About Us
Our story…
We’ll begin in 2007 and skip the tedious parts, the work-our-ass-off-climbing-the-social-ladder-parts that defined our 20s.
At that point, we were not terribly unhappy with our lives, but a four-month barrage of personal tragedies, including two deaths in our immediate family and the realization of our inability to have children, pushed us to our limits. It broke us down and forced us to truly consider what our lives were meant to be.
We had learned, the very hard way, the impact of the age-old cliche: life is too short.
We made our move. In 2009 we blindly transitioned from a 2,100-square-foot house full of unnecessary goods into a combined luggage space of 200 litres and began a life of endlessly fulfilling travel. We rode camels in the Sahara Desert, kayaked among icebergs in Greenland, and so much more.
Simply put, we went from scraping the bottom of life’s deepest hole to blowing the roof off the top. For almost eight years, we lived out of our suitcases across the wide world. We found our true happiness and had no intent on settling down.
But. In late 2016, while housesitting in Washington State, a rush of unexplained symptoms forced Dalene into an emergency room. We learned then that she was days, if not mere hours, away from death. A rare strain of leukemia was making quick work of her, and we were immediately on a plane back to Canada for treatment. What followed were weeks of hospitalization, months of intense treatment, and finally, molecular remission. She can now, thankfully, use the word cured.
But the damage to our vagabond life was done. Cancer grounded us, and then a couple of years later, COVID kept us there. We grew roots in Lethbridge, Alberta, and remained there for five years. And then, in the middle of 2022, we took our life in a drastic new direction again.
More below.…
Start here
These articles are a great way to get to know us even better:
Recently, we followed our hearts again and moved to the east coast of Canada.
After frequently visiting (and loving) Nova Scotia, we decided to make it our permanent home. We can’t wait to build our lives here while also unlocking this mostly unknown-to-us corner of the continent. Watch for all new content about our life and travels out east.
Our lives at a glance
Everything certainly looks different now.
We are not the nomadic duo we once were. After almost eight years of freely roaming the planet, and then five spent focused on our personal health, we find ourselves in a much more settled life, working on projects we love. As such, the velocity with which we used to post on this blog has lessened, but we are still always here and will continue to tell stories as they compel us.
Besides Hecktic Travels, we have been building other websites and businesses that we are very proud of. This is what else we have been up to:
RoadTripAlberta.com
Started just before the pandemic, this travel website about our original home province of Alberta took off quickly and continues to grow. It also spawned a second site, Road Trip Manitoba, in partnership with Winnipeg-based writer Brenna Holeman.
TravelTriviaChallenge.com
What were we to do with all this travel knowledge gained over the years? Why, create a travel trivia website, of course!
Available NOW!
New ideas erupted during the pandemic, and not all found their way. However, we stuck with the creation of Trip Chaser – an immensely fun travel-themed card game now available on the website and Amazon.
RoadTripAlberta.com
Started just before the pandemic, this travel website about our original home province of Alberta took off quickly and continues to grow. It also spawned a second site, Road Trip Manitoba, in partnership with Winnipeg-based writer Brenna Holeman.
TravelTriviaChallenge.com
What were we to do with all this travel knowledge gained over the years? Why, create a travel trivia website, of course!
Available now!
New ideas erupted during the pandemic, and not all found their way. However, we stuck with the creation of Trip Chaser – an immensely fun travel-themed card game now available on the website and Amazon.
About Dalene
Dalene has a way with words and cats. She’s a total boss, slayer of Leukemia, and The Office trivia champion. She was schooled in business and spent her twenties as a corporate climber before discovering her true passions when she gave herself the space to find them.
About Pete
Pete was an accountant in his former life and is now the guy behind the camera. His primary loves include spending long hours in the kitchen, and travelling (of course)! He relishes in his role as cat dad and is realizing now that he probably should have been a farmer.
Notables
Throughout our careers in the travel industry, we’ve been thrilled to be recognized with the following:
