Trip to Canadian Rockies

Sixteen hours from now, I will be boarding a plane heading to Calgary, Alberta. Yipee! I have yet to pack my suitcase or figure out what to bring. Mitts, check, tuque, check, camera, check, plane ticket, check. Looks like rain is in the forecast for this week (rainjacket, check) but that certainly won't spoil my fun. I'm meeting up with my parents in Calgary tomorrow night. We will be heading up to Jasper the next morning via the Icefields Parkway. I can't wait to see the Rocky Mountains! I've only ever seen them from an airplane window when I was flying to Vancouver and that was only for a few minutes. What I'm looking forward to most is seeing this part of Canada for the first time with my parents - a full week spent hiking mountains, visiting glaciers and hot springs, and hopefully seeing lots of wildlife. Wow.

On Thursday night, we will be returning to Banff. I will be attending a research meeting over the weekend while my parents explore Banff. On Sunday, we will be traveling back to Calgary. I will be attending the SESCI Conference for the remaining of the week while my parents continue their trip out West.

Will be a great trip. See you when I get back. Take care,

Cynthia

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Hey Tommy,

Wish I could be with you to celebrate your birthday! Have a great weekend and best birthday wishes! Keep smiling always!

Your little sister who loves you,

Cindy xox

Geocache Marathon

My dad, sister and brother came up to visit me last weekend. What a treat! My dad brought his new GPS with him so we spent a large part of the weekend looking for geocaches in the Kingston area. It was so much fun! Finding a geocache was one of the activities listed in my 43 Things List so I was happy to be able to cross it off my list. I was looking forward to geocaching for a long time. The best part - not only did we find 1 geocache but 17 of them!! With the help of David and Matt on Saturday and Sunday, we found more geocaches and got to explore parts of Kingston we hadn't seen before.

Here are a few photos from our geocaching weekend. To see more photos, go to my Flickr Page or David's Flickr Page.

Comprehensive Exams (Part A) Are Over!

As many of you know, I've been very busy these last couple months studying for my Ph.D. comprehensive exams. I don't think I've ever been so exhausted and so stressed out in my entire life! Thanks to the help of my family, my friends and my supervisor, I pulled through and came out alive and smiling for the first time in weeks.

Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate with me over the weekend. It was really great to see you all.

Have You Seen Campus Lately?

Construction began last month on University Avenue and Union Street (see right). The University Avenue reconstruction project is intended to provide a more accessible and more beautiful public street for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. The roadway will be replaced, the sidewalk will be widened, and a new line of street trees in spacious lawns will re-establish. The project also includes the replacement of water and sewer services and tie-ins to buildings along the street. The tentative completion date is December 2007.

The photo shown below is an artist's rendering of University Avenue south from the corner of Union Street following revitalisation.

Sailing Season Kicks Off This Week

You would have never guessed it was raining on Saturday as all you could see were the grinning faces of dozens of keen sailors awaiting to put their boat into the water for the first time after a long cold winter.

Racing starts this week and I can't wait! There will be over 40 keelboat evening races at KYC this year in which I hope to take part in and 10 regattas that I look forward to! I also hope to sail with my dad on the 5O5 as many times as possible! So, keep smiling and see you on the water!

SGPS Spring Formal

Mike, Amanda, David and I went to the SGPS Spring Formal this year and had a really fun time. This photo was taken of David and I before we headed to Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.

1 2 3 Dodgeball !

As a great season of dodgeball was nearing its end, I decided to take some footage of my dodgeball teammates and I during the KSSC playoffs. Enjoy the show!



Yes, dodgeball is a sport! It's great to feel like a kid again. :)

Cheers.

9496.5 Days Old

Dear family & friends,

Thank you for the beautiful birthday wishes. Although I had somewhat of a quiet birthday this year, I still got the chance to do four things I really enjoy:

- Sleep in;
- Spend time with David;
- Eat; and
- Shop.

This is a photo of me and my yummy birthday cake.


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Granite Mayhem Curling Bonspiel 2007

On Saturday, I participated in the annual Granite Mayhem Curling Bonspiel with David, Tina, Amanda and Julien. We had a good time and finished with a 1W-2L record.

These are a couple photos of me with our team uniform. Go Ice Crashers!


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Globe Trekker / Pilot Guides

I am an avid fan of the TV travel show Globe Trekker / Pilot Guides (http://www.pilotguides.com). I have had the chance to meet Ian Wright in person and produce 2 showreels for Globe Trekker.

Both of my showreels have recently been featured on the pilotguides.com website (a big thanks to Helen, the lovely pilotguides.com administrator). The website also features my travel story,"In Search of Ian Wright". I encourage you to take a look and let me know what you think. Both showreels can be viewed below or on the Community Page of the pilotguides.com website. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon!

Globe Trekker / Pilot Guides Showreel for Quebec City, Quebec


Globe Trekker / Pilot Guides Showreel for Kingston, Ontario

'43 Things': My to-do list

In no particular order, this is a list of my personal goals.

1. Finish my Ph.D.
2. Go surfing
3. Get my Scuba Diving Certication
4. Learn a third language
5. Write a book
6. Be on TV
7. Work for Pilot Guides/Globe Trekker
8. Sail on a Tall Ship
9. Travel to Africa
10. Ride an elephant
11. Ride a camel
12. Backpack through Asia
13. Find a job that doesn't feel like a job
14. Buy a house
15. Go off-grid
16. Get married
17. Have kids
18. Get a dog or a pet goat
19. Star in a movie
20. Race in an overnight regetta
21. Find a geocache - done on May 25, 2007
22. Go dog-sledding
23. Sleep in the Ice Hotel in Quebec City
24. Race in the 5O5 North American Championships
25. Steer the 5O5 like a pro
26. Try yoga
27. Learn to play the guitar
28. Donate my clothes to Salvation Army or Goodwill
29. Windsurf in Kingston
30. Stomp grapes
31. Use up all my Aeroplan points before they expire
32. Participate in a polar bear dip
33. Attend a National Hockey League game
34. Attend a Major League Baseball game
35. Get involved in a CIDA or Engineers Without Borders project
36. Finish this list..

My First Blog Entry

Hi there! Thank you for visiting my travel blog.

I believe that there is a world out there just waiting for me to discover it. I love to travel and I hope to share my travel experiences with you as well as some of my day to day thoughts and adventures.

Cheers