Hello, welcome to our website.  My name is Shelley and I am an "oil patch" kid from Northern British Columbia.  My father worked for Imperial Oil for over 25 years.  It was not uncommon to be transferred many times to other small towns where new oil wells were being discovered.  I started flying at a very young age on Imperial Oil planes that transported cargo to rigs north of where we lived.  Families of oil company employees were allowed to hop a ride to fly south to the nearest big city to do shopping and visiting.  I remember I would get terribly airsick sitting in the jump seats of the cargo plane and the solution my parents had was to feed me peppermint candies.   

My birthplace is a small town demarcated by a wooden signpost that read Mile 0 (zero).  Dawson Creek is Mile zero on the Alaska Highway and a common stop for many travelers heading to Whitehorse or beyond but it was home for my family and I.    I graduated high school in Fort St John a town near Dawson Creek where my Dad worked.  My parents and younger sister transferred to Red Deer, Alberta and I decided to stay.  I found work at a travel agency where this small town girl met the great big world.   I traveled throughout the Orient to see the Emerald Buddha, walked the streets of the Ginza, ate boiled snake in a market place, watched craftsmen make cloisonné vases in Kyoto, rode a barge down the Klong river in Bangkok.  Sat in awe of the performers at a Kabuki Theatre in Tokyo.  Rode the bullet train across Japan.  Wondered if the view of Mt Fuji was superior to that of the Rockies of Alberta.  Hunted for treasures of silk and jewels in Kowloon.  Rode a rickshaw from the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore.           

Travel began to consume me for with each taste of intrigue and awe I started planning trips that took me to the far stretches of the world.  The South Pacific caught my eye and my first stop was three weeks in Moorea, Tahiti at Club Med.  Each place I researched for my clients, as their travel agent, gave me a better understanding of those destinations.  I would plan the ultimate vacation for my clients only to see most people choose the tried and true options such as Mexico, Hawaii, Disneyland, Palm Springs and Phoenix, Arizona.  Oil was not the only "gold" in the North.  Sprawling cattle ranches and farms were also a feature of Northern BC so Australia and New Zealand was another popular choice with the featured farmers and ranchers tour of down under. 

I always found out what to buy from where you were visiting.  I flew to Mexico City to enjoy the Rosa Zone, walked through the many churches and market places.  Cruised the oriental markets of San Francisco's Chinatown for fine embroidery and linen, looking for the best bargain on their beautiful vases. 

Incorporating my personal travel desires with my client's feedback from their vacations gave me a treasure trove of do's and don'ts, must see and definitely misses, greatest buys and biggest rip offs while on vacation for any length of time.  Hawaii was a whirlwind tour hosted by the top hotels in Honolulu, Maui and Kauai.  The art of remembering what hotel chain offered the most for your clients was strenuous to keep track of in 7 short days.  I came back later for a month.  I lived in the outback in the territory of Queensland, Australia for a year.  Then I was on to London and Italy for 4 weeks.  I am quite sure there is not a square inch of Rome and its surroundings I did not cover.  Portugal was a two-week adventure where I got lost trying to decipher the road signs but also realized my Portuguese leaves a lot to be desired. 

I pursued an accounting career in the oil field as I raised my children.  This took me flying commercial flights to the far reaches of the North yet again.  I marveled at the workers on the pipeline smiling when it was so bitterly cold.   Timing was essential to moving the rigs and equipment in before it snowed and getting it out before it thawed.  Hoar frost hanging heavy on the evergreen trees is a memory I will not forget.  My job was always watching the dollars in order to make the budgets!   

On the North American continent I visited all the theme parks in Los Angeles and surrounding area.  Ate great seafood in Old Town San Diego and on the Wharf in Baltimore.  I have fished the lakes from British Columbia to Saskatchewan.  Drove the wine country of Napa, Niagara and the Okanagan, tasting as we went everything from blushes to ice wines.   Lived in Peace River during the record-breaking cold snap of 60 below and in Toronto during the World Cup when several square city blocks would be taken over by fans supporting their teams.  

I have hiked the backcountry in Utah, savored barbeque in Memphis, learned the history of Cotton as king along the Natchez Trace, hunted Big Foot in Washington with just a camera and watched an Indian tribe make mukluks in Hay River.   I have driven the Pacific Coast Highway and even rode my Harley Davidson Sportster to the Sturgis Rally more than once.  I have stood on the corner of Portage and Main in February and can attest it truly is the coldest spot in Canada.  I have been where it's the hottest, the wettest and the driest too. 

Finding the best way to pack, how long to stay and what was the best thing to do day or night so that you will enjoy the entire trip was a journey in itself. 

Like Tim, I too only have my Mother left to me. In fact she lives in our house and watches it for us when we travel.  My father passed away 10 days after my 30th Birthday.  He was the center of my universe and I was devastated.  That was 18 years ago but I still remember it clearly.  Along the way I have raised two beautiful daughters that are very independent women today but my thoughts are always of my father and how very short life is.  With each passing day I choose to live it to the fullest because it may be my last and I travel the same way.

I started the ACOUPLEONTHEGO Web site to ignite the soul of the traveler screaming to get out in everyone.

 

Shelley is a member of the Alberta Writer's Guild and the Planetary Society.