While on our journey across Canada and down to Mexico I realised that my partner and I are in some ways like these flowers in the sand. Even though the world around us seems to be constantly shifting and at times inhospitable, if we could just find a nice, quiet place to settle down for awhile, where we could let our roots take hold, then we too might thrive and blossom in the sun. And that is why we find ourselves still drifting...

This photo was taken on the rugged stretch of the northern California coast within Redwood National Park. 

So what prompted my wife and I to get rid of all our stuff, sell our condo, quit our jobs, and decide to leave our friends and family in Toronto anyway?

Of course we wanted to escape the cold Canadian winters. Yes, we wanted to learn Spanish. But more importantly, we wanted to have a healthier lifestyle.

Despite all of its conveniences and amenities, life in the big city wasn't giving us what we needed. We were working our asses off and still drowning in debt. We were under constant stress from job pressures and environmental stresses. Deadlines, smog, road-rage... We felt like every day that went by was taking a year off our lives. Our health was suffering.

We knew the grass was greener on the other side, we just had to come up with a plan to escape. One of the keys to pulling it off was our firm commitment to each other. We did it because we loved each other too much not to do it. And once we announced to everyone that we were going for it, we didn't look back.

We're still not sure where we're going and we don't know when we'll get there, because we haven't figured everything out yet. Hell, we're just winging it as we go. But the goal is clear and attainable, though it may seem kind of vague: we're looking for a better life.

The above photo was taken at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, at the highest point in the Canadian prairies.