He awoke from a dreamless sleep.  Restless and weary, unknown was the time that had past. Found was he in a windowless room.  Walls barren, a dark and damp space filled with dulled memories.  Once vibrant colours greyed out by the endless marauder of time. He sat gasping for air, the room closing in on itself.  Palms pressed to cold walls, desperately pressing against impossible pressures inescapable. Muscles tensed, beads of sweat dripping down his face. A scream in refusal of this stifled existence was met with a burst of strength to finally push back. With all his might he pushed until a sudden crack in the foundations of this immense weight.  A stream of light bursting through to reveal a delicate sunlight against his heaving chest. He crawled desperately across the floor towards this new opening and felt a rush of fresh air, met with a cleansing deep breath.  One eye able to peak through, his vision finally became clear. There, beyond this box, was a road.  An endless perspective of pavement, grass and a horizon.  There, in the distance, was unmistakable. No need for a compass his direction was clear.  There, existing in permanent majestic drama, were mountains.

Regret nonexistent, all experiences necessary to arrive in this moment. Passions the only true north, he would set due course and refuse to look back. Unknown was this future, but any unknown is only an opportunity for adventure.  Belongings in a box, a box then in motion, he set forth.  Eyes for the open road, he was introduced to the immensity of country.  Hours no match for the vastness of distance, the only measure of time being days past. All walks of life seen peering through a window. The hustle of a city, the quietness of the countryside, the mystery of the forest and the life among the wild. The lakes of the East, the flats of the Plains, the mountains of the West. Perspective easily realized in such substantial setting. But he could not be hasty, for time does not linger.  On he must go.  Onwards. Forwards.

Days past, anticipation rising.  Finally, an almost continental journey coming to a close. In the distance he peered into the destined certainty of his future. Truth, existing in the eye of the beholder. Mythical pillars supporting the weight of his soul waiting to be set free. There, as if they were the living and breathing personification of his future; as if they were a literal stake in the ground notifying arrival; as if they existed for the soul purpose of assured rightful path; there, were mountains.

Arrived did he to familiar face. The new beginnings of a life. The details of this new existence slowly falling into place, the stars aligning. A job joining passion with purpose, a home providing location unmatched in beauty and anchors from a previous life finally being cut loose. He had arrived. Days filled with the impossibility of met expectations. A life with such a casual exploitation of nature that one cannot imagine how one lived without it. The most remarkable realization of all being the vastness of possibility in this new land.  The world suddenly open, teasing experience, taunting, inviting any explorer willing and wanting.  He had finally arrived at his next chapter, eyes peering towards the uncertainty of tomorrow. Yet as always, onwards, forwards, no regrets.

After another long hiatus from this forum, I have returned with renowned purpose.  Not only has the blog itself experienced an upgrade, but my motivation and intention has evolved in kind. I am passionate about the written word and I genuinely love the feeling when I am writing, so I want this site to exist as my outlet and to capture that motivation. I have made a commitment to my passions and am pursuing them with my every effort. This blog has been, and will continue to be, a wonderful outlet for my writing. I am glad to be back and I hope to stick around a little longer this time.

I envision this site becoming more than just a record keeping of my own adventures. I want it to become a much more all encompassing experience and to create a feeling within my readers using more than just the written word. As a starting point, the following are a few of my ideas to do just that:

When it feels right, I will be including a musical suggestion at the beginning of a post intended to create the environment for reading. This could be the music I listened to as I wrote the post, as I experienced the story or simply a song I thought fit well with my thoughts. Music is an extremely powerful force in my life and has the ability to shape my moods and spark inspiration. I rarely write without music playing, so by having my reader listen to music while reading will provide a glimpse into the emotional space I was in while on whatever journey.

Beyond just the blog, I hope to share other creative projects of mine whether that be through my photography, music or other forms of writing.

I hope I can spark dialogue with my readers and anyone else stumbling across this site. I have every intention of writing not only about specific trips and travel experiences, but also about life and whenever I have a thought I feel is worthy of sharing. I would love for this site to become a forum to spark such discussions.

And as always, I will continue to write posts about specific trips and travel I am lucky enough to experience.

As the summer closes and we approach the new year, it feels like yet another new beginning. My move to Vancouver is just one more major change in my life and this site is partially a result of that continual change. I am confident I will be and become a better version of myself through this endeavour and I couldn’t be more excited for the adventures ahead…

No Regrets.

The Travelling Gentleman