Cornwall - NAVCAN Surface Weather Observing Course

Early September 2017, I was back on a plane, headed East to Ottawa for a six week course at the NAVCAN training facility in Cornwall, ON  ( link:  http://navcentre.ca/ ).  

My next six weeks would be consumed with learning surface weather observing and the new computer software reporting methods of HWOS vs. AWOS (Human Weather Observation System vs. Automated Weather Observation System).  The content of the course was some minor meteorology, cloud type recognition, atmospheric phenomenon (precipitation types, auroras, St. Elmo's Fire etc.), synoptic observations, and basic climate observation recording techniques.  We also learned when and how to use physical methods to aid in determining cloud height such as a ceiling balloon, a ceiling projector combined with an alidade, and the understanding that clouds have certain characteristics based on which level of the atmosphere they are located in.  It was a lot of information to soak in, but some of it managed to stick.  During one of my weekends off, I took the train into Toronto to visit with my sister, Jay, and Ryan...even managed to catch a baseball game.

However, after the six weeks was over, and I had written my final exam Friday morning, Friday afternoon I was back at the Ottawa airport heading back to Edmonton. Work began again in Stony Plain on the Monday.  I really enjoyed my time in Cornwall.  Was very fortunate to make a good friend while I was there.

Enjoy the pictures everyone.

- Happy trails

early morning view of the St. Lawrence River

back to school!

partial view of a halo

Blue Jays game with the Jay man

the three brothers

a much better view of a halo

practicing my night time observations using a ceiling projector (aka the Bat Signal)

autumn colours

sunset on my last night in town along the river

Trans-Canada Hwy Tour

Shortly after I returned to Canada from my vacation in Portugal, I packed and loaded up all my gear into a cargo van, and headed north along the 400 with my sister as co-pilot.  Amanda joined for the first leg from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie, via Killarney for lunch, and Sudbury for gas. She then hopped a flight back to Toronto; great way to spend a Sunday!  I then forged on solo with stops in Kenora, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, and finally my new place in Spruce Grove, AB. It was a great road trip...long hauls with my trusty navigator Reggie, good music and ample time to process my thoughts after what was a wild couple of months.

After finally settling into my place in Spruce Grove and making a brief visit into the office, I was preparing to depart again (shocking).  Three days after I arrived in Spruce Grove, I was back on a plane, headed to Ottawa for a six week course in Cornwall.  The journey continued!

Loading up to head West

Killarney, ON

Henry's Fish & Chips, Killarney

co-pilot Amanda, and Reggie the navigator

Early morning departure along Lake Superior, headed to Wawa

roadtrip journal

Reggie the navigator

Canada Goose in Wawa

crossing time zones

from Eureka, NU to Selkirk, MB...the legend of MacIver

kitchen rooster from Portugal, for good luck

Portugal

Mid-August 2017 I took the opportunity to leave Canadian soil and make my first trip across the Atlantic to Europe.  The Pyear family of Ryan, Monica and Cullen generously offered to take me along for their vacation to Portugal. I spent 10 days with them in São Martinho do Porto, an hour north west of Lisboa (Lisbon).  Monica has family in Sao Martin, and as such we had a base camp for some adventurous exploration with young Cullen. We toured around the beachside village, and then explored north to Nazare, south to the castle in Obidos and the oceanside town of Peniche.  We took separate boat rides to the Berlenga Islands; I managed to get some scuba diving in off the coast, and Ryan, Monica and Cully toured around the island itself during an unfortunately rainy day...but hey, we were still on holiday, so lets chalk up a W in the Win column. 

I found the culture in Portugal to be really genuine, and warm. Despite my relative inability to communicate with the locals, I managed to pick up a few sayings to get by on my own (the “thank you’s”, “hello’s”, “please”, "beer"...the true travelling linguistic necessities, but thankfully Ryan and Monica were there to help most of the time with the specifics, such as ordering a regular drip coffee versus an espresso (which turned out to be rocket fuel, wow).

One of the really interesting spots we went to near Nazare was the coastline where the big waves are surfed.  Some of the largest in the world.  There was a statue there depicting a human body of a surfer, and the head of a deer.  This link tells the story better than I can:

Surfing Legend of Nazare

We ate some amazing octopus, sampled some authentic Port, soaked up the sun, and swam in the warm waters of the North Atlantic.  It was a truly special vacation, that I cannot express my gratitude enough to both the Pyear and Domingos families, respectfully.

After a very relaxing vacation in Portugal, it was time to get fly back to Canada.  Ryan and I had booked the same flight, and returned to Toronto after a night out in Lisbon.  A couple hours after making port in Toronto, we went directly to the Zac Brown Band concert with some friends.  An exhausting end to a great vacation, but totally worth the effort.

Pictures below, for those of you who skipped over the words just to get to the pictures!

Ryan, Monica, and Cullen at The Cliff

Nazare

Nazare

Inside the castle at Obidos

More castle photos from Obidos

Me and Cullen at the shores of Nazare

JUST Dive charter out of Peniche

post-dive

São Martinho do Porto

São Martinho do Porto

Safety first on the mean streets of Portugal

nap time on dad's broad shoulders

Train station, heading south to Lisbon

statue in Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon at night

Zac Brown Band, Toronto