Category Archives: Canada

Canada, Spain

Busy Summer

It has been a busy summer but a very rewarding and fun time. We went to Canada for a visit with friends and family. Ray was able to finally visit with his uncle, (first time since covid). They played some games and enjoyed quality time together.

Uncle Adrien and Ray playing shuffleboard.
Uncle Adrien and Ray enjoying the day

We were able to rent a beautiful cottage on the Ottawa River. 

Ray enjoying the view and a Timmy´s coffee

We spent a fabulous week there and enjoyed some relaxing time by the water.

Shelley enjoying the view and calm of the Ottawa River

One of the highlights of the cottage was that we were able to entertain and reconnect with close friends. Overall it was a great week at the cottage and the weather was quite nice during the week.  

Shelley at the waterfront of the Ottawa River

We went to Ottawa on July 1st and we celebrated Canada Day with family. It was raining but we had a Barbecue anyways. 

Keenan in the rain doing the Bar-B-que

Our grandson Keenan was a sport and did the barbecue cooking. The rain stopped later in the day and the sky was clear for the fireworks. We headed to the park and watched the fireworks celebrating Canada day.

Canada Day celebration fireworks in park in Ottawa

It was a great last day in Canada before we headed back to Spain with our Grandson. The next day we drove to the Montreal airport and flew back to Spain with our Grandson Tyreese.

The next few weeks in Spain were very busy. Tyreese was able to experience Spain for the first time. It was such a joy to show him around and try out new adventures with him. Each day we tried new things and had many adventures, below are only some of the activities we did during out time in Spain. We hiked up to the Castle of Santa Barbara and explored the 11th century castle. 

Tyreese at the turret on the castle of Santa Barbara

There are some amazing views from the castle and we would stop to take in the vistas and beauty of the area.

Shelley and Tyreese at the Castle of santa Barbara
Tyreese and Ray at the castle of Santa Barbara
Tyreese at the Castle of Santa Barbara

One day we explored and walked some of the beaches in Alicante.

Shelley and Tyrsse overlooking the Postuget Beach in Alicante

Along the way we would stop and enjoy a cool drink at one of the many chiringitos along the beach. 

Tyreese enjoying a refreshing drink

Each day we tried new things including Go Cart racing and we had a great time. 

Ray had the best time but Tyreese was disputing the winner outcome. All and all Karting Alicante was a lot of fun.

Tyreese at Karting Alicante
Ray and Tyreese of the race podium

We went parasailing and we had a great time. We enjoyed the best views and flew along the coast at 150 meters high. The views of the city of Alicante from the Mediterranean Sea  were amazing. 

Shelley, Tyreese and Ray getting ready to start our parasailing.
Shelley Tyreese and Ray 150 meters parasailing along the coastline of Alicante

Each morning Shelley and Tyreese were out for an early bicycle ride. 

Tyreese and Shelley heading out for daily bike ride

We took Tyreese for some surfing lessons and he loved it. Both Shelley and him spent the day surfing the waves. 

Shelley and Tyreese getting first lesson for surfing.

 

After spending two action packed weeks in Alicante and area we went to Madrid to visit this amazing city before he went back to Canada.

Tyreese and Shelley in front of the Almudana Cathedral in Madrid
Tyreese in front of the Royal Palace of Madrid

In Madrid we met up with a friend of Tyreese’s. Monica who was a Spanish student that lived in Ottawa as an international student for a year.   She took the train to Madrid to meet with us and spend the day.

Tyreese and Shelley at the Madrid Train station waiting for Monica to arrive.
Monica and Tyreese in front of the iconic bear and strawberry tree statue in the Puerta Del Sol in Madrid.

We explored the city of Madrid with Monica and enjoyed the day.

Monica and Tyreese in El Retiro Parque in Madrid.

The Next day we took Tyreese to the airport and said our goodbyes. It was time for him to go home.

Shelley, Tyreese and Ray saying goodbye at the Madrid Airport.

It was a very busy and enjoyable few months with lots of adventures and memories being made. These are only some of the activities we enjoyed during our busy summer. 

“El mundo es un libro y los que no viajan leen solo una página.”- St. Augustine

Canada

A few weeks of Winter Wonderland

I (Ray) went back to Canada for a few weeks in the cold of January.  I was there to help a family relative with some medical issues. While I was there I was able to enjoy some outdoor activities with some friends.

Ray enjoying some time with friends and playing in the snow.

Dan and I went snowmobiling along some  beautiful pristine trails.

Dan on his snowmobile on the trail

There was a fair amount of snow so it made the trails very fun to ride on.  We even had a great cabin to stop and warm up if we got to cold. 

Dan and Ray on the snowmobiles in front of the cabin

It was a long time since I was on a snowmobile and it was quite enjoyable. At first, it took me a while to get accustomed to the  snow and riding on the trails. At one point I even ended up getting stuck and Dan had to help me get out of the snow. 

We stopped and took a nice break at the cabin and enjoyed the fresh cold crisp fresh air.

Afterwards we continued enjoying some snowmobiling and we separated along the trails in order to explore more of the area. 

We left the cabin and  explored the trails I stoped along the way to admire the sheer beauty of nature and peace of being in the bush.

It was so quiet and peaceful. It was quite cold and you could here the snow cruch when you walked.  

It was truly so much fun and relaxing at the same time.  Along the way Dan even managed to get a video of me on the snowmobile.

Normally we are not in Canada during the winter months for obvious reasons, however this was a fun time and reminds me of the fun winter brings in Canada.

¨The simple things in life can be the most enjoyable, like playing in the snow.¨

Canada

A trip to Canada

We took a two-week trip to Canada to visit family and friends. We arrived at the Ottawa airport on the new 737-800 Next Generation without any issues. We were met by our friend Jim, who picked us up at the airport. On the way to Pembroke we stopped at Costco to pick up a few things. Shelley is a big fan of the store and enjoyed the opportunity to “visit” Costco.

Shelley in front of the Costco Store in Ottawa

After visiting Costco, we headed to Pembroke and arrived without any issues. Visiting family and friends is always enjoyable and warms the heart. We spent our two weeks trying to see everyone possible and to spent valuable time with each of them.

Ray and his dad on a walking trail

We even went to an iconic restaurant “Wilno Tavern. ” We enjoyed a great polish meal and spent time with some of our friends.

Shelley, Anne, Jim and Ray infront of the Wilno Tavern

The two weeks went very fast and before we knew it we were heading back to Alicante. The trip takes almost 24 hours and is very tiring. Arriving back home we were able to rest a bit before our next adventure.

“Have a good day eh!”

 

Canada

A day of whitewater rafting

We came to Canada for a visit with family and friends. During that time we were able to find time to go whitewater rafting with three of our grand children and my daughter Jennifer.

We started our day with registration and an orientation at Wilderness Tours explaining the safety requirements and equipment.

After orientation, we waited for our bus to take us to the starting point of the whitewater tour. The drive on the bus took about 20 minutes. The guides played some Abba music and sang songs. It helped everyone get into a great mood for the day.

We arrived at a beach area with a building which contained our safety equipment. Everyone was issued a life jacket, helmet, and a paddle. We then headed down to the boats to begin our adventure. Jordy, our tour guide, explained how we were to paddle and where to sit when going through the rapids.

We headed out on the water and slowly paddled towards a bend in the river. Just after the bend, we arrived at our first set of rapids and didn’t know exactly what to expect. It was an adrenaline rush and the kids thought it was “awesome”.

After surviving the first set of class 3 rapids we were completely wet. The waves crashed over the front of the boat soaking both Tyty and Ray. The water was warmer than we expected. We paddled along until the next set of rapids and would go through the process again.  We stopped after one set of rapids and went to shore to have a photo opportunity. The boys took the time to look for crayfish with our guide.

Our guide Jordy with Tyty and Keenan along the rocks looking for crayfish.

We were able to stop at one set of rapids and get out of the boat and walk up the trail to do some body surfing through the rapids.

Rapids in the Ottawa River that we body surfed down

After body surfing the rapids, we stopped down stream for a BBQ along the river at the base of Garvin’s Chute, which is a 20’ waterfall. They had a cabin and benches set up with a BBQ already prepared for us. The kids had a chance to relax and take a break from all the paddling.

Tyty taking a break in the boat at lunch time.

Shantaya enjoying a hot chocolate

We enjoyed hot chocolate and some tasty food before we headed back down river.

Jennifer, Tyty, and Keenan relaxing on shore after lunch

Once we were back on the water we did some floating in the current between rapids. The kids enjoyed this time to swim and splash around.

Floating in the current in the Ottawa river.

After we finished the last set of rapids we headed to shore, where they had a cold beer for the adults and juice for the kids.

Everyone having a cold drink before heading back to Wilderness tours

We enjoyed a cold drink before walking to the buses to head back to Wilderness tours. The day was very enjoyable and it was a day we will treasure forever.

“Good bye and have a great day.”

Canada

Pause for Family Health

We have been taking a pause from our blog in order to focus on some family health issues. We normally post about our travels, adventures and share our enjoyable times. However, this particular post will be different because we are going to discuss an issue that affects almost every family at some point. That issue is Cancer and how that terrible disease not only affects people but changes lives forever.  We are in the midst of dealing with treatments for a family member who is receiving care at the Ottawa General Hospital. The hospital has been excellent and the staff has been extremely friendly, helpful and caring. It is during the hard times of dealing with cancer that the little things mean so much. A friendly smile and a helping hand make a tremendous difference in helping to cope with cancer. The simple acts of kindness may seem small but have a large impact on us and provide great comfort. There are so many people who have helped us throughout this ordeal. Some people brought baked goods or drove us to and from the airport, others have provided helping hands at the hospital almost every day. They have provided words of encouragement and support. All these simple acts of kindness have given us strength and have helped us to cope.

One gift in particular we received was very moving and touched our hearts. They were hoodie sweatshirts, but what was so special was the cause “Valerie’s Flutter” and the note that was included.

Hoodie from the Valerie”s Flutter Foundation

The note which had a personal message was very moving and touched our hearts deeply. The note read, in part…. ” Valerie’s dreams one of many was to travel the world”

Valerie Goneau Graduation Grade 12

Valerie was Ray’s second cousin and an amazing young woman.  When Valerie graduated grade 12 she was awarded the Governor General’s medal for achieving and maintaining the highest grade point average of all her classmates from Grades 9 to 12.

She continued school and enrolled in Civil Engineering at Ottawa University and had just completed her first year when she was diagnosed with Chondroblastic Osteosarcoma cancer in June 2010.

Her story and her battle with cancer are truly inspirational.  Valerie was only 19 years old at the time and she continued her schooling and kept up part-time studies while undergoing recovery from surgery and treatments.

Valerie took her situation and made a choice to focus on a purpose and goal to raise money for cancer research. She was a focused and driven person who created a team called “Valérie’s Team” which consisted of approximately 200 people.

Valerie at Terry Fox 5K Run Ottawa 2010

In September 2010  Valerie completed the Terry Fox 5K Run while on roller blades. Valerie and the team raised over $25,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation.  Today there continues to be a Valerie Team competing yearly in the Terry Fox Run.

The Terry Fox Run became a catalyst that would get Valerie involved in public speaking. She became a symbol of strength, courage, and determination of purpose. She spoke at the Ottawa Kick-Off Breakfast for the Terry Fox Run on September 9th, 2010 and after that day she became a public speaker. Valerie spoke to many different groups about her battle with cancer and that “cancer is not something to be afraid of; it’s an opportunity to realize how precious life is and how we can all come together and make a positive difference in the world”.

Her story and the Valerie Flutter foundation have been a source of strength for us as we deal with our family situation. In honour of Valerie and her dream of traveling the world, we will carry her in our hearts and minds at every adventure as we travel. We will post an image of us with a Valerie Flutter Foundation logo in our travels to commemorate Valerie.

She was such a precious person and died one month after her 20th birthday on June 15, 2011.

“A dream and purpose so compelling will never allow you to give up.”                           -Valerie Goneau

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