Hi. I'm using Weebly Site Builder for the first time, so this is probably going to look pretty lame to start with.
One of the things I like to do in the summer is whitewater kayak. These are my sons, August 2015. Jason is in front, he was 20 at the time. Devon is in the back and he was 21. Jason is in his second year at LMU in California, and is going to be an orthodontist. Devon started at UofC in September, here in Calgary, and is taking International Development Studies.
One of the things I like to do in the summer is whitewater kayak. These are my sons, August 2015. Jason is in front, he was 20 at the time. Devon is in the back and he was 21. Jason is in his second year at LMU in California, and is going to be an orthodontist. Devon started at UofC in September, here in Calgary, and is taking International Development Studies.
There's one spot, right in the city that's good enough to surf on. I'm not very good a surfing yet, and as it turns out, neither is Jason. He wasn't able to get up into the wave. He did pretty good on his first try, but I didn't get that recorded. (if there is no YouTube video below, here's the link: https://youtu.be/DUljH5dLc5I)
On this, his third try, he tipped, and wasn't quite able to roll back up, so he had to wet exit. (if there is no YouTube video below, here's the link: https://youtu.be/6eeiAu1pFlo)
We started kayaking in 2008, when Jason was 13. The following pictures are of Jason in a slalam kayak at the "Kan", about a 45 minute drive from Calgary and an awesome place to kayak.
When I was in university, I did some climbing. I didn't do much in the years that followed, but recently started doing it with my oldes son Devon. Here's a clip of Devon doing a big overhang at Crux. The routes are marked by the coloured tape, so you're supposed to use just the features/holds that are marked as being for the route you're doing. We also do top rop, where we climb up. This video is of the bouldering wall, that doesn't go very high, so you don't need to use a rope.
Here's a clip of me doing a top rope climb at the university climbing wall.
Here's a clip of Devon doing a route.
Ice boating is something else that I've done off and on for many years. I'm not in any of the clips in this video, but it will give you a good sense of what it's like. It's really fast, and a lot of fun.
I'm doing a lot of
dancing now, particularly salsa and bachata.
I did a lot of couple dancing as a teenager, growing up in the country,
two steps, polkas, jives, etc. In my mid-twenties, I took a set of group
ballroom dance classes with a girlfriend. With my wife, we took a couple sets of
ballroom dance classes, but didn't continue with them. About 3 years ago I started dating a lady
that did a lot of ballroom dancing, and was very good. We took several lessons, and did quite a bit
of dancing, but we weren't able to go often enough, or practice enough, for me
to retain everything. It was
frustrating. I'd get a bit better, then
slip back. I couldn't get up to that
upper level of ability. Since November
of 2015 I've been taking weekly lessons in salsa and bachata, and have been
practicing quite a bit. I'm finally
getting into the level where I know quite a few different moves and I don't
have to concentrate so hard. I can
actually relax and enjoy the dances.
This is a short clip of a typical lesson. The students are in a big circle in a
community hall or gym, with the instructors in the middle. Every couple of minutes they rotate partners. https://youtu.be/YIIA1Fa0_Tk
Once or twice a month, the group that does the dance lessons on weeknights, holds a lesson and dance social on a Saturday night. Now that I'm getting good enough to dance, they're a lot of fun. Here's a short clip from one of those parties, just to give you a sense of what they're like. It's not a great clip, it just something that I happened to have, same as the dance class above. https://youtu.be/u4plOZXUL6Q
One of the dances that they do at the salasa/bachata socials is casino rueda. There are so many people doing it that the circle fills the entire dance floor, right out to the chairs, and there's a large circle in the middle too. It's a lot of fun. I don't have any videos of us doing it, but here's a link that shows you what the dance is like.