A Canadian Winter

The headquarters for the North American leg of my trip is Vancouver, from here I’ll be able to plan my visits to states number one and two, Hawaii and Alaska, as well as my forty-eight state road trip around the US. This road trip will take over five months to complete and give me the chance to visit every state in America in 2015; fair to say it will require a great deal of research. That said, I won’t just be sitting in a room in front of a map – although I could quite happily do that.

I’ll be discovering some of British Columbia’s incredible mountains, valleys and wildernesses. As well as exploring the hinterland, I will spend the next seven months saving money by playing poker and working in Downtown Vancouver whilst enjoying what I believe to be one of the most vibrant cities in North America.

Having found a place to stay and a job quicker than I thought, I have been able to start enjoying some of the cities numerous activities and attractions. Ice skating and Canadians go hand-in-hand and I have attempted to embrace their love of the ice by perpetually donning skates. However, a complete lack of any natural skating talent did initially try my patience! Things have since improved and, to the relief of all ice skaters in Vancouver, I am no longer an angry skater.

Ice hockey is a religion here and the atmosphere inside the Rogers Arena when the Vancouver Canucks are playing is pretty special – especially if they are winning! For those of you in the know, it’s almost comparable to when Wales play rugby in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff… almost. Although I find watching the game in a bar with the local Vancouverites just as enjoyable.

I have managed to visit a fair few of Greater Vancouver’s parks, canyons and beaches although the weather at this time of year has scuppered some of the fantastic views that can be on offer. With Spring approaching I look forward to returning to Lynn Valley, pictured below, Deep Cove and Tofino. The latter is a Canadian surfers paradise although, being on the North Pacific Ocean, a wetsuit and a big pair are definitely required.

With raging rapids and snow-covered mountains right on its doorstep, winter sports are extremely popular here as well and I cannot wait to venture North to the ski resort of Whilster to, hopefully, learn how to snowboard. However, having had a sudden urge to tick the first state off of my list I decided that a visit to Hawaii was a better idea. So a decent win in the casino, some last-second flights and a cheap hostel booked later and I’ll see you shortly in state numero uno…

Hawaii!

J