In my early 20s, I made it my mission to leave the continental US whenever possible. Why not see the good ole’ US of A, you ask? Because, as I told myself, I’d one day criss-cross the country in the family van seeing everything from the yarn ball of Iowa to the stone faces of Yosemite.

Once I started working post-college, I’d share my travel passion with folks older and wiser and in response I usually heard melancholy claims of “Do it now before you have real responsibilities” or “Travel while you can”. I never understood those claims, as travel and work never seemed mutually exclusive to me.

So, I continued to travel whenever possible.

What’s that – you have a buddy pass and want to go to Ireland for five days?

I’m in.

Planning on going to Catalonia for spring break?

Sicky sicky pow pow! Let’s see the snow of Andorra.

I truly believed that the time for “easy” travel – the days before wife, children (I’m not there yet!) and adult responsibilities – was within my reach and I intended to take full advantage of it.

And take advantage I did.

I managed to visit 40 countries within a five year span, an effort I’m still proud of today. But after a trip a few years back that took me through Eastern Europe, which found me bunking up with hostelers nearly a decade younger, I realized that my passionate for travel was evolving. I had experienced SO much in my trips to five continents but somehow I found myself less than fulfilled in a Krakow hostel, as I lay awake all night to sounds of youngins screaming as they went in-and-out of the thump-thump club across the alley.

Like a college football coach who lost one too many games and saw the end on the horizon, I knew my best hostelling days were behind me. On top of that, having had the chance to get so much of the travel “bug” out of me, I felt a burning desire to BUILD something enduring. Rather than just experience travel, I wanted to translate that passion and history into something I could show others.

Let me also preface these comments by throwing out a personal disclaimer. If I’m working, I’m a workaholic. If I’m travelling, I have to see EVERYTHING. My first big trip in Europe I managed to circumnavigate nearly the entire continent in 5 weeks. When I’m focused, I have to do it all. When I was in Thailand, I’d run into other people my age that had been on Koh Tao for months at a time. After 3 days on the island, I was bored. That’s just the kind of person I am.

So with this strange realization that I was getting on the north end of acceptable hostel age, I realized that I wanted to build a business that incorporated my passion for travel. My first attempt was a company that created travel posters incorporating all of the details of a great trip – itinerary, photos and maps. A great concept, but ahead of its time (I like to think).

More recently, I took my experience in the apparel world and launched Hostel Dog. Hostel Dog has been the sweet spot for me. With tons of experience in design, digital marketing and web development, I don’t know why it took me so long to start the company. T-shirts aren’t brain surgery, I’ll be the first to admit, and the greatest byproduct of Hostel Dog has been the chance, no the excuse, to talk frequently with you guys, my fellow travelers. Hostel Dog for me was the confluence of all things I am good at, both professionally and personally.

With the launch of Hostel Dog I realized that it really is possible to take your passion for travel and infuse it more into your work life back home. Again, I was reminded of my thoughts years before about them not being mutually exclusive.

Based on my experiences over the years, I’ve come up with five possibly intelligent reasons on how you too can meld your professional and travel world just a bit more.

1. It’s all about framing: travel and work aren’t mutually exclusive. Realize that it’s possible to combine both successfully.

If you’re waiting to travel, figure out how to incorporate work into your upcoming trip. If you’re home after travelling, look for unmet needs for other people that are passionate about travel, like you.

2. Find professional support groups nearby to find others with complementary skills and vision.

Meetup.com is a great place to find a segment of folks interested in the same things you are. Your greatest strength is your knowledge of the travel world. Use Meetup.com to find the complementary skill sets you need to launch your business.

3. You’ve been to places and see things that most people can only dream of. Find a niche in the travel world and fill it.

Are you a lawyer who plans on travelling? Use your travel experience as a launch pad into a position in the international law field. Or even better, while travelling, set up meetings in law offices around the world and just start a conversation. Conversations never hurt.

4. Learn the basics of the digital marketing world.

When you’re away from home or if you’re building a travel-flavored business from home, communicating via blog, website, Twitter or Facebook is your most realistic means of communication. Learn the basics and don’t be shy about asking for help.

5. Take your professional aspirations on the road: partner with an outdoor apparel or travel business that needs pictures of their products in natural settings.

I spent a summer at Eagle Creek Travel Gear and we offered free gear and cash to a passionate traveler in exchange for photos of gear in subways from around the world. Those photos made their way to the website and in tons of company marketing materials.

Ultimately, I have been successful in bringing my travel passion into my work life because I am constantly looking at ways to incorporate it. Begin to think of your travel experience as a valuable asset and you’ll soon find yourself writing down business ideas left and write.

Good luck!

Garrett
HostelDog.com

Autumn in Niagara-On-The-Lake

Niagara-On-The-Lake is beautiful any time of the year, but my favourite time of the year is Autumn when the leaves on the maple trees turn an amazing shade of red.

Each month Spunky Girl Monologues is planning on doing a post on unique Canadian experiences, places to see and things to do. I chose for my guest post to feature the lovely “Donair”. Not to be confused with a doner, gyro, shawarma,  kebab or a doner kebab,  I’m talking about a DONAIR (pronounced “doh-nair”).

Claimed to originally have been created and brought over from Greece by the owners of King of Donair here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

K.O.D.’s roots reach back to a small tavern in Greece, where
the donair recipe was conceived and brought to North America. Our Quinpool Road
location in Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the first to introduce this great concept to Canada
in 1973 and that original secret recipe along with fresh, lean ground beef is still used in
all our locations on a daily basis.

The donair is sold all throughout Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada in any typical pizza shop, they pretty much go hand and hand. Actually now that I say that I don’t think I can think of a pizza place around here that doesn’t also sell donair! It  is a mix of beef, spices and other things cooked on a spit and shaved off in slices most commonly wrapped in pita bread with onions, tomato & donair sauce. (The ingredients of the sauce consist of 1 can of evaporated milk,  white sugar, garlic powder and white vinegar.) Hmmmm interested yet?  Let’s just say if you are on a diet this might not be the food for you…

“Halifax donairs are characterized mostly by their distinctive sauce, made from condensed milk, sugar, and vinegar.” www.wikipedia.com

In recent years the way donairs are eaten have been changed and varied upon with people now being able to find donair meat on their pizza, in a sub, egg rolls you name it people will eat it. Also you will find the sauce popping up in different places as well, as a dip for garlic fingers or even poured on top of your pepperoni pizza!

As long as I can remember I’ve always been a big fan of the donair but try to limit myself to only 1 every few months, there is one place I get them from in Halifax where they make my donair just right – laid out on a sub bun with mozzeralla cheese, sauce, tomato and onions then grilled open faced in an oven, omg omg to die for! Goes down great with a can of diet coke! Highly recommended if you ever have a trip to Atlantic Canada.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for sudden cravings or homesickness. If you’ve been to Peters’ and currently far from home, stop! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER! Thank-you.

Peters’ Drive-In

Peters' Drive-In

I was sitting at home this afternoon craving a float and creeping on Twitter when @nomadicchick suggested I go to Peters’ Drive-In. Peters’ Drive-In is a Calgary institution located on 16th Ave (Trans Canada HWY 1) near 1st St NE. . In business since 1962, their prices have changed a little but their menu has not.  What’s on menu? Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Fries, Onion Rings, Floats and more than 4,000 possible milkshake combinations!

One of the things I love about Peters’ is that it’s mostly windows, which means you can see everything happening inside. Unlike some drive-ins from the 50’s and 60’s (A&W’s) that are still around, Peters’ is still very much the same as it was all those years ago. In fact Peters’ use to be a favourite stop for my parents when they were younger.

My original plan was to drive over to Peters’, buy a hamburger, onion rings and a float using some change I had laying around my apartment as well as my credit card. I know, you can’t get more pathetic than that. However when I arrived at Peters’ I was reminded of one thing that has been the same since the day they opened- cash only! Eek! My plan was foiled. I quickly sat down and counted my change, looked at the menu on the window and decided what I was going to order while the guy inside chuckled at me.

Cheeseburger & Onion Rings

Eating at Peters’ in not cheap. I was more hungry than thirsty so I opted for a cheeseburger and onion rings which cost me $7.60. But the food is worth it. The service at Peters’ is out of this world. The staff are friendly, patient and FAST. I think it was all of 60 seconds between placing my order and receiving my order.

Although my original plan was to order a float don’t worry, I still figured out a way to have a yummy A&W float with my dinner.  How? I drove to 7-11, bought a large ice cream sandwich and a small bottle of A&W Rootbeer. When I got home I pried off the cookie part of the ice cream sandwich, dropped the ice cream into a mug and poured the Rootbeer over top. MMmm

Stay tuned for the next The Calgary Verve: Crave…

In traditional Blog Crawl fashion I searched Robin’s website for a links page, but I was unable to find one.  What I did find was her Travel Photo Friday: Thai Punk post. An amazing photo submitted by blogger and photographer Barbara Weibel of Hole in The Donut Travels. Barbara has some wonderful posts, I really enjoyed her post on Mazatlan, Mexico.

• A Wandering Sole- Laura’s spending the next 8 months traveling around the world, running, volunteering and having crazy fun times. I read her packing post last night and I was amazed at the detail! This girl knows how to pack!
• Ottsworld- A great travel blog with amazing photography!
• Nomadic Matt- Now I KNOW you’re aware of this blog and I was bound to crawl through it sooner or later! I think one of the things I like about Matt’s blog is the non-BS side of travel. He’s written some wonderful posts on hostels, events and even has an e-book about being a successful travel blogger. If you’re planning on traveling to New Zealand (I am) sometime soon be sure to read his post about “Budgeting in New Zealand“.
• Two Go Round The World- Fellow Canadians who are planning, preparing and packing for their RTW trip in 2011.
• Crossing The Line- Ok, I saw a post on Banff and had to look. We all know I love driving through Banff with my camera, especially since I live so close to it.

Blog Highlight

Trans-Americas Journey. In 2006 Karen (writer) and Eric (photographer) left their jobs in NYC to travel the Americas for the next 5 years. I loved their post “Third Time’s a Charm- Guanajuato, Mexico“. I’ve been more and more curious about Mexico and just now starting to do some research. Although my RTW trip will take place mostly in Asia I’d like to make Central America the next trip I take. Mexico is so full of history, gorgeous architecture and some seriously yummy food!

Stay tuned for more blogs next week as I continue to crawl through the we, looking for new content to read and share. If you have a blog you think I should check out, leave a comment!

St. Michaels Square- Toronto, ON

I’ve been floating through the web for more than a couple years now reading travel blogs and forums (Bootsnall). I had big dreams, I wanted to do what other people my age were doing, traveling.  I would read their posts or blogs and get jealous when I’d realize that most of them had started traveling shortly after high school. They’re younger than me, and in many ways they seemed smarter than me as well.

I’m not the world’s best saver. In fact I’m savings challenged. I always have been. I like to shop, I like to go out and party or have dinner with friends. I like going to movies and taking last minute trips. Most of my trips since high school have been just that, last minute escapes. More often than not I used whatever cash I had in my bank account, went away on some 5-day adventure (I flew to London and did London and Paris in 5 days) and then come home to a month or more of backed up bills.   Short escapes are great when I’m doing them. I’m happy and free, but then I feel the crush when I’m home.

My family is very much a working family. My parents are both work-a-holics, in other words they give 110% at the job, and it’s something I’ve learned to do as well.  When I was younger I made the decision to quit my well paying job and move from Ontario to Alberta.  I had a summer hotel job lined up to bring in some cash and I was excited to be leaving home and venturing out on my own, but my family was a different story.  When I told my parents my Mom was not happy, but supportive. My Dad stopped talking to me.  I was crushed.  My Dad had never just stopped talking to me before.  In fact he and I usually had some wicked arguments (he did this “Well you’re not mad at me, you’re mad at yourself thing that would piss me off like you wouldn’t believe!). I tried to talk to him, but nothing. For 3 whole days he ignored my existence and it’s an experience that is still very fresh in my mind 10 yrs later if I allow myself to walk down memory lane.

Work, money & responsibilities are all things I’ve been taught, and there is nothing wrong with that. But blue-collar life isn’t meant for everyone. Some of us dream of more, and if you’re like I was, and drowning in debt – your dreaming of a nice shiny lotto ticket to solve all your problems.  I’ve been in the corporate or retail game for years. I thought that that was what I wanted. I wanted the big promotions and the big money. But when they came I was miserable, still unable to save money and still in debt. So how have I changed the cycle? It’s not easy, even today. My views and priorities changed after a major life event that has affected me in many ways and although it’s fairly personal, I’m going to share it with you (in shorter amounts) in hopes that you may get something out of it.

Last fall my parents were trying to reach my Grandmother on the phone, but she wasn’t answering and something felt odd. My Mom then asked my Dad to go over (she was at work already) and see if she was okay. My Dad found my Grandmother on the floor by her bed, unconscious and had no idea how long she had been like that.  Let me tell you, the 2.5hr drive from my house to theirs was agony! When I walked into the ER I didn’t even recognize her. My Mom had been there all day with her and there were no changes.  My Mom and I spent the next 4 days by her bedside in an emotional roller coaster, wondering if she was going to make it. She almost didn’t. But she kind of turned around.  We then spent the next 2.5 weeks by her bed making sure she was eating, monitoring her vitals etc. In other words, the hospital was our home. It was draining. I had worked as a Personal Care Aide when I was younger, so I was able to help my Grandmother more than I normally would have. If she asked me about her condition, I would be honest and give her a no shit answer (she would have killed me if I had lied to her). We were never close, my Grandmother and I.  It was always awkward going to visit her as we had nothing in common and she could sometimes have some very hurtful opinions.  But as I sat in her hospital room I understood her. I bonded with her and I realized that even though she may have been a tad cranky, she always lived her life the way she wanted to and never paid attention to what others thought.  She didn’t worry about spending her money because she couldn’t take it with her.

My Grandmother eventually left the hospital, but not for home. She was sent to palliative care. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and things were moving faster than the doctors thought.  I lost my Grandmother (my last Grandparent) at the beginning of December.  But, as I look back I don’t dwell on all those draining, stressful days spent by her bed. I dwell on the life lessons she taught me; to live and enjoy my life while I can. I still suck at saving money, but my Grandmother has left me some money in her will.  It’s my Grandmother that inspired me to finally suck it up, get myself out of debt and finally do what I’ve been dreaming of doing for years. Thanks to her I now have a solid focus and direction.

It’s funny how you can change your destiny with the right motivation. For me it took a life-changing event to “see the light”. I evaluate everything I buy, and if I falter and find myself having buyer’s remorse the next day, I return it. I’m trying really hard to shrink my bills. I opted for the basic cable pkg (which really sucks some days). I save my recycling and take it to the depot to get the levy back. I’m trying hard to take lunches to work (I’m really bad at this. I take a lunch like 2/5 days and sometimes I just skip eating it all together), but I find myself walking to Quizno’s more than I should. Saving money is hard when you’re not a saver to begin with. As for my debt, I pay a little off with every pay. I save extra money I get from GST credits, recycling etc without using any of it for bills. I’ve even had to go as far as opening a savings acct at a bank that’s totally annoying to discourage myself from taking money out (It has like $4 in it right now).

I’m not a 20-something traveler; I’m a 30-something traveler. My style has evolved; I have more focus and direction.  It’s taken me a lot longer to wake-up, but I’m awake now. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows yet. It’s still a struggle. On bad days I remember trips to China, Cuba, Scotland or my-5 day adventure to London and Paris.  On good days I look forward to the new adventures I’ll be having and the start of my RTW trip in August. I still get a little jealous of the 20-something travelers, but I wouldn’t change my life experiences for anything. I’m a late traveler bloomer and I’m okay with that.

Inglewood- Calgary, Alberta

Okay, so now that the embarrassing part is over, it’s over right?! Let me tell you a little bit about Banff.  As I mention in the video, Banff is very touristy and therefore very expensive in some respects.  However there are some amazing vistas.  Whenever I feel the need to grab my camera and get away, I usually end up in Banff.  Below are some of the photos I took while in Banff today.

Inside Cave at the Cave & Basin National Historic Site

The Basin

View by Bow Falls

A quiet seat near Bow Falls

So now that the boring little details have been laid out for you, allow me to share with you where my Blog Crawl took me this week. I started my crawl with Velvet Escape. I love this blog, if you have a little time to kill grab and beer, sit down and have a read.

1. Velvet Escape-  I read his post “A Walk Down Oxford Road, Manchester” and instantly wanted to go there. Which is a surprise as after my last trip to London I vowed to leave the UK off my travel itinerary for a little while.
2. Wild Junket- How did I not know about this blog before? Seriously! 10 Unique Transport Modes Around the World was a fun read. I’m rather curious about the Bamboo train in Cambodia…
3. The Travel Tart- I love reading this blog, it’s full of humor and oddities. His post, Bizarre Travel Photo- Best Menu Picture is great. There is nothing like homemade menus with hand-drawn pictures. It’s the simplicity of travel that I love.
4. Old World Wandering- Currently traveling in India, my post choice was “Hyderabad, slash Cyberabad”.
5. Border Jumpers- Read their post “1000 Words about Johannesburg”.
6. Twenty-Something Travel- She’s becoming a legend and rightly so.  I really love her Friday Postcard series. The photographs are always amazing.

Blog Crawl Monday is always the highlight of my week. Sometimes I crawl a little longer than others, but either way I discover new content and new blogs to follow.