We promised a quick update in our last post, so here it is! It’ll be a rapid-fire post, so here we go!
May 13 – 24: La Paz
Following up from our last post, our friends Charlotte, Yuta, Julien, and Taylor came to join us and Krystina for about a week! It was a full house and we had a great time eating lots of tacos and seafood, lounging at beaches, swimming with Mobula Rays, building sand castles, cooking together, playing games, and generally having a grand old time. We feel very lucky that we were able to have so many wonderful friends on vacation together.
May 24 – June 8: Vancouver
We packed up Casa Ernesto and flew to Vancouver to start our summer in Vancouver! It was a lovely feeling to feel at home again in Canada, even though we’d never lived in Vancouver. Experiencing chlorophyll and summer blooms was a welcome change from two months in the desert of Baja California Sur! Having a more active dance community was also a very welcome change.
We stayed at a friend’s for a few days, then with Gordon & Rosemary for about a week (thank you!), then moved into our 2-month lease for the summer. After merely a week in our apartment, Wei-Wei’s parents arrived in Vancouver from a 18-day cruise from Yokohama!
June 8 – 19: road trip from Vancouver to Calgary
We rented a car and drove to Rossland in a day, spending the night with David & Hannah. The next day, we drove to Windermere and stayed for a few days of rest, relaxation, wine, barbecue dinners, and canoe excursions. This was the first time Wei-Wei’s parents met Jonny and his family, so it was a little nerve-wracking for everyone involved! It was wonderful and we had a great time getting to know each other.
Then we drove to Calgary and stayed for a few days. Wei-Wei’s parents got to see a bit of Calgary where we’ve spent so much time – they particularly enjoyed Heritage Park, and we also got to take a day trip to Lake Louise & Moraine Lake. Wei-Wei’s parents flew to Whitehorse for a short jaunt up north, and we flew back to Vancouver.
June 19 – July 9: Vancouver
After Wei-Wei’s parents left, we tried settling a little bit more into our routines. We went to hustle at Robson Square a few times, and generally indulged in Vancouver’s summertime attempts to seduce us into loving the city. We were very fortunate to borrow Gordon & Rosemary’s bikes to ride around while we lived in the city, which was very generous of them.
In the beginning of July, Wei-Wei went on mental health leave and went home to Calgary; you can read more about this in our previous post.
July 9 – August 9: Wei-Wei in Calgary
I went home and focused all my efforts on improving my mental health. It was difficult, especially being apart from Jonny, but it was also stabilising and nourishing and I feel very lucky to be supported by so many wonderful people.
I spent a lot of time sleeping, listening to birds in the backyard, getting into miniatures, getting back into knitting and crafting, thrifting in Kensington, and playing Stardew Valley.
July 9 – 27: Jonny in Vancouver
I decided to stay in Vancouver and continue to enjoy the lifestyle that was working for me. This meant lots of biking around town, dancing, going out with friends and eating food. This was a particularly stressful time at work, so I was searching for escape activities constantly. I felt very welcomed by the Vancouver Locking and Hustle communities!
July 27 – August 1: Jonny in NYC
I went to NYC for Hustle Congress for the second year in a row. I met up with several of our Montreal friends (Julien, Taylor, Stewart, Lizka), as well as many newly established Vancouver and general dance-travel peeps. It was 4 nonstop days of Hustle, and I learned lots and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
August 1 – 9: Jonny in Vancouver
On a whim, I decided to return to Vancouver for a week to attend the Vancouver Street Dance Festival (VSDF) for the first time – and boy I am glad I did! It was a highlight of the summer for me, as it was like a collision of all my different dance worlds at once. Many dancers from Calgary, including my mentor Tara were in town, several members of my crew Lockunity came from Montreal, the general international Locking community, and of course Vancouverites were all there. It was awesome!
August 9 – September 29: Calgary
Finally reunited after a month apart! We enjoyed lots of family time in Calgary together. After regrouping and settling into each others’ company again, we started discussing our future travels. Previously, we had set financial goals that corresponded to us working until December 2023. However, Jonny wasn’t enjoying his work, and Wei-Wei didn’t want to go back to work from medical leave only to quit two months later.
So we decided to quit! And we decided to finish what we started this year – we had planned to go to Montreal and New York to see all our friends and indulge in a few weeks in the city dancing up a storm.
We both gave our resignation notices at work, and both of our last day of employment was September 29. It was also the day we flew to Montreal!
So… that’s what we’ve been up to! We’re writing this from the train to New York from Montreal. We’ll tell you about what we’ve been up to in Montreal next 🙂
Thanks for reading. We love you lots!
