France (May, 2015) – We took the train into the city for the essential excursion into history and for some gourmandise. Somewhere between sampling chocolate and venturing for gelato, dashing our way through point zero and finding distractions in the barrage of street art, I found a moment of reflection. It's the novelty of doing everything and nothing at the same time. It's always a sensory experience when day-tripping with the tribe, though perhaps groovy isn't the correct term.

Canada (December, 2023) – It felt very apocalyptic as the fog overtook the car for long stretches of road. The four-year-old remarkably repeated and multiplied our discourse that the world was coming to an end, as everything beyond a couple metres simply disappeared from sight. To lighten the mood, we debated flat earth theories and zombies between humming the tunes melodically playing in the background. Our lofty goal of catching the northern lights was indeed a failed family mission, but what we missed out on with climacteric skies was replaced instead living in the moments of pure wonder and joy.

Canada (December, 2023) – We skirted around Bridal Veil Falls; along the winding path of fairy houses, passing several bronze sculptures and patches of dangling icicles without the covering of snow. Mother nature has certainly made her mark, as our expectations of snow-covered indigenous territories failed to appear. We arrived in Manitoulin expecting inclement weather and perhaps an atmosphere of winter wonderland. Instead the last day of the year brought with it a mix of emotions, lost in thoughts and taking in new memories while adventuring into the woods.