PEI was the last place we needed to visit before we headed home. We gave ourselves 4 days to make the trip back. We first went to Fredericton since we missed it on the way through the first time.
We had a good time in Fredericton. We just spent one night there and since it was Friday we went to a bar. It was a really cool bar too. It is called Iroc and it is on Queen Street. It is like 4 bars in 1. We ended up dancing like fools, but we don't know anyone there so who cares right, who cares anyways really.
The next day we drove all day right through Quebec into Ontario. We camped the night in a place called Morrisburg. You may have noticed that both ways in the trip we didn't spend much time in Quebec. Why is this, I'm not sure really. I guess we just wanted to spend as much of the trip as we could in NFLD, so we didn't have time. We did visit Montreal a few months ago though.
Then we made our way to Bowmanville up through Lindsay till we were at the north side of Simcoe Lake. We stayed at McRae Point Provincial Park for the night. We had planned on staying for 2 nights but wanted to be home so bad that we just left after 1 night.
So yes we are now home in Kitchener where we will be spending at least one more year training our asses off in Wing Chun. The trip was amazing and I would love to go back and visit everyone that we saw along the way. We covered so much ground and saw so many wonderful people, places and things. We didn't measure perfectly yet but we figure we drove 13 or 14 thousand km. So including the bike ride from Alberta too Kitchener it would be about15 or 16 thousand km of traveling across Canada.
The journey isn't over yet and really, it won't ever end. Still more training and then we have to go to B.C where a whole new kind of journey will begin. Anyway I'm sure I will post here and there when ever I feel inspired. We hope you have been enjoying the trip thus far, I know we have.
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010
So we made our way to P.E.I for what we had planned to be a 2 night visit, turned into a 4 night stay. Once again we find another part of Canada that is beautiful.
The island is full of farms and small communities. There is also so much to do on the island. We stayed with our friends while we were there and they showed us a lot of the Island, of course not all of it but a good portion. One of my favorite parts about PEI is that all the food there is locally grown. They also take the initiative to recycle everything. It is a good place for the other provinces to learn from.
There is way to much to say about PEI as is the same with the other provinces, but I will say that I love everyone of them. Each place has its own energy, wonderful people and fun things to do.
A couple of the things we did there was, go to the Fair and ride go-karts, went swimming in the ocean, went for dinner, went sight seeing, and just hung out with our friends Meagan and Jason. We met them when we were in Fort McMurray and it was great seeing them in their own surroundings. Jason built their house and it is a nice little place on 5 acres of land. The land there is very cheap so you can do a lot there with little money. All of the Atlantic provinces have good prices for land, the only thing is, there isn't a lot of jobs. Another thing I did was go for a bike ride down the Trans Canada Trail. The trail goes right across the island. I only rode for 54km and I was good for the day, it was also 35 degrees out.
We were told that PEI was big into martial arts and that we would find all kinds of schools there. I tried but all I could find was 4 schools all teaching stuff I'm not interested in. One more thing about PEI if you don't know is that there is a 13km bridge connecting the Island to the main land.
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The island is full of farms and small communities. There is also so much to do on the island. We stayed with our friends while we were there and they showed us a lot of the Island, of course not all of it but a good portion. One of my favorite parts about PEI is that all the food there is locally grown. They also take the initiative to recycle everything. It is a good place for the other provinces to learn from.
There is way to much to say about PEI as is the same with the other provinces, but I will say that I love everyone of them. Each place has its own energy, wonderful people and fun things to do.
A couple of the things we did there was, go to the Fair and ride go-karts, went swimming in the ocean, went for dinner, went sight seeing, and just hung out with our friends Meagan and Jason. We met them when we were in Fort McMurray and it was great seeing them in their own surroundings. Jason built their house and it is a nice little place on 5 acres of land. The land there is very cheap so you can do a lot there with little money. All of the Atlantic provinces have good prices for land, the only thing is, there isn't a lot of jobs. Another thing I did was go for a bike ride down the Trans Canada Trail. The trail goes right across the island. I only rode for 54km and I was good for the day, it was also 35 degrees out.
We were told that PEI was big into martial arts and that we would find all kinds of schools there. I tried but all I could find was 4 schools all teaching stuff I'm not interested in. One more thing about PEI if you don't know is that there is a 13km bridge connecting the Island to the main land.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Thursday, September 2, 2010
So after Mulgrave we drove along the Sunshine coast on our way to Halifax. The Sunshine coast added about 45 minutes to the trip, but it was worth it.
When we got to Halifax we went straight to Tara's friend's house. Yes this is the 2nd time see, we have been in Halifax during our trip. The first time we were there to see April the second time was to see Michelle. We had a good time and a relaxing time. The first night we just hung out and had a couple drinks. We watched Entourage all night, and that is our favorite show.
The next day we went to Peggy's Cove. That is a cool place. It is right on the coast and there is a big area of rocks with a light house on it. I spent most of the time climbing and jumping on the rocks. It was like a rock playground. Other than it being fun, it was very beautiful. That night we went down to Lower Water Street to a bar playing live music. I can't remember what it was called right now. We had a good time, and while there we came up with a new idea for our business stickers. We have been handing them out and sticking them everywhere, but that night we started sticking them on people as they walked by and we got other people to do it too. It was fun and a good laugh.
The next day was a sit-on-the-couch-and-watch-movies-all-day kind of day. We really needed that. I would say we are closer to recharged now.
We are now on our way to P.E.I., which is the final spot for us to visit. We plan on staying there for 2 nights but we will see if we can stick to that. Afterwards, we will be driving to get home. We are so excited to get back to training; getting soft is not a good feeling.
Martial Arts
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When we got to Halifax we went straight to Tara's friend's house. Yes this is the 2nd time see, we have been in Halifax during our trip. The first time we were there to see April the second time was to see Michelle. We had a good time and a relaxing time. The first night we just hung out and had a couple drinks. We watched Entourage all night, and that is our favorite show.
The next day we went to Peggy's Cove. That is a cool place. It is right on the coast and there is a big area of rocks with a light house on it. I spent most of the time climbing and jumping on the rocks. It was like a rock playground. Other than it being fun, it was very beautiful. That night we went down to Lower Water Street to a bar playing live music. I can't remember what it was called right now. We had a good time, and while there we came up with a new idea for our business stickers. We have been handing them out and sticking them everywhere, but that night we started sticking them on people as they walked by and we got other people to do it too. It was fun and a good laugh.
The next day was a sit-on-the-couch-and-watch-movies-all-day kind of day. We really needed that. I would say we are closer to recharged now.
We are now on our way to P.E.I., which is the final spot for us to visit. We plan on staying there for 2 nights but we will see if we can stick to that. Afterwards, we will be driving to get home. We are so excited to get back to training; getting soft is not a good feeling.
Martial Arts
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Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wingchun Fellowship
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The Ferry ride back was much funner then the Ferry ride there. We caught it at 6:30pm instead of 1:00am like the first time. There was live music and basically there was just things to do. It is like a mini cruise. We arrived in North Sydney at 12:30am, and then drove till we found a campground.
The campground we found was pretty average but all we needed was somewhere to sleep. The next morning we were woke up by rain. This day we had planned on driving the Cabot Trail, which was voted one of the most beautiful roads in North America. I'm sure it is, but we didn't get to see a lot of it. It rained all day long. The wind was blowing the fog was thick and it was just plain dangerous. I compared it to a roller coaster but better. When I ride roller coasters I don't get a rush, but driving on this road in these conditions was quite a rush. There were points on the trail where we knew we were at the edge of a cliff but we couldn't see 10 feet in front of us. The fog eventually cleared and the rain slowed down, so we were able to see some pretty nice scenery. The other thing on the road was construction. So it took us about 7 hours to travel 350km.
That night we stayed in Mulgrave. We stayed with my good friends parents. I haven't seen them in a few years and it was great seeing them again. When I was young I was at there house more then I was at my own house. They were my second parents for about 10 years.
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The campground we found was pretty average but all we needed was somewhere to sleep. The next morning we were woke up by rain. This day we had planned on driving the Cabot Trail, which was voted one of the most beautiful roads in North America. I'm sure it is, but we didn't get to see a lot of it. It rained all day long. The wind was blowing the fog was thick and it was just plain dangerous. I compared it to a roller coaster but better. When I ride roller coasters I don't get a rush, but driving on this road in these conditions was quite a rush. There were points on the trail where we knew we were at the edge of a cliff but we couldn't see 10 feet in front of us. The fog eventually cleared and the rain slowed down, so we were able to see some pretty nice scenery. The other thing on the road was construction. So it took us about 7 hours to travel 350km.
That night we stayed in Mulgrave. We stayed with my good friends parents. I haven't seen them in a few years and it was great seeing them again. When I was young I was at there house more then I was at my own house. They were my second parents for about 10 years.
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Friday, August 27, 2010
We went back to Baie Vert to do a couple of things that we didn't have time for the first time around. We had people to see and places to go. We visited more friends of Tara's and as always mine now too.
The place we had to go was Second Falls. Tara had been up Second Falls only once when she was younger and knew that I was going to love it. At the beginning of the Falls there are 3 pools with 3 separate falls. So this is actually only the first part of the Falls. So we hiked up the side of the Falls and then hiked up a river. The river isn't very deep so we got to jump from rock to rock the whole way up. I would say it is about 2kms to the top. When we got to the top I was blown away. It is such an amazingly beautiful place. I want to say that it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and as you know I have said that a lot. So what I have discovered is that everywhere is beautiful and everywhere has its own type of beauty and it is beautiful. I must say that I am so happy to get to experience such realizations.
After Baie Vert we went to Rocky Harbour, and Rocky Harbour is in Grosse Morne National Park. Rocky Harbour is also the town where my Step Mom was born and still has family there. I called her to ask what there is for us to do while we were there, she had a lot of ideas, but we only had time and energy for some of it. We went to Fjords, which were amazing and breathe taking. We went to a bar at the Ocean View Motel so I could get Screeched in. I got Screeched in but it was just me Tara, Ben (who has a website http://www.bensstudio.ca/ and 2 Bar tenders). Another cool thing about that night was that I ran into a guy that just happened to know a guy that was born and raised in Fort McMurray like me. So he told me his name and then we went over to his house. Yes he was my friend, my friend Mike. I haven't seen him in years, so it was cool getting to see him.
The next day we went driving around the park exploring the scenery, which was beautiful of course. That night we spent the night at my step mom's parents house. We had a great time, they are both great and I must say that I really liked her father, Arch. I liked her mom as well but Arch hit a heart string with me. We spent that night at a campground called Green Point.
The next day we had an appointment at the garage. We needed to get the front brakes replaced and a new front wheel bearing. The other stuff we have had to get fixed so far were the back breaks, some hose and the starter.
The starter had to be changed in Corner Brook. We went to Corner Brook that day. We went to a soccer game that Tara's little cousin was playing at. It was the last game of the season and we got to visit with her Aunt's. When we went back to the Jeep to drive back to our hotel we discovered that the Jeep did not want to start. This had happened when we were in Rocky Harbour, the only difference was that instead of it starting up again right away, we had to walk to the hotel. We were only a 20 minute walk from the hotel so it wasn't to bad. I had to go back the next morning to try and get it started. I have no real idea when it comes to mechanics so I had to called Tara's dad to direct me. His direction was perfect because I got it started. We then got it in a garage that fixed it for us right away, which was greatly appreciated. The scary part about this whole thing was that we had to catch the Ferry to get back to Nova Scotia.
We also had to return the Canoe that we carried all over NFLD. We only used it once which made taking it, pointless.
So we made it to the Ferry in time and left the Island. We were there for 23 days in total and loved every minute of it. We want to go back already, and we already miss all the great people that we met and got to see. I love Newfoundland. I recommend checking it out, it is Absolutely Gorgeous.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
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Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
The place we had to go was Second Falls. Tara had been up Second Falls only once when she was younger and knew that I was going to love it. At the beginning of the Falls there are 3 pools with 3 separate falls. So this is actually only the first part of the Falls. So we hiked up the side of the Falls and then hiked up a river. The river isn't very deep so we got to jump from rock to rock the whole way up. I would say it is about 2kms to the top. When we got to the top I was blown away. It is such an amazingly beautiful place. I want to say that it is the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and as you know I have said that a lot. So what I have discovered is that everywhere is beautiful and everywhere has its own type of beauty and it is beautiful. I must say that I am so happy to get to experience such realizations.
After Baie Vert we went to Rocky Harbour, and Rocky Harbour is in Grosse Morne National Park. Rocky Harbour is also the town where my Step Mom was born and still has family there. I called her to ask what there is for us to do while we were there, she had a lot of ideas, but we only had time and energy for some of it. We went to Fjords, which were amazing and breathe taking. We went to a bar at the Ocean View Motel so I could get Screeched in. I got Screeched in but it was just me Tara, Ben (who has a website http://www.bensstudio.ca/ and 2 Bar tenders). Another cool thing about that night was that I ran into a guy that just happened to know a guy that was born and raised in Fort McMurray like me. So he told me his name and then we went over to his house. Yes he was my friend, my friend Mike. I haven't seen him in years, so it was cool getting to see him.
The next day we went driving around the park exploring the scenery, which was beautiful of course. That night we spent the night at my step mom's parents house. We had a great time, they are both great and I must say that I really liked her father, Arch. I liked her mom as well but Arch hit a heart string with me. We spent that night at a campground called Green Point.
The next day we had an appointment at the garage. We needed to get the front brakes replaced and a new front wheel bearing. The other stuff we have had to get fixed so far were the back breaks, some hose and the starter.
The starter had to be changed in Corner Brook. We went to Corner Brook that day. We went to a soccer game that Tara's little cousin was playing at. It was the last game of the season and we got to visit with her Aunt's. When we went back to the Jeep to drive back to our hotel we discovered that the Jeep did not want to start. This had happened when we were in Rocky Harbour, the only difference was that instead of it starting up again right away, we had to walk to the hotel. We were only a 20 minute walk from the hotel so it wasn't to bad. I had to go back the next morning to try and get it started. I have no real idea when it comes to mechanics so I had to called Tara's dad to direct me. His direction was perfect because I got it started. We then got it in a garage that fixed it for us right away, which was greatly appreciated. The scary part about this whole thing was that we had to catch the Ferry to get back to Nova Scotia.
We also had to return the Canoe that we carried all over NFLD. We only used it once which made taking it, pointless.
So we made it to the Ferry in time and left the Island. We were there for 23 days in total and loved every minute of it. We want to go back already, and we already miss all the great people that we met and got to see. I love Newfoundland. I recommend checking it out, it is Absolutely Gorgeous.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Sunday, August 22, 2010
So after finally reaching as far east as we can go we have now started back west. Like I said before, we were on our way to visit Tara's Nan in Buchans. We stayed there for 3 nights and it was a good relaxing 3 nights.
It wasn't very eventful but we sure needed the rest and relaxation we got. The first night we just hung out, talked and went to bed early. The next day we went into Grandfalls for the day to do some shopping. Nan loves going into town so that's why we did it. Buchans is a small town and doesn't have a whole lot. In its hay day though it was quite the town. It was the first town in NFLD that had running water and flushing toilets. As I mentioned before Nan is 92, what I didn't mention is that she still lives on her own and is still completely independent. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how old we get we are still young. We tend to believe that time spent on earth means we are old, but in fact our souls never age, and you can see this in older people.
Anyways we went to the lake the next day. The lake is very nice, clean and it was quite warm. With all the relaxing I got in a bunch of training and me and Tara did some Chi Sao, which I have been wanting to do for a while. It was just a nice visit and we are going to miss Nan.
Also while we were there I got a job offer for Section Repair training in Africa. Section Repair is the job I did before I left Fort McMurray and it is Fixing the the biggest tires in the world all the way down to loader tires. I don't know all the details but I do know it sounds cool and it would be another place for us to experience.
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It wasn't very eventful but we sure needed the rest and relaxation we got. The first night we just hung out, talked and went to bed early. The next day we went into Grandfalls for the day to do some shopping. Nan loves going into town so that's why we did it. Buchans is a small town and doesn't have a whole lot. In its hay day though it was quite the town. It was the first town in NFLD that had running water and flushing toilets. As I mentioned before Nan is 92, what I didn't mention is that she still lives on her own and is still completely independent. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how old we get we are still young. We tend to believe that time spent on earth means we are old, but in fact our souls never age, and you can see this in older people.
Anyways we went to the lake the next day. The lake is very nice, clean and it was quite warm. With all the relaxing I got in a bunch of training and me and Tara did some Chi Sao, which I have been wanting to do for a while. It was just a nice visit and we are going to miss Nan.
Also while we were there I got a job offer for Section Repair training in Africa. Section Repair is the job I did before I left Fort McMurray and it is Fixing the the biggest tires in the world all the way down to loader tires. I don't know all the details but I do know it sounds cool and it would be another place for us to experience.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing CHun Fellowship
Thursday, August 19, 2010
St. John's is a very cool place. I personally would rather live outside a small city but I sure would like to come back to St. John's for another vacation. We had a lot of fun and there was still a lot to be had.
We stayed with Tara's Uncle and Auntie the whole time we were there. We still haven't had to pay for a place to stay since we got here. The first night in St. John's we went out for a drive with Tara's cousin Chris. He took us all around the city and up to Signal Hill. After he dropped us off we went for a drive ourselves. We got very lost, probably because we were looking for 2 different places. Still St. John's is hard to get around. Every road twists turns and becomes either a Y or a peace sign, so you have no idea where the road starts or ends. Once we found our bearings we went to a 24 hour restaurant on Water Street. When you hear 24 hour you think crappy food, but this place was pretty awesome. It was a pub and a restaurant. The food was great and the place was really nice. Not sure why there aren't more places like this.
The second day we went down to Water Street to do a little shopping. We also went to a nice vegetarian restaurant. We sure appreciate it when we find vegetarian restaurants but we get over-whelmed because we usually don't have much to choose from. While we were there we met up with one of Tara's friends Donald. He's a nice guy, interesting to say the least. That night which was a Saturday we went to George Street. If you haven't heard of George Street check it out, because it is awesome. The street it self is not that big but it is full of bars. I would say there is about 40 bars on the street and they are on both sides of the street. Normally when you walk outside the bar the party ends but not on George Street, it is everywhere you turn. I have never been to a street like this one, it is very cool and I want to do it again. Other than the fact that the party is in and out side the bar all the bars are really fun as well and there is something for everyone. We didn't get home till 4am and we had to train the next day.
The next day we actually felt okay. We went to a beautiful place along the coast called Pouch Cove. Here we met our new friend Dave Pilgrim. We went to meet him because 1 our Sifu recommend him to us and 2 because he teaches JKD. We met up with him at noon and planned on having a 3 hour class. We went for a walk down to the East Coast Trail which is right in front of his house. We stopped on a bunch of big flat slanted rocks right beside the water. The rocks were probably about 100ft. above the water. It was the most beautiful place we have ever trained at. During the training session our attention kept getting pulled to all the whales that were coming out of the water, some within ear shot. The training itself was great and we learned some pretty cool stuff. After the training we all walked farther along the trail so we could find some blueberries. The blueberries weren't fully grown but we did get some. The better part of the walk was the beauty of trail. We saw more whales amazing coves and rock faces. We even made it to a rock beach down in a cove with really high rock cliffs on either side and a stream running through into the ocean. We sat on the beach for about an hour looking at rocks and enjoying the peace a beauty. After that we walked back to Dave's house and he showed us around. He has a sweet dog named Daisy, she is a cross between a Rottweiler and a Mastiff. Unfortunately Dave has to move from this beautiful home, the good news is that we get to see him again in Kitchener where he is going to be teaching out of the club that we are already training out of. Our 3 hour class turned into 7 hours of training and hanging out.
That night we went for dinner at Montana's. I mention where we ate because they always blow me away with their customer service. Every time that I have either complained or just simply had something not work out perfectly they always give us something for free or even pay for the whole meal. Our Antijitoes didn't come out before our meal so we got them to go for free. Just so you know I'm not getting payed for saying that. After that we went to the movie with Tara's cousin Chris. We went to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and it is awesome. It was so much more then I could have expected. I just need to say that the Dragon Ball Z movie that was made a couple of years ago absolutely sucks. I love DBZ but the movie was atrocious and I 100% believe that if the guys that made Scott Pilgrim remade the DBZ movie, it would be amazing.
The next day Tara's Uncle and Aunt's kids came over with there kids for a BBQ, Chris is one of them. It was a great time. After that we went to a festival with Auntie and Uncle called Festival of Friends. Basically its a bunch of people with live music and a beer tent. At the end of the night they have fireworks but we left before they went off. We went to Chris's for a little bit and then to Mount Pearl to visit more of Tara's family.
The next day we went with Chris and his family to Cape Spear. Cape Spear is the most Eastern place in all of North America. It was really awesome. It wasn't a sunny day it was actually very windy which I think made it even cooler. We walked along rocks just on the edge of a cliff and there were small waves hitting the rocks. It was pretty great being there and now we can say that we were there. I wanted to climb down a bit of it because it wasn't very steep but Tara forbid it. lol.
That was the last day we were there. Our trip to St. John's was very eventful and we wanted to stay longer. We enjoyed everyone we saw but I most liked meeting Chris. He is one of Tara's favorite cousin's and I can see why. She compared him to my cousin Logan, who is my favorite cousin and one of my best friends. Now were off to Buchans to visit with Tara's 92 year old Nan.
Self Defence
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Realworld Self Defence
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We stayed with Tara's Uncle and Auntie the whole time we were there. We still haven't had to pay for a place to stay since we got here. The first night in St. John's we went out for a drive with Tara's cousin Chris. He took us all around the city and up to Signal Hill. After he dropped us off we went for a drive ourselves. We got very lost, probably because we were looking for 2 different places. Still St. John's is hard to get around. Every road twists turns and becomes either a Y or a peace sign, so you have no idea where the road starts or ends. Once we found our bearings we went to a 24 hour restaurant on Water Street. When you hear 24 hour you think crappy food, but this place was pretty awesome. It was a pub and a restaurant. The food was great and the place was really nice. Not sure why there aren't more places like this.
The second day we went down to Water Street to do a little shopping. We also went to a nice vegetarian restaurant. We sure appreciate it when we find vegetarian restaurants but we get over-whelmed because we usually don't have much to choose from. While we were there we met up with one of Tara's friends Donald. He's a nice guy, interesting to say the least. That night which was a Saturday we went to George Street. If you haven't heard of George Street check it out, because it is awesome. The street it self is not that big but it is full of bars. I would say there is about 40 bars on the street and they are on both sides of the street. Normally when you walk outside the bar the party ends but not on George Street, it is everywhere you turn. I have never been to a street like this one, it is very cool and I want to do it again. Other than the fact that the party is in and out side the bar all the bars are really fun as well and there is something for everyone. We didn't get home till 4am and we had to train the next day.
The next day we actually felt okay. We went to a beautiful place along the coast called Pouch Cove. Here we met our new friend Dave Pilgrim. We went to meet him because 1 our Sifu recommend him to us and 2 because he teaches JKD. We met up with him at noon and planned on having a 3 hour class. We went for a walk down to the East Coast Trail which is right in front of his house. We stopped on a bunch of big flat slanted rocks right beside the water. The rocks were probably about 100ft. above the water. It was the most beautiful place we have ever trained at. During the training session our attention kept getting pulled to all the whales that were coming out of the water, some within ear shot. The training itself was great and we learned some pretty cool stuff. After the training we all walked farther along the trail so we could find some blueberries. The blueberries weren't fully grown but we did get some. The better part of the walk was the beauty of trail. We saw more whales amazing coves and rock faces. We even made it to a rock beach down in a cove with really high rock cliffs on either side and a stream running through into the ocean. We sat on the beach for about an hour looking at rocks and enjoying the peace a beauty. After that we walked back to Dave's house and he showed us around. He has a sweet dog named Daisy, she is a cross between a Rottweiler and a Mastiff. Unfortunately Dave has to move from this beautiful home, the good news is that we get to see him again in Kitchener where he is going to be teaching out of the club that we are already training out of. Our 3 hour class turned into 7 hours of training and hanging out.
That night we went for dinner at Montana's. I mention where we ate because they always blow me away with their customer service. Every time that I have either complained or just simply had something not work out perfectly they always give us something for free or even pay for the whole meal. Our Antijitoes didn't come out before our meal so we got them to go for free. Just so you know I'm not getting payed for saying that. After that we went to the movie with Tara's cousin Chris. We went to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and it is awesome. It was so much more then I could have expected. I just need to say that the Dragon Ball Z movie that was made a couple of years ago absolutely sucks. I love DBZ but the movie was atrocious and I 100% believe that if the guys that made Scott Pilgrim remade the DBZ movie, it would be amazing.
The next day Tara's Uncle and Aunt's kids came over with there kids for a BBQ, Chris is one of them. It was a great time. After that we went to a festival with Auntie and Uncle called Festival of Friends. Basically its a bunch of people with live music and a beer tent. At the end of the night they have fireworks but we left before they went off. We went to Chris's for a little bit and then to Mount Pearl to visit more of Tara's family.
The next day we went with Chris and his family to Cape Spear. Cape Spear is the most Eastern place in all of North America. It was really awesome. It wasn't a sunny day it was actually very windy which I think made it even cooler. We walked along rocks just on the edge of a cliff and there were small waves hitting the rocks. It was pretty great being there and now we can say that we were there. I wanted to climb down a bit of it because it wasn't very steep but Tara forbid it. lol.
That was the last day we were there. Our trip to St. John's was very eventful and we wanted to stay longer. We enjoyed everyone we saw but I most liked meeting Chris. He is one of Tara's favorite cousin's and I can see why. She compared him to my cousin Logan, who is my favorite cousin and one of my best friends. Now were off to Buchans to visit with Tara's 92 year old Nan.
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Sunday, August 15, 2010
After St. Pierre we went to Bay Roberts to visit one of my best friends from Fort McMurray. Her name is Kerri and we have been friends since kindergarten.
We had a really good time there. First we went to her parents house where we spent the night. It is a nice place like most people homes in NFLD. Kerri took us on a little tour of the area and of course it is a nice place. After we went for dinner and then to a bar to get a little drunk. We met a few of her friends and they are all cool and fun. We want to go back and have another night with them but we have to much to do before we leave the island.
The next day we went for a drive up to Victoria to see Tara's Nan and Pops grave. It took sometime to find the right grave site and then when we found it, Tara noticed that of all the grave sites her Nan and Pops were one of a small few that didn't have flowers. So then we had to go on a search for flowers, and that took us about 1 hour. To get to Victoria we drove down a beautiful rode right along the water. We passed through a few towns, they were Harbour Grace, Spaniards Bay, and Carbonear.
Once we were done with the grave site we went to St. John's.
I just wanted to add, that when I started this blog I was in Pompton Lakes New Jersey. I can't remember if I mentioned this before. I was there for a week of training. I was training with Damian Ross my Sensei at his Dojo. It was really a great time. What he does there is the Self Defense stuff that I teach, since I learned it from him, Tekken Ryu Jujutsu which I have my green belt in and would love to get my black, if it is ever possible for me to get it. Also they practise Judo there which I also have my green belt in and would like my black some day. While I was there I told my Sensei about the travels we were about to embark on. So in hearing this he figured it would be a great idea for me to write a blog. He also figured that when we finish these two years of travel and training that it would be a good idea to turn this stuff into a book. That would be pretty cool I guess. Money coming in from sales would be nice for sure. Anyways just wanted to mention the training that I was doing there and that it was my Sensei's idea for me to write this blog.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
We had a really good time there. First we went to her parents house where we spent the night. It is a nice place like most people homes in NFLD. Kerri took us on a little tour of the area and of course it is a nice place. After we went for dinner and then to a bar to get a little drunk. We met a few of her friends and they are all cool and fun. We want to go back and have another night with them but we have to much to do before we leave the island.
The next day we went for a drive up to Victoria to see Tara's Nan and Pops grave. It took sometime to find the right grave site and then when we found it, Tara noticed that of all the grave sites her Nan and Pops were one of a small few that didn't have flowers. So then we had to go on a search for flowers, and that took us about 1 hour. To get to Victoria we drove down a beautiful rode right along the water. We passed through a few towns, they were Harbour Grace, Spaniards Bay, and Carbonear.
Once we were done with the grave site we went to St. John's.
I just wanted to add, that when I started this blog I was in Pompton Lakes New Jersey. I can't remember if I mentioned this before. I was there for a week of training. I was training with Damian Ross my Sensei at his Dojo. It was really a great time. What he does there is the Self Defense stuff that I teach, since I learned it from him, Tekken Ryu Jujutsu which I have my green belt in and would love to get my black, if it is ever possible for me to get it. Also they practise Judo there which I also have my green belt in and would like my black some day. While I was there I told my Sensei about the travels we were about to embark on. So in hearing this he figured it would be a great idea for me to write a blog. He also figured that when we finish these two years of travel and training that it would be a good idea to turn this stuff into a book. That would be pretty cool I guess. Money coming in from sales would be nice for sure. Anyways just wanted to mention the training that I was doing there and that it was my Sensei's idea for me to write this blog.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Friday, August 13, 2010
We were just at a small town called Baie Verte. It is on the northern part of Newfoundland, not the northern peninsula part though. Baie Verte is where Tara was born, so I finally got to see where my girl was born. We had a really great time there.
The first night we were there we stayed at friends of here parents. We partied till about 3am. It was my first NFLD kitchen party and it was good. There was only 6 of us but we drank and danced and laughed our asses off. At about midnight me and Tara went for a bike ride around the neighbourhood and we saw 2 people picking up the smallest frogs up off the road. So in NFLD I have now seen the both the biggest and the smallest frogs I have ever seen. The next day we were done drinking, it was like our 6th day in a row being drunk, plus the fact that we took the ferry over at 1am and slept sitting up. It was getting to be to much. Anyways we went exploring the town on our bikes and I got to see Tara's old house and all the places that brought back childhood memories. It is a lovely little town and of course everyone is super friendly. In NFLD both the land and the people are wonderful. We camped out at the campground called Flat water pond. We got a site that was right in the bush without any cut out. The next morning we went down to the boat launch and went for a canoe ride. We paddled out fine but when we turned to go back we discovered how frigging windy it was. We could barely keep the boat straight and we were even catching air. We made it back alright though. Then we went to the beach and there was no one there so we got to do some training. Training the sand is so much harder. It feels like everything you are doing is wrong and off balance. Once we were done that we went for a swim and then headed back into town.
After more exploring we went to Tara's long time friends house. When got there we discovered she had gone to play softball, so we went down and got to play as well. After the game Tara's friend Amanda took us on another tour of town. Since she still lives there we got to see parts that Tara didn't know were there. We hung out the rest of the night by the fire. I really enjoyed these people, they feel like they are my friends already. A really cool thing that I discovered is that Amanda has been reading our blog since close to the start. I don't know how far she read but it was so nice to know that someone is actually reading this and enjoying it. It sure made my day.
The next day we drove for about 7 or 8 hours to get to Fortune. It is a small town where you can take a ferry over to St. Pierre. Before I get into St. Pierre I have to mention a bit of the trip there. Of course everything that we see is beautiful on the island but I was amazed by one part on the Heritage highway. It might be just me but I thought it was spectacular. The best way I can describe it is it was rolling hills that could have been mountains, the hill were very rocky but it was covered in grass. There wasn't a lot of trees but just enough to decorated the hills. There were also lots of large ponds and small lakes scattered all over. To me it was amazing. I tried taking some pictures but the camera just doesn't do it justice.
When we got to Fortune we stayed in a B&B that was really nice. It was a 2 bedroom apartment that had everything. The bed so comfortable. I give so much description to this place because of how tired we are. I just wanted to stay there for a few days and chill. I actually almost told Tara and her parents to go to St. Pierre with out me. I didn't though. So went crossed over on the ferry. St. Pierre if you don't already know is small island that is actually owned by France. So the whole place is full a french speaking people, and the culture there is completely like that in France. There are only about 7 thousand people living there and it has been a part of France for well over 100 years. The place was pretty cool and now I can say I've been to France, but it has nothing on NFLD. If I went there straight from the main land then I probably would have appreciated it more. Plus I can't speak French even though I would like to be able to.
The trip is still going great, but I sure could use a couple days off.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
The first night we were there we stayed at friends of here parents. We partied till about 3am. It was my first NFLD kitchen party and it was good. There was only 6 of us but we drank and danced and laughed our asses off. At about midnight me and Tara went for a bike ride around the neighbourhood and we saw 2 people picking up the smallest frogs up off the road. So in NFLD I have now seen the both the biggest and the smallest frogs I have ever seen. The next day we were done drinking, it was like our 6th day in a row being drunk, plus the fact that we took the ferry over at 1am and slept sitting up. It was getting to be to much. Anyways we went exploring the town on our bikes and I got to see Tara's old house and all the places that brought back childhood memories. It is a lovely little town and of course everyone is super friendly. In NFLD both the land and the people are wonderful. We camped out at the campground called Flat water pond. We got a site that was right in the bush without any cut out. The next morning we went down to the boat launch and went for a canoe ride. We paddled out fine but when we turned to go back we discovered how frigging windy it was. We could barely keep the boat straight and we were even catching air. We made it back alright though. Then we went to the beach and there was no one there so we got to do some training. Training the sand is so much harder. It feels like everything you are doing is wrong and off balance. Once we were done that we went for a swim and then headed back into town.
After more exploring we went to Tara's long time friends house. When got there we discovered she had gone to play softball, so we went down and got to play as well. After the game Tara's friend Amanda took us on another tour of town. Since she still lives there we got to see parts that Tara didn't know were there. We hung out the rest of the night by the fire. I really enjoyed these people, they feel like they are my friends already. A really cool thing that I discovered is that Amanda has been reading our blog since close to the start. I don't know how far she read but it was so nice to know that someone is actually reading this and enjoying it. It sure made my day.
The next day we drove for about 7 or 8 hours to get to Fortune. It is a small town where you can take a ferry over to St. Pierre. Before I get into St. Pierre I have to mention a bit of the trip there. Of course everything that we see is beautiful on the island but I was amazed by one part on the Heritage highway. It might be just me but I thought it was spectacular. The best way I can describe it is it was rolling hills that could have been mountains, the hill were very rocky but it was covered in grass. There wasn't a lot of trees but just enough to decorated the hills. There were also lots of large ponds and small lakes scattered all over. To me it was amazing. I tried taking some pictures but the camera just doesn't do it justice.
When we got to Fortune we stayed in a B&B that was really nice. It was a 2 bedroom apartment that had everything. The bed so comfortable. I give so much description to this place because of how tired we are. I just wanted to stay there for a few days and chill. I actually almost told Tara and her parents to go to St. Pierre with out me. I didn't though. So went crossed over on the ferry. St. Pierre if you don't already know is small island that is actually owned by France. So the whole place is full a french speaking people, and the culture there is completely like that in France. There are only about 7 thousand people living there and it has been a part of France for well over 100 years. The place was pretty cool and now I can say I've been to France, but it has nothing on NFLD. If I went there straight from the main land then I probably would have appreciated it more. Plus I can't speak French even though I would like to be able to.
The trip is still going great, but I sure could use a couple days off.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Monday, August 9, 2010
After we got the canoe on the Jeep we started out towards The Hummber Valley. So far this would be where I would like to live. It is just past Corner Brook and there is a few small communities with great views all around. There are mountains, rivers and lakes. There is even a ski hill called Marble mountain. As far as I can tell there isn't anyone teaching Self Defence like I teach and there also isn't anyone teaching Wing Chun.
While we were there we stayed with Tara's Auntie, Uncle and Cousin. They are all great and a lot of fun. We stayed with them for 2 nights. The first night we drank and hung out. At around 12am I went out side searching for frogs. I found at least 50 of them and they were all about 3 to 4 inches long. So there were a couple that were the biggest I have ever seen. The next day Tara's Uncle took us out on his boat into the Bay of Islands. The river that is in front of their house goes right into it and this Bay goes right into the ocean. The boat was docked at Corner Brook and what an awesome boat it is. It is a Boston Whaler and it was originally a Coast Guard boat, so it was even stronger then a normal one. We were told that it can be full of water and it would still take another 2500 pounds to sink it. When were out there we jumped in the ocean. It was so nice and the water was around 650 feet deep. We ended up going out about 50km. We saw so much beautiful scenery, just spectacular as Tara's Uncle always says. We even saw whales jumping out of the water. We were on our way into a small cove when we hit a rock with one of the motors. It didn't seem like much until we tried starting it up again and only one would start. The fact that we were 50km out and running low on gas wasn't a good thing. We road until we got to calm waters and then Tara's uncle and dad started it by bypassing the starter using the cilenoid or something like that. While we were stopped though we were right by a rock face that had little water falls running down it. Since I know jack about mechanics I just looked at the scenery. We did ended up making it back ok and the gas gage was on empty. It made it a little more exciting. After that we went into town and Steve Tara's uncle showed us another spot with an amazing view, he is quite the tour guide. He even took us to a restaurant with a nice view. It's all about the views in that area, so beautiful.
Almost forgot to mention that the first night we were there Tara's uncle took us on a bit of a tour a bit north of his place. He took us to a golf course with an amazing view of the valley. It was really spectacular. When we were there we even saw a black fox, which none of us had ever seen before. The last night we were there we had a bbq and had a grand old time. Tara's cousin is 8 and she wanted to play a prank on me, so they set up a situation where I ended up getting my nails painted. What can I say they over powered me. Her cousin said it was the best day ever, so it was worth letting it happen. The last day we went back into Corner Brook to have lunch with Tara's auntie and little cousin, and also to check out an old train called the Newfie Bullet. On the way out there is a natural spring where we filled up our water bottles.
It was a great visit there, everything about that area makes me want to go back. All the people that we are meeting are just as great as the scenery. Newfoundland is a hidden treasure that can't be appreciated without seeing for yourself.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Win CHun Fellowship
While we were there we stayed with Tara's Auntie, Uncle and Cousin. They are all great and a lot of fun. We stayed with them for 2 nights. The first night we drank and hung out. At around 12am I went out side searching for frogs. I found at least 50 of them and they were all about 3 to 4 inches long. So there were a couple that were the biggest I have ever seen. The next day Tara's Uncle took us out on his boat into the Bay of Islands. The river that is in front of their house goes right into it and this Bay goes right into the ocean. The boat was docked at Corner Brook and what an awesome boat it is. It is a Boston Whaler and it was originally a Coast Guard boat, so it was even stronger then a normal one. We were told that it can be full of water and it would still take another 2500 pounds to sink it. When were out there we jumped in the ocean. It was so nice and the water was around 650 feet deep. We ended up going out about 50km. We saw so much beautiful scenery, just spectacular as Tara's Uncle always says. We even saw whales jumping out of the water. We were on our way into a small cove when we hit a rock with one of the motors. It didn't seem like much until we tried starting it up again and only one would start. The fact that we were 50km out and running low on gas wasn't a good thing. We road until we got to calm waters and then Tara's uncle and dad started it by bypassing the starter using the cilenoid or something like that. While we were stopped though we were right by a rock face that had little water falls running down it. Since I know jack about mechanics I just looked at the scenery. We did ended up making it back ok and the gas gage was on empty. It made it a little more exciting. After that we went into town and Steve Tara's uncle showed us another spot with an amazing view, he is quite the tour guide. He even took us to a restaurant with a nice view. It's all about the views in that area, so beautiful.
Almost forgot to mention that the first night we were there Tara's uncle took us on a bit of a tour a bit north of his place. He took us to a golf course with an amazing view of the valley. It was really spectacular. When we were there we even saw a black fox, which none of us had ever seen before. The last night we were there we had a bbq and had a grand old time. Tara's cousin is 8 and she wanted to play a prank on me, so they set up a situation where I ended up getting my nails painted. What can I say they over powered me. Her cousin said it was the best day ever, so it was worth letting it happen. The last day we went back into Corner Brook to have lunch with Tara's auntie and little cousin, and also to check out an old train called the Newfie Bullet. On the way out there is a natural spring where we filled up our water bottles.
It was a great visit there, everything about that area makes me want to go back. All the people that we are meeting are just as great as the scenery. Newfoundland is a hidden treasure that can't be appreciated without seeing for yourself.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Win CHun Fellowship
Friday, August 6, 2010
After leaving Halifax we headed up highway 107 then 7 along the south coast of Nova Scotia. It is so beautiful. Driving along roads like this are actually quite dangerous because you aren't spending too much time paying attention to the road. The road eventually headed north to Antigonish then east towards Cape Breton Island. We ended up staying at a hotel that was over priced because we got in so late. The hotel was over priced but we got a King sized bed that was really comfortable, which was needed. Sleeping has been hard because of all the different beds we have been sleeping in. Also our camping mattresses have small holes in them, so we have to blow them up at least twice a night. Another thing that prevents me from sleeping is that I can't seem to get cool enough to use the blankets which helps me sleep.
The next day we started our drive to Sydney but along the way we went through a few towns of course but stopped in one that was very pretty and smelled very nice called St. Peter's. We pulled into the campgrounds to go for a little bike ride. It was a shorter ride then expected but it was very nice. We were right by a small river that flows into the ocean, and we were looking out over a cliff. We also took some time to practice our Wing Chun. I practice everyday but it is nice when Tara joins in with me. We got into Sydney at around 2:00pm, so we went exploring. While exploring we discovered that there was a Bike festival and street performers down on the boardwalk. We didn't get to the bike show but we did see the street performers which was pretty good. Some better then others of course. The one that I didn't like was a guy that did an escape act. I didn't like it because he spent the whole time get people excited and cheering. He was doing this to get more people to come down and he was doing it to our energy. He kept saying give me your energy. Now this might sound normal but it is actually not a very nice thing to do. What this does is transfer our energy to him. Kind of like a vampire sucking out your energy. I noticed the effects with Tara. During the show she was happy and flowing with energy, which was an expression of her releasing her energy. After the show she was sad and unable to get excited about anything. She eventually got over it when she recharged her energy. I mention this so you can be careful when giving your energy away without knowing what you are doing.
That night we stayed at a campground in Big Bras d'Or. We asked for a water front campsite but instead we got to sleep in a boat that was tied to the dock. It was really cool. I have never slept in a boat before so it was a nice experience. We sat on the back dock watching jelly fish swim by, we read our books and then looked at the stars. Also just down the shore people set off some fireworks. It was actually quite impressive, they went on for well over 5 minutes. I never saw such a good firework show from normal people on the beach.
The next day we were going to get on the Ferry to head to Newfoundland at around 5pm. We then got a call telling us that the Ferry was delayed until 1am. So we had to sleep in recliners all night. This wasn't very comfortable but when we woke up it was early in the morning and it made the arrival into Port aux Basques that much nicer.
So we are now in Newfoundland and it is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. We have only seen a small section of it so far and we will be staying here for 2 weeks so we will see a lot more. So far we stayed at friends of Tara's family. They live on George's lake in a nice house, we stayed there for 2 nights and got to go on a boat ride. Before we left they offered us their canoe, of course we took it so we can go canoeing when ever we feel like. There is more for me to share but I will wait until later to share. The next part is awesome because we are seeing a lot and it is just so friggin beautiful. I want to live here.
This is a little off topic but I wanted to let you know that my Sifu has completed training videos for Level 1 of Wing Chun. People teach Wing Chun differently so you will be getting it the way we learn. Our Sifu is an amazing teacher so if you want to learn Wing Chun the right way get these videos. It is the Hong Kong version from the Yip Man, Moy Yat, Nelson Chan lineage. My Sifu is Chuck O'Neill.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
The next day we started our drive to Sydney but along the way we went through a few towns of course but stopped in one that was very pretty and smelled very nice called St. Peter's. We pulled into the campgrounds to go for a little bike ride. It was a shorter ride then expected but it was very nice. We were right by a small river that flows into the ocean, and we were looking out over a cliff. We also took some time to practice our Wing Chun. I practice everyday but it is nice when Tara joins in with me. We got into Sydney at around 2:00pm, so we went exploring. While exploring we discovered that there was a Bike festival and street performers down on the boardwalk. We didn't get to the bike show but we did see the street performers which was pretty good. Some better then others of course. The one that I didn't like was a guy that did an escape act. I didn't like it because he spent the whole time get people excited and cheering. He was doing this to get more people to come down and he was doing it to our energy. He kept saying give me your energy. Now this might sound normal but it is actually not a very nice thing to do. What this does is transfer our energy to him. Kind of like a vampire sucking out your energy. I noticed the effects with Tara. During the show she was happy and flowing with energy, which was an expression of her releasing her energy. After the show she was sad and unable to get excited about anything. She eventually got over it when she recharged her energy. I mention this so you can be careful when giving your energy away without knowing what you are doing.
That night we stayed at a campground in Big Bras d'Or. We asked for a water front campsite but instead we got to sleep in a boat that was tied to the dock. It was really cool. I have never slept in a boat before so it was a nice experience. We sat on the back dock watching jelly fish swim by, we read our books and then looked at the stars. Also just down the shore people set off some fireworks. It was actually quite impressive, they went on for well over 5 minutes. I never saw such a good firework show from normal people on the beach.
The next day we were going to get on the Ferry to head to Newfoundland at around 5pm. We then got a call telling us that the Ferry was delayed until 1am. So we had to sleep in recliners all night. This wasn't very comfortable but when we woke up it was early in the morning and it made the arrival into Port aux Basques that much nicer.
So we are now in Newfoundland and it is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. We have only seen a small section of it so far and we will be staying here for 2 weeks so we will see a lot more. So far we stayed at friends of Tara's family. They live on George's lake in a nice house, we stayed there for 2 nights and got to go on a boat ride. Before we left they offered us their canoe, of course we took it so we can go canoeing when ever we feel like. There is more for me to share but I will wait until later to share. The next part is awesome because we are seeing a lot and it is just so friggin beautiful. I want to live here.
This is a little off topic but I wanted to let you know that my Sifu has completed training videos for Level 1 of Wing Chun. People teach Wing Chun differently so you will be getting it the way we learn. Our Sifu is an amazing teacher so if you want to learn Wing Chun the right way get these videos. It is the Hong Kong version from the Yip Man, Moy Yat, Nelson Chan lineage. My Sifu is Chuck O'Neill.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Sunday, August 1, 2010
I just wanted to mention that everywhere that we have been is so beautiful. Some are just beautiful some are breath taking. From the talked about spots to the not so talk about spots. There is just so much beautiful land scape to experience.
I will say, as of where we are now Nova Scotia is my favorite spot for beauty of the landscape. It's so green and lush with rolling hills where you can see forever and of course the shore and bays, which just adds to it all in an extreme way. There is just something about being near water.
I will say, as of where we are now Nova Scotia is my favorite spot for beauty of the landscape. It's so green and lush with rolling hills where you can see forever and of course the shore and bays, which just adds to it all in an extreme way. There is just something about being near water.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
In the days that have past we have been to a number of places. We are not in NFLD yet like we had planned, because of the Ferry being booked till this week. It gave us a chance to visit friends in Nova Scotia and hang out in New Brunswick.
In New Brunswick we stopped into Edmunston for the first night. This is where we started staying in Hotels for a few nights. It was raining for about 4 days straight. Next we drove past Fredericton to get to Moncton, where we stayed for 3 nights. We took a little trip down to Alma which is a little town on the Bay of Fundy. On the way we drove down a very nice road that goes along the water front. The cool thing about the water along this area is that it's tide rises and lowers by about 16 feet every 6 hours, which is the most anywhere in the world. When we were in Moncton we spent the night in a nice hotel then a normal one. Spent some time downtown where there was a festival going on. We got to visit some of Tara's family that live there. The other thing we got to do was train with a Ninjitsu group. It was alot of fun and the guys were really great. We were outside rolling around in the wet grass. It is quite a bit different from the Wing Chun in alot of ways but I can see the functionality in what Lee the teacher was teaching. If your in Moncton just check the yellow pages for them under Ninjitsu in the martial arts section.
We were on our way to Pasboro to visit Tara's cousin and new girlfriend when we stopped into Amherst. It is a pretty town. I stopped in to talk with the Karate instructor, he was working on fixing up the new location he purchased. I have been trying to visit as many martial arts schools as I can along the way so I can learn about what others are doing. Both in style and in business, it is a good way to learn about what works and what doesn't when running a martial arts business. While we were there we stopped into a restaurant pub called Duncan's Pub. It was really nice, the chairs were so comfortable, music nice and just a good atmosphere.
When we got to Pasboro Tara's cousin brought us down to the water front where the tide moves in and out every 6 hours like the other place. He showed us a fish net called a Weir. A weir is a three storey high net held up with posts, it traps the fish when the tide goes out. After that we went to his place, went for a walk and just hung out. The next day we headed to Halifax.
Now Halifax is a cool cool place, such a fun place. We were visiting Tara's friend and my friend but more Tara's. We went out everynight, even the first day we got there. We drove straight downtown to have a beer and something to eat, then it turned into park Jeep in parkade and get drunk for rest of night. We love pubs and there are a lot of really nice ones. The few that I really liked were Foggy Goggle, Dirty Nelley's and Maxwell's Plum. If you like to party this is the place to go. We even went to Alexander Keith's Brewery for a tour. I didn't find it till the last night we were there but just down the street from our friends place is a dojo called Bushido-Kai that teachs JKD and all its levels like our Sifu teaches. We are planning on coming through here again to visit another of Tara's friends so I'm going to try and make sure we get in to train with them.
The trip is still going great and we have a lot of exciting things to do that are coming up. Enjoy your day.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
In New Brunswick we stopped into Edmunston for the first night. This is where we started staying in Hotels for a few nights. It was raining for about 4 days straight. Next we drove past Fredericton to get to Moncton, where we stayed for 3 nights. We took a little trip down to Alma which is a little town on the Bay of Fundy. On the way we drove down a very nice road that goes along the water front. The cool thing about the water along this area is that it's tide rises and lowers by about 16 feet every 6 hours, which is the most anywhere in the world. When we were in Moncton we spent the night in a nice hotel then a normal one. Spent some time downtown where there was a festival going on. We got to visit some of Tara's family that live there. The other thing we got to do was train with a Ninjitsu group. It was alot of fun and the guys were really great. We were outside rolling around in the wet grass. It is quite a bit different from the Wing Chun in alot of ways but I can see the functionality in what Lee the teacher was teaching. If your in Moncton just check the yellow pages for them under Ninjitsu in the martial arts section.
We were on our way to Pasboro to visit Tara's cousin and new girlfriend when we stopped into Amherst. It is a pretty town. I stopped in to talk with the Karate instructor, he was working on fixing up the new location he purchased. I have been trying to visit as many martial arts schools as I can along the way so I can learn about what others are doing. Both in style and in business, it is a good way to learn about what works and what doesn't when running a martial arts business. While we were there we stopped into a restaurant pub called Duncan's Pub. It was really nice, the chairs were so comfortable, music nice and just a good atmosphere.
When we got to Pasboro Tara's cousin brought us down to the water front where the tide moves in and out every 6 hours like the other place. He showed us a fish net called a Weir. A weir is a three storey high net held up with posts, it traps the fish when the tide goes out. After that we went to his place, went for a walk and just hung out. The next day we headed to Halifax.
Now Halifax is a cool cool place, such a fun place. We were visiting Tara's friend and my friend but more Tara's. We went out everynight, even the first day we got there. We drove straight downtown to have a beer and something to eat, then it turned into park Jeep in parkade and get drunk for rest of night. We love pubs and there are a lot of really nice ones. The few that I really liked were Foggy Goggle, Dirty Nelley's and Maxwell's Plum. If you like to party this is the place to go. We even went to Alexander Keith's Brewery for a tour. I didn't find it till the last night we were there but just down the street from our friends place is a dojo called Bushido-Kai that teachs JKD and all its levels like our Sifu teaches. We are planning on coming through here again to visit another of Tara's friends so I'm going to try and make sure we get in to train with them.
The trip is still going great and we have a lot of exciting things to do that are coming up. Enjoy your day.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Thursday, July 22, 2010
We have now been back on our trip from 1 week now, so I will give you a quick overview of what we have been up to. We started our trip by going to Niagra Falls. The falls are quite amazing really, they almost look like they are falling in slow motion. I find standing by such things a little bit scary because I feel like I could just jump in to go for a ride. Which would obviously be the end of my life, so then I decide not to. It would be fun while it lasted though. While we were there we stayed at a campground about 10km outside of town, so we did alot of biking back and forth. When you are in downtown Niagra it feels like a mini Vegas which is pretty cool. I finally got to do that indoor skydiving thing where there is a huge fan that pushes you up while you try to balance on the wind, it was very cool but I needed a spotter so I couldn't go very high. I must say though that I will not be wanting to go back to Niagra unless its with friends just for a night of partying. It's mainly because of our dining experiences, imagine going to a normal resaurant add $5 to everything, then make it taste worse and if you have a problem with any of it suck it up cause you still have to pay for it. Cool place though.
Then we started on our way to Algonquin Provincial Park. We stopped at a campground just past Simcoe Lake called 4 Seasons Tent and Trailer. It was really nice, lots of trees and quite. I say lots of trees because some campgrounds are just a field with trees planted here and there so there is no privacy.
The next day we made it to Algonquin, we drove through about 5 different campgrounds just to figure out that the first one we looked at was the one we wanted. Funny how that happens alot. The campground we stayed at was Canisbay Lake, it was very nice and quiet. The lake was very peaceful and warm, it almost felt like bath water. While we were setting up camp the first night we saw a bear cub run through the trees right in front of us, the mother didn't follow which was kind of a good thing. We were told that 2 full size bears had been trapped in that past week which means that the cubs mother might have been one of them, sad but possible. The first night we stayed there it rained for about six hours through the night and it rained quite hard, to the point where we discovered we were in a small hole. So we ended up completely soaked and had to spend the rest of the night sleeping in the Jeep. Thanks goodness for the Jeep. The next day was hot so our stuff dried pretty fast.
The next place we drove to was Voyager Provincial Park which is just at the edge of Ontario. That is a huge campground, and like most campgrounds in Ontario you have alot of choices on how you want to camp. You usually get the option of Family camping, Electric or none and no radio playing for the quiet campers like us. So far I liked this campsite we stayed at the best. It had alot of privacy so we got to do some more serious training. I just don't feel comfortable when people can see me training, not sure why but I just don't, unless it's in class of course.
The next day we drove through Quebec. The hardest part was finding our way through Montreal, which we did without any back tracking, it was quite impressive considering the map we have didn't give us much help. When we got to Quebec City we made a few wrong turns but we ended up under some pretty nice bridges so we got to take some nice pictures. Now were in New Brunswick where we will be for a few days.
It is nice having the Jeep with us for this part of the trip. The biking portion of the trip was amazing and I wouldn't have done it any other way but it feels like we a traveling in luxury now. Alot less stressful and we have alot more energy to do stuff at the end of the day. The main draw back is when you see something beautiful you are past it so quickly. Once we get to NFLD we will be taking things a bit slower and checking more things out. We are meeting Tara's parents there so we need to get there quickly. I will let you know more in about a week.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Then we started on our way to Algonquin Provincial Park. We stopped at a campground just past Simcoe Lake called 4 Seasons Tent and Trailer. It was really nice, lots of trees and quite. I say lots of trees because some campgrounds are just a field with trees planted here and there so there is no privacy.
The next day we made it to Algonquin, we drove through about 5 different campgrounds just to figure out that the first one we looked at was the one we wanted. Funny how that happens alot. The campground we stayed at was Canisbay Lake, it was very nice and quiet. The lake was very peaceful and warm, it almost felt like bath water. While we were setting up camp the first night we saw a bear cub run through the trees right in front of us, the mother didn't follow which was kind of a good thing. We were told that 2 full size bears had been trapped in that past week which means that the cubs mother might have been one of them, sad but possible. The first night we stayed there it rained for about six hours through the night and it rained quite hard, to the point where we discovered we were in a small hole. So we ended up completely soaked and had to spend the rest of the night sleeping in the Jeep. Thanks goodness for the Jeep. The next day was hot so our stuff dried pretty fast.
The next place we drove to was Voyager Provincial Park which is just at the edge of Ontario. That is a huge campground, and like most campgrounds in Ontario you have alot of choices on how you want to camp. You usually get the option of Family camping, Electric or none and no radio playing for the quiet campers like us. So far I liked this campsite we stayed at the best. It had alot of privacy so we got to do some more serious training. I just don't feel comfortable when people can see me training, not sure why but I just don't, unless it's in class of course.
The next day we drove through Quebec. The hardest part was finding our way through Montreal, which we did without any back tracking, it was quite impressive considering the map we have didn't give us much help. When we got to Quebec City we made a few wrong turns but we ended up under some pretty nice bridges so we got to take some nice pictures. Now were in New Brunswick where we will be for a few days.
It is nice having the Jeep with us for this part of the trip. The biking portion of the trip was amazing and I wouldn't have done it any other way but it feels like we a traveling in luxury now. Alot less stressful and we have alot more energy to do stuff at the end of the day. The main draw back is when you see something beautiful you are past it so quickly. Once we get to NFLD we will be taking things a bit slower and checking more things out. We are meeting Tara's parents there so we need to get there quickly. I will let you know more in about a week.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Monday, July 12, 2010
Hello All,
We just found out today that our Jeep will finally be arriving. Since you probably don't know we have been waiting quite a while for our Jeep to get here. Originally my mom and her boyfriend were going to drive it down for the beginning of June, but they are short on cash and were unable to. Then we got our friends Dana and Jenn who were going to have it here by the end of June. Where that went wrong was that Dana didn't want to drive our Jeep to death on the way here. Makes sense to me since we want to drive it to the East coast and back. So the newest problem was how are we going to get it here. We tried looking into trains which takes way to long, about 2 weeks from shipping date. So we went with a truck which only takes about 3 to 5 days and costs the exact same.
Anyways we are almost packed and ready to go, and very excited. Packing has reminded us of how awesome our trip getting here was. Once again we are going to miss the people we are leaving behind, but this time it is for a shorter time then the people we left behind in Alberta.
Just so you know I will be posting in pretty much the same way I did last summer. Where I let you know where we were instead of where we are going. This is just safer and since I am a Self Defence instructor I should practise what I preach.
If anyone of our new friends in Kitchener happen to read this, we love you all and will really miss you. For our brother's and sister's from the club, we are amazed by how quickly we became so close to you. For our friends at Shopper's we really enjoy working with you and hanging out after hours. I personally haven't worked side by side with women since I was 16 and it is a very nice change.
As excited as I am to leave I am just as excited to get back. I really love it here, mainly because of Wing Chun and the people in our lives. The city is pretty cool too but a far second. I hope this next part of the trip is a safe and enjoyable one. I hope you enjoy the stories to come.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
We just found out today that our Jeep will finally be arriving. Since you probably don't know we have been waiting quite a while for our Jeep to get here. Originally my mom and her boyfriend were going to drive it down for the beginning of June, but they are short on cash and were unable to. Then we got our friends Dana and Jenn who were going to have it here by the end of June. Where that went wrong was that Dana didn't want to drive our Jeep to death on the way here. Makes sense to me since we want to drive it to the East coast and back. So the newest problem was how are we going to get it here. We tried looking into trains which takes way to long, about 2 weeks from shipping date. So we went with a truck which only takes about 3 to 5 days and costs the exact same.
Anyways we are almost packed and ready to go, and very excited. Packing has reminded us of how awesome our trip getting here was. Once again we are going to miss the people we are leaving behind, but this time it is for a shorter time then the people we left behind in Alberta.
Just so you know I will be posting in pretty much the same way I did last summer. Where I let you know where we were instead of where we are going. This is just safer and since I am a Self Defence instructor I should practise what I preach.
If anyone of our new friends in Kitchener happen to read this, we love you all and will really miss you. For our brother's and sister's from the club, we are amazed by how quickly we became so close to you. For our friends at Shopper's we really enjoy working with you and hanging out after hours. I personally haven't worked side by side with women since I was 16 and it is a very nice change.
As excited as I am to leave I am just as excited to get back. I really love it here, mainly because of Wing Chun and the people in our lives. The city is pretty cool too but a far second. I hope this next part of the trip is a safe and enjoyable one. I hope you enjoy the stories to come.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Realworld Self Defence
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Monday, June 7, 2010
I'm supposed to be at work right now but my back is bugging me. I broke my back almost 7 years ago for those that don't already know. So sometimes my back muscles get really tense and I need to focus on stretching and resting for a couple days.
Anyways, I would like to tell you a bit about our Sigung Nelson Chan and his Kwoon (club) in Toronto. Since we got here we have been there to visit 4 times. Our Sigung has been training in Wing Chun for over 40 years. He learned it from his Sifu Moy Yat and Moy Yat learned it from Yip Man. Sigung learned the Hong Kong version, which is the original version. It is very cool to have found a lineage of Wing Chun that is so pure and effective. My Sifu prayed to find a good Wing Chun instructor and I searched for one, guess we both got what we were looking for. Other than getting to meet our Sigung at his Kwoon, we also get to meet his other students, which are part of our Wing Chun family. Each time we go we become closer with them which is very cool, and each time we go back we are all a little bit better, so we get to see each other's growth. Our Wing Chun Uncle, or our Sibok, Louis has taught me a few things that are hugely important in my understanding of the System. It's not that my Sifu didn't teach me these things, but sometimes just the way something is explained from another point of view allows it to sink in better.
The last visit we had to Sigung's was May 29th. This visit was different because we were going there for a special seminar about Wing Chun history and the inner secrets of Wing Chun. It was pretty interesting and what we learned sinks in more and more each day. The seminar was done by our Sigung's Wing Chun brother, Moy 2. He is called Moy 2 because he was the first person in the U.S. to learn Wing Chun from Moy Yat. There are many versions to the story of where Wing Chun came from, but what we learned at this seminar makes more sense than the others. Moy 2 has done a great deal of research about Wing Chun history and the truths about Wing Chun, so I tend to believe what he shared with us. One point I will share about what I learned is that Wing Chun was invented by a woman. This has always been hard to believe for men because women don't tend to be the fighting type. Where Wing Chun was invented was in a place called Li Jiang. In this place 300 years ago was a culture wherein women were the dominant sex, so basically they were the ones doing the construction, the fighting, the farting and the burping. I added the last 2 but you know what I mean. They were still physically built the same way but the women were the aggressors and had created an intelligent "martial art" or "fighting system" that required little strength to be very powerful and useful.
After class we got back to Kitchener and went to our friend's house for a barbecue with a bunch of us from class. We have been there a few times now and we have fun every time. They have a kick-ass barbecue set up on their deck and the rest of the backyard is a pool. They also set up the TV on the back deck and we watched UFC. Good times for sure. We have had quite a few good nights with these two, in fact we went to Montreal with them to go to UFC. We went to the one where Lyoto Machida got knocked out. I will tell you more about our trip there in another post.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Heritage Martial Arts
Anyways, I would like to tell you a bit about our Sigung Nelson Chan and his Kwoon (club) in Toronto. Since we got here we have been there to visit 4 times. Our Sigung has been training in Wing Chun for over 40 years. He learned it from his Sifu Moy Yat and Moy Yat learned it from Yip Man. Sigung learned the Hong Kong version, which is the original version. It is very cool to have found a lineage of Wing Chun that is so pure and effective. My Sifu prayed to find a good Wing Chun instructor and I searched for one, guess we both got what we were looking for. Other than getting to meet our Sigung at his Kwoon, we also get to meet his other students, which are part of our Wing Chun family. Each time we go we become closer with them which is very cool, and each time we go back we are all a little bit better, so we get to see each other's growth. Our Wing Chun Uncle, or our Sibok, Louis has taught me a few things that are hugely important in my understanding of the System. It's not that my Sifu didn't teach me these things, but sometimes just the way something is explained from another point of view allows it to sink in better.
The last visit we had to Sigung's was May 29th. This visit was different because we were going there for a special seminar about Wing Chun history and the inner secrets of Wing Chun. It was pretty interesting and what we learned sinks in more and more each day. The seminar was done by our Sigung's Wing Chun brother, Moy 2. He is called Moy 2 because he was the first person in the U.S. to learn Wing Chun from Moy Yat. There are many versions to the story of where Wing Chun came from, but what we learned at this seminar makes more sense than the others. Moy 2 has done a great deal of research about Wing Chun history and the truths about Wing Chun, so I tend to believe what he shared with us. One point I will share about what I learned is that Wing Chun was invented by a woman. This has always been hard to believe for men because women don't tend to be the fighting type. Where Wing Chun was invented was in a place called Li Jiang. In this place 300 years ago was a culture wherein women were the dominant sex, so basically they were the ones doing the construction, the fighting, the farting and the burping. I added the last 2 but you know what I mean. They were still physically built the same way but the women were the aggressors and had created an intelligent "martial art" or "fighting system" that required little strength to be very powerful and useful.
After class we got back to Kitchener and went to our friend's house for a barbecue with a bunch of us from class. We have been there a few times now and we have fun every time. They have a kick-ass barbecue set up on their deck and the rest of the backyard is a pool. They also set up the TV on the back deck and we watched UFC. Good times for sure. We have had quite a few good nights with these two, in fact we went to Montreal with them to go to UFC. We went to the one where Lyoto Machida got knocked out. I will tell you more about our trip there in another post.
Self Defence
Martial Arts
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellowship
Heritage Martial Arts
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Well it has been a while since my last post, just didn't feel like writing I guess. We are getting closer to the next part of our journey. The plans have changed drastically but we like the changes. Instead of bhiking the rest of the way across Canada we are going to drive our Jeep. Tara doesn't really want to bike the highway anymore, which I completely understand. Both our knees felt it and we don't want to do anymore damage to our bodies just to prove something. We biked almost 2500km to get here and we're pretty proud of that. We have also decided that we are going to come back here for another year of training. We love Wing Chun and need to learn more. Since I'm going to teach it someday we feel this is the best thing to do. I like to say I'm here going to school, which is exactly what I'm doing.
Our friends Dana and Jen are going to drive the Jeep to us. Dana is fixing it up for me, since it's not ready for long distance driving. They should be here close to the end of June. Then we will be leaving for a two month trip. We are not exactly sure where we are going, we like to just go where we feel. The only plans are to go to the islands and explore whatever we meet up with in between. We are bringing the bikes for day rides and we are planning on biking all around P.E.I.. Before we leave though I'm going to try and tell you a bit more about our Kitchener experience. It will take a few posts but I'll try my best get all the details in.
As you know when we got here we were only going to stay for a week of intense training, 26 hours of class and privates to be exact. Then it turned into "We will stay for the month." Now it has been eight months and we are very happy we stayed. The city itself is okay, a city is a city to me. What we love so much about this place is our reason for being here and the friends that we have made. Every single one of them is amazing, some have become closer friends then others but they are all still great. I won't point out the ones that are closer but I will write down as many names as I can think of right now. Dan, Dan, and Dan, yes 3 Dan's. There was 4th but we haven't seen him in a while. Malcom, Rick, Bob, Phil, Yuri, Alex, Brock, Onno, Ray, Mauricio, Jeannette, Ken, Brian, Ferrah, Larry, Tim, Darren, Paul, Anya, Bill, James, Katie, and of course Sifu Chuck. These are our friends from the club, there are more but I can't remember everyone right now. The friends I've made at work are amazing as well. I work at Shoppers Drug Mart as a Merchandiser and I quite enjoy my job. My friends names are Angela, Julie, Luke, Kelly, Jesse, Alana, Pat, Boza, Nina, Gordanna, Trevor, Andreea, Fallen, Amanda, Melissa, Bethany, Paul, and Ben my boss. Again there are more but can't remember everyone right now. Just mention a few more, Kate, Vicki, and Sharron. They are wives of a few of the guys and two are good friends with Tara.
The main things we do here are train, live, and. Heavy on the live and train, and we love it. We bike, walk and bus everywhere we go, unless we get a ride from someone. It is a completely different world being on the side of the road biking then being on the road in a vehicle. It's funny how such a simple shift can change the world which you experience. Since we walk and bike everywhere we are in the best shape of our lives, I'm sure all the training has something to do with it as well. It is an adventure every time we go anywhere. They are not big adventures but they are more of an adventure then when you drive. The winter was so mild this year that biking was always an option.
The way we spend money has has been another change since we started our journey. Instead of buying things, we have been buying a lot of experiences. We are constantly doing something, from training, traveling to just going out on the town. We don't go to big clubs but we do go to a lot of Restaurants and Pub's. There are many nice places to go to in downtown Waterloo; Kitchener too, but the best are in Waterloo. In my last post I mentioned that we went to Arizona, which was a great time. We rented Harley's for 2 days and the rides were awesome. The desert is so very beautiful. We have gone to Toronto a few times to train with our Sigung, which I will go into more detail later. I just got back from a trip home, which again I will go into more detail later.
We have experienced so much in this past year. It is really very amazing and I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. The thought of, 'what if we had stayed in Fort McMurray', gives me a sick feeling to my stomach. To think of not experiencing everything we have is just too much. I even had a dream the other night that we had moved back to Fort McMurray. As soon as a I realised that we were there I started to cry, I was so sad that we had left Kitchener prematurely. Then I woke up and everything was okay again. It's going to be nice to continue writing about Kitchener in more detail before we go.
I hope you are all enjoying hearing about our experiences, because we are having a great time doing it.
Our friends Dana and Jen are going to drive the Jeep to us. Dana is fixing it up for me, since it's not ready for long distance driving. They should be here close to the end of June. Then we will be leaving for a two month trip. We are not exactly sure where we are going, we like to just go where we feel. The only plans are to go to the islands and explore whatever we meet up with in between. We are bringing the bikes for day rides and we are planning on biking all around P.E.I.. Before we leave though I'm going to try and tell you a bit more about our Kitchener experience. It will take a few posts but I'll try my best get all the details in.
As you know when we got here we were only going to stay for a week of intense training, 26 hours of class and privates to be exact. Then it turned into "We will stay for the month." Now it has been eight months and we are very happy we stayed. The city itself is okay, a city is a city to me. What we love so much about this place is our reason for being here and the friends that we have made. Every single one of them is amazing, some have become closer friends then others but they are all still great. I won't point out the ones that are closer but I will write down as many names as I can think of right now. Dan, Dan, and Dan, yes 3 Dan's. There was 4th but we haven't seen him in a while. Malcom, Rick, Bob, Phil, Yuri, Alex, Brock, Onno, Ray, Mauricio, Jeannette, Ken, Brian, Ferrah, Larry, Tim, Darren, Paul, Anya, Bill, James, Katie, and of course Sifu Chuck. These are our friends from the club, there are more but I can't remember everyone right now. The friends I've made at work are amazing as well. I work at Shoppers Drug Mart as a Merchandiser and I quite enjoy my job. My friends names are Angela, Julie, Luke, Kelly, Jesse, Alana, Pat, Boza, Nina, Gordanna, Trevor, Andreea, Fallen, Amanda, Melissa, Bethany, Paul, and Ben my boss. Again there are more but can't remember everyone right now. Just mention a few more, Kate, Vicki, and Sharron. They are wives of a few of the guys and two are good friends with Tara.
The main things we do here are train, live, and. Heavy on the live and train, and we love it. We bike, walk and bus everywhere we go, unless we get a ride from someone. It is a completely different world being on the side of the road biking then being on the road in a vehicle. It's funny how such a simple shift can change the world which you experience. Since we walk and bike everywhere we are in the best shape of our lives, I'm sure all the training has something to do with it as well. It is an adventure every time we go anywhere. They are not big adventures but they are more of an adventure then when you drive. The winter was so mild this year that biking was always an option.
The way we spend money has has been another change since we started our journey. Instead of buying things, we have been buying a lot of experiences. We are constantly doing something, from training, traveling to just going out on the town. We don't go to big clubs but we do go to a lot of Restaurants and Pub's. There are many nice places to go to in downtown Waterloo; Kitchener too, but the best are in Waterloo. In my last post I mentioned that we went to Arizona, which was a great time. We rented Harley's for 2 days and the rides were awesome. The desert is so very beautiful. We have gone to Toronto a few times to train with our Sigung, which I will go into more detail later. I just got back from a trip home, which again I will go into more detail later.
We have experienced so much in this past year. It is really very amazing and I wouldn't have wanted to do anything else. The thought of, 'what if we had stayed in Fort McMurray', gives me a sick feeling to my stomach. To think of not experiencing everything we have is just too much. I even had a dream the other night that we had moved back to Fort McMurray. As soon as a I realised that we were there I started to cry, I was so sad that we had left Kitchener prematurely. Then I woke up and everything was okay again. It's going to be nice to continue writing about Kitchener in more detail before we go.
I hope you are all enjoying hearing about our experiences, because we are having a great time doing it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Hello everyone. I hope all of your holidays were great and that it didn't cost more then you could afford. Christmas is the most expensive time of the year.
I have a couple of exciting things to mention. I have recently started teaching Self Defence again. I am teaching at Heritage Martial Arts and Fitness Centre at 3310 King Street East in Kitchener. It's the same place that we are training in Wing Chun. Beyond the teaching part it's really awesome because now I can go there and train any time I want. I will be having a 2 hour session every weekend. Not sure of the time and day exactly because there is a lot of filming going on this month. I am also able to teach during the day throughout the week for anyone that can make it. I have also had a few things changed with my website. The main thing that I changed is the web page address, it is http://www.realworldselfdefence.ca/. It is also the name of my company "Realworld Self Defence".
Another super-awesome thing that has happened occurred just last night. During class our Sifu surprised me and Tara with our grading. He started by making us workout harder then everyone else. At first I thought he was mad at us for something, but it still wasn't making any sense. I figured it out when we were about a quarter of the way through the testing. We were so surprised because we were originally expecting to get tested at the end of February. Sifu said he figured we were ready so he just decided to grade us. By the way, we both passed! We're so F'n excited. This also means that we get to have an extra 2 months of training at level 2, which is the Chum Kiu level. It usually takes a year of training before you get tested, but because we go to every single class we got tested sooner. Sifu figured out that within the 3 months that we have been training we have put in a year and half worth of regular class participation. I also train outside of class so I have been putting a lot of hours into this.
Just to finish up with exciting stuff, we are going to Arizona for a week to see Tara's parents and her Uncle. They are there for a 6 week vacation. They have rented a trailer so we get to stay there for free and they even payed for half of our flights. It should be a good time and it will be nice to see them again.
I have a couple of exciting things to mention. I have recently started teaching Self Defence again. I am teaching at Heritage Martial Arts and Fitness Centre at 3310 King Street East in Kitchener. It's the same place that we are training in Wing Chun. Beyond the teaching part it's really awesome because now I can go there and train any time I want. I will be having a 2 hour session every weekend. Not sure of the time and day exactly because there is a lot of filming going on this month. I am also able to teach during the day throughout the week for anyone that can make it. I have also had a few things changed with my website. The main thing that I changed is the web page address, it is http://www.realworldselfdefence.ca/. It is also the name of my company "Realworld Self Defence".
Another super-awesome thing that has happened occurred just last night. During class our Sifu surprised me and Tara with our grading. He started by making us workout harder then everyone else. At first I thought he was mad at us for something, but it still wasn't making any sense. I figured it out when we were about a quarter of the way through the testing. We were so surprised because we were originally expecting to get tested at the end of February. Sifu said he figured we were ready so he just decided to grade us. By the way, we both passed! We're so F'n excited. This also means that we get to have an extra 2 months of training at level 2, which is the Chum Kiu level. It usually takes a year of training before you get tested, but because we go to every single class we got tested sooner. Sifu figured out that within the 3 months that we have been training we have put in a year and half worth of regular class participation. I also train outside of class so I have been putting a lot of hours into this.
Just to finish up with exciting stuff, we are going to Arizona for a week to see Tara's parents and her Uncle. They are there for a 6 week vacation. They have rented a trailer so we get to stay there for free and they even payed for half of our flights. It should be a good time and it will be nice to see them again.
Martial Arts
Self Defence
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company
Canadian Wing Chun Fellow Ship
Heritage Martial Arts
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