, playing tennis, and enjoying the yearly concert that the trailer park puts on. It was definitely one of the best weekends of the year for me. You can see more pictures from that trip here.

And yes, I’m aware of how often I wear my blue Hawaiian shirt. It’s awesome.

Almost immediately after Taylor left, my older brother Graeme and his fiance Ashten arrived for a weekend trip to the city. Amanda and I were happy to play host for another sibling, it forced us to get out and show off the lower mainland. Our first stop was Stanley Park, where we spent a few hours biking around before stopping for drinks and a great meal at Meat & Bread.

We stopped by White Rock in the evening to revisit our old neighborhood, and went for dinner at one of our favorite spots, the Washington Avenue Grill. Graeme was turning 30 in a couple of days, so we had a nice birthday dinner and walked along the pier. It was a jam-packed day, but somehow we managed to top it on Saturday.

We woke up at 7AM the following day, and despite a few hangovers made it to Squamish to hike the Chief before hundreds of other hikers would pack the trail. It’s about a 3 hour trek, not counting a stop at the top to enjoy the view. It’s a must do if you’re in the lower mainland. Graeme and Ashten both loved it.

We had a goodbye dinner after our hike (and a quick stop at Howe Sound Brewing). We tried out Salt Tasting Room which was fantastic, they pair wine, cheese and meat for you so it was a cool experience. After popping some champagne to celebrate Graeme’s birthday, and a few of my favorite new drinks (a classic Nagroni is delicious), we headed home and saw them off in the morning. It was another awesome visit.

With our guests gone, Amanda and I spent the rest of our summer playing tennis, trying out the new breweries in Port Moody, and getting up to the lake one more time for good measure. Sprinkle in a few wineries and some trips to Kits and Jericho Beach, and you have my summer. Plus, I got to meet one of my best friends newest additions – baby Enzo.

 

 

That’s a good note to cap it off on. I flew back to Florida in the beginning of September. It was hard to leave, but this summer will be an easy one to remember. Definitely a 10 out of 10.

Why is a dog a man’s best friend?

It seems strange. We have cats, birds, and fish as pets, but none of them leave quite the impression on us that dogs do. A dog is there when you need him, quiet when you don’t, and always up for your next move.

My family dog, Twister, was no exception.

Twister was almost two years old when we adopted him. He was from a dog farm in South America, adopted by a family in South Florida that could no longer deal with his constant health issues. His skin was constantly breaking, his paws bled, and ear infections were a weekly occurrence. My older brother somehow convinced my mom to bring him home for ‘just a weekend’, which quickly turned into a lifetime.

Twister never healed 100%. He undoubtedly got better, but his health issues always lingered. Fortunately, he didn’t let that hold him back. He loved to play tug of war, to run on the golf course with my dad, and most of all – he loved to swim. Our family had a swimming pool that he would chomp at the bit to get into. Just the sight of a pair of swimming trunks was all it took to send him into a frenzy. When he saw someone dip a toe in, he would circle the pool in a clockwise motion once entirely before diving in without a care in the world. As silly as it sounds, I’d give anything for one more swim with that dog. If I enjoy anything in my life as much as Twister enjoyed swimming – I’ll have done alright.

He was also our protector. Anyone who entered our house got a stern look from Twister for an uncomfortably long amount of time – truth be told, he never loved anyone that was outside of our immediate family. His protective nature was especially true in the case of my mom. If a salesperson came to the door or the cable guy was installing a new box, Twister wouldn’t leave my mom’s side until everything was back to normal. He had a strong sense of loyalty, and we all loved him for it.

In 2015, Twister’s nagging health issues caught up with him. His hind legs almost completely gave out. While he seemed to be with us mentally, his body just wasn’t. We all knew his time with us was coming to an end – yet we just couldn’t say goodbye. We took him to the vet three times and carried him around the house for 10 months before any of us could let go. I’ll never forget our final day with him and his final moments with us. He meant the world to everyone in my family – it’s why we all felt compelled to be with him until the very end.

I hope heaven has the biggest swimming pool a dog could ask for. Rest easy, Twist.

 

 

If you’ve never been, the interior of British Columbia is a must-visit in the summertime. There are lakes, hikes, and wineries everywhere you turn. My girlfriend, Amanda, has a family cabin in Oyama that we visit several times every summer. This year, I was lucky enough to bring my brother up for the long weekend with Amanda’s family to enjoy the scenery. We spent the weekend lounging on the boat, wake-surfing, cliff-jumping, playing tennis, spike-ball, and volleyball.

Here are some of the photos from our 4 days at Kalamalka Lake, which sits just north of Oyama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about visiting Kalamalka or Woods Lake, feel free to Tweet me @CaveJustin.

This past February, I had the chance to spend three days at Sun Peaks Ski Resort in British Columbia, Canada. Sun Peaks is an hour from Kamloops and about a four-hour drive from Vancouver, but it’s definitely worth the trip. Lift passes aren’t nearly as expensive as some of the closer mountains, and the skiing (especially the powder) is first class.

I have only been on the mountain a couple of times in the past few years, so getting my bearings took about a day – but after that all was good. I always forget how much I love skiing until I get up on the hill. We skied three days straight which was an awesome workout. On the last day, the mountain-gods gave us a foot of fresh powder, which was something I don’t think I’ve ever experienced.

If you’re looking for a new mountain in BC, be sure to check out Sun Peaks. Here are a few photos from the trip.