This last weekend, Easter weekend, Ashley and I made our way up to North Battleford, Saskatchewan to visit family and to celebrate my grandfather’s 77th birthday. We try to make it up that way at least once a year, sometimes for Easter, sometimes for Thanksgiving, so the trip was not a first for us.

With our imminent departure only 70 days off as of this writing, things didn’t quite feel the same as they had in the past.  It started with our drive up.  Passing through Saskatoon, the next major shopping centre outside of Regina, we had no choice but to stop for a couple of hours and try on backpacks.  We now know to budget more than two hours for trying on backpacks.  We could have easily used a couple hours more.  Sadly for us, but luckily for you, this won’t turn into a cliched “We Bought our Packs” post.  Though we will still subject you to one when we do.

We spent most of Friday eating and visiting.  Pretty normal, but the conversation seemed to keep coming back around to our trip.  I pulled out the camera and started taking a few photos.  Soon after, we started talking about camera gear we were taking with us on our trip.  One thing led to another and Ashley and I managed to convince ourselves that we needed an ultra wide angle lens for our camera.  I had no choice but to lock myself away for a few hours and do some internet research followed by a round of ebay bidding.  This process was a lot more painful than I first anticipated, mostly because of the old school 56k dial-up internet connection, and it certainly cut into my visiting time.

Saturday was the big family supper.  My great grandmother (98 years old) was there, as were my grandpa and grandma, uncles, aunts and cousins.  The whole works.  Again, we spent most of the day eating and visiting.  We talked about our trip, passed out Traveled Earth Business Cards, and started Project: Photos of Friends and Family.  The project itself is quite straight forward.  We are trying to collect photos of our friends and family to take with us.  It’ll be nice to have some photos to look at when we get homesick.

Saying goodbyes was perhaps the hardest part of this trip.  I think everyone was acutely aware that we may not see each other for a very long time.  Despite the tough goodbyes, it was nice to have the chance to visit one last time before our departure.

Here’s our project so far.  If you don’t see your photo we’d appreciate it if you reminded us to take one next time we see you.

Here’s a look at our custom made business cards for our blog. For $22 we got 500 of them from VistaPrint.ca so we have lots to give away.

Traveled Earth Business Cards

I think these things are going to be great. For months now, I’ve been spouting off our URL to friends and family, usually to be greeted by a nod and a quick “can you email that to me?” or “I think might be able to remember that.”

Well, no more emailing or remembering required with the new Traveled Earth Limited Edition Business Cards! The primary reason we decided to pick these up was to hand them out on our travels. As we learned on our trip to New Zealand in 2007, napkins and spare scraps of paper were not an ideal medium to write email addresses on. By the time we were home, sitting in front of a computer; those precious notes had been lost or disintegrated in our packs. These should be a bit more durable.

We’re finding that they are also good at home. We’ve only had them a week, and I’ve already handed out about a dozen of them. They are great icebreakers, and people really seem to enjoy them. If you are thinking about doing something similar, I recommend getting them early so you have time to spread some around before you leave on your trip.

We first got the idea to print up custom business cards from the man who swam the amazon when he left a note for someone at Hootalinqua on the Yukon River. We never actually met the man who swam the amazon, but we did get a photo of his business card note.

Here’s something every traveling Canadian should be aware of.  http://www.voyage.gc.ca.  As you can probably guess by the address, this website is run by the Government of Canada.

Here’s a breakdown of a few of the resources it offers:

Registration of Canadians Abroad – We offer a registration service for all Canadians traveling or living abroad. This service is provided so that we can contact and assist you in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform you of a family emergency at home.

Travel Reports & Warnings – Travel Reports offer information on safety and security, local laws and customs, entry requirements, health conditions and other important travel issues.

Directory of Canadian Government Offices Abroad - This directory contains website and contact information for Canadian government offices abroad. These offices provide a variety of services to Canadians, including consular services.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - a detailed section answering a lot of travel related questions.  Everything from what to do during an emergency to filing your income tax and voting while abroad.