About Caelen...and his family
Just as it seemed his branch of Clan Colquhoun had arrived at its end because there were no male heirs, Caelen has arrived to carry the colors. We thank him for taking on the challenge, and give a little credit to Caelen's Dad for deciding - at age 59 - to extend the lineage and start raising a family with his wife. Caelen's Mom is much younger, to clarify the obvious. If you have ever wondered if a vegan diet and vigorous exercise program are worth the effort, we have proof: an older guy who is not rich yet still has a cute wife almost young enough to be his daughter, and a healthy and very high-energy infant son who seems likely to test the limits of dad's regimen.
Back Story
Two red lines on a stick made it official, but much thought and planning preceded. The original plan for 2013 was for Caelen's Dad to ride a motorcycle from the East Coast to Alaska, and hopefully back, and write a bunch of magazine articles about the experience - as he had done years ago while driving a van to Alaska and back. Then on an early spring 2013 trip to California, future Mom and Dad began seriously discussing having a child of their own: Mom had two from a first marriage; Dad had none.
After consulting with doctors and the almighty web it became evident it would probably take several months for Caelen to even begin to prepare to launch, for lack of a better term, so the plan seemed perfect: Do the ride to Alaska, conceive Caelen in Alaska with grizzly bears roaming outside and wolves howling approval in the distance, then settle into domestic life in 2014.
Statistically speaking, there was only a small chance of there ever being a Caelen, much less there being a Caelen anytime soon. Mom and Dad are youngish and fit for their years, but they aren't teenagers, obviously. Knowing there was no rush to prepare for an addition to the family, future Mom and Dad went about planning the ride to Alaska and researching their next trip to California.
Two weeks later...and for the record, with no unnatural assist, just another testimonial to the benefits of a vegan diet and vigorous exercise...there were two red lines on a stick, and a huge change of plans. For those of you who have wondered what happened to the big motorcycle trip, now you know.
So how did Dad feel about abandoning the Alaska trip in favor of this new adventure? Fantastic! When you've traveled to 50 states and four continents, and worked as a travel writer for decades, much of the adventure has gone out of adventuring. Raising a first child, at an age you should be a grandparent, now that's a real adventure!
How did Mom feel? Fantastic! They had planned to have children when first married, nearly a decade ago, but health issues interfered. To have a child now was a dream fulfilled, if a bit delayed.
How did 14-year-old half-brother and 12-year-old half-sister feel? Stunned. To elaborate, half-brother was stunned to silence; half-sister to tears. On the bright side, happy tears it turned out. Three months later, half-brother is still pretty much just stunned.
After consulting with doctors and the almighty web it became evident it would probably take several months for Caelen to even begin to prepare to launch, for lack of a better term, so the plan seemed perfect: Do the ride to Alaska, conceive Caelen in Alaska with grizzly bears roaming outside and wolves howling approval in the distance, then settle into domestic life in 2014.
Statistically speaking, there was only a small chance of there ever being a Caelen, much less there being a Caelen anytime soon. Mom and Dad are youngish and fit for their years, but they aren't teenagers, obviously. Knowing there was no rush to prepare for an addition to the family, future Mom and Dad went about planning the ride to Alaska and researching their next trip to California.
Two weeks later...and for the record, with no unnatural assist, just another testimonial to the benefits of a vegan diet and vigorous exercise...there were two red lines on a stick, and a huge change of plans. For those of you who have wondered what happened to the big motorcycle trip, now you know.
So how did Dad feel about abandoning the Alaska trip in favor of this new adventure? Fantastic! When you've traveled to 50 states and four continents, and worked as a travel writer for decades, much of the adventure has gone out of adventuring. Raising a first child, at an age you should be a grandparent, now that's a real adventure!
How did Mom feel? Fantastic! They had planned to have children when first married, nearly a decade ago, but health issues interfered. To have a child now was a dream fulfilled, if a bit delayed.
How did 14-year-old half-brother and 12-year-old half-sister feel? Stunned. To elaborate, half-brother was stunned to silence; half-sister to tears. On the bright side, happy tears it turned out. Three months later, half-brother is still pretty much just stunned.