Firstly, I have to apologize to everyone for not posting here in so long. Yes I know most of you have been following along on Social Media so you have a good idea of what I’ve been up too, but hey…I’ve been busy. Like, really busy.
I’ve been quite swamped with building the Get A Grip Driving School, which focuses on training drivers who are new to off-roading, and teaching Recovery courses to newbies and seasoned off-roaders alike. These are exceptionally important programs that go a long way to improving personal safety, reducing vehicle damage, and protecting the environment and the trails that we enjoy. But as any small business owner will tell you…getting started takes a lot of time and effort, and most of my free time has been focused on growing that business or helping out in the community.
I’ve done several off-road recoveries, even the rescue of a guy who was stranded for over 22hrs by the time I reached him and his vehicle. They had to build a fire in the middle of the trail to stay warm since the temperature dropped to -10c overnight. I’ve also spent quite a few days clearing trails of deadfall & blown down trees after strong storms have passed through. My DeWalt chainsaw has certainly gotten a workout this year.
I’ve also hosted several courses for the driving school, and attended a few large scale events including CampNL (hosted by OF4WD), and both OverlandNTH events (The Rally & The Gathering). These events brought me from Minden to Kinsmount, Huntsville, Haliburton, and Calabogie.
I also teamed up with the Central Ontario Jeep Club, and I’m now one of their Trail Guides.
So ya…it’s been pretty hectic.
Did I mention my partner had a Stroke? Yeah…that happened too…back in June. I was in Wasaga Beach at the time, and I got a phone call from paramedics telling me that she was being rushed to the hospital because she had a seizure while grocery shopping.
Since then, it was like working two full time jobs because, as you can imagine…taking care of her and helping her recover was a pretty high priority. More so than anything else really. Fortunately she has been recovering at a tremendous rate, much to the surprize and delight of her medical team.
We had planned on going to South Africa in September (a bucket list item for us both) but as I’m sure everyone can understand, we’ve had to put that off until next year. She needs to fully recover first before we take on 16hr flights and long layovers in various airports.
Instead, we’re going to take the time to tackle another adventure that we’ve both had on our bucket list. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I will say this much…it will involve another epic road trip.
Stay tuned!
