Andy: A 71-year old retired Vancouver City firefighter. Born in Victoria B.C. He took early retirement at age 50, in 2002, and moved to his off-grid, water-access only, recreational property in Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver Island, acting as resident caretaker for his recreational community. He married Laurence in 2005 (mostly to legalize her residence in Canada, though there were admittedly some “fringe benefits”). They bought a small condo in downtown Vancouver which allows Laurence to alternate between the big city and the rainforest. As to Andy, his old, well-used body needs some new knees, and a new shoulder, good general pain management and apparently a better sense of humour. Assuming intact survival of this trip, he plans to return to Clayoquot and to tackle other less physically challenging items on his bucket list as well as getting back in the queue for total knee replacements and to get treatment for a bum shoulder.
