After a long hiatus from the blog, it’s time to get caught up. Dan and I were very happy to be back in Colorado, and enjoyed many evenings and outings with friends and family. We love Denver, and it felt good to be home. However, we both knew that if Dan and I were to go back to work, we’d like it to be somewhere neither of us had lived. Our time on Akupara gave us the desire to see and explore new places, and that desire would carry through to the next phase of our lives. Dan had been in talks with a potential employer about a position in the Los Angeles area. LA was not our top choice for a new city, but we were open to the idea of giving it a chance and seeing what it had to offer. Fortunately for us, the talks fell through, and another opportunity presented itself.
Westport Innovations, a company located in Vancouver, B.C., modifies light and heavy-duty engines to run on natural gas. Dan had a Skype interview with a panel of Westport engineers and supervisors, and he impressed them enough to earn an invitation to fly to Vancouver for a face-to-face interview. Dan and I both flew to Vancouver, and spent a few days exploring the area.
Fraser River Park, just a few blocks from Westport, provides miles of paths for walking or biking and has some great views of the Fraser River.
We took the hundred kilometer drive from Vancouver to Whistler along the Sea-to-Sky Highway, and the views couldn’t have been more stunning. This scenic highway is flanked on one side by the blue waters of Howe Sound, and by the granite outcroppings and cedar forests of the Coast Mountains on the other.
We came away from our trip to British Columbia feeling extremely hopeful about moving to the area. The Pacific Northwest (or Southwest if you are Canadian) has always been at the top of my must-visit list, and the thought that we might be able to live there and explore was very exciting. We waited several nerve-wracking days, and were ecstatic when Dan received an offer. We had already looked into the logistics of emigrating to Canada, and after a little more research and a lot of discussion, Dan accepted the offer. Canada, here we come!