Tuesday 12 September 2017

Real Man Travels



Sitting around a campfire telling stories is where the first notions of broadcasting our manly stories on the interwebs first occurred. My cheeks hurt as I laughed at another story, I blurted out "We should write a book! Or something like that". I tried to sell the guys on the idea. I knew that we each had our own unique way of telling a story and I knew that people would connect with all of us. The idea was heard but no motion was passed and the night carried on, but the idea never left my head.

In September of 2012 I decided to get the idea out of my head and turn it into something I could build on. I dreamt  up the name Real Man Travels, and from there I decided to write and share stories about my past travels and life experiences.

In June 2013, after a few months of proving the idea of a blog not to be a crazy one, I caught a bit of success and it snowballed into Scott, Ed and Sam deciding to join in on the adventure. After we joined forces we became unstoppable and today on September 12, 2017 we will celebrate our 5 year Manniversary.

I'm not sure what's in our future but I am sure that it will be fun.  Cheers to the next 5 years.

Thanks to everyone for following along with our 150 of our favourite Canadian things.

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Sunday 27 August 2017

Maple Taffy and Cheese

Maple taffy on snow instantly reminds me of school trips to the sugar bush, sweet sticky maple goodness wrapped on a stick was our reward for braving the cold days learning about maple syrup production. 

photo credit 
Since my childhood I had always thought that it could not get any better than maple taffy by itself. Those thoughts changed one night at a party in Toronto, it was there that I was offered Canadian cheese wrapped in maple taffy. The sound of it intrigued my curiosity and the salty sweet taste life changing and it left me wanting more. 

Use the recipe below to make your own maple taffy and pick your favourite cheese and serve it up to yourself or at a party. You will not regret it.



photo from foodnetwork.ca


What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Saturday 26 August 2017

Beattie's Vodka



The Beattie Family runs their vodka distillery on the same land they have been farming for over 100 years in Alliston, Ontario. Known as Ontario's first farm crafted potato vodka, Beattie's Vodka is unlike any other vodka that I have ever tried, it is silky on the tongue, finishes smoothly and tastes absolutely amazing by itself or with a little splash of cranberry juice.

Why potatoes? The potatoes offer a traditional source of starch which helps to start crafting a classic vodka. Used for centuries in the production of spirits throughout Europe, potatoes produce a most excellent vodka yet requires unique attention to the crafting process. Unlike grain based starch sources, the potato does not release its starches and sugars easily. The results speak for themselves, Beattie's vodka crafting techniques produce one of the most unique vodkas you will ever have tasted.

Fun Fact: For every bottle of Beattie's Vodka sold a portion of sales goes back in to the Beattie's hometown community of Alliston. They have handpicked a few of their favourite local charities and have no plans to ever stop giving back. 

150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Friday 25 August 2017

Canadian Money



100 Dollar BillThe 100-dollar note was put into circulation through major banks in November 2011, made of a durable polymer instead of the traditional paper notes. The notes are dominantly brown in colour; the front design on the note features former prime minister Sir Robert Borden and the design on the back depicts the discovery of insulin.

50 Dollar Bill  - The 50-dollar note is predominantly red in colour and is printed on polymer. The front features a portrait of former Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and the back depicts a research icebreaker from the Canadian Coast Guard,  Amundsen.

20 Dollar Bill The 20-dollar bank is predominantly green in colour and is prrinted on polymer. The front features Queen Elizabeth II and the Vimy Ridge memorial is displayed on the back. 

10 Dollar Bill -The current 2017 ten-dollar note is to commemorate 150 years of our confederacy dominantly purple in colour. The Front of the note features Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir George-Étienne Cartier, Agnes Macphail and James Gladstone –  four parliamentarians that played significant roles in Canada’s history. The back of the note tells the story of Canada’s landscapes with images from coast to coast.

5 Dollar Bill - The five-Canadian dollar note, is predominantly blue.The bill features a portrait of Canada's seventh prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier on the front; the back features an astronaut working with Dextre attached to the Canadarm2.


photo from vancitybuzz.com
ToonieThe Canadian two-dollar coin, commonly called the toonie, is the most valuable of the Canadian coins. The toonie is a bimetallic coin which on the reverse side bears an image of a polar bear. The flip side, like all other current Canadian circulation coins, has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

Loonie - The Canadian one dollar coin, commonly called the loonie, is a gold-coloured one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a bird which is common and well known in Canada

Quarter - Short for quarter dollar this coin usually features a Caribou on it's face.

Dime - In Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents. The front displays a representation of the Bluenose, a famous Canadian schooner

NickelThe Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickelhad been introduced in 1858 as a small, thin sterling silver coin, that was colloquially known as a "fish scale," not a nickel. Since 1937 the nickel has proudly showcased a beaver sitting on a rock.


photo from mtlblog.com
Fun Fact: To Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, The 2017 Toonie's design is titled 'Dance of the Spirits', and shows a pair of paddlers dwarfed by a night sky alive with the ever-shifting movement of the Aurora Borealis. Thanks to the addition of luminescent material in the ink covering the Aurora, the coin glows in the dark.

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Thursday 24 August 2017

Canadian Fishing TV Shows


I cannot recall anything more relaxing than waking up at a respectable time on Saturday morning grabbing a coffee and sitting down to watch a couple hours of fishing shows in the television. I mean if you can't get out on the water you might as well watch someone else enjoying it

Canadian Sportfishing - Airing for over 3 decades with Fishing Technician host Italo Labignan, Canadian Sportfishing continues to set the standard with our unique show format that educates and entertains viewers both young and old alike.

Bob Izumi's Real Fishing show -  Having your father initiate the first ever Canadian bass tournament is a good way to get introduced into fishing at a young age. That's what happened to Bob Izumi and  in 1983 at a family picnic, a family member brought up the possibility of him starting a fishing television show. The thought of a television show intrigued him. He filmed a pilot episode, and the rest is history

Fish'n Canada - Angelo Viola and Pete Bowman host one of Canada's longest-running fishing shows, Fish'n Canada travels from coast to coast in search of trophy fishing opportunities.

Going Fishing - The reason for the success of Darryl Chororonzey's popular Going Fishing Television Series? The topics he covered each week on Going Fishing - where to go, what to catch, how to catch them - are the topics that interest our viewers. We even instruct our viewers on how to cook a few.

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Wednesday 23 August 2017

Grundy Lake Provincial Park




Grundy Lake Provincial Park was established in 1959 to provide some of the best outdoor recreation activities in the popular Georgian Bay tourist area. The park designation has protected the natural values of glacial terrain, dotted with innumerable lakes, a wicked jumping rock, ponds and bogs while retaining its tranquility and solitude. In the early days motorboats were allowed along the waterways, but park visitors now enjoy the quiet natural beauty of the seven lakes within the park boundaries which are off-limits to motorboats.

Grundy Lake is also the birthplace of our our annual "Man of the Year" competition, 5 years of backcountry camping at the park 5 totally different experiences making for some amazing stories. 




What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Tuesday 22 August 2017

Canada, the Land of Infinite Winter


It has happened to us all, you travel somewhere warm and sunny and someone local asks you where you are from. You proudly tell them you're Canadian.  "Canada!? That must be cold! Do you have snow there?" They ask as they start to shiver, like the word Canada chills them to their core and makes their body temperature drop a degree or two. You try to explain that Canada does see it's fair share of snow but that it is not a land of perpetual winter, despite our horrific ice storms and the odd September snowstorm we do have a summer and it does get hot. Your explanation will not change their mind, but that won't stop you from explaining it to the next person that asks where you are from.


What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Monday 21 August 2017

Letterkenny

Promo photo for Letterkenny
It doesn’t get more Canadian than this: six of the actors who co-star in CraveTV’s Canadian comedy Letterkenny met star and creator Jared Keeso in a beer hockey leagueThe show embellishes Canadian small town life in the town of Letterkenny, dividing the town into 4 different social groups. The Hicks, Skids, Hockey Players and Christians. Put those four groups together and you have  a TV show for Canadians that like to laugh at themselves.


photo from thestar.com

The Hicks have little patience for people who aren't like them, especially the Skids an Hockey players. They generally like to keep to themselves. 

The Hockey Players No one can chirp like a hockey player. They speak exclusively in hockey player slang and are constantly taking the piss out of anyone who crosses their path.


Completely inspired but entirely unmotivated, The Skids are smart but spend their time doing meth and dancing outside the local convenience store. 


There are also The Christians but nobody pays them much mind.


What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

Sunday 20 August 2017

Tofino, British Columbia

Tofino, British Columbia
By martin bell - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60549990

A popular resort town in the summer, Tofino is Vancouver Island's favorite outdoorsy retreat. It's not surprising that surf fans, families and nature seeking Vancouverites keep coming: packed with activities and blessed with marvelous local beaches, it sits on Clayoquot Sound, where forested mounds rise from roiling, breathtaking waves

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here



Saturday 19 August 2017

The California Roll

When Hidekazu Tojo emigrated from Japan to Vancouver in 1971, sushi was not on the menu. Most people didn't eat raw fish and thought seaweed belonged in the ocean. In 1974, determined to make sushi appealing to the locals, the chef opted for more palatable fillers, such as cooked crabmeat and avocado. To conceal the offending dried seaweed, he rolled the sushi so the rice was on the outside. Calling it the Inside-Out Roll.
California Rolls
By Alessandro Scotti - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5764637

Tojo's creation became a great success and was eventually dubbed the "California roll." Tojo is still working as a chef and owns his own restaurant, Tojo's, in downtown Vancouver.
Hidekazu Tojo at his restaurant in Vancouver
photo from VancouverSun.com

What are 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here