The year that followed unfolded more quietly than the ones before it. Travel still happened, but it no longer defined every month or every decision. The rest of 2015 and most of 2016 were spent in Vancouver, working, settling into routines, and building something closer to a normal life. Fewer photographs came from this period, not because less was happening, but because the moments became smaller, steadier, and more personal.
Life in Vancouver revolved around work, friendships, and familiar rhythms. Days filled with shifts, late dinners, long conversations, and walks home through the city. Summer brought long evenings, time spent near the water, and the comfort of knowing where I belonged. Winter returned with rain and occasional snow, softening the city and slowing everything down again. Hockey games punctuated the seasons, nights at Rogers Arena blending into routines that felt increasingly familiar.
Trips still surfaced, though more selectively. Vancouver Island continued to pull me back, with visits spread across January and August. Tofino and Ucluelet offered familiar quiet, their pace unchanged by the months in between. Time along the Wild Pacific Trail stood out in particular, waves crashing below the path and the coastline stretching endlessly ahead. Cathedral Grove offered a different kind of stillness, ancient trees standing heavy with time. Victoria visits often ended at Fisherman’s Wharf, where seals and sea otters drifted lazily through the harbour, adding moments of lightness to otherwise reflective trips.
Ryan came to visit during this period, and his time in Vancouver was spent much the same way I had learned to experience the city. Days unfolded casually, moving between neighbourhoods, sharing meals, walking familiar routes, and letting the city speak for itself rather than trying to chase highlights. The visit served as a reminder of how much Vancouver had shifted from a destination into a place I simply lived.
One evening in Vancouver, filming for Supernatural was underway nearby. Seeing a familiar street transformed by lights, trucks, and crew felt surreal, especially spotting Jensen Ackles amid the controlled chaos. Moments like that felt distinctly Vancouver, the city quietly doubling as somewhere else while daily life carried on around it.
Midway through the year, a short trip back to Australia in June offered a brief but meaningful reset. Returning, even temporarily, brought a different perspective. The familiarity of home contrasted sharply with the life I had built in Canada, reinforcing how rooted I had become elsewhere.
Summer eased toward its end and September approached, bringing a familiar restlessness. Routines remained solid, but the pull to travel again grew quietly stronger. British Columbia still felt unfinished, and this time the road pointed east. Mountains, colder air, and wide interior landscapes waited beyond the coast, and it felt time to explore this part of western Canada more deeply.
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