TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT!

Happy New Year! It's been over a month since I've posted, and all my fans are going crazy emailing me for updates. Ok, actually just surfer Pat. But I care about Pat, and I like to think that there are at least 3 other people not including my parents who read my blog... so I apologize. It won't happen again!

It's been a busy month. I finished up my fall paddling camp in Florida paddling mit zee Germans with a 5-day 165km haul on Dec. 15th and flew home to a strangely wintery but welcomed Oakville Ontario before xmas. Taking full advantage I cross country skied as much as I could at Hilton Falls Conservation area in Milton, but the hikers, dog walkers and warm weather quickly took their toll on their once beautifully groomed trails. I managed to stay on my skis a lot with a short trip out West for New Years, and an awesome trip to Mt. Ste. Anne, Quebec for the development team ski camp (as pictured above, spot escaped convict/mountainman Ian Mortimer to score a personally signed vankayak.com teacozy, email me from the contact page). It's depressingly springlike now in Oakville, with absolutely no snow to be found anywhere. My new skis are collecting dust in the corner, and I'm having serious winter-withdrawal symptoms. "Summer" starts in less than a month now for our sun-seeking-squad, so it would be nice if we could enjoy the winter sports during the few short weeks we've got at home. *Bummer*

The only thing I wanted for Christmas but didn't get was a pair of snowshoes; I'm thankful that I didn't get them for two reasons... 1. it isn't winter here, and 2. all the nordic skiers I've asked have informed me that snowshoeing is much less cool than rollerblading. I did get some wicked presents though... My brother Luke got me a harmonica and a headlamp, which I used night skiing with Corey in Ottawa (uh, just the lamp), My mom got a Tanzanian family two chickens and a rooster in my name, which is even more evidence that I have a cool mom. And Dad hooked me up with a rad take anywhere hammock (ham-uh k -noun: a hanging bed of canvas or rope netting, the french word is hamac, and it's pronounced the same... ahem).

South African sprint kayak superstar Shaun Rubenstein now has a site of his own... check it out, and now maybe he'll link to here too!?

More news soon...