Toronto Ontario Downtown

2012 Metro Photo Challenge

I have four entries in the Metro Photo Challenge - a freebie photo contest run by the producers of the Metro newspapers.

I'd would be incredibly appreciative if you would stop by my profile on their site and maybe even give me a vote or a share.


To vote, click on one of the links in this article to be taken to the Metro Photo Challenge site and to my profile. Click on one, or all, of the four photos and then click on the green button that says ‘Vote for this photo’.

Go to my Profile

Your support is greatly appreciated! I believe the contest ends sometime around November 11, 2012 so please vote and vote often! Please feel free to download and use any of these photos, or any other images through ‘It’s About Travelling’. To get the full size image, simply click on the photos.

2012 New Brunswick Videos

This should be the finale on our 2012 trip to New Brunswick, Canada! Follow the link at the bottom of the post to view all our HD Videos in one location.

Post excerpt:

For the first time ever, we maxed out the memory card on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 waterproof camera that we use for most of our HD video while travelling. On the last night of our 2012 New Brunswick trip, I was attempting to film the sunset over Nictau Lake at Mount Carleton Provincial Park when the memory ran out. Since, we’ve brought on board two additional cards to ensure this doesn’t happen again.


New Brunswick 2012 HD Videos (click this!)

Dickson Brook Trail at Fundy National Park

Another video from last week's trip to New Brunswick. This is HD footage taken along the short Dickson Brook Trail at Fundy National Park. A great portion of the trail is on boardwalk with a fair number of stairs.

Interestingly, just below the main set of waterfalls, looks to be an equally dramatic cataract. However, the brook forms a canyon and coupled with the green moss, it proved too difficult to discover on this trip. Of course, I could have walked through the water instead of trying to climb around...

Fundy National Park is known for its dramatic ocean tides. However, it's the interior portion of the park that is truly amazing. Their are numerous rugged trails that take the hiker past several water features and provide opportunity to swim at the base of a few cool waterfalls.

Forty-Five River Waterfall at Fundy National Park

This is a recent video I took of the waterfall beneath the Forty-five Road covered bridge at Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, Canada.

Halfway Log Dump at Bruce Peninsula National Park

This is a video I took this past Wednesday (August 29, 2012). The video shows several areas at the Halfway Log Dump area of the Bruce Peninsula National Park.

Located between Tobermory and Lion's Head (just south of Cyprus Lake Campground), Halfway Log Dump has minimal facilities but provides great outdoor activities along the shores of Georgian Bay.

A word of warning: The parking lot is located ten kilometres off Highway 6, down a washboard gravel road. The charge for parking is $11.70 per vehicle. The payments are self-serve, meaning you put your cash in an envelope and stick it in a slot. The closest ATM is in Tobermory and there's no one there to make change! Take the right amount of money with you - the National Park service checks the box often!

Devil's Hole Rapids on the Niagara River

This is some video I shot at Devil's Hole Rapids. The location is downstream from Niagara Falls on the Niagara River. It's shot from the Canadian side, looking across at New York State in the U.S.A.

Why is this place awesome? The massive class V and VI rapids are an amazing sight to behold. Scrambling along the boulders at the edge of the Niagara River is a blast - and a great workout. The hiking between the river and the edge of the gorge is fantastic.

How to get here? Take the Niagara Parkway north, away from the Falls. Pass the Whirlpool Rapids and Great Wolf Lodge. On the right side of the road, there will be a sign for Niagara Glen. Park there. Parking is free! A rarity for the N. F. area. Walk through the park until you find a steel staircase leading down the edge of the escarpment. Follow the trails until you reach water.

At the top of the stairs, there is a list of rule a kilometre long (this is the nanny state of Canada, afterall...). I believe one mentions bouldering. Ignore at your own risk.

Erin, Ontario Drive-Thru

Beware the Hockey Rink Boards

A little personal update...

Still Vegan but the Athlete part has been strongly tested over the past few months. In early February, I was playing defense in a pickup hockey game. I was bursting parallel to the blue line to chase a loose puck when my skate caught an edge. I was just a few feet from the boards by this time and ended up slamming head first.

Well, it wasn't quite head on but more on my left shoulder and head, buckling my head awkwardly under. The bizarre thing was the explosion in my left elbow. I was sure that my arm was broken.

I got into a sitting position but that's as far as I got on my own accord. My left hand was numb, my lower neck made an awful snap every time I tried to turn my head and my elbow was screaming.

In the days of safety and liability, the arena staff wouldn't let me up until an ambulance arrived. This took about 10 minutes, which is a long time for an imagination to work its magic. When they did arrive, my departure was delayed because a kid in the adjacent rink had knocked his head off a goal post - hockey is awesome!

At the hospital, I was able to get out of my sweaty, stinky equipment before being strapped into a neck brace. Since it was close to midnight, and they don't do cat scans during off hours unless it is deemed a dire emergency, I was stuck in the neck brace until around nine in the A.M.

Everything came back cool (or so they thought) so I was released at around 11, with the doctor telling me I'd be playing hockey by the weekend (this was now Thursday morning). The pain was immense. I was pretty much useless. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't lift anything, I couldn't put my own socks on.

I decided to keep clear of the ice rink for a few weeks. I still wasn't near 100% after the two weeks off but informed my Friday guys I'd be returning to play some hockey. On the night before, I received a call from the Emergency Room doctor from her home at around 8pm. She felt she needed to get a hold of me in fear that I would try and play hockey again.

It turns out, after reviewing the x-rays and scans, I had a fraction in my spine, about three notches down - the hunchback spot. I was done for at least six weeks.

I'm good now but didn't return to the ice this year. I will be back playing in September, though. I still have numbness and tingling in my left index finger from the last knuckle to the tip. Also, a bit in my left thumb. Since, I'm left handed, this can be a bit of a pain in the ass.

The pain in my elbow has gone away - not broken but an effect of the nerve damage. Every once in a while, I get ghost pains in my shoulder and elbow, just enough to remind me of the pain I went through for over a month.

Also, I seem to have lost a lot of strength in my upper body - I guess that's to be expected.

The moral of the story? Isn't one, really. I was wearing all the right protective equipment. The arena staff and medical people all did what they were supposed to. Chalk it up as "Shit Happens".

Eat Meat & Die - A Cool Infrographic

This was forwarded to me by a gentleman named Peter Kim. There is a ton of info in this infographic. I know that anyone who is vegan/vegetarian already knows most of this stuff. This should be posted in every school cafeteria on the continent.


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