The first profile features Robin Esrock, gonzo journalist and host of the tv show Word Travels.

It was a fun shoot, basically walking around Vancouver haunts like Commercial Drive, Granville Island, English Bay and of course, Stanley Park. The vibe is meant to be casual, just like you’re meeting the writer for coffee and walk around the neighborhood.

Hope you like it!

It was a bizarre dream.

Each day I had no idea what to expect. I could be filming a medieval fight high above Tibilisi, Georgia. I could be samping 25 year old Balsamic vinegar in Italy. Or I could be dodging a bull in the streets of the Azores, Portugal.

Of course, all dreams don’t last forever. And why would you want them to? That’s partly what makes them unique… they have to end.

Check out my favourite behind the scenes pics from 3 weeks on the Word Travels crew.

The start of the journey is generally the most anxious. It’s the point where the weeks ahead are completely unknown. You may have a vague idea of what adventures await…based on remarks from friends, photos in guidebooks, and your own wishes.

You go through the rituals of preparation: scanning documents, packing your bags, securing travel insurance. All the while excitement is building.

Suddenly the day of departure arrives.

You actually lock the door behind you, bid farewell to your home, and step across the threshold.

It’s tempting to flash forward. To think of reaching your destination, immersed in the experience.

You’ll find your first hostel, unpack your bags, and find yourself sitting at an unfamiliar cafe – studying your surroundings as if you opened your eyes for the first time.

But all that comes later. First, you must concentrate on the now.

The journey begins only once.

Basically, it was the safe choice.

I remember thinking, “That’s not going to be me.” I didn’t want to count myself among those people who made the easy decisions, preferring to keep things simple, rather than exciting.

I wanted to live in exotic places like…Cairo or Easter Island. I wanted to leave the mundane behind. I wanted to always have interesting stories to tell about playing cards in the Himalayas, or running from tropical pirates.

I was admittedly untraveled at the time. In the years hence I’ve managed to knock off a fair amount of countries on my list, and I’m positive I’ll continue that trend. But I’ve realized an important fact along the way: my hometown is actually pretty nice.

Perhaps I took it for granted, growing up among towering trees, muddy tidal flats, swimming lakes at our doorstep, and some downright phenomenal city planning. I had to leave to see the true qualities my hometown offered.

So it’s probably not much of a surprise that my wife and I have moved back.

Much is different from when I left (only 4 years ago) but then again, much is still the same.

There’s more apartments, more cars, and more traffic. But there’s also the same shortcut I took to get home from elementary school everyday. The same backyard fences (with new graffiti), the same smells of pine needles and glistening, humid air. The same soccer field where my team would drink beers on the sideline after the game.

The same spot of grass next to the highway I encountered a pair of deer that I somehow felt the need to touch, not realizing later that bucks are more dangerous than rabid bears.

There’s another saying that believes: you can never go home again. And they’re right. But you can move back.

But we carried on. Thursday Sean helped again with Astronomy outreach at the local elementary schools, and on Friday, he gave two talks to high school kids about the One Week Job project. He was unsure as the kids filed into the library that morning, wondering if he would be able to fill the full 60 minutes with weighty lessons and colourful anecdotes. Turns out, he could – although the first talk came across as non-committal. Sean was a bit reserved, and the kids interested, but impassive.

The second talk was much better, as Sean seemed to hit his stride (and by that time the new class was more awake). Two teachers in the back nodded their heads to every point he made, and Sean was able to convey more of the excitement of the project – which in turn engaged the kids. I foresee these talks are the first of many in Sean’s career.

Friday afternoon, lo and behold, the Mauna Kea mountain cleared enough for us to tackle the summit. We loaded into a rugged SUV, Kenyan (our local guide and fellow astronomy teacher), Tammy (our host for the week), Sean and myself – and soon we were bouncing past acres of volcanic rock, shifting rain showers, until finally views appeared that would make Zeus weep.

Snow blanketed the summit, the road, and the massive outer domes of the telescopes. A fresh flurry fell from the sky as we hopped out of the SUV and into one of the telescope buildings (I can’t remember which one). We learned how much astronomy work isn’t actually spent gazing at the “pretty pictures” of stars, galaxies and nebulia – those are for lay people.

Astromers actually study mounds of data gathered from the telescopes, so they can analyze it, process it, mix it, shake and bake it, until they learn more about the history of the universe and life’s ultimate question: why are we here? Heavy stuff.

And just like that, Sean’s week as an Astromer was over.

On Sat, we drove a rental car around the northern edge of the Big Island, passing lush rainforest, and waterfalls that seemingly spout from the rock before dashing into the ocean. By mid-afternoon, we’d arrived in Kona – the hot spot for tourists and black sand beaches.

We sat on the sand and watched the sunset melt into the waves, a full 8 minutes after the light had actually left the sun. (Random fact from this week: the rays of sun that you see with your eyes take approximately 8 minutes to travel through space and hit the Earth).

Here’s all the photos from that week – near the end you can see some at the Mauna Kea observatory
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39533439@N00/sets/72157603850312912/

This past week we’ve spent at the Volcanoes National Park – Sean was a Ranger for the week. I’ll try to send an update on that in the next few days. In the meantime, check out the Park Ranger photos here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/39533439@N00/sets/72157603892762194/

Until next time…