June 19, 2025 • 31 mins
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Clem Miller recounts his month-long journey through Eastern Canada, sharing observations about icebergs, puffins, and whales along with insights into Canadian economics and culture with relevance for investors. His adventures to Newfoundland and Labrador reveal how travel experiences can broaden investment perspective and inform financial decision-making.
• Planning for retirement should include time and energy for adventure, not just financial security
• Eastern Canada offers unique opportunities to see icebergs, puffins, and whales during May-June
• Vikings established North America's first European settlement in Newfoundland about 1021, or over a 1000 years ago.
• Canada shows increasing economic nationalism with emphasis on Canadian ownership
• Canadian resources (minerals, energy, lumber) present significant investment opportunities
• Well-established Canadian legal system offers strong protections for investors
• Travel experiences provide context and perspective that can improve investment decisions
• Historical connections between Canada and Europe may lead to increased economic coordination
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with friends and colleagues who might benefit from a broader investment perspective. Email or text us with questions or comments about how travel has informed your investment thinking.
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Disclaimer - These podcasts are not intended as investment advice. Individuals please consult your own investment, tax and legal advisors. They provide these insights for educational purposes only.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hello everyone, I'm Steve Davenport.
I'm talking to you today onSkeptic's Guide to Investing and
I'm here with Clem Miller andClem just got back from almost a
month trip to Canada where hewas driving all the way to the
easternmost point of NorthAmerica and checking out where
(00:25):
the Vikings landed and checkingout puffins and checking out
whales.
But I think that as we gothrough the show and we try to
look for guests and we try tolook for experiences, that will
help listeners.
It would be great if we couldtransmit a little bit of
knowledge about some of thesecountries we visit, so that you
(00:47):
could learn more about thosecountries and ultimately, you
might become a better investor,because you'll consider
investing in some of thesecountries and investing in some
of the values or some of thethings that they do well,
because ultimately, we don'tknow where everybody's going to
find the best company and whatwe're trying to do is give you a
(01:08):
broader perspective so thatyour investment IQ will be
improved.
So, clem, if we look at yourtrip as a journey of a lifetime
you've been talking about doingit for a long time I love the
fact that you did it, and youdid it on your own and you just
kind of said I want to do thisand I'm going to go.
I love that attitude onebecause I think that most people
(01:32):
would say I really want to go,but I'm going to stay home.
That's the 80% and the 20% ofyou that actually go do it.
So what is it about Canada andwhat is it about this trip that
has been on your mind for solong and what you know?
What is it that pushed you overthe edge?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, you know that's interesting and interesting
question, steve, and I would goback to the fact and this, I
think, is relevant for ouraudience in a very profound
sense, I think and that is, ifyou are interested in travel,
(02:17):
you're interested in adventure.
Then you know, make plans inyour life that would allow you
to have the time and the energyand the money to do that, and so
that means planning forretirement, a retirement that
would allow you to do that, andplanning for it.
You know, planning even for aretirement that's relatively
(02:39):
early, so that you still havethe energy to do these things.
Or plan your career so that youknow you're not a workaholic,
right, and you have time to beable to do some of these things
(03:01):
to our audience in terms ofmaking their decisions about
their careers and lives, to beable to make time for the things
that they want to do, whetherit's travel, slash, adventure or
some other thing that ouraudience might want to do.
So I would start off by sayingthat Now, with respect to this
(03:23):
particular trip, you know I liketaking trips.
Since retiring, I've been onseveral cross-country US trips.
I've been to France for a month, for five weeks, I've been to
Japan for a month, and then nowthis trip up north into Canada,
(03:44):
and then now this trip up northinto Canada.
The reason I chose easternCanada was because I wanted to
see, I wanted to go north.
I like the idea of going northin the summertime and
experiencing, you know, sort ofdifferent, cooler climates.
So that's number one.
Number two, uh, in late May andearly June, when you go up to
(04:08):
uh, to Newfoundland and Labrador, which is where I went to uh,
you have uh the ability to uhexperience icebergs, uh and
puffins, which are cute littlebirds that kind of resemble
penguins but with bright noses,bright beaks, and also whales,
(04:35):
and so I saw all those things,as well as moose and caribou I
saw them as well.
And also Newfoundland andLabrador have interesting
histories and culture.
So, for example, everybody talksabout Christopher Columbus
discovering America.
Well, even before ChristopherColumbus, you had the Vikings
(04:55):
coming over to northernNewfoundland and, of course,
meeting up with the NativeAmericans who were there already
.
Of course they were therealready, but the Vikings were
the first Europeans that we knowof who actually came to North
America.
They had a colony of some 60 to100 people that they maintained
(05:18):
for about 30 years.
I found that kind ofinteresting.
But, uh, I also went to a unescoworld heritage site that was a
basque whaling station and thebasque would come and uh and cut
up their whales on the shoreand take oil and send it back to
europe and they, they created a, they created a little
community there that was so, uh,basque in nature that they use
(05:44):
the same kinds of red, you know,red curved ceiling tiles that
you'll see in Spain and France,and there's a whole, there's a
whole slew of those things, youknow, still on the beaches there
.
This is in red Bay, labrador,about 51st parallel.
So, yeah, so it was a lot ofdriving and I saw a lot of
(06:06):
things, got lots of greatpictures and, and you know, it
was, you know, obviouslyprimarily a, you know, a travel
adventure trip.
But you know, you pick up someinteresting things as you go
along and you know, perhaps Ican share some of those, some of
those interesting economic andbusiness and political
(06:29):
implications.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting that you
talk about traveling with suchreverence and I know you did a
lot of travel for your job andthat's what I've heard from
people is, if you get a chancefor work to go to five places
and you add a day on either end,you know what I mean.
It's a great way for you to say, hey, a company is paying for
(06:53):
me to be here.
I'm going to do what I have tofor my company, but I'm also
going to learn what I can thinkabout and desire out of my life
after I finish work.
So I think it's about youshould be constantly have your
head up and looking at thingsand saying, gee, what about this
, what about this?
And I think that's part of howwe grow as a culture and how we
(07:16):
grow as individuals is to lookfor opportunities and try to
take them.
I think the most importantthing for people is patience and
planning.
If you want these things tohappen, you need to start early,
you need to do what you can andyou can also make choices.
You know you can stay in hostels.
(07:38):
You can stay in.
You know you can travel inplaces that are just
economically a lot more.
Your dollar is going to go alot further.
You're helping that country,You're helping tourism.
Yeah, I think there's a lot ofgood reasons for travel and I
believe that the more we travel,the better we become as
(07:58):
citizens of the global economy.
So can you give us, like youritinerary or just a high level
of, say, your top three spotsand like where you traveled from
and to and you know?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
in Canada on this trip.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, cause we were up in Seattle and one time we
took a trip, a ferry, over toBainbridge, yeah, and it's this
little Island in the middle ofthe bay.
Yeah, I've been there and theferry cost like 350 each way and
, you know, to do a tour of thebay cost 30 dollars.
And so, being the, the Yankee,um consciously frugal individual
(08:38):
, I said let's take the ferryand have lunch in Bainbridge and
come back, yeah, and it was thebest 350 we ever spent.
And I mean, tell me about whatthrilled you or what made you
happiest in this.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
So I planned this trip purposefully for late May,
early June, and the reason forthat is because you have a very
short period of time in thatwindow of opportunity to see
icebergs that have come downfrom Greenland, to see puffins
(09:15):
who come to breed and give birth, lay their eggs in, you know,
you know, along the, along therocks, along the coasts, and
also to see, uh, whales that arecoming up.
So the whales are, you know,we're just beginning to arrive,
and the icebergs, uh, you know,I saw sort of in the middle of
(09:39):
their peak, um, so saw lots andlots and lots of icebergs on
this trip.
So I wanted to see all thosethings and there's really only a
narrow period in which to do it.
And also this was a period when, when Newfoundland and Labrador
were coming out of their winterseason, at least it felt still
(10:02):
felt like winter from myperspective, coming from
Baltimore, maryland, but theynever get like Baltimore-type
weather up there.
I think the warmest they get islike perhaps in the 60s or
maybe early low 70s, but when Iwas there it was mostly in the
50s, going down into the 40s atnight, and the icebergs
(10:25):
certainly send a chill uh overthe land.
So those are the things Ireally wanted to see.
I wanted to experience, uh, youknow, the icebergs, the puffins
, the whales, and got to see alot of moose and also one lone
caribou.
So so, yeah, so a lot of thingsto see and also, also, um, you
(10:48):
know, culture.
Now, I knew newfoundland had astrong irish affinity.
There's a lot of irish settledin newfoundland and the uh and
newfoundland, uh, you know,still has the people there still
speak with an Irish accent.
They call it the Newfie accent,but they still speak with an
(11:10):
Irish accent.
Brogue, yeah, kind of a yeahbrogue, you could say.
But there's also Frenchinfluences there and English
influences.
Interestingly enough, there's aplace called Cupid's
C-U-P-I-D-S which in the US,nobody knows about.
(11:32):
Do you know about it?
No, I don't.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Is that where people go to get?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
married Cupid's, was the first English colony, first
permanent English colonysettlement in Canada.
So it was in 1610, which is oneyear after Jamestown and 10
years before Plymouth Rock,which is one year after
(12:00):
Jamestown and 10 years beforePlymouth Rock.
So, yeah, so they were inNewfoundland trying to settle
Newfoundland.
And even before that Englishcolony, in 1610, the French were
all over Newfoundland and theywere not that they were settling
, really colonizing, but theyhad, you know, they, they use
the French shores aroundNewfoundland.
(12:21):
In fact they were actuallycalled the French shore and they
.
There was a political agreement, a treaty that allowed them to,
to, to use the shores forfishing, for drying their fish,
repairing nets and that kind ofthing, Even after the
Newfoundland became an Englishcolony.
Well, so, so yeah, Newfoundlandhas a very interesting history.
(12:43):
Of course it has NativeAmerican influences as well.
You know, still small NativeAmerican population in
Newfoundland.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I heard you became a new fee officially yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Well, they have this honorary, uh, new fee ceremony
called the screeching, where youhave to, uh, you have to chug,
uh, well, not chug, but you haveto take a shot of their, uh,
their screech rum, which is aextremely powerful stuff but
tasted very good it.
It was very sweet actually.
Did you screech?
No, didn't screech.
(13:21):
All right, didn't screech.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Do you have that on your passport, or is there a
special little star that you get?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
No, but anyway, so very interesting and, um, you
know, just, you know a fewthings that you know on the more
serious kind of side that Iobserved.
So, for one thing, when clearlythe Canadian government is
concerned about Trump, uh, tosome extent the people are
(13:57):
people aren't willing to reallytalk too much about politics.
I didn't invite it, I didn'tlike go up to people and talk to
them about politics, but I onlyhad a couple of people approach
me and ask me for my opinion.
But it was interesting that atthe border, the border guard on
the Canadian side going in askedme do you have any guns in the
(14:22):
car?
Which you know it's pretty, Ithink, standard question, right,
do you have any guns in the car?
Then they asked do you have anyguns at home?
And I thought that wasinteresting because I think what
they were trying to uh get outof me was you know, are you, um,
are you a Trumper who feelsthat Canada should be part of
(14:45):
the U?
S and uh, and so whether I havea gun at home or not may
indicate to them that uh, youknow that I come from a
particular political uhperspective, so that's how I
guessed it.
But you know, then again, inCanada people do have rifles,
right, hunting rifles.
(15:05):
So it's not like hunting isn'tunknown to Canadians, right?
Anyway, so that was one thing Iobserved.
As I mentioned, the peoplearen't, you know don't want to
talk too much about politics Ialso observed that the roads up
(15:27):
there are in horrible shapecompared to US roads and you
know, obviously they have toughwinters, tougher winters than we
do in the US.
But I mean, these roads didn'tlook like they had been repaired
for multiple seasons.
So I have to believe that thathas something to do with, you
(15:53):
know, limited fiscal resources.
So I haven't looked into the,into all the details of that,
but you know, it does take moneyto repair roads and these roads
, you know, were often indisrepair and there were many
places where there were crewsrepairing them.
But you know, the, the, thetask would be overwhelming,
(16:17):
since it was so there was somany potholes on all the roads.
It just uh, just a veryinteresting, um, you know,
interesting uh aspect, I think,to uh, to traveling into Canada,
or at least into that part ofCanada.
So that was, that was one thing, uh, I noticed.
The other thing I noticed isthat is that when I went to some
(16:38):
of the touristy locations that,like on iceberg boats, whale
boats, um the unesco worldheritage sites, I didn't see any
real.
I didn't see any americans.
There were no Americans there.
Really there were.
(16:59):
I would say it was 80 to 90%Canadian from other Canadian
provinces who were travelingwithin Canada.
And I think there were, youknow, some like French, from
France, uk, irish, you know, butyou know well, under 10%.
But it was mostly otherCanadians traveling to
(17:23):
Newfoundland, people who havenever been to Newfoundland who
are from.
You know, I met a lot of folksfrom Alberta, for example, and
British Columbia, ontario.
I remember one time on the boat, on one of the boats, the
captain asked everybody on theboat.
On one of the boats, thecaptain asked everybody on the
boat how many of you are fromOntario and three quarters of
(17:43):
the boat said they were fromOntario.
So yeah, so Canadians were doinga lot of internal travel and
that's because Canada perhapsnot surprising has developed an
increased sense of self-identityand nationalism in response to
the threats from the South.
(18:03):
An example right when you, whenyou go to a McDonald's and
there are some McDonald's upthere in Canada when you go into
McDonald's they have on thescreens.
You know, canadian owned, allCanadian product, right?
(18:26):
I mean it's all they emphasizethat the product is from canada.
They have a and w root beer,which I hadn't seen in forever
down here, but they have a and wup there, lots of them, and
they emphasize that it's allcanadian owned.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So, of course, tim hortons I was gonna ask you
those donuts, pretty good.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Hopefully you weren't on any kind of a diet.
When you went by I didn't seeany Dunkin' Donuts up there, I
saw only Tim Hortons.
But you know it's.
(19:22):
So, yeah, I think, connectionto Ireland and the UK and and,
uh, and you know, in Quebecthere is to France.
So I, I see, based on thatobservation, uh, I see there
being uh, a uh prospect forcloser coordination between
(19:49):
Canada and the EU going forwardand with the UK.
So I see, you know, whether itbe on the political front,
military front, economic front,I see, you know, canada being
more integrated with Europe,okay, with the uk and with the
(20:13):
the rest of europe.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
So, um, I, I've always looked at canada as
really being like five countries.
You know what I mean.
Like you've got the quebecfrench part, you've got the what
I'll call the maritime areas.
You know I've been to pei, I'vebeen to nova scia.
I love the Bay of Fundyscallops.
Yeah, I just think that thatwhole area has its own.
(20:36):
You know, it's an own provinceand it's like completely
different than Western Canadawhere it's about the cowboys,
it's about the land, it's aboutthe energy, and I almost think
they have forged good relationswith Asia, because I think that
there are a lot of Chinese andother nationalities that look at
(20:59):
it and say I can't get toAmerica, but I might be able to
get into Canada.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Right, toronto and Vancouver are.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Toronto and Vancouver are the kind of hotspots to.
How do you get to more freedom,more nature, more of a
different type of lifestyle?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
So that creates a connection to Asia too.
I didn't see that on myparticular trip Right.
Yeah, ontario and BritishColumbia, they have their
connections to Asia.
I think you know, alberta.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Let me just tell one story.
One of the scariest things thatever happened to me was we were
in our car coming down amountain, somewhere between
Montreal and Vermont I think andbehind us were trucks filled
with pine trees and these truckswere going down these you know
(21:53):
hilly roads and we're justsitting there going.
This guy's brakes go, we'rejust going to be pancake.
You know what I mean.
Like you could feel the like.
The road wasn't very well pavedand they were bouncing along on
it and you're like, geez, how dowe not hear about truckers
going off the road with theseloads?
(22:16):
That just looked enormous.
And I'm thinking, gee, I don'tknow, is this the same as a guy
who's a trucker and he takes themilk from the hood factory to?
You know, western Worcester youknow what I mean Like being a
trucker has very, very differentdefinitions based on your
landscape and what you're, whatyou're trucking.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
And I just thought like look at all these trees.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
They're cutting.
But then you look around andyou say look at all the trees.
They have.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Well, you're onto a really good point, steve, and
that is that there's a ton ofresources in Canada.
There are in the US too, butCanada has a lot more, I think,
in terms of lumber, in terms ofenergy resources.
Well, US has a lot of energyresources, but Canada certainly
(23:05):
does, too Mineral resources.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Yeah, rare earths?
Yeah, rare earths.
Uranium there's a lot ofmineral resources yeah, rare
earths.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah, rare earths, uranium.
There's a lot of mineralresources in Canada.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Number one producer of aluminum right.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Because of the.
Yeah, aluminum by content valueis 80% electricity.
So when you have a big hydrocapability, as they do in Quebec
, you can make a lot of aluminum.
So, yeah, there are a lot ofresources in Canada, and that's
from an investment perspective.
(23:42):
I think Canada really has to beon your radar screen.
As far as mineral resources areconcerned, there's no question
about that, and to some extent,energy resources are concerned.
Um, there's no, there's noquestion about that and and to
some extent, energy resources aswell.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
And uh, doesn't it offer a good like.
It's got a pretty good legalsystem.
It's pretty good court system.
Oh yeah, I mean, in terms ofshareholder rights, we talk
about China and not knowing whatyour rights are Canada as a as
a part of the British Empire.
I mean we've got to say thattheir legal system and court
(24:17):
system would probably be equalto our better.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Well-established common law system in Canada,
just like in the UK, Australia,New Zealand.
So all those countries arehighly invested.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
If we had a choice to go north or go south, I'd be
more suspect about the gangs andthe violence in Mexico than I
am about the.
I don't know what I worry aboutfrom Canada.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Well, that's the exact point.
What would you worry about fromCanada?
That's why you would investthere.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I think that I would worry that I was getting the.
You know, if I'm looking for atechnology company, I don't
think I'd go to Canada.
If I'm looking for a companythat is in natural resources or
basic materials or chemicals orsomething that involves, you
know, a good deal of energy or,like you said, a good deal of
resources, yes, I think I'dprobably get good value from
(25:16):
companies in Canada.
But can I ask you in the lastfive, can you give me your three
favorite moments of your trip,and then we'll end on?
You know what I mean, what wethink is important about travel.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
So I think my three favorite moments of the trip.
I think that one of them wasseeing my first iceberg.
I thought that was, you know.
After that I saw lots moreicebergs, but seeing my first
iceberg on the ferry from, fromNova Scotia to to Newfoundland
(25:58):
no, sorry, my first iceberg onthe on the from Newfoundland to
Labrador OK, that's where I sawmy first one was very exciting,
and so after that I saw many,many more icebergs, took some
iceberg tours.
I thought that was, you know,that was a real, a real
highlight to see that firsticeberg.
(26:20):
The second one was the puffins.
And you know, one morning Iwent to see to this place in
Newfoundland called Elliston,which is where there's a puffin
colony, big puffin colony and Iwent in the afternoon and I saw
(26:42):
a few puffins at a distance.
Then the next day I went in themorning and there were millions
of them and they were all likewatching over their all puffing
out.
They were all watching overtheir broods and the place where
people watched from was from a,was from a, uh, a rocky outcrop
(27:06):
, uh, that faced a stack, whichis where the puffins were.
And when I was there in themorning there were actually
puffins on the, the uh humanside of the divide and uh, and
that's where I got some reallygreat uh photos and videos of uh
(27:27):
, of puffins.
I was about 10, 10, 15 feet awayfrom, uh, you know, from the
puffin family and from anotherrandom puffin.
I was about 10, 10, 15 feetaway from, you know, from the
puffin family and from anotherrandom puffin and you know some
others.
So that was, that was, I think,a second highlight of the trip.
A third highlight is probablybeing screeched in, as I
(27:50):
mentioned earlier, being made anhonorary Newfoundland citizen,
although I would put that, youknow, maybe third or fourth, and
the other one would be thewould be seeing the whale, and
there's a whole story to seeingthat whale which we don't have
time to talk about, but it's, itwas.
(28:11):
You know I undertook aparticular strategy to go see
that whale.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
All right, that sounds good.
I'm going to try to put some ofthe pictures into the overview
for this podcast to see if I canadd them.
Okay, I'm not sure I can, butI'm going to.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I might do a special LinkedIn post that includes some
of them too.
Okay, At some point.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I think that you know again, this podcast is here to
help listeners improve theirinvestment IQ, and part of that
is about wealth and not justabout your investment portfolios
, just about your investmentportfolios.
And it sounds like what clintdid going on this trip uh,
traveling up there and justdoing it um, is an inspiration
to a lot of people, because Ithink a lot of people want to
(28:58):
travel and want to do things.
And I guess I'd say what wouldyou rate this trip?
Uh one to ten in terms oftravel, ten being the best, yeah
, ten being the best, yeah, 10being the best.
When's the worst trip you everwent?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
on.
I would say 10, 9, 10.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
That's a pretty good recommendation, so thanks
everybody for listening.
Please email, text us, sharethis with your friends, and we
look forward to the next week.
We're going to have two guestsRich Weiss is a head strategist
(29:39):
at American Funds and MarcusSturdivant is an advisor for ABC
Squared here in Charlotte.
So we look forward tocontinuing to bring new people,
new ideas and better ways tohelp you improve your wealth
management skills.
Thank you, have a good day anda good weekend.
(29:59):
Thank you everybody.
Hello everyone, I'm Steve Davenport.
I'm talking to you today onSkeptic's Guide to Investing and
I'm here with Clem Miller andClem just got back from almost a
month trip to Canada where hewas driving all the way to the
easternmost point of NorthAmerica and checking out where
(00:25):
the Vikings landed and checkingout puffins and checking out
whales.
But I think that as we gothrough the show and we try to
look for guests and we try tolook for experiences, that will
help listeners.
It would be great if we couldtransmit a little bit of
knowledge about some of thesecountries we visit, so that you
(00:47):
could learn more about thosecountries and ultimately, you
might become a better investor,because you'll consider
investing in some of thesecountries and investing in some
of the values or some of thethings that they do well,
because ultimately, we don'tknow where everybody's going to
find the best company and whatwe're trying to do is give you a
(01:08):
broader perspective so thatyour investment IQ will be
improved.
So, clem, if we look at yourtrip as a journey of a lifetime
you've been talking about doingit for a long time I love the
fact that you did it, and youdid it on your own and you just
kind of said I want to do thisand I'm going to go.
I love that attitude onebecause I think that most people
(01:32):
would say I really want to go,but I'm going to stay home.
That's the 80% and the 20% ofyou that actually go do it.
So what is it about Canada andwhat is it about this trip that
has been on your mind for solong and what you know?
What is it that pushed you overthe edge?
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, you know that's interesting and interesting
question, steve, and I would goback to the fact and this, I
think, is relevant for ouraudience in a very profound
sense, I think and that is, ifyou are interested in travel,
(02:17):
you're interested in adventure.
Then you know, make plans inyour life that would allow you
to have the time and the energyand the money to do that, and so
that means planning forretirement, a retirement that
would allow you to do that, andplanning for it.
You know, planning even for aretirement that's relatively
(02:39):
early, so that you still havethe energy to do these things.
Or plan your career so that youknow you're not a workaholic,
right, and you have time to beable to do some of these things
(03:01):
to our audience in terms ofmaking their decisions about
their careers and lives, to beable to make time for the things
that they want to do, whetherit's travel, slash, adventure or
some other thing that ouraudience might want to do.
So I would start off by sayingthat Now, with respect to this
(03:23):
particular trip, you know I liketaking trips.
Since retiring, I've been onseveral cross-country US trips.
I've been to France for a month, for five weeks, I've been to
Japan for a month, and then nowthis trip up north into Canada,
(03:44):
and then now this trip up northinto Canada.
The reason I chose easternCanada was because I wanted to
see, I wanted to go north.
I like the idea of going northin the summertime and
experiencing, you know, sort ofdifferent, cooler climates.
So that's number one.
Number two, uh, in late May andearly June, when you go up to
(04:08):
uh, to Newfoundland and Labrador, which is where I went to uh,
you have uh the ability to uhexperience icebergs, uh and
puffins, which are cute littlebirds that kind of resemble
penguins but with bright noses,bright beaks, and also whales,
(04:35):
and so I saw all those things,as well as moose and caribou I
saw them as well.
And also Newfoundland andLabrador have interesting
histories and culture.
So, for example, everybody talksabout Christopher Columbus
discovering America.
Well, even before ChristopherColumbus, you had the Vikings
(04:55):
coming over to northernNewfoundland and, of course,
meeting up with the NativeAmericans who were there already
.
Of course they were therealready, but the Vikings were
the first Europeans that we knowof who actually came to North
America.
They had a colony of some 60 to100 people that they maintained
(05:18):
for about 30 years.
I found that kind ofinteresting.
But, uh, I also went to a unescoworld heritage site that was a
basque whaling station and thebasque would come and uh and cut
up their whales on the shoreand take oil and send it back to
europe and they, they created a, they created a little
community there that was so, uh,basque in nature that they use
(05:44):
the same kinds of red, you know,red curved ceiling tiles that
you'll see in Spain and France,and there's a whole, there's a
whole slew of those things, youknow, still on the beaches there
.
This is in red Bay, labrador,about 51st parallel.
So, yeah, so it was a lot ofdriving and I saw a lot of
(06:06):
things, got lots of greatpictures and, and you know, it
was, you know, obviouslyprimarily a, you know, a travel
adventure trip.
But you know, you pick up someinteresting things as you go
along and you know, perhaps Ican share some of those, some of
those interesting economic andbusiness and political
(06:29):
implications.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
So yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting that you
talk about traveling with suchreverence and I know you did a
lot of travel for your job andthat's what I've heard from
people is, if you get a chancefor work to go to five places
and you add a day on either end,you know what I mean.
It's a great way for you to say, hey, a company is paying for
(06:53):
me to be here.
I'm going to do what I have tofor my company, but I'm also
going to learn what I can thinkabout and desire out of my life
after I finish work.
So I think it's about youshould be constantly have your
head up and looking at thingsand saying, gee, what about this
, what about this?
And I think that's part of howwe grow as a culture and how we
(07:16):
grow as individuals is to lookfor opportunities and try to
take them.
I think the most importantthing for people is patience and
planning.
If you want these things tohappen, you need to start early,
you need to do what you can andyou can also make choices.
You know you can stay in hostels.
(07:38):
You can stay in.
You know you can travel inplaces that are just
economically a lot more.
Your dollar is going to go alot further.
You're helping that country,You're helping tourism.
Yeah, I think there's a lot ofgood reasons for travel and I
believe that the more we travel,the better we become as
(07:58):
citizens of the global economy.
So can you give us, like youritinerary or just a high level
of, say, your top three spotsand like where you traveled from
and to and you know?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
in Canada on this trip.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, cause we were up in Seattle and one time we
took a trip, a ferry, over toBainbridge, yeah, and it's this
little Island in the middle ofthe bay.
Yeah, I've been there and theferry cost like 350 each way and
, you know, to do a tour of thebay cost 30 dollars.
And so, being the, the Yankee,um consciously frugal individual
(08:38):
, I said let's take the ferryand have lunch in Bainbridge and
come back, yeah, and it was thebest 350 we ever spent.
And I mean, tell me about whatthrilled you or what made you
happiest in this.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
So I planned this trip purposefully for late May,
early June, and the reason forthat is because you have a very
short period of time in thatwindow of opportunity to see
icebergs that have come downfrom Greenland, to see puffins
(09:15):
who come to breed and give birth, lay their eggs in, you know,
you know, along the, along therocks, along the coasts, and
also to see, uh, whales that arecoming up.
So the whales are, you know,we're just beginning to arrive,
and the icebergs, uh, you know,I saw sort of in the middle of
(09:39):
their peak, um, so saw lots andlots and lots of icebergs on
this trip.
So I wanted to see all thosethings and there's really only a
narrow period in which to do it.
And also this was a period when, when Newfoundland and Labrador
were coming out of their winterseason, at least it felt still
(10:02):
felt like winter from myperspective, coming from
Baltimore, maryland, but theynever get like Baltimore-type
weather up there.
I think the warmest they get islike perhaps in the 60s or
maybe early low 70s, but when Iwas there it was mostly in the
50s, going down into the 40s atnight, and the icebergs
(10:25):
certainly send a chill uh overthe land.
So those are the things Ireally wanted to see.
I wanted to experience, uh, youknow, the icebergs, the puffins
, the whales, and got to see alot of moose and also one lone
caribou.
So so, yeah, so a lot of thingsto see and also, also, um, you
(10:48):
know, culture.
Now, I knew newfoundland had astrong irish affinity.
There's a lot of irish settledin newfoundland and the uh and
newfoundland, uh, you know,still has the people there still
speak with an Irish accent.
They call it the Newfie accent,but they still speak with an
(11:10):
Irish accent.
Brogue, yeah, kind of a yeahbrogue, you could say.
But there's also Frenchinfluences there and English
influences.
Interestingly enough, there's aplace called Cupid's
C-U-P-I-D-S which in the US,nobody knows about.
(11:32):
Do you know about it?
No, I don't.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
Is that where people go to get?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
married Cupid's, was the first English colony, first
permanent English colonysettlement in Canada.
So it was in 1610, which is oneyear after Jamestown and 10
years before Plymouth Rock,which is one year after
(12:00):
Jamestown and 10 years beforePlymouth Rock.
So, yeah, so they were inNewfoundland trying to settle
Newfoundland.
And even before that Englishcolony, in 1610, the French were
all over Newfoundland and theywere not that they were settling
, really colonizing, but theyhad, you know, they, they use
the French shores aroundNewfoundland.
(12:21):
In fact they were actuallycalled the French shore and they
.
There was a political agreement, a treaty that allowed them to,
to, to use the shores forfishing, for drying their fish,
repairing nets and that kind ofthing, Even after the
Newfoundland became an Englishcolony.
Well, so, so yeah, Newfoundlandhas a very interesting history.
(12:43):
Of course it has NativeAmerican influences as well.
You know, still small NativeAmerican population in
Newfoundland.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
I heard you became a new fee officially yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Well, they have this honorary, uh, new fee ceremony
called the screeching, where youhave to, uh, you have to chug,
uh, well, not chug, but you haveto take a shot of their, uh,
their screech rum, which is aextremely powerful stuff but
tasted very good it.
It was very sweet actually.
Did you screech?
No, didn't screech.
(13:21):
All right, didn't screech.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Do you have that on your passport, or is there a
special little star that you get?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
No, but anyway, so very interesting and, um, you
know, just, you know a fewthings that you know on the more
serious kind of side that Iobserved.
So, for one thing, when clearlythe Canadian government is
concerned about Trump, uh, tosome extent the people are
(13:57):
people aren't willing to reallytalk too much about politics.
I didn't invite it, I didn'tlike go up to people and talk to
them about politics, but I onlyhad a couple of people approach
me and ask me for my opinion.
But it was interesting that atthe border, the border guard on
the Canadian side going in askedme do you have any guns in the
(14:22):
car?
Which you know it's pretty, Ithink, standard question, right,
do you have any guns in the car?
Then they asked do you have anyguns at home?
And I thought that wasinteresting because I think what
they were trying to uh get outof me was you know, are you, um,
are you a Trumper who feelsthat Canada should be part of
(14:45):
the U?
S and uh, and so whether I havea gun at home or not may
indicate to them that uh, youknow that I come from a
particular political uhperspective, so that's how I
guessed it.
But you know, then again, inCanada people do have rifles,
right, hunting rifles.
(15:05):
So it's not like hunting isn'tunknown to Canadians, right?
Anyway, so that was one thing Iobserved.
As I mentioned, the peoplearen't, you know don't want to
talk too much about politics Ialso observed that the roads up
(15:27):
there are in horrible shapecompared to US roads and you
know, obviously they have toughwinters, tougher winters than we
do in the US.
But I mean, these roads didn'tlook like they had been repaired
for multiple seasons.
So I have to believe that thathas something to do with, you
(15:53):
know, limited fiscal resources.
So I haven't looked into the,into all the details of that,
but you know, it does take moneyto repair roads and these roads
, you know, were often indisrepair and there were many
places where there were crewsrepairing them.
But you know, the, the, thetask would be overwhelming,
(16:17):
since it was so there was somany potholes on all the roads.
It just uh, just a veryinteresting, um, you know,
interesting uh aspect, I think,to uh, to traveling into Canada,
or at least into that part ofCanada.
So that was, that was one thing, uh, I noticed.
The other thing I noticed isthat is that when I went to some
(16:38):
of the touristy locations that,like on iceberg boats, whale
boats, um the unesco worldheritage sites, I didn't see any
real.
I didn't see any americans.
There were no Americans there.
Really there were.
(16:59):
I would say it was 80 to 90%Canadian from other Canadian
provinces who were travelingwithin Canada.
And I think there were, youknow, some like French, from
France, uk, irish, you know, butyou know well, under 10%.
But it was mostly otherCanadians traveling to
(17:23):
Newfoundland, people who havenever been to Newfoundland who
are from.
You know, I met a lot of folksfrom Alberta, for example, and
British Columbia, ontario.
I remember one time on the boat, on one of the boats, the
captain asked everybody on theboat.
On one of the boats, thecaptain asked everybody on the
boat how many of you are fromOntario and three quarters of
(17:43):
the boat said they were fromOntario.
So yeah, so Canadians were doinga lot of internal travel and
that's because Canada perhapsnot surprising has developed an
increased sense of self-identityand nationalism in response to
the threats from the South.
(18:03):
An example right when you, whenyou go to a McDonald's and
there are some McDonald's upthere in Canada when you go into
McDonald's they have on thescreens.
You know, canadian owned, allCanadian product, right?
(18:26):
I mean it's all they emphasizethat the product is from canada.
They have a and w root beer,which I hadn't seen in forever
down here, but they have a and wup there, lots of them, and
they emphasize that it's allcanadian owned.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
So, of course, tim hortons I was gonna ask you
those donuts, pretty good.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
Hopefully you weren't on any kind of a diet.
When you went by I didn't seeany Dunkin' Donuts up there, I
saw only Tim Hortons.
But you know it's.
(19:22):
So, yeah, I think, connectionto Ireland and the UK and and,
uh, and you know, in Quebecthere is to France.
So I, I see, based on thatobservation, uh, I see there
being uh, a uh prospect forcloser coordination between
(19:49):
Canada and the EU going forwardand with the UK.
So I see, you know, whether itbe on the political front,
military front, economic front,I see, you know, canada being
more integrated with Europe,okay, with the uk and with the
(20:13):
the rest of europe.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
So, um, I, I've always looked at canada as
really being like five countries.
You know what I mean.
Like you've got the quebecfrench part, you've got the what
I'll call the maritime areas.
You know I've been to pei, I'vebeen to nova scia.
I love the Bay of Fundyscallops.
Yeah, I just think that thatwhole area has its own.
(20:36):
You know, it's an own provinceand it's like completely
different than Western Canadawhere it's about the cowboys,
it's about the land, it's aboutthe energy, and I almost think
they have forged good relationswith Asia, because I think that
there are a lot of Chinese andother nationalities that look at
(20:59):
it and say I can't get toAmerica, but I might be able to
get into Canada.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Right, toronto and Vancouver are.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Toronto and Vancouver are the kind of hotspots to.
How do you get to more freedom,more nature, more of a
different type of lifestyle?
Speaker 2 (21:15):
So that creates a connection to Asia too.
I didn't see that on myparticular trip Right.
Yeah, ontario and BritishColumbia, they have their
connections to Asia.
I think you know, alberta.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
Let me just tell one story.
One of the scariest things thatever happened to me was we were
in our car coming down amountain, somewhere between
Montreal and Vermont I think andbehind us were trucks filled
with pine trees and these truckswere going down these you know
(21:53):
hilly roads and we're justsitting there going.
This guy's brakes go, we'rejust going to be pancake.
You know what I mean.
Like you could feel the like.
The road wasn't very well pavedand they were bouncing along on
it and you're like, geez, how dowe not hear about truckers
going off the road with theseloads?
(22:16):
That just looked enormous.
And I'm thinking, gee, I don'tknow, is this the same as a guy
who's a trucker and he takes themilk from the hood factory to?
You know, western Worcester youknow what I mean Like being a
trucker has very, very differentdefinitions based on your
landscape and what you're, whatyou're trucking.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
And I just thought like look at all these trees.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
They're cutting.
But then you look around andyou say look at all the trees.
They have.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
Well, you're onto a really good point, steve, and
that is that there's a ton ofresources in Canada.
There are in the US too, butCanada has a lot more, I think,
in terms of lumber, in terms ofenergy resources.
Well, US has a lot of energyresources, but Canada certainly
(23:05):
does, too Mineral resources.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Yeah, rare earths?
Yeah, rare earths.
Uranium there's a lot ofmineral resources yeah, rare
earths.
Speaker 2 (23:11):
Yeah, rare earths, uranium.
There's a lot of mineralresources in Canada.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
Number one producer of aluminum right.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Because of the.
Yeah, aluminum by content valueis 80% electricity.
So when you have a big hydrocapability, as they do in Quebec
, you can make a lot of aluminum.
So, yeah, there are a lot ofresources in Canada, and that's
from an investment perspective.
(23:42):
I think Canada really has to beon your radar screen.
As far as mineral resources areconcerned, there's no question
about that, and to some extent,energy resources are concerned.
Um, there's no, there's noquestion about that and and to
some extent, energy resources aswell.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
And uh, doesn't it offer a good like.
It's got a pretty good legalsystem.
It's pretty good court system.
Oh yeah, I mean, in terms ofshareholder rights, we talk
about China and not knowing whatyour rights are Canada as a as
a part of the British Empire.
I mean we've got to say thattheir legal system and court
(24:17):
system would probably be equalto our better.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Well-established common law system in Canada,
just like in the UK, Australia,New Zealand.
So all those countries arehighly invested.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
If we had a choice to go north or go south, I'd be
more suspect about the gangs andthe violence in Mexico than I
am about the.
I don't know what I worry aboutfrom Canada.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Well, that's the exact point.
What would you worry about fromCanada?
That's why you would investthere.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I think that I would worry that I was getting the.
You know, if I'm looking for atechnology company, I don't
think I'd go to Canada.
If I'm looking for a companythat is in natural resources or
basic materials or chemicals orsomething that involves, you
know, a good deal of energy or,like you said, a good deal of
resources, yes, I think I'dprobably get good value from
(25:16):
companies in Canada.
But can I ask you in the lastfive, can you give me your three
favorite moments of your trip,and then we'll end on?
You know what I mean, what wethink is important about travel.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
So I think my three favorite moments of the trip.
I think that one of them wasseeing my first iceberg.
I thought that was, you know.
After that I saw lots moreicebergs, but seeing my first
iceberg on the ferry from, fromNova Scotia to to Newfoundland
(25:58):
no, sorry, my first iceberg onthe on the from Newfoundland to
Labrador OK, that's where I sawmy first one was very exciting,
and so after that I saw many,many more icebergs, took some
iceberg tours.
I thought that was, you know,that was a real, a real
highlight to see that firsticeberg.
(26:20):
The second one was the puffins.
And you know, one morning Iwent to see to this place in
Newfoundland called Elliston,which is where there's a puffin
colony, big puffin colony and Iwent in the afternoon and I saw
(26:42):
a few puffins at a distance.
Then the next day I went in themorning and there were millions
of them and they were all likewatching over their all puffing
out.
They were all watching overtheir broods and the place where
people watched from was from a,was from a, uh, a rocky outcrop
(27:06):
, uh, that faced a stack, whichis where the puffins were.
And when I was there in themorning there were actually
puffins on the, the uh humanside of the divide and uh, and
that's where I got some reallygreat uh photos and videos of uh
(27:27):
, of puffins.
I was about 10, 10, 15 feet awayfrom, uh, you know, from the
puffin family and from anotherrandom puffin.
I was about 10, 10, 15 feetaway from, you know, from the
puffin family and from anotherrandom puffin and you know some
others.
So that was, that was, I think,a second highlight of the trip.
A third highlight is probablybeing screeched in, as I
(27:50):
mentioned earlier, being made anhonorary Newfoundland citizen,
although I would put that, youknow, maybe third or fourth, and
the other one would be thewould be seeing the whale, and
there's a whole story to seeingthat whale which we don't have
time to talk about, but it's, itwas.
(28:11):
You know I undertook aparticular strategy to go see
that whale.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
All right, that sounds good.
I'm going to try to put some ofthe pictures into the overview
for this podcast to see if I canadd them.
Okay, I'm not sure I can, butI'm going to.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I might do a special LinkedIn post that includes some
of them too.
Okay, At some point.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
I think that you know again, this podcast is here to
help listeners improve theirinvestment IQ, and part of that
is about wealth and not justabout your investment portfolios
, just about your investmentportfolios.
And it sounds like what clintdid going on this trip uh,
traveling up there and justdoing it um, is an inspiration
to a lot of people, because Ithink a lot of people want to
(28:58):
travel and want to do things.
And I guess I'd say what wouldyou rate this trip?
Uh one to ten in terms oftravel, ten being the best, yeah
, ten being the best, yeah, 10being the best.
When's the worst trip you everwent?
Speaker 2 (29:14):
on.
I would say 10, 9, 10.
Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
That's a pretty good recommendation, so thanks
everybody for listening.
Please email, text us, sharethis with your friends, and we
look forward to the next week.
We're going to have two guestsRich Weiss is a head strategist
(29:39):
at American Funds and MarcusSturdivant is an advisor for ABC
Squared here in Charlotte.
So we look forward tocontinuing to bring new people,
new ideas and better ways tohelp you improve your wealth
management skills.
Thank you, have a good day anda good weekend.
(29:59):
Thank you everybody.
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