Looking Back – 50 photos that tell our 2015 Story

Another year in the history books!

Well, here we are again. Another year complete. When I look at our 4 year old and 2 year old boys I find it hard to believe how quickly time is moving. While the new year allows us all to click the restart button, it’s much more than that. The new year also creates a definitive line in the sand that forces us to reflect on the past year.

I started writing this post and then decided to take a pause to read what I wrote last year at this time. Here’s the post if interested.

The funny thing is that the first 2 paragraphs were almost identical. Literally almost word for word.

So, I poured myself another cup of coffee and decided to start over.

Fitting, given that this time of year is all about starting over.

As I put thought into the coming year, I’m excited about what I see on the horizon. This year is already shaping up to be another big year. As always, travel will play a role, but this year it will be less defined and less of an emphasis then years past.

We continue to get better at enjoying the moment and not always dreaming about being somewhere else.

Some of our most memorable moments from 2015 were doing simple things close to home, like hiking in the forest or walking along the pier or playing hide and seek at the park with our boys. The daily routines that once made us crazy have actually become quite enjoyable.

You may have noticed a decline in blog posts over the past year. Not surprising, we’ve found it quite challenging to raise two young boys while working full time and maintaining our online businesses.

Unfortunately, that has meant this travel blog has dropped down a few pegs on the priority list.

We hoped to do a full website redesign in 2015, but we seem to make one step forward followed by two steps backwards. Our hope is that the new website will be ready in the next few months. Fingers crossed.

While our need for constant movement and changing environments has become less of a priority, our desire to experience the world will never cease. In a few days we will board a plane that will drop us in the Caribbean, where we will visit 5 new countries in 3 weeks. We’re pretty excited to kick off the new year with a big adventure. Braydon’s already packing his Thomas the Train suitcase with stuffies, books and toys. Too cute.

Alright, let’s get to the photos now.

Jasper National Park, Alberta

Our first adventure of 2015 had us visiting the town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies. The purpose of our visit was to experience the annual Jasper in January winter festival. Specifically, the family oriented Winterstruck event that is hosted at Pyramid Lake.

Read more from Jasper, Alberta:

• Jasper might just be the most Canadian town in Canada
• Jasper in January: Winter fun at Winterstruck
• VIDEO: Winter Fun at Winterstruck in Jasper, Alberta

I love this colourful photo of the pool at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

Ice skating on a frozen lake in the Canadian Rockies. Does it get more Canadian?

Snowboarding in the trees at Marmot Bason in Jasper National Park, Alberta.

Wildlife in Jasper National Park.

Big father-son moment – teaching Braydon to ice skate on a frozen lake.

Big White Ski Resort, British Columbia

Shortly after our trip to Jasper we packed our car and took a road trip to Big White Ski Resort (pictured above) in central British Columbia. Big White is known for having short lift lines and light, dry ‘champagne’ powder. It offers a wide variety of terrain, from deep powder bowls to wide-open glades and long groomed trails. What we love about Big White is that it’s a true ski-in/ski-out mountain, regardless of where you stay.

We stayed at the Chateau Big White, conveniently located in the heart of the village and directly beside the top of Plaza Chair lift. This was the first time I’ve taken a chair lift directly to my hotel!

Read more from Big White Ski Resort:

• Getting our snow fix at Big White Ski Resort
• 25 Winter Photos from Big White Ski Resort
• VIDEO: Snowboarding at Big White Ski Resort

Nicole climbing the giant ice tower in the village.

Winter in Banff and Lake Louise, Alberta

After having such a wonderful time road tripping through Alberta last summer, we decided that winter in Banff National Park would be the perfect place to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary.

It was a wise decision! Not only was this our most memorable wedding anniversary, it was one of the best couples vacations we’ve ever had.

Read more from our winter trip to Banff and Lake Louise:

• Winter in Banff: Our best anniversary to date
• PHOTOS: Snowboarding at Lake Louise Ski Resort in Alberta
• Dog sledding to the Great Divide in the Canadian Rockies

Dogsledding to the Great Divide – Lake Louise, Alberta.

Snowboarding at Lake Louise Ski Resort

Nicole riding to the lodge after a solid day of snowboarding.

Perfect winter scene – playing ice hockey on a frozen Lake Louise, while it snows.

I still can’t believe I walked to the middle of Lake Louise!

Winter wonderland indeed

Snowshoeing in Banff National Park

Boston, USA

In April I (Cam) visited the city of Boston for the first time. I’ve wanted to visit Boston for years. It’s one of those great American cities that everyone has to experience at least once in their lifetime. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to see the historical city with my own eyes.

This was a solo trip without Nicole or the boys, which was a nice change of pace. I don’t get the opportunity to travel alone very often, so it was fun to explore the streets of Boston without an agenda… or baby stroller.

Finally had the chance to catch a ball game at the legendary Fenway Park!

Las Vegas, Nevada

I went to Las Vegas in June. It was a short trip for a bachelor party, so this is the only internet friendly photo I can share with you. It was a fun trip. I think?

Summer in British Columbia

The big trip that we had planned in 2015 was to attend the Rugby World Cup in England and Wales in September. While in the UK, we planned to include a road trip in Ireland as well as exploring England’s countryside.

Unfortunately our plans had to change and we did not end up traveling to the UK. Nicole got a great new job so we had to limit our travels for the second half of 2015.

As such, we spent much of our summer in one of the best places on the planet – British Columbia.

Stanley Park Seawall

I’m proud to say that I completed the Tough Mudder event in Whistler this year!

Suspension bridge at the Sea-to-Sky Summit in Squamish

Hiking trails on the North Shore.

Burrard Inlet and the Lonsdale Quay Market.

Views of Vancouver from the top of Grouse Mountain.

Peak of Mount Seymour.

Road trip in New Brunswick

In June we visited the province of New Brunswick for the first time. We have a travel goal to visit every province and territory in Canada so we were excited to finally experience this underrated Maritime province.

Our road trip began in the coastal city of Saint John and concluded in Moncton. During our trip we went on a whale watching tour aboard the Jolly Breeze Tall Ship, we ate fresh lobster on a lobster cruise and walked on the ocean floor at low tide while at Hopewell Rocks.

Read more from our trip to New Brunswick:

• Here’s what we did on our trip to New Brunswick
• 8 Things to do in New Brunswick with kids
• If there’s one place you should visit in New Brunswick, this is it!

The pier and wharf in the town of Shediac.

Walking on the ocean floor at low tide at the Hopewell Rocks.

Docked boats at low tide in New Brunswick.

The rocky beach at St. Martin’s Sea Caves.

The iconic Algonquin Resort in St. Andrew’s by the Sea.

Views from the pier at St. Andrews by the Sea.

Whale watching in the Bay of Fundy aboard the Jolly Breeze Tall Ship.

Toronto, Ontario

In October I made an impromptu trip to Toronto to watch the Toronto Blue Jays play in their first postseason game in 22 years. I grew up in the suburbs of Toronto so it was a big deal to finally see the Jays back in the playoffs. I went to both home games and spent a few days re-connecting with the city I once called home.

As I type this, I realize that I visited 4 different provinces this year. I’ve never done that before.

David Price on the mound in Game #1 of the ALDS.

Porteau Cove, British Columbia

In November we rented a small log cabin on the shores of Porteau Cove, a small provincial park in British Columbia (about 50 hectares in size) situated on the most southerly fjord in North America. The park stretches between the shoreline of Howe Sound and the Sea-to-Sky Highway, about 20 minutes south of Squamish.

Aside from its rocky beaches and breathtaking mountain vistas, Porteau Cove’s star attraction the old ferry terminal that’s been converted into a pedestrian pier.

Read more: An oceanfront cabin retreat at Porteau Cove

This was the oceanfront cabin we stayed at.

Winter in Vancouver

This winter we made an effort to get outside more and experience all that Vancouver has to offer, especially during the holidays. We took our boys up to Grouse Mountain to experience its Peak of Christmas festival. It was fun to take Braydon ice skating on a frozen pond again. He seems to really like the outdoors.

Shannon Falls Provincial Park, near Squamish.

On the Grouse Mountain Skyride

Snowboarding on Cypress Mountain.

White Christmas on Cypress Mountain. Sporting our new Columbia winter gear.

More annual wrap-up posts from other years:

• Looking Back – 30 photos that tell our 2014 Story
• Looking back – 13 photos that tell our 2013 story
• Our 10 Most Memorable Travel Experiences of 2012
• Traveling Canucks’ Best of Travel in 2011
• The Top 10 of 2010 
• 50 Photos that tell our 2018 story

Before we officially say goodbye to 2015, we want to take a moment to thank you for joining us on our journey. We’re so happy you’re here and we wish you a very successful 2016!

Happy new year!

Cam, Nicole, Braydon and Connor