Birthday Celebrations!
Birthdays are quite a special thing for me as they are probably for you. Just another day in our lives but a landmark for living. The actual day doesn't mean much but the celebration around those 48 hours and the moment of midnight is where my interest is.
The 21st was quite special and at the time I was parting hard at a house party in Germany with old friends and many new. This was the mid point of a backpacking trip around Europe. In particular England, Germany & Italy. After much travel, to much beer and certainly not enough coffee my friend Markus and I were parting ways and this send off was glorious. A full day and night of fun then my actual birthday was spent eating cake for breakfast in Germany then flying to London, England.
The 22nd birthday was spent hiking Table Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon. This was one of the longest and hardest hikes I've done. Multiple hours spent hiking in the rain with never ending switch backs then bouldering. All while carrying way to much in and on my pack. One of the most rewarding days of my life.
With a itch for travel and after a year of moving back and forth between Ohio and Oregon I decided to leave the country once again to celebrate this 23rd birthday. The upper left of the United States has grabbed hold of my heart and the farther north the better it gets. There for this trip was on to British Columbia, Canada! First stop was Olympia National Park in Washington, the furthest north west you can go in the states. Camping at Second Beach was so peaceful and glorious. Followed by a great climb to the top of Mount Storm King. Sunset at the top along with a calm morning spent in a hammock completed this journey before it even started.
On to Canada! This country is horridly underrated and I only experienced 0.01% of it! Vancouver, Canada is one of the most forward thinking, multicultural and interesting cities I've been to. Coffee culture is a huge interest of mine and BC didn't disappoint! Cafes like Matchstick, Revolver & Aubade Coffee are not only leaders in there own right but in the north west. Check out Revolver in this short video I put together.
Plenty of time was spent in the city yet most was spent traveling on in the middle of no where. Spent multiple sunrises and sunsets at magical places like Buntzen Lake, Jones Lake & Gold Creek Falls.
Two years later after flying from Germany to England I was driving from Canada to the United States! Something feels right celebrating this way. Giving my self time to truly celebrate not only my life but the beautiful world we live in.
Be well friends and happy celebrations!
Bric Bain
