So What's Going On?

     Hey guys! Some of you may have heard, but I am back in the big 'O' (Ontario). Things didn't go the way I had hoped while I was looking for a quick part time job after I had arrived in Calgary.Well.. they were kind of exactly what I was hoping for. That is when I realized that it was not what I had wanted at all.
     I left Ontario in search of adventure and new things. Although I found many new things and had one hell of an adventure, I realized that I needed more. The trip itself was an awesome adventure but as soon as I started handing out resume's at some restaurants, all of the big new adventures just felt like they were fading away. I just felt like I was slipping right back into the same routine that made me drive all the way out there.
     Wake up and go to work to pay for an apartment, groceries and car, then go to sleep at night.. Not my idea of exciting adventures and new things. I just felt like it would be much better to go back to live with my family and friends if I was just going to end up living the exact life that I was trying to escape from.
     As of now my plan is to get a new job here in Belleville after the big Holiday rush and save every penny until Winter decides to end. I'll be working at getting some things in place before I am ready to head back to the West. I did really enjoy Calgary (and of course I loved the mountains), so I would love to be able to go back and live there for a while.
     I want to mention how grateful I am for my dad. When he heard that my plans weren't panning out the way I had hoped, he hopped on the next flight to Calgary so that I wouldn't have to drive all the way home by myself. We ended up staying in Calgary for almost a week before heading home and had a great time together. Also a huge thank you to my Aunt and Uncle for giving me a place to stay and for being really supportive of me and my thirst for adventure.
     So after everything that has happened, I'm really excited to see what the future holds. I'll post a bunch of photo's that I took while exploring the mountains below. I cannot wait to go back!

Banff

Downtown Edmonton

Drinking from the fresh mountain river

Making our own hiking trail

Canmore!

     Ok so I spent some time updating my resume yesterday morning and did a little job hunting online but I was itching to get out and see those Rocky Mountains. My uncle (Marc) who I am staying with had offered to take me to Canmore to see the first little bit of the mountains and check out the cool little town.
     The mountains are every bit as breathtaking as I had imagined them to be. I've gotten up for some amazing sunrises, saw the most beautiful sunset in Thailand but I was still not prepared for this. I want to wake up every morning and see them. It took a lot of will power not to run into the forest and start exploring them right then and there. I have so many mountain camping trips planned for this summer already.
     I did take a few photo's so feel free to check them out and share them around. I'm not sure what today's adventure will bring but I will keep you updated as always! Hopefully I can see some more mountains as it is my birthday today!
Any ways, take it easy guys and enjoy the last day before Monday. Don't forget to tell someone that you love them today!
Bye!

Update No. 4: Calgary

     So, I've made it! Yesterday I drove into Calgary at around 4:30 pm and saw the biggest city that I have seen since I went through Toronto on the first day of my journey. It is an incredible feeling to know that I have made it.
     Although I'm here, I still have a long way to go. I've been offered many places to stay from friends, friends of friends and even distant family that I have never met. I am currently staying with some closer family and I am very thankful for everything I am being given.
     I do plan on working hard to find a place of my own and a job to support myself. I got a glimpse of the mountains as I was driving in and I must go see them. So once I get settled with a job and a place to live, I want to be in those mountains every free minute that I have.
     Now that I am here, my adventure is just beginning!
Enjoy your weekend! Go out and do something exciting!
Bye!

Here are some quick photo's that I snapped when I arrived:

Update No. 3: Three Provinces

     Hey guys! As some of you may know due to social media, I have finally made it out of Ontario. I ended up driving 952kms from Dryden, Ontario to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan yesterday. And yes they were right, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are very boring to drive through. Although it did make for a relatively easy drive (the speed limit being 110km/hr helped a lot).
     My experience in Manitoba did not last long. I entered Manitoba around 11:30am, and by 3:30pm I was well into Saskatchewan. The funny thing is that I didn't even know that I was in Saskatchewan until I stopped for gas. I noticed that there was an awful lot of Roughrider memorabilia for sale in the gas station. Then I had to double check with myself but sure enough, I had crossed an entire province in just a few hours. I don't remember seeing any kind of 'Welcome to Saskatchewan' sign which is what I was looking for.
     As for Saskatchewan.. It was somehow even flatter than Manitoba. The highway didn't go through any towns or cities like you see when driving on the 401 in Ontario. Just farmland as far as the eye can see. As boring as it was, I did see a pretty stellar sunset.
     Coming into Regina was a very interesting experience. I've never been to Las Vegas but I imagine that is was just like driving into that city. It was dark out and I've seen nothing but flat farmland for the last 6 hours of driving. Then I see some city lights in the distance, and boom! It was like I was driving down the famous Strip. Lights, restaurants, shopping centres everywhere! Within 30 seconds I went from a population of about 6 cows per square mile to what looked like a city built for 500,000 people. It was quite a strange feeling.
     Moose Jaw is about 45 minutes further passed Regina. I had booked a cheap Motel in Moose Jaw the night before so that is where I was headed. I ended up being in 3 different Provinces all in one day yesterday. I am off to Calgary today to visit with some family and then figure out what my next step will be. This should be the last big drive I'll have to do for a while.
I'll talk to you guys soon and happy Friday to everyone. Try buying something for someone else with all of these awesome Black Friday deals!
Bye!

This is Manitoba. Saskatchewan is even flatter..

Update No. 2: Mountains in Ontario?

Hey guys, miss me!? Yes I'm still alive.. After almost 9 hours of driving, I'm spending the night in Dryden, Ontario, which is about 3 and a half hours from Winnipeg. My plan is to make it to Moose Jaw tomorrow night as I just booked myself a motel there. 700kms driven today for anyone that is keeping count!
The beginning of today's drive did have some pretty stellar views. We basically have an entire mountain range way up here in Northern Ontario. I stopped for a couple of pictures but didn't get anything spectacular because there was rarely enough space to stop and I wanted to drive as much as possible. I'll have some photo's posted below.
Any ways; lot's of driving, mountains in Ontario, and getting close to Winnipeg made today productive and enjoyable. Tomorrow has even more driving than I did today so lets see how that goes.. I'll talk to you guys when I get to Moose Jaw (if you don't hear from me it's because I passed out as soon as I stopped driving)!
Take care, do something new tomorrow!
Bye!

Update No. 1

Hey guys! I made it to Subdury at around 8pm last night after a looong drive. This adventure definitely started off with a bang.
Roughly an hour and a half outside of Sudbury I hit a pretty bad snowstorm. Visibility was very low at times. With Sudbury being a large mining area, there were more transport trucks than cars passing by, and they did not let the weather slow them down. So this 2 lane highway in a blizzard was quite terrifying.
After I managed to make it through that mess, I had finally made it to Sudbury. There was quite a hill going down into Sudbury which (without my notice) had me going 122km/hr in a 90km/hr zone.. When the police lights started flickering behind me I thought he was about to pass me and speed away, but unfortunately he didn't pass me and I was being pulled over. I didn't even realize how fast I was going. The officer was very nice and I told him my story that I was heading West. Upon receiving my insurance papers he tells me that my insurance card is expired. I spend 10 mins frantically looking for the correct non expired card with no luck.
The officer did a check and saw that my car is definitely insured, and had decided not to issue me a ticket for that. He also reduced my $240 ticket to only $62. So I guess you can say that I made it to Sudbury with barely a scratch (a small one at that).
I spent the night with a friend who is attending school here which was nice because it gave me a chance to say goodbye to one last person before I'm out of the province (also free accommodations are great).
So today the goal is to get to Thunder Bay and spend the night there. Take care guys and do something nice today!
Bye!

West

     Ok guys there won't be any photos with this post. I'm am writing to update you on what's happening with me. As many of you know, I'm always itching for an adventure. And lately I haven't been getting my fix. I'm just done being in one place, doing/seeing the same things every day. This is why I have made the decision to change that.
     As of this morning, I will be leaving everything (work, family, friends), packing all of my belongings into my little car and driving West. I'm not financially prepared nor did I really plan for this. There is no real destination that I am hoping to end up, I just need to be travelling. I'm sure that I will end up staying in places to get a small job and earn some money along the way but I do not plan on staying in any one place for longer than I have to.
     If anyone knows of anywhere that is looking for a temporary employee, please let me know. Farm work, coffee shop.. I can do it all! Along with work, please share if you know anyone who is looking for a room mate or has a couch I can sleep on for a few nights.
    I can't continue with this unexciting life that I have been living. So this is for me. Watch out world, I'm coming for you!

Frink Boardwalk

The other day I took a trip to the Frink Centre and did the boardwalk. It was very cold but I managed to get a few shots! There's something about the feeling of being surrounded by nature. I highly suggest getting out and enjoying this beautiful country every once in a while.

Lemoine Point

     I've been looking for new places to explore (with in a reasonable driving distance) when I had a good friend recommend Lemoine Point in Kingston. She is currently going to school at Queens so I took a trip up to visit with her and we went to check it out! It is a beautiful trail along the water and through the forest, which is especially beautiful in the fall. With a total of 4 different trails adding up to 11kms of peaceful walking/running/biking pathways.
     If you ever just need a little break from work, school, life or city just head down and spend a couple of hours walking through Lemoine Point Conservation area. It is a very relaxing and calming place to be. Don't know how to get there? Directions are here.
We ended up being there at the perfect time to see a gorgeous sunset as well. Photo's posted below! Thanks to Mary Hoekstra for being a great model for this place. You can click on any image or check out my Flickr account to see full resolution copies. Enjoy!

Courage

If you know me, you know that I'm always up for a good time. That's how I have always lived my life. No plans, just enjoying each day doing what I love.
When I was a child, I spent 90% of my time outside either running through the woods, doing laps around our makeshift dirtbike track that we had made for the little Yamaha that my parents had bought for us, or racing our red wagons down steep grassy hills trying to knock each other off before we reached the bottom.
As I became a teenager, we moved into the city. This is the when I picked up scootering. I became pretty good thanks to the countless hours that I spent at the skate park. I had a good relationship with the owner (Lloyd Bureau) of a company out of Quebec where I would buy all of my new parts. After I had begun running the annual Kiwanis/QCS Belleville Scooter Competition, Lloyd had asked me to be a part of his team as a sponsored rider. We had done many tours and trips all over Ontario and Quebec.

These years were the best years due to all of the awesome times I had travelling with friends, meeting new friends and riding my scooter. My competition grew every year and ran for 3 years consecutively as well.
I got a little older and started riding less. And when I did ride, I didn't enjoy it as I once did. I began to take up a new hobby, photography. As a lot of the people I travelled with had big 'fancy' cameras, I had lots of people to photograph with. As I spent more time using my camera than my scooter, I realized that I didn't enjoy scootering much at all any more.
Beginning the next part of my life using my camera to express my creative ends, I did just what I had done before. Practiced and learned as often as I could. I spent all of my money on newer and better gear and was still spending all of my time outdoors.

Some of the gear  that I have acquired.










It wasn't until May of this year that I had the opportunity to go on a trip with my dad. My older sister had been to Africa, my younger brother had been to Mexico, but I hadn't been anywhere other than the Unite States. We began exploring a few ideas of where we would like to go.
With me being so adventurous, I didn't want to go to Cuba, or the Dominican (etc.) where people commonly go on vacations. I wanted to go somewhere exciting and new. We settled on spending 2 weeks in Thailand.
I can't even describe how awesome this trip was. I saw the most amazing secluded island beaches, ate some of the best food and even went to a coffee plant at the top of a mountain. This is when everything changed.

Unforgettable beaches.

Some amazing food.

Breathtaking views.















I got to start an awesome new job with a travel agency that was full time, with benefits and good salary. I thought my life was heading in all the right directions. After being in my new job for a few months, I'm becoming very unhappy with things.
I wake up every day just craving adventure and new experiences, which is the opposite of sitting at a desk everyday. Don't get me wrong, it is a great job and a great company to work for, I just can't spend my life working on a computer for 8 hours a day so I can have my 2 weeks of vacation each year..
All I want to be doing is travelling the world and sharing my experiences through my photographs. Being outside hiking, camping, biking, exploring. That is what I need to be doing. I can't comprehend the concept of doing something that makes me unhappy. I want to enjoy my life and live it to the fullest! I don't want to be working away, wasting all of my time at a job that is at the same building doing the same boring thing day after day.

"I quit my job, bought a plane ticket and moved half way around the world."

We've all heard those stories, but what is the secret. My dream is to get up and just leave everything behind. But because I am a part of this thing called life, I need a way to pay for food, transportation,
accommodations etc. It's not easy.
Now you're probably wondering how any of this relates to the title, 'Courage'. It's one thing to try to make your way across the world. But it's another to do it alone. Don't get me wrong, I love doing things on my own. When you get into a tough situation, it's always better to have someone to back you up on your decisions and or offer suggestions. Not only when you need a hand, but when you have those amazing experiences as well. I don't want to experience all of these adventures and not have someone to share them with.
I don't really know how I wanted this blurb to end. I guess I just want to know if there is anyone else out there in the same boat as me. All I want to do is live a life I can look back on and say, "I'm glad that I didn't waste my time working my life away." "I'm glad that I left." "I'm glad that I went there." "I'm glad I did that." And, "I wouldn't change it for the world."
I can't live a life where I get to enjoy what makes me happy for 2 weeks out of the year. It only makes sense to do what you love every day of the year and nothing less. All it's going to take for me to be doing what I want to be doing is courage. I can tackle the other issues that will arise as they come. There is nothing else I can do other than to just go.

I'm Back

     Hey guys! As I'm sure you got from the title of this post, Ben is back! I'm going to start sharing my adventures with you guys again! Although I'm not on a round the world trip or anything crazy like that, I do have a lot of cool adventures on my days off. I am always open to suggestions for places to go and things to see.

     To keep with what I have been previously posting, I will be sharing all of my photo's here as well. Photography is just as big of interest for me as adventure and travel is (If you couldn't tell already). I have been shooting a lot since the last time I've shared some of my photo's with you guys. This has brought on a lot of learning as well.

     So welcome back to Ben's Adventures and I hope you enjoy Exploring Through Photo's with me! Here a few recent shots for you to browse through. As always, you can see full resolution versions on my Flickr account. 

Chiang Mai

     So far Chiang Mai is a lot different than Phuket. Not as hot (which is good because there's no beaches here) and more city-like. We have a friend that lives here who has hooked us up with a local girl that speaks good English to take us around and show us what's good in Chiang Mai. So far we've seen some really cool waterfalls, and hiked to the tallest point in all of Thailand. Really amazing views up there. Check out some of the pictures I got!

1000x more beautiful in person