As 2019 comes to an end it’s time to reflect back on the year. This is always one of my favourite posts to write all year!
2019 was a year for us to settle into a new normal after our year of travel around the world. We needed to find out what worked for us and what didn’t as we adjusted back to regular life in Canada.
What You'll Find in This Post
- Whitefish – Montana, USA
- Big White – British Columbia, Canada
- New Home – Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
- Okanagan Valley – British Columbia, Canada
- Camping – British Columbia, Canada
- Vancouver – British Columbia, Canada
- Road Trip Back to Saskatchewan, Canada
- 6 Things We’ve Learned from 2019
- Big Changes in 2019 & Behind the Scenes
- Travel Plans for 2020
- More Year in Reviews
Whitefish – Montana, USA
We started the year by skiing and snowboarding with our family in Whitefish, Montana! A tradition that we do with our extended family, so it was nice to cherish traditions and do something that we had done in previous years.
Big White – British Columbia, Canada
We then spent EVERY weekend skiing and snowboarding at Big White. We love ski life and mountain life is our happy place. Extended long weekends that felt like a week’s holiday in the mountains. So grateful to live only 45 minutes away from a world-class ski resort.
New Home – Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
We were still getting into our rhythm since moving out to Kelowna, B.C. Up until April 2019, we were still living in an Airbnb out of a few suitcases since our world travels. We searched for a long time and finally found a home to buy and are still settling in. Spring brought us moving, unpacking a trailer from 2 years ago, and getting settled.
Okanagan Valley – British Columbia, Canada
We also wanted to stay close to our new home in the Okanagan Valley and explore everything British Colombia has to offer. Hiking trails, biking, running, boating and searching for the waterfalls!
The best part of living in a vacation spot is all the great places to see at your doorstep!
As the kids’ school wrapped up in June we had a steady flow of family and friends come out the British Columbia and come visit us. With so much to do in the Okanagan we didn’t have to go far to find adventure including wineries, picking cherries, biking Kettle Valley trestles, boating, swimming in the lakes, beaches and long walks.
Camping – British Columbia, Canada
We absolutely LOVED camping in the mountains, we couldn’t be happier to live where we do with so much basically in our backyard. Camping out at Shuswaps was one of the highlights for the kids and us. Sleeping in tents, campfires, S’mores, hikes and bike ride around the campground is a typical camping weekend!
We also had an amazing weekend away at a fish camp only an hour away from where we live. This basically was like camping in a hut, but we absolutely loved it. We rented little boats and cruised around the lake catching rainbow trout. Ending the day with a fish fry over a campfire is the only way to eat fresh fish!
Vancouver – British Columbia, Canada
We wrapped up the summer by going to Vancouver, British Columbia and checking out this amazing city including our favourite spot at Grainville Island and attending a Whitecaps professional soccer game.
Road Trip Back to Saskatchewan, Canada
We didn’t have plans to go back to Saskatchewan to visit friends and family over the holiday season. But, in a last-minute decision, we learnt that our family was coming all the way from Italy to visit. So we spent 15 hours driving through the Canadian Rocky mountains in the winter to go see them. We had a great holiday visit with family and friends back in Saskatchewan and enjoyed the amazing views along the way.
6 Things We’ve Learned from 2019
1. We love to have a “home” base. After travelling out of a suitcase for a year, we have realized we do like to have a place to call home. A place to miss when we travel and come home to. We love having our own pillows, our own beds, a washing machine and dryer! The little things about a home that makes it feel comfortable and familiar after travelling.
2. There are so many beautiful places to visit in our home country of Canada. It’s crazy to think that we have seen more places around the world than we have in our own country. So this past year and next is about exploring Canada. We are so grateful to live in a beautiful country and it is time to explore more.
3. Having family and friends visiting us and exploring new places connects us even more. We love travelling with our family, extended family and friends. Living closer to them in Canada allows this to happen more frequently. The best part is the travel stories that last forever and so many great experiences to share with others. Whenever we are reunited with them we laugh and giggle about all the great stories. This warms our hearts sharing the experiences with others.
4. It was good for us to settle again. A place for our kids to make friends that are always there. A school for our kids to go to every day and some routine for our family. The kids were able to join soccer teams, go to swimming lessons and plant some roots. A place to have family come to visit us and stay with us. It’s also nice to know exactly where the grocery store is!
We’ve been a nomadic family, and as freeing as it is, there is something that our family needed at this time to be settled. We have some more plans up in the air if all of the things work out… but for right now we are happy feeling settled and making trips from our home base. But stay tuned…
5. We love living in Kelowna, British Columbia. It was a leap of faith for us to move to another province in Canada. To leave our family, friends and everything that we have known for a very long time. We know it’s the right place because every time we leave, we are so happy to be home.
6. It’s been a major adjustment to return to “normal”. Our entire family has had some challenges in getting back to regular life and sometimes it is not easy. I honestly didn’t expect or plan for so much adjustment upon our return. I wasn’t expecting it to be so hard. It sometimes feels like our full-time travel was a dream and it has been very challenging to re-adjust back to our regular ways.
We miss constantly having another trip booked and had some major withdrawal from not seeing something new every day. There are so many things we miss about full-time travel, and when travelling full-time becomes normal going back to regular life is really different.
Big Changes in 2019 & Behind the Scenes
On a personal note, this past June I needed a change with my job! I have over the past 18 years been a Project Manager in the information technology sector, it has been my identity and something I am very proud of how good I am at it.
I took on a job in September 2018 when we decided to move out to Kelowna in the same project management field, but after much contemplation and thought I quit my job and decided to try some different things. Once again a leap of faith and reaching beyond my boundaries.
Since then I have spent more time on the blog, learning about SEO, analytics, affiliate marketing, and ways to earn an income with the blog. By sharing information and helping others travel more there is a way for me to make an income. Although I am still working on it with some big goals still to come, I am showing improvements and hitting my goals I have set!
I am loving writing and working on my travel content more and working on a few other things on the side. I have some big plans for 2020 with venturing out into some other NEW fields as well too! There will be more content on the blog, more posts and more travel info to share. I am so excited about 2020! One of my goals is to be able to work from anywhere in the world, so we have the freedom to travel more!
Travel Plans for 2020
Next year we have New Orleans, USA and Victoria, Canada booked thus far. More exploring and camping in British Columbia for all the amazing things there is to see here. We are also planning out where we will spend next Christmas and hoping for somewhere hot!
The other thing that we are going to try more of this year is booking our trips last minute since we have the ability to go at the last minute. It seems really strange not to have too much booked and planned for next year, but I foresee some spur of the moment trips to pop up.
What was your travel highlight from 2019?
We hope you and your family had a fun-filled 2019 year full of travel and adventure. Never stop exploring and visiting places that are new to you and your family.
All the best for 2020!
Megan Bacchus says
I’m excited to have found your site! We’re a Canadian family of four planning a year long trip around the world in 2022. Looking forward to reading all about your travels!
The Passport Kids says
So exciting! This is fantastic that you are planning a year long trip and glad you found us!! I can’t wait to connect with you about it. If you have any questions about it just message me and I can help fill in any of the questions that you have or hop on a facetime call to chat more too… I don’t have everything on my blog posts yet :) Just use the contact form to message me directly on my contact us page – https://www.thepassportkids.com/contact-us/