Ruth, enjoying the view of the lake at Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Cancun on December 17th!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Ten things you may not know about Kevin and Ruth

We've been writing this blog for over five years now, and we've shared a lot of our personal day to day stories. But there are some things that you probably don't know. Some of them are important to who we are and how we came to be at this stage in our lives. Some of them are pretty random, and not important at all!

Kevin used to work in a bank. Do you remember when all bank tellers were women? It wasn't that long ago! Kevin was the very first male bank teller hired by Bank of Montreal in Ottawa. He worked at their main branch downtown for about six months back in 1980. Being the only male, and working with a group of much older women simply didn't work out. Had he stayed there he would probably now be a Vice President working in Toronto.

Ruth used to be a very fussy eater. When we first met, she wouldn't even eat fish! Now, she only doesn't eat mushrooms, raisins, bananas, pears, walnuts, corned beef. She still dislikes raw tomatoes and peanut butter, but at least she's trying!

We are not retired. People assume that because we do all this traveling that we must be retired, or independently wealthy or something. We are neither. We are only 50 years old, so we're too young to be called "retired". We're simply not working right now. We aren't wealthy either, and we'll probably go back to work next summer. At least for five or six months. But then we'll travel again!

Ruth won an award for speaking French. But that was back in high school. But, as the saying goes, if you don't use it, you lose it! Now, her Spanish is much better than her French.

We weren't always frugal. Back in 1993, we went to Antigua for a week for our 10th anniversary. We went to a Sandals resort, and our week away cost almost $5,000. We would never do that now, even if money were no object!

Ruth and Kevin dancing up a storm at the Sandals toga party!

We jumped out of a perfectly good airplane! Back in 1987 when our daughter was only a year old. Kevin's mother was not impressed that we were going to do this, and we left Lindsey with her. I'm sure she had visions of having to raise our orphaned daughter!

Kevin and Ruth going skydiving.


We met at a First Choice Haircutters. Most of you know that Ruth used to be a licensed hairstylist. But you may not know that Kevin went for a haircut, and Ruth was the haircutter. Kevin hasn't paid for a haircut since! 

Ruth was in the Katimavik program. Back in 1979-1980. The Canadian government used to run a volunteer program called Katimavik. It was only for young people aged 17-21. They sent you to three different provinces over a nine month period and you did volunteer work. They paid for your room and board, gave you $1 a day spending money, and $1,000 tax free if you completed the nine month program. (Interestingly, our daughter Lindsey did the same program in 2005-2006 and that's where she met her husband Justin!)

Kevin doesn't like swimming. Or more accurately, he doesn't like getting into water that is less than body temperature! He is quite happy sitting beside any body of water and staring at it with beer in hand!

Ruth was hit in the face with a baseball. At a Blue Jays game back in 1999. We were sat in the front row along the third base line when Albert Bell of the Chicago White Sox was taking batting practice. He cracked a foul ball that took one bounce and hit Ruth smack in the face. We went to the medical room at Skydome for her, and after being  assessed Ruth insisted on staying to watch the game. They came down at the halfway point to check up on her, and we went to the hospital for stitches and x-rays after the game. The General Manager of the Blue Jays called us at home a couple of nights later and offered us tickets to a future game. He said he would put us behind the backstop!

Yes, we still have the ball!

36 comments:

  1. What a fun post. That eye sure looks sore. Makes mine hurt just to see it. Love the toga dancing.

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    1. The eye was sore for a while. Kevin didn't want to be seen with me for a couple of weeks because people gave him the eye!

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  2. You can really work a toga ... I love this entry. Just told my daughter yesterday that I'd love to meet you. You came up in a discussion about Mexico and she said, "they should have a blog". I said they do and that's how I know about their travel antics without having ever met them. My husband and I met Lindsey in the Dominican and knew Justin when he was just a youngun :-)

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    1. What a small world! Do you live in Nova Scotia then?

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    2. Yes, we live in Wolfville. I see your precious grandbaby, Cameron every few months. Your daughter is really a beautiful girl inside and out.

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    3. Give him a big hug for us when you see him next. Thank you also for you kind words on our daughter, we think she is something special too!

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  3. Didn't about you two sky diving,Iv'e jumped out of few helicopters, and I am going to do at least one jump like George Bush senior did. from an airplane.Donna is like Kevin, water had to be bathtub warm or a sauna before she gets in, that's okay I can keep you company swimming, I will go in as long as it is 75 or above.You guys will live a long time, your dancers. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

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    1. Yep, we sure had fun the day we went skydiving. Sure hope you get to do your jump, we want to see the pictures when you do!

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  4. Fun post! Thanks for sharing. :)

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  5. What a cute blog. I remember when Albert Bell played for my Cleveland Indians. Seems like a life-time ago.

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  6. Great post of little known "facts". All very interesting. It will be fun seeing where you go "back to work" and what you do.

    I think lots more folks in this country might go out from the main stream if they had health care guaranteed. But when it costs so much to get covered on your own, it takes a big chunk out of the monies to travel even frugally.

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    1. We also wonder where we will be working and what we will be doing next summer! Glad you enjoyed the post.

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  7. Well that was fun. Maybe except for the looks of that eye. Yikes.
    I got hit in the head with a baseball once. Oh wait, maybe that explains a few things? Hm. Wasn't at a Jays game though. I was pitching. Failed to catch. I don't actually *remember* throwing the ball?
    Know that term "goose egg"?
    Right.
    I'm with you on the bathtub water. I did the most "swimming" in my life when we lived in Puerto Rico. Man that water was warm! I put swimming in quotation marks, since there's no other word for that awkward looking thing that I do in the water. Trying not to drown, mostly.
    I think I'd pass on the Toga party and jumping out of a perfectly good plane though.
    I just wish I could get my wife to cut my hair.

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    1. I too, blame most of my problems on being hit in the head/face with the ball, I was normal up until then!

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  8. Everyone who follows your blog needs to meet you in person because YOU ARE FUN! Neat post today and thanks for sharing!!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Connie and Barry, glad you enjoyed the post.

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  9. Big disappointment. I was all set to make Ruth my famous gluten-free raisin, banana, pear, nut bread.

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  10. BTW, the bread up above is great with peanut butter!

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    1. Yummy, it would the best with peanut butter on it, can't wait, lol!

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  11. Fun post; I'm a pretty fussy eater as well, but I do like raw tomatoes ... cooked ones ... not so much. And I'm with you Kevin about water temperature ... my favorite swimming experience was back in Cancun on a day when the water temp was higher than the air temp :-))

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    1. That is one of the few places that Kevin did get in the water. The water was a great temperature and it was hot outside the perfect weather for him to get in and enjoy.

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    1. Yep, but there are already too many travel books out there!

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  13. I thought its a makeup for Halloween! ;)

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  14. And all this time we thought we knew you well.......

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  15. Yikes on the baseball smack! Did you not get knocked out of your sleep from the earthquake. I did!

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  16. Love the toga's..and the big smiles on your faces, what party animals....Yep Kevin, Sam is right...I'll keep you company looking at the water while he and Ruth take a dip. Especially after a marine biology course I took, too many scary things in that ocean for me. Loved the post.

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    1. We still remember that night in Antiqua. We sure did have fun.

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  17. Neat post! Look forward to meeting you in Mexico ..... sometime! At least we get to hit the road Tuesday!

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    1. Hope that we can get a chance to meet up as well. Safe travels!

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