Who Are Julie & Keenan?

First off, we are not professional paddlers. Kayaking is simply our most recent passion. The first was and is our passion for each other. Yes, sickening isn't it? But it's relevant. If we weren't together it's a strong possibility (or perhaps a certainty) that neither of us would be enjoying kayaking now.

We have been together since 1994, and we got married in August 2001. For our first wedding anniversary we went to one of our favourite spots in Maine and went on a guided kayaking trip in York Harbor. We haven't stopped paddling since! Winter doesn't count.

Next would be our passion for our vocation. This is also relevant because we work incredibly hard and the decision to get into kayaking originated in part from a desire to take some time for ourselves and look after our health.

After several years of hard work, we left "regular jobs" in 1997 and co-founded a charitable organization for young people with developmental disabilities. Building LiveWorkPlay together was a crazy dream that has turned into a challenging but rewarding reality.

If you've read this far, that's more than can be expected. But if you are looking for a cure for insomnia, you are invited to read on!

We both grew up in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, the greatest country in the world. We both graduated from local high schools and later attended the University of Ottawa for undergraduate studies, although we never met at a time when we were both students there.

After initially completing a Bachelor of Social Science, Julie did a second undegraduate degree at Carleton University in Psychology, and eventually a Masters of Education in Counselling back at Ottawa U. Keenan first received a BA in History, followed by a Bachelor of Education with Ontario Teacher Certification, and eventually a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at Carleton.

Prior to dedicating ourselves full time to LiveWorkPlay, Keenan was managing a national educational website known as the Special Needs Education (SNE) project. Julie was working with Youth Net, a mental health organization for young people, as well as fulfilling a contract with the Elizabeth Bruyere Health Centre as a Recreation Therapist.

Our prior history with paddling was limited to canoeing. Julie was involved with the Christie Lake Camp for Boys & Girls for seven years, including service as waterfront director. Keenan and his father Barry spent many years in a canoe primarily as serious fishers, throughout eastern and northern Ontario. Keenan gave up canoeing in his mid-teens due to back problems, and Julie did not pursue paddling after moving on from Christie Lake.

The first four years of building LiveWorkPlay were exhausting, and we had little time for sleep, let alone recreation. When things began to stabilize by 2001, we started thinking about ourselves and our health. Canoeing was not considered because of Keenan's back, but we had mumbled about possibly trying kayaking.

The summer of that year, Keenan was sitting on a rock near the Ottawa River enjoying a quick lunch when he spotted a couple in a tandem kayak making their way upstream just below the National Archives. Curious, he went down to the water's edge and engaged them in a chat about their kayak and their enjoyment of the sport. Like many kayakers, the couple did a wonderful job espousing the benefits of the pastime, and Keenan rushed off to tell Julie that it was time they got serious about trying it out. Julie said "Whenever you are ready!"

Thus we chose to incorporate a kayaking tour into our honeymoon plans at Ogunquit, Maine. The story of that tour is chronicled in our list of trips on this website. We had a great time, and from there we haven't looked back!

If you would like to know why we have decided to develop a kayaking website, see the page Why do we do it?.