Week 1: Crossing Canada

Hello all. First thing: I realized after creating this blog space that I didn't have a subscribe button. So you'll see just above this post that I now have a place where you can subscribe. This just means that you will receive an email notification when I have posted. Otherwise I will make a goal of posting once a week on Sundays (give or take a week here or there).

Anyways, with those logistics aside I will share a few of the highlights from the past week since we left Regina:

• After a long drive this past Sunday through Manitoba we arrived at Rushing River Provincial Park near Kenora, Ontario. The girls and I stayed here five years ago when we traveled across Canada. There is an awesome swimming area here with many of the big boulders that are characteristic of the Canadian Shield region (see pic of us below).

  

• After one wet night of camping at Rushing River, we continued one hour east to Vermillion Bay, where we met up with my Miller High School colleague Cory Balaberda and his family. We shared a great supper with Cory's partner Pascal and her family. Cory sent us off with fresh fish and wild blueberries! Cory, Pascal and their son also toured Clare and I to a special place where they cliff jump. We had a great time here (see the cliffs that we jumped off behind Clare and Cory's family below.

  

• Next we were off to Kakabeka Falls, Ontario. A beautiful spot, but once again we got rained on heavily tenting! Morgan I thought that we might actually get carried away into the water fall as our campsite was close to the river!

  

• We then continued on to Hearst, Ontario and then to Val D'Or, Quebec along Highways 11 and 117. We eventually made it to Morin-Heights, Quebec, where we met up with my mom. Morin-Heights is where my Irish ancestors first settled in Canada in the 1830s. The original house is still standing and behind it is a river where they collected water. Pretty neat! I'm sure that Morgan shared a picture of us on the front step. Below is one of my mom and girls in the river!

  

• Finally, today we met up with my friend Louis Vigneault for lunch at the Atwater Market in Montreal! Louis and I have been friends for years. Louis is a gifted photographer who used his talents to help me document the stories of Saharawi refugees in 2014. His work helped me continue on to the next stage of making the Sirocco film, which you can find and watch on this website (picture of us today below).

  

• Tonight we are staying in a beautiful hotel near Trois-Riviere called Auberge Godfrey. We had a lovely meal in town. Tomorrow we will continue on to New Brunswick to meet up with Jess and Murray Wright and their family. Then, on Wednesday, we will be off to Ireland.

• Until next Sunday!! Please subscribe above for updates! Thanks!