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It’s not every day that I go kayaking with a glittering tiara on my head…but the birthday party continues in the waters of North Vancouver.

As we drove down into the heart of the Deep Cove, it was hard not to fall in love with the immediate atmosphere. People were slowly walking in front of the shops with ice cream cones in hand, trying to lick up the neverending dribbles. Others sat on the sidewalk with fresh donuts or slices of pizza in front of them as they had a conversation with an old friend across the street. I popped into the trendy gift shop called Lala’s and made a secret wishlist for my next birthday.

Everywhere I look people are smiling and relaxed. Life in ‘the Cove’ is different than anywhere else in the Lower Mainland, and I’m not saying this as a recently crowned kayaker-I lived in the Cove as a child and haven’t returned often enough. People here seem to have a clear appreciation for simply enjoying life and the natural surroundings. With such rich greens and blues all around, I suppose it’s hard not to. And their strength of character is built up even more with having to put up with so many days of rain (it’s ‘gotta get so gourmet in colours somehow right?!).

Once in the kayak, the 360 degree view of tree lined mountains falling into the water, is breathtaking. I paused for just a moment and caught a seal with her pup looking back at me. After a wide mouthed yawn they returned to the depths of the water.

I continued to paddle alongside my mom, sister Debbie and friend Karen. We’ve changed our traditional birthday hike (with tiara) to the kayak to trigger a few different senses. The salty smell was certainly invigorating and we kept our eyes wide in the new surroundings. My jaw dropped a few times when I studied some of the houses perched on cliffs or the waters edge. WOW-when my book gets published and I’m finally rolling in hard earned money I will certainly invest in some local waterfront property! I started to glaze over for a bit but was awoken with a shrill cry not far from my paddles. Having clocked my three boating buddies in no signs of distress, I looked up to see an eagle swooping down and landing in a treetop on the small island we were passing. The tree sagged under the weight of the bird and my jaw dropped again. The wing span was so immense, the claws were so curled and I swear he was looking right at me…or my tiara. I decided to remove my twinkling jewels just in case he thought I really was eye candy.

So this week, I have lived up to the discovery theme, but it’s even better as I have actually re-discovered Deep Cove-this is certainly an angle not to be forgotten. I have discovered that my hours of swimming are paying off as the paddle power was a lot easier than my last attempt a few weeks ago. I have discovered that there is nothing like the company of friends and family that appreciate you equally. And I have discovered that there are some very cute men working at the kayak rental shop…though far too young for this 35 year old!

Cheers me dears,

Fiona

Babe With A Backpack

Today is the day for another blog re-launch…and I’m proud to say this is the final re-launch for the Babe With A Backpack. I’ve been gearing up to this for some time now, probably about 2 years to be honest. But July 24th 2009 was the chosen D-Day, or more appropriately, B-Day. So I’ve told all my friends, family and colleagues to watch their inbox as words will be coming. I’ve basically done everything in my power to push myself back onto the blogging bandwagon.

And why today you ask? Today I am entering responsible adulthood mode. It’s my 35th birthday, so I feel as though I should be able to follow through with my own goals right? I don’t want to be all talk anymore, it’s time to get back to writing as the Babe With A Backpack. And what makes this re-launch more successful than past efforts? Well this is where my travelling experience comes to fruition. This is the ‘aha’ moment, the green light forward and where my latest life chapter really starts.

I was having coffee with a fellow writer last week, talking about the blog that I have been meaning to write weekly ever since I completed my around the world trip. I explained that my original blog was easy to write as I was living extreme adventures around the world. Everything I wrote about was fun and exciting.

“What on earth can I write about as the Babe With A Backpack not travelling? My life is ordinary and boring now—why bother writing?”

This has been my immediate reaction to writing for the last year, even though the desire to write has never left me. A writer always has stories brewing.

Life can override the best of intentions. Moving back to my hometown, attending university, starting work in the travel industry and basically finding myself a grounded life became my priority. Feeling guilty about not meeting my writing goals was a hindrance that has held me back in creative options. But now, I’m over it and ready to move on. I have an amazing circle of friends, an incredibly beautiful apartment of my own in Point Grey and my time is filled with inspiring projects and people.

My writer friend in the coffee shop asked me what one word would summarize what I have learned as a traveller. Without needing a moment to think, I blurted out “discovery”.

Being a traveller forces people to experience new sights and sounds, and to discover new cultures. For the last 2 years, I have continued to discover new aspects to life. I can now see, that my life is far from boring, and this is because of what I learned as a traveller. Now that I have this grounding and understanding of what I need to be writing about, my vision of the Babe With A Backpack is clear.

This blog will now focus on discovery, in various forms. Some entries will be on the road as a traveller, some entries will be from the coffee shops of Vancouver. I have learned to embrace all that life has to offer, and this often results in crazy stories that I promise, really really happened to me. I am the 35-year old woman that is known as the one always challenging herself with something new. I have a manuscript to be published, and will entertain you with stories of how I am going to get Cameron Diaz to play me in the movie (she already has a head start having played Princess Fiona in Shrek!) The following blogs will inspire you to overcome your own fears, discover new passions and laugh at the Babe With A Backpack.

So now you want proof of what kind of stories I have up my sleeve? Well if 2009 is anything to go by, and you know me even in the slightest, I assure you, I’ll make you smile….

• January: I plunged into the icy waters of English Bay to earn my first Polar Bear Swim badge.

• February: I volunteered as a ‘communications writer’ for the Bobsleigh World Cup. Basically, I watched muscular men in spandex speed towards me at the finish line, and posted a ‘single white female’ ad in my daily ‘Icy Times’ newsletter. I am still single.

• March: I volunteered at the Juno Awards here in Vancouver, and ended up being an MC. I forgot the nominee names when I was on stage…don’t think anyone figured it out though. This was after my incident with 15-foot high Nutcracker soldiers looming over me in the volunteer headquarters (also known as the SEARS graveyard!)

• April: I took my adventurous mother up to Whistler to go snowmobiling. When we got a bit of airtime over some bumps, I heard a few gasps and curses behind me. My mother doesn’t swear, but she’s still talking to me.

• May: I started rollerblading lessons with 5 other crazy women. We’re not quite at the roller derby stage yet, but we will be taking on those who dare to challenge us as soon as we have our outfits perfected.

• June: I looked after my mother’s house when she was on holiday, had a party and DIDN”T get into trouble…given the last time was quite a few years ago, but a tip from experience—remove the bottle caps from the lawn and evidence from the food fight from the roof

• July: Last week I cycled UP Cypress Mountain for the first time. That kind of energy has also helped me to LOOSE 27 lbs over the last few months! And I JUST TURNED 35-that’s a discovery on its’ own!!

So there you have it folks, an intro to the new Babe With A Backpack BLOG. I hope you DISCOVER something new in the next week and I’ll be posting again on Friday. Thanks to all of those that have sent on birthday greetings!

Cheers me dears!

Fiona
Babe With A Backpack