Looking Back at 2023

2023 was an eventful year. Though I did not travel to any new countries this year, I still has some fun trips in Canada and to the USA. Career wise, I was accepted into the perioperative nursing program, which I completed in December. While I will miss my "off-set adventures" I was able to go on with my five days off, I am very excited to continue my career in the operating room. Back to adventures this year, some of my favourites were; going to Disney World, Vancouver with my mom, attending Fan Expo Canada with my dad, hikes around Nova Scotia with family and friends, and welcoming my brothers puppy into the family and having some fun adventures with her! 

Disney World: Mar 2023 

After planning this trip since early 2019 when I had decided I wanted to run a half marathon at Disney, the trip has grown and acquired more people along the way. Though I had been fully prepared to go on my own, I highly suspected my parents and my aunt (who is a huge Disney lover) would join me. From there after being cancelled in 2020 it became a bigger group trip. I only wish my brother could have came with us, then it would have been perfect. Funnily enough I didn't end up doing a race (the one I wanted was not going on anymore) but oh well, Disney is Disney and I am aware that sacrifices and accomodations are required with a group as large as the one we had going to ensure as many in the group could go and we could all be at the same parks on the same days. 

Some highlights of the trip for me was the day my parents and I resort hopped. We went to the Polynesian resort, the Grand Floridian, and the Contemporary resort. We met up with some others in the family later and ended up having more adventures via Disney bus, monorail, slyliner, and by boat. 

Galaxy's Edge was amazing despite having already seen the one at Disneyland. This time around my dad and I along with a friend made our own lightsabers. We also built a Droid. The photographers in Galaxy's Edge deserve a raise as they always went above and beyond to take really awesome photos with the lightsaber. The night we attended the after hours I had my hair done similar to Rey, and we came across Rey in the park and she made a comment about my hair! Such a cool experience. 

Other quick highlights were Cosmic Rewind, Diagon Alley in Universal, Pandora, and all the fun photos we got along the way from photo pass. 

Vancouver: May 2023

I wrote a blog post about this trip so I don't need to go into too much detail, but this was a fantastic trip. The only new place I went to this year and it did not dissapoint. Vancouver is a beautiful city and I am happy I got to explore it with my mom. We had so many fun experiences, from the day trip to Whistler, to going across the Capilano Bridge. We both would love to return in the warmer weather when more of the trails are accessible.

Fan Expo Canada: Aug 2023

Fan Expo is something my dad and I have been wanting to attend for a while. Last year I was working during the convention and end of August is not always easy for my dad's work. I decided I wanted to go and my dad was able to make it work as well. Fan Expo Canada really shows how small Hal Con is. It is in Toronto and is one of the biggest conventions in North America, so that is not surprising. We attended some really great panels with Ming-Na Wen, the actors from Cobra Kai, Jon Bernthal, Charlie Cox, and my two favourite panels with the trio from the Clone Wars TV show and Zachary Levi. 

The Clone Wars panel was great as it was the only panel we went to where the actors could actually talk about the show they were in (due to the writers strike). Everytime they said one of their lines in the voice just put a smile on my face. I thought it was funny when James Arnald Taylor said "look, I have the high ground" when someone dressed as Darth Vader was in front of the stage. They also had a print done up for everyone who attended which was really cool. Later I got to meet Ashley Eckstein, as Ahsoka is my favourite character and I got a photo with her!  

The Zachary Levi panel was great because he treated it like a stand up performance and walked around the stage with his mic. He did his best to answer questions from projects where he was "a spy", "a roguish Disney prince" and a "big red superhero" since he wasn't able to name the characters himself.

My dad and I on our last day got Charlie Cox who plays Daredevil to sign a photo for my brother. He is also a big fan of the football/soccer team Arsenal like my brother so he signed with C.O.Y.G (come on you gunners). 

Overall it was a great time, and I would definitely go again if it ever went well with my schedule. Glad I got to experience it with my dad.

Hiking in 2023

I feel like I did not do as much hiking as I normally do. The summer was really rainy. I felt like everytime I was off it was raining the whole time. In the fall I was in my periop course, so I was a bit busy. Nonetheless the hikes I went on with family and friends were all lots of fun and we did go to some new trails this year. My aim for 2024 is to hike more! 

Welcoming Ellie. 

My brother got a new boarder collie puppy at the end of summer. So while she can't go on any super long hikes yet, we still have had some fun adventures with her. She went Apple picking with us, we took her for a walk in Mahone Bay, and to quite a few smaller trails around the Halifax area. She is a ball of energy so I'm sure she will have no trouble doing the longer trails when she is fully grown. 

All in all, I would say I had a great 2023. Lots of fun adventures and a career change that I hope will be for the better. Looking forward to what 2024 brings, I already have a trip booked in January to London/Paris for a week, then in May my cousin is getting married in Hawaii. For the rest of my vacation time I think I may look into getting some time off either in early November or late November into early December. Not quite sure where I will go yet. Perhaps wherever I can find the cheapest flight!