Chapter 1
What is this life but a series of adventures that guide you to ultimate fulfillment? How do you navigate through a world full of distractions and naysayers to find the fulfillment that you seek? As humans, we are confronted by so many competing priorities, distractions and
negativity that it is nearly impossible to find time to discover meaning and direction in our lives. Many will settle for short term, “good enough” solutions that don’t serve them well in the long run leading down a path to unhappiness and regret. Others will sacrifice their current life for the promise of something better in retirement all the while missing opportunities that will not be available in later years.
This is a story of a father-son team that made a decision to not let life pass them by and find clarity to strengthen their bond. It’s also a story of self discovery and finding strength in eachother to push forward and do what needed doing. A story about connecting with nature, and building relationships with people who are fundamentally on the same page as you.
The "A" Team
Typically we travel as a full family of four with our trusty English Springer Spaniel named, “Baby”. As a family unit we have enjoyed extensive overlanding road trips together for years and taken more and more opportunities to go on adventures to expand our knowledge and create new experiences. A year and half ago we purchased a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon that we aptly named “Rubi” and turned it into our overlanding adventure vehicle, which allows us flexibility and opportunities to travel across North America and beyond.
The Jeep is equipped with a roof top tent and other gear that allows us flexibility in where and when we travel as well as where we stay. Over the past year and half we travelled from the west coast of British Columbia and Washington all the way to the east coast of Nova Scotia and down to southern California and Arizona all with our trusty Jeep, “Rubi”.
I am Aaron, a husband to Monica and father of two amazing kids; Hailey and Mikhail. Monica and I have always been passionate about adventures and travel. We try to provide or create new experiences to help broaden their horizons and perspectives on life. Creating enthusiasm for learning and new experiences has been an impactful way to guide them to develop their own sense of curiosity and a lust for adventure.
Riding shotgun, was my 10 year old son, Mikhail. He is a curious, passionate little boy that loves nature and animals and the company of others. He was extremely excited to join me on this adventure.
This trip would leave a lasting impression on both of us. The beauty of the landscape across this great nation, the opportunity for bonding between a father and son and the incredible people we encountered along the way, really rank this trip high on my list of epic adventures.
What's the Plan Stan?
The Covid-19 pandemic presented many challenges in 2020 but also some interesting opportunities. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic , I was typically expected to commute to my downtown office location on a daily basis; however, by March, my entire office was working remotely due to precautions implemented to control the spread of the virus. I was fortunate to maintain employment through the pandemic and have the flexibility to work remotely. This presented a unique opportunity to plan a trip around a remote work strategy where I could combine travel and work, hence this adventure was born!
Part of our plan was to minimize stops in populated areas and avoid wherever possible stops for gas, food and lodging, hence we carried enough food, for the trip, extra fuel and only paid for fuel at the pump and slept in our roof top tent (i.e. no hotels, restaurants or grocery stores). I will also note we were extremely diligent and respectful in our travels to follow all recommended precautions to avoid transition of the Covid-19 virus including social distancing, masking up and following self isolation protocols in all jurisdictions we entered.
We had mapped out a route for our trip and Mikhail was designated as our official navigator. This was a daunting task for a 10 year old; however, he was excited to be assigned such an important duty.
We had initially planned on camping the entire trip except that, a requirement for me to continue working for three of the five weeks we were away, and Covid-19 self-isolation requirements, made an AirBnB rental the right choice for the second through fourth weeks of our journey. It would be very challenging to work from inside our rooftop tent for a three week period!
We had booked our AirBnB in Margaretsville, Nova Scotia, for a duration of three weeks and subsequently planned to camp for the remaining two weeks. We gave ourselves seven days to get from Edmonton, Alberta to Margaretsville Nova Scotia. We camped along the way, explored some interesting spots and enjoyed our adventures together.
We departed from St. Albert, Alberta on one beautiful sunny afternoon in late July 2020 on our grand adventure that would take us across Canada to Nova Scotia traveling through eight provinces covering a total distance of over 13,000 kilometers!
Stay tuned for the next chapter...Chapter 2.
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