Hello, or welcome more formally, (if you happen to be an English teacher). This is the eventful blog of; ‘The Experiences of Blake’. Currently, I am residing in Victoria, BC, Canada. This is my fourth year attending Brookes Westshore. Although I thoroughly enjoy reading, I often find it difficult to get into a series that I have never read before. I tend to have a cycle of books that I read through. I have, however gotten into a new book called ‘Stick and Rudder’ ; a book about the basics of light aircraft. Some of my interests include aviation, downhill skiing, hiking, and Canada as a whole. In terms of my writing, I wrote a handful of short stories over the last two to three years; one of which was entered into a short story competition. I have spent a lot of time in Northern Vancouver Island, as well as Northern British Columbia, particularly in Smithers. Why Smithers? It just so happens that my Dad’s side began there on Malkow Lookout, a popular hiking location for residents of the town; a history lesson if you will. Their farm began on a sizeable piece of land overlooking Hudson Bay Mountain; the local ski hill.
My time spent in Northern Vancouver Island is at Horne Lake during the summer months, as well as Mount Washington during the winter months. Horne Lake is primarily a summer location, with swimming, watersports, and caving. Unfortunately, unpleasant weather just doesn’t make it enjoyable in the winter. Mount Washington is the opposite, as you would expect, being a winter destination for the high averages of snowfall. I downhill ski on the mountain from early December to April, choke on $20 price points for a burger, and enjoy my favourite season. Weather on the mountain can be unpredictable, and changes can happen in a matter of minutes from sun to snow, as with most mountainous regions. Something that really sets this mountain apart from other interior ski hills is the fact that you can see the ocean from the peak, being that it is only about 30 kilometers from the ocean.
My love for aviation has driven me to pursue my career path as a pilot, and I am currently attending the Royal Canadian Air Cadets to help prepare through ground school and drill. On top of my in-person ground school, I have also been doing online ground school and flight simulators to further my understanding of aviation for my Private Pilot’s License (PPL). During the summer of last year, I went on a fly-over of the Bulkley Valley and Babine Mountains region in a Cessna 172 amphibian with Alpine Lakes Air. This flight familiarized me with the basic controls of this aircraft. So you may be asking; what inspired me? If I rewind to about 3 1/2 years ago, on a flight from YVR (Vancouver) to YYD (Smithers), when everyone was disembarking the aircraft, I was so happy to be flying. As I was nearing the front of the aircraft one of the pilots said “Wow you seem to really love flying! Would you like to sit in the cockpit?” My eyes lit up like never before. As I was admiring everything, the pilot continued with “If you want to be a pilot, Air Cadets is your gateway to success.” The way he spoke so highly of the program inspired me start pursuing my dream in aviation. Props to Air Canada Express for the moment!
What about reading and writing? What does this have to do with that? You wrote a big paragraph though!