Around the World in 30 Weddings

ODO: 368809

Sometimes in our lives we have the privilege of meeting truly amazing people. It happens rarely, and usually the meeting is fleeting, but what makes these encounters truly memorable are the stories.

Every person has a story. Some are tragic, some are heroic, and some are beautiful. Every now and then we encounter one of these truly beautiful stories that gives us hope, lifts us up, or just makes us smile on an otherwise mundane day. We encountered one of these stories in the most unlikely of places, a campsite in Kenora, Ontario and we feel it's worth sharing. It’s a bit sappy, sometimes idyllic, but it’s real and that’s what makes it truly amazing.

We met Lisa and Alex as they were passing us on a trail, car battery in hand (an event we know all too well). We chatted and offered them a jump if the charge hadn’t been sufficient from the local Canadian Tire. Later that afternoon they came over to our campsite with beers in hand and we ended up spending the whole night with them in the summer air drinking, eating and getting to know each other. We found that they were Brits traveling Canada east to west living out of their van. It soon came out that this was only the first stint of their 2 year trip around the world. They mentioned they were doing a blog on their travels, but eluded that there was something more. They asked us what was the reason behind our travels and we said that we just wanted to get away and see the world before life set in. Their response, “we’re the opposite, life already set it and we’re leaving it behind,” had us intrigued. Then they delved into their story.

Alex and Lisa have known each other for 12 years, since they were 20 and 18 respectively. They had never gotten together because “they were too wild for anything serious to have worked,” Lisa divulged with a laugh. They had mutual friends and stayed in touch throughout these years, reconnecting at friends’ birthdays and random phone calls inviting the other out for drinks. They both experienced other relationships, engagements, marriage and divorce. When they were both free, Alex called Lisa up for a drink yet again and this time they realized they wanted to be together and she soon moved to Manchester to be with him. Alex asked Lisa one day, “have you ever wanted to go to Australia?” and the two started planning an around the world trip they had both been dreaming of for years. They sold everything they owned, including a business, house and everything possession within. Their trip is more than just an around the world trip though, more than the two of them leaving it all behind or some kind of crazy two year honeymoon. In fact, they aren’t even married….well not legally anyway. They are getting married 30 times in the next two years and blogging about the experience as they go. 30 vow exchanges, cutting of the cake and first dances. When they finish they will pick their favorite location, invite all the people they met along the way that made the journey possible and have their  “real” wedding there. This trip is a quest for the perfect place to get married. As Alex wrote in their blog, “I’m so excited about marrying her I wish I could do it again and again….so that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Their romance, spontaneity and genuineness was staggering and apparently we aren’t the only ones that feel this way. They have had a wedding dress, venues world wide, and accommodation as they travel donated to them. Newspapers, writers, and publishers have reached out to them wanting to tell their story, and honestly, we understand why. This story of love, of adventure, of finally getting it right is inspiring. So, for the next two years we will be following their blog as they profess their love for each other in every country they can get to. But why take my word for it? Check it out for yourself- 2people1life.com/blog

It's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine, it's summertime...

Every morning we wake up in the back of a van. Every day we brush our teeth in a parking lot or the side of a road and find the nearest bathroom to pee. Passers by stare at these haggard kids climbing out of a bug splattered Westfalia, but we don’t mind. In fact, it has come to feel very normal. Leaving Alberta, we knew we had several thousand kilometers ahead where it was just us, the van and the road – and we were ready for it.

When we entered the prairies we were skeptical of what we would find. We had heard many a comment about how we would become sick of the flatness, the ongoing highways of nothing to look at, and the bugs that would eat us to death. We were told that we would find nothing to do and might as well just drive right through it. In reality we did find something to do, and that something was relax.

There is something extremely calming about driving down a highway without being bombarded by roadside signs, streams of other vehicles, or highrise buildings that obscure your view of the landscape. When we were driving with the windows down blaring the music in order to hear over the roaring wind, wearing hardly anything more than a bathing suit and hanging our feet out the window, we found the purest form of summer. It was exactly what both of us were looking for.

Saskatoon was spent walking the scenic paths by the river and drinking beer on a bustling rooftop patio. We loved the quaint and cultural feel of the town and how beautiful the town was, filled with parks, riverside beaches and boutique-lined streets. The summer heat wave had hit us at this point, making sleeping in the van so difficult. We would wake up at 6 in the morning unable to breath because our van works as a greenhouse in the morning sun. We would be forced to get up and get going just to avoid having to stay inside the van. Weather of 35+ was the norm, with humidity making it feel 45 degrees! For all of you using Fahrenheit this is between 95 and 115 so hot, hot, HOT!! As we hit Winnipeg we did the thing we had been putting off all this time and got a hotel room. The air-conditioning, comfortable bed, endless showers and free wi-fi were worth every penny. After we had cooled down we explored the downtown core and found that it was as historic and confusing as we have heard. Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to head over to Grand Beach because the heat wave had made it unbearable to be out in direct sunlight for more than 20 minutes.

Our time in the prairies was great, but it was those drives to and from that really gave them a place in our memories. Sometimes you just can't beat the simplicity of a long unknown road with a good road trip partner. 

Cowboys & Dinosaurs

Calgary during the stampede is pure mayhem. It seems that everyone is on vacation, although we learned that the people who party the hardest are also the ones who have just spent 10 hours at the office. Everyone has on their plaid and cowboy boots and they are ready to two-step the night away. Since neither of us has been to the stampede since we were of age, we were excited to take full advantage of all the “greatest outdoor show on earth” has to offer. One of our good friends Kayla, being the wonderful friend that she is, opened her house to us and showed us the ropes of stampede. The first day we went to the rodeo and then to one of the tents for some beers and dancing.

Then an amazing surprise came in the form of one of our best friends-Hannah! We hadn’t seen her since she embarked on her own journey 7 months earlier. She had taken a 15 hour train to come meet up with us! We took full advantage of the fair, rodeo and time with friends. After Hannah and Autumn lost out several times playing games at the fair, Hazen took over in order to win ourselves a mascot. We never did win, but a nice employee did give us a stuffed bear for our troubles.

One of our favorite activities was a night at the chuck wagon races. We all went and sat watching each heat of the race, a new four chuck wagons competing in each, and made 20 cent bets on who would win. We of course knew nothing about chuck wagon racing so the bets were made primarily on the aesthetics of the wagons, wheels, and/or horses’ attire. We lost track after so many rounds of races but we’re pretty sure someone owes someone a beer. 

We finished our time in Calgary with a trip to the Royal Tyrell Museum. Now, to appreciate this you must first understand what a dream come true this was for Hazen. Hazen claims to have fantasized about coming here as a little boy, and he has the dinosaur pillow, blanket and Jurassic Park obsession to back it up. If you look closely at Hazen’s eyes you may even be able to see tears of joy as he stands next to the T-Rex. The museum was extremely well done, with exhibits on fossils, how they excavate and clean them, interactive education on paleontology, and a journey through the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras.

The Great Outdoors!

Have any of you ever spent much time in Banff or Jasper? If yes, then you will know exactly what we're talking about when we say "amazing" and "breathtaking." If no, then put it on your to-do list because these National Parks are worth the time and money-just ask the thousands of international tourists that fly, drive, and sail to this location every year just to catch a glimpse of the bluest blue of Lake Louise or the humbling statures of the snow topped Rockies.

After spending our first day sleeping in a parking lot in downtown Banff to be next to a repair shop (turns out we had blown an exhaust gasket on the drive) we decided to suck it up and pay for campgrounds as we traveled through. It was well worth it as we both enjoyed much needed down time in some of the best scenery that Canada has to offer.

Banff was filled with hiking and fun campfire activities.

One such campfire activity was spider dogs. What's a spider dog you may ask? Well, Hazen has prepared a little DIY demonstration for all you camping enthusiasts.

Step 1: Tools you will need- 1 hotdog, 1 knife & 1 roasting stick

Step 2: Slice in an X pattern 1/3 of the length of the hotdog on both ends. Leave the 1/3 in the middle to mount your spider dog on the stick.

Step 3: Above the flames, roast both sets of 4 legs like so...

Step 4: Enjoy au natural or with your favorite dog toppings (Hazen likes mustard)

No camping trip is complete without a spider dog, or 6.

We then headed off to Lake Louise for that sought after blue water. Fun Fact: The blue you see in the water comes from the weight of the glaciers grinding against the underlying rock which forms "rock flour." The rock flour travels down to the lake via glacial streams and the result is this undeniable blue.

Hazen spent much of his downtime fashioning a makeshift gasket from tin foil and gasket sealant to get us through the parks because no one could help us. Thank goodness one of us is handy with the tools....
At Lake Louise we embarked on one of the most breathtaking hikes. While most passers through enjoy the splendor of Lake Louise itself, some choose to hike up behind it to it's sister lakes- Mirror and Agnes. These lakes are certainly smaller but equally as beautiful.

Heading North, we adventured out onto the Columbia Ice Fields, a glacier that is cascading down a valley like frozen class 5 rapids.

Don't worry, we didn't make the treacherous hike over crevasses so deep you can't see the bottom - we hopped their little shuttle bus out to a safe spot.

The parks were fantastic, but we did learn a few lessons while we were there...
Rules of the Road:
8. If your van is making a noise, it's probably broken.
9. They are able to make you pay through the nose when there is no gas, groceries or liquor for hours.
10. Wildlife is one of nature's amazing gifts, but that is no excuse to slam on the breaks every 5km, running your fellow drivers off the road just to take a picture of yet another furry creature.

Gas, Grass or Ass No One Rides for Free...But We'll Also Take a Toque

Before we get into the lovely Kootenays we'd like to answer some questions about the van so that some of you can get a visual picture of the inside (we'll also include some photos if we can). Our van is named 'Westy' - we know, so original, right? We chose it because he went nameless for so long as we waited for inspiration, that Westy went from a nickname to the legal version. Westy Garnett-Fowler for tax purposes. He is a chocolate brown 1986 Volkswagen Vanagon with the Westfalia camper package, which is the most inclusive of all the V-dub camper vans. For those that care, it is powered by a 2.1 waterboxer engine with 4 cylinders and half as many valves as it should - meaning it only makes 90hp and if a snail race was uphill, some of the bigger, faster snails may win. For the inside, Westy starts with two lovely captains chairs which can swivel around to face each other, and for driving comfort we have an iPod hookup and some custom cupholders (because the world's most awesome vehicle didn't have room for drink holders). For camping comfort, the inside has a fridge, two burner stove and a sink that actually make kitchen chores fairly easy. The only thing it could use is a dish washer, but currently Hazen washes and Autumn dries. This unit sits behind the drivers seat, and behind it sits a swivel table and a wardrobe so we can actually hang stuff up! The back bench seat is perfect for hitchhikers, but it is also a great dining area when the swivel table is pulled out. For less formal meals and nap time, the back bench seat pulls forward like an Ikea Futon and our full size bed comes out. When guests visit, the roof of the van pops up like a tent, and another twin bed flips out to accommodate 1-2 more people.

Hope this gives you a better idea of where we're living! It's actually more spacious than we first anticipated.

Ok, so we left you last in the Okanagan as we were heading down towards the Kootenays. On the highway you end up passing a lot of people traveling with their lives in their backpacks, and there's something about a Westfalia that makes you want to pick people up. Don't worry though, we've got some sense to actually offering a ride - if you look scary or physically capable of robbing us we won't pick you up. But if we come by a young couple like us, hell, we've got two spare seats! And that's what we did in Osoyoos.

Sebastian and Isabelle are French adventure guides whose contract had expired in Whistler. They were on their way home to the Laurentians in Quebec (shout-out to Tara and Mat because they said they lived near your town), but had to stop in at Nelson to visit Sebastian's brother. I don't know how many of you have driven from Osoyoos to Nelson, but there aren't a lot of places to see between. With us having no plan, and them headed to Nelson, we set out on the 5 hour drive (Westy speed Keira and Roman). When we got there and were just about to part ways with our new friends, Isabelle handed Autumn a toque she had been quietly knitting in the back seat as a thank you for the ride.

We spent the next few days getting the lay of Nelson. We stayed out at a little site along the river and explored all the little shops, street markets and cafes during the day. After a few days on our own, our good friend Jeremy was coming home to visit his parents and was kind enough to put us up and show us around over the Canada day long weekend. In addition to showing us some of those great eateries (Oso Negro, the Outer Clove, the Kootenay Bakery and the Full Circle Cafe are some awesome restaurants/coffee places if you're ever in the area), he pointed us in the direction of the Ainsworth Hotsprings..they weren't quite as natural as we had anticipated, but were still nice to sit in on a cold, rainy day.

On Canada Day we went on a fantastic hike up to Pulpit rock, which overlooks the valley and river around Nelson. It was a steep hike but so worth the view from the top. and At night we enjoyed a few beers with Jeremy and friends at a pub and then walked down to the park for the Nelson music and fireworks.

 Nelson was Hazen's favourite spot thus far, the people, scenery, food and vibe are some of the best around!