I have nothing against golf. But if not for forced participation during stag-party weekends and the like I would never play again.

Why? Because disc golf is so much better. For the uninitiated, the sport is like regular golf, but instead of clubs and balls you whip Frisbee-like discs — weighted and contoured for curl and distance — and instead of holes there are metal baskets set on poles with hanging chains that absorb the impact of incoming projectiles. Touted as “the world’s fastest growing sport,” there are courses in hundreds of cities and towns in more than 40 countries around the world. In Canada, there are over 200. 

But how is it better than regular golf? Let us count the ways:

Golf: Rounds are expensive, and if they're not you get what you pay for.
Disc golf: Rounds are nearly always free.

Golf: The equipment is pricey and cumbersome. Without a car, it's pretty much impossible to get to a course.
Disc golf: A basic set of discs comprising putter, mid-range and driver costs as little as $30. The discs slide neatly into backpacks -- leaving plenty of room for refreshments -- and weigh considerably less than a six-pack (to use a random comparison).

Golf: Is time-consuming, especially when you live in a large city and most courses are located in the surrounding countryside. 
Disc golf: An 18-hole round takes about half as long as does regular golf, and I can bike to three different courses -- all free -- from my home.

Golf: Dress codes? Ugh...
Disc golf: Flip flops? Extremely tight jeans (pictured above)? Oversized foam cowboy hats? Sure!

Golf: Many courses are pleasing to the eye, but can't really be described as "natural."
Disc golf: Most layouts are inconspicuous and fit right into their lovely parkland settings. 

Golf: Your furry friend wants to join you? Forget it!
Disc golf: As long as Fluffy doesn't chase and chomp the discs, you can both get some exercise.

If you're heading to my adopted hometown any time soon, I can think of no better way to kick off your visit — or to diffuse the stress of a Bay St. boardroom — than with a round of disc golf on Ward’s Island. This is one of the world’s premier tracks, a 6,925-foot stretch of bucolic parkland with Lake Ontario to the south and prime views of the downtown Toronto skyline to the north. It hosted the Professional Disc Golf Association’s World Championships back in 1986 — six years after the course was established — and each July hosts the pro-am Toronto Island Open (with a purse of over $700. Almost enough for Leafs tickets!).

One of my favourite things about disc golf on Ward’s is that the course changes with the seasons. On gorgeous spring days like today, tulips burst from the wet earth and still-bare branches allow for pleasingly forgiving shots out of the rough. In summer, thick foliage makes for challenging drives, and in fall colourful leaves carpet the course, making wayward discs tricky to find. (NB: Do not go with yellow, orange or red gear at this time of year.) I’m keen to try courses outside Toronto, however, which is where the PDGA steps in with a handy on-line course directory. On my worldwide wish list, these three are at the top: 

De Laveaga Disc Golf Course, Santa Cruz, Calif.: As if this coastal Californian city isn't gorgeous enough, it’s also home to the "Dela," a world-renowned 27-hole course in the forested hills above town. Among the highlights is the precipitous 27th hole, aptly dubbed "Top of the World," which features a tee box that's nearly 600 feet from the pin and 100 feet above it. Each May Santa Cruz hosts the Masters Cup, with at least one round played at the Dela.

Jarva DiscGolf Park, Stockholm: Europe's first professionally-run course costs around $8 to play (for 27 holes), but by all accounts is worth every penny. There’s a pro shop/licensed café, and the "holes" run through a challenging, hilly landscape. The Stockholm Open has been played here for the past 17 years.

Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK: Site of the PDGA’s British Open on several occasions since 1983, Essex Disc Golf's 27-hole home base (pictured below) in the University of Essex's Wivenhoe Park is set on over 200 acres of parkland, much of it landscaped in the 18th century. 

If you just read my Globe and Mail story about the inevitability of crowdfunded oven mitts, check out what Ben Grynol (pictured) has to say about, well, quite a lot.

The founder of Top & Derby is a passionate and knowledgeable fan of the multibillion-dollar industry that helped launched his Winnipeg-based company’s stylish canes, and is now funding a line of fetching compression socks. So I asked him, via email, to tell me about his five favourite crowdfunding campaigns. And got…this: 

(Don’t be daunted by all the scrolling. It’s one of the best primers on crowdfunded success stories I’ve read. Plus, there’s a strangely relevant Mr. Rogers remix at the end.)

1. Pebble Watch (pictured below)
For bringing crowdfunding to the masses
Goal: $100,000
Result: $10,266,845
Backers: 68,929

Up until the spring of 2012, crowdfunding had some success stories, but no campaign had ever raised "real" venture capital. More specifically, any amount that surpassed the 10 million dollar mark.
Along came Pebble – a hardware company that had created a consumer product that only had a mild response, at best, from venture capitalists. Before launching their Kickstarter campaign, Pebble had raised $375,000 in seed funding with notable angel investors, such as Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. However, after requiring more funding, the company was unable to raise additional funds and generate interest from investors. In the way that the Beatles were turned down from multiple record labels, Pebble was turned down by multiple investors. So they turned to crowdfunding. Once they launched their campaign, there was no way to forecast the storm that was about to hit them; a healthy goal of $100,000 was drastically surpassed to the tune of more than $10 million, making it the highest-funded campaign in history.
Then, this past spring, Pebble hit Kickstarter to pre-sell the next version of their product. The campaign generated $20,338,986 on a goal of $500,000, with support from 78,471 backers…and Pebble reclaimed campaign-funding title.

Lesson learned: It is possible to form a new company, be disruptive in an industry, and compete against large players like Apple.

2. Oculus Rift (pictured below)
For being the first major acquisition of a business that was born through crowdfunding
Goal: $250,000
Result: $2,437,429
Backers: 9,522

Growing up, Palmer Luckey was always interested in electronics and technological hardware. Often, he spent his time tinkering with different pieces of hardware and rebuilding them to suit his needs. When Luckey was frustrated with the inadequacy of the existing head-mounted virtual reality displays that he had for gaming, he decided to create his own prototype for a new headset. In 2011, at the age of 18, he built a prototype in his parents’ garage of what eventually became the Oculus VR. Ten months and six prototypes later, he created what he called the “Rift,” which was intended to be sold as a developer kit to other virtual reality enthusiasts on Kickstarter.
When the Rift hit Kickstarter, it was an instant success. As the campaign grew and got a great deal of media exposure, Oculus VR became the face and future of virtual reality. In the spring of 2014, only about a year after launching his campaign, and while in its infancy, Palmer Luckey’s company was acquired before it had even created a commercial, consumer product that was available to the general public through retail channels. Through Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus VR, the company was purchased for over $2B in both cash and facebook stock. The acquisition marked the first time that a company had been launched through crowdfunding and acquired shortly after by a major corporation. Although VR headsets are currently used for playing video games, watching movies and experiencing new environments, VR headsets, like the Rift, will continue to evolve into a consumer product that will eventually be integrated into all of our daily lives and social interactions.

Lesson learned: Crowdfunding can be unpredictable and a catalyst for innovation that has a major impact on an industry, while creating an exit opportunity.

3. Reading Rainbow (pictured below)
For showing how social proof can help to spread a mission
Goal: $1 million
Result: $5,408,916
Backers: 105,857

In the spring of 2014, LeVar Burton – best known for his work on both Star Trek and Reading Rainbow – started a Kickstarter campaign to revive the Reading Rainbow show. However, through his campaign, he was driven by a mission – to help America get back to high literacy rates by creating a free, educational version of the show for schools to use. Touched by his campaign, many millennials who grew up on Reading Rainbow bought into Burton’s mission. In less than 12 hours the campaign reached its $1 million goal. As the campaign grew through social proof – the psychological principal where large groups of people conform to a choice because other people are behaving in a similar fashion – other celebrities got on board, spurring more growth.

Lesson Learned: Crowdfunding campaigns can not only be used to raise capital, but also to spread awareness about social missions and solve problems.

4. Veronica Mars (pictured below)
For proving that networks are not always needed (nor right)
Goal: $2 million
Result: $5,702,153
Backers: 91,585

When Veronica Mars – the mystery drama TV series – was cancelled after three seasons in 2007, most of its 2.5 million viewers understandably thought they would never see or hear about the show again. Although it had a great following and was nominated for many awards during its short history, Warner Bros. Television cancelled it. Rob Thomas, the creator of the show, had written a feature film script continuing the series, but Warner Bros. decided not to fund that project, either. Fast forward to March 2013: Thomas and the show’s star, Kristin Bell, launch a Kickstarter campaign to produce the film. In less than 10 hours, Bell and Thomas had achieved their $2 million goal. The campaign continued to see success, and one year after launching their campaign, Bell and Thomas released the Veronica Mars film.

Lesson learned: Sometimes major corporations think they know what consumers want and need, but they can easily be proven wrong when loyal fan bases show that they are willing to pay for a niche product through a new channel.

5. Flow Hive (pictured below)
For democratizing beekeeping and bringing innovation into the honey harvesting process
Goal: $70,000
Result: $12,192,954
Backers: 36,498

Bees are an essential part of our ecosystem. But beekeeping is a unique art that doesn’t allow people to have their own bee hive, at least in the same way they have tomatoes in their garden. Along came the Flow Hive – a significant new innovation in the beekeeping space. The Australian duo, who created the hive, had worked on the innovation for a few years before taking it to market. They recognized how messy and disruptive the process of harvesting honey was, so they decided to improve upon it. Their new innovation allows the cavities of the hive’s synthetic combs to be filled with honey by bees then drained when full. Most importantly, this process doesn’t disrupt the bees, and it allows general consumers to have their own personal supply of honey without having to invest in all the traditional equipment required for bee keeping. Although the founders had a modest goal of $70,000 to bring their innovation to market, the global demand for their product shocked them. In the spring of 2015 they surpassed their goal, achieving a final total of $12 million to launch their product.

Lesson learned: Crowdfunding can allow new products and innovations to be launched, which people don’t even realize they want or need. It’s a result of the classic Henry Ford saying: “If I asked people what they want, they would have said ‘build me a faster horse.’ ”

When Father’s Day rolls around each year my daughters invariably ask, “When is Kid’s Day?” And as parents have done through the ages, I tell them Kid’s Day is every other day of the year.

Earth Day should be like that: Making a concerted effort to apply environmental conservation to all aspects of our everyday lives is one of today’s key messages.

Vacations may seem like exceptions to everyday life, but conservation awareness is arguably more important and relevant when we break from our daily routines. Do we use nine fresh towels at home? Do we wash our sheets every day? Do we burn through single-use shampoo and soap bottles? Then there’s the fresh, local fare we expect at the buffet. What are we eating, exactly, and where and how was it raised, grown or caught?

Fact is, just about every aspect of a vacation can have a negative impact on the environment. So we have three options: One, never go on vacation, which is a bit like saying we should ditch our homes, move into geothermically-heated caves and consume nothing but kelp. Two, vacation independently and educate ourselves on the best practices of environmental travel. This is certainly viable, and I’m not opposed to putting in the work, but isn’t a vacation supposed to be work-free? Plus, not everyone has the time to do this. In short, Option 2 can be a bit of a Catch 22.  

This brings us to Option 3: Arrange vacations through companies that apply best practices for us. It’s easy to be cynical about eco-motivations, so it’s essential for travel outfits to walk the walk and offer proof that they favour environmental substance over style.

The TreadRight Foundation provides an example of this. Founded in 2008 by the multinational Travel Corporation – which includes brands such as Contiki, Trafalgar and Insight – the not-for-profit group oversees dozens of projects that support sustainable tourism and foster the preservation of popular tourist sites such as the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, the Grand Canyon, and the Brazilian Rainforest.

It does this mainly by partnering with expert-led, locally-based initiatives, which brings us to Céline Cousteau (pictured above). You may recognize her surname – she's the granddaughter of legendary French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau – but she's also an accomplished environmental activist in her own right, having founded, among other projects, CauseCentric Productions, a non-profit that aims to help other organizations communicate their messages through film.

"With the experiences I have," Cousteau, 39, explains – visiting remote tribes in the Amazon rainforest, diving with manatees and humpback whales, the list goes on – "I play a role in helping Treadright tell the story they want to tell. They have the means" – thousands of young, energetic, eco-minded customers, as well as access to funding – "and I have the content."

I had a chance to chat with Cousteau about sustainable tourism, and what it means to put words into action, a couple years back while she was in Toronto. (She also offers some great eco-travel tips in a video at the end of this post.)

Q: What are the biggest challenges facing sustainable tourism?

A: A lot of people have the mentality that, “I'm on an island, I should eat fish.” It's a limited resource, and the reality is you're also building facilities, in potentially fragile ecosystems, that are going to house tourists, use natural resources, and don't really give much back. So I think the tourism industry has a huge responsibility to balance things out.

Q: How can this be achieved?

A: I don't have the perfect formula for you, but I think the way to start is to ask: Can we choose local operators who are more environmentally minded, hotels that don't wash their sheets every day, don't use chemicals? Can we go to a restaurant that only serves sustainable seafood? I think all these things start to build a system where tourism has less of an impact, and inspires people onsite to be more environmentally minded and attract tourists who want that.

Q: Can you point to any projects that are making this work?

A: My father (Jean-Michel Cousteau, also a renowned environmentalist) was involved in a resort in Fiji (that now bears his name). When he got involved they changed their environmental policy. They started a grey water system and a water purification system. They started doing a vegetable garden for the restaurant. Another one that I'm dreaming of going to is in Raga Ampat, Indonesia. It's called the Misool Eco Resort. A young couple started it and basically grew the resort in a sustainable way using locally-sourced sustainable wood, by training local people in English, hotel management and carpentry, and then hiring them and contributing to the local economy. They work with local government and schools, they work to stop shark-finning in the area, and at the base of it, it's a dive resort. But they're really starting off on the right foot. So by choosing to stay at a place like that, you are actually contributing to sustainability. In this day and age, we don't have an excuse for not doing things right.

Q: What are some ways travellers can get involved with conservation?

A: One part we're looking at is whether it is possible for travellers to visit, for example, a project that Contiki is involved with, or should we just introduce them to a project and say, "you're travelling to Guatemala, and we're supporting this local initiative, so you can meet the marine biologist who's supporting it, and by the way 5 per cent of the profits go to the project." Just by the virtue of that, the company can make a local impact, educate their travellers, everybody benefits in the end.

Q: How can this benefit the travel experience itself?

A: I feel the traveller these days wants more than just a regular trip. We're looking for added benefits, and those benefits come in many different forms, whether it's added content or education, whether its exclusive excess to something. Being able to add something around conservation is that added benefit, and more and more I feel the younger audiences want something more than to just get on a bus and go. Travellers now want deeper experiences. We're giving access to people you wouldn't normally have access to: Scientists, divers, filmmakers.

I don't think we should deter people from going on vacations for hedonistic reasons – because they're better people when they come back – but at the same time we can't accept the idea that if we don't know, it's OK. That it's OK to be naive. It's important to know that we have to give back, so there's an ocean for your children and grandchildren to enjoy.

I love being “that fan.” You know: The guy in the visitors jersey standing and cheering amid a sea of scowling locals. It happens whenever my first sporting loves – the Calgary Flames and Stampeders – visit my adopted hometown of Toronto. (Huge win last night, BTW.) Indeed, I briefly considered having “No, you suck!” emblazoned on the back of my Iginla jersey.

Then there’s the joy of joining my teams on the road. This takes fandom to the next level, as a special bond forms between fans and teams when they meet in hostile territory. It’s also an excellent way to show off my squads' colours: Visiting fans tend to get more screen time, especially when outrageous dance moves, partial nudity and body paint are thrown in.

The Blue Jays may be in third place on my fandom depth chart, but they come in first for fancations. After all, no pro league is better for fan vacations than Major League Baseball. Away series include more than a single game, and give fans more time to explore enemy turf, which in most cases is very cool. Taking in a Jays game from atop the “Green Monster” left-field wall at Boston’s Fenway Park (pictured above), for instance, was a highlight of my sporting life, and not just because the Fenway Franks are ridiculous. My seat, one of 274, looked down on the oldest ballpark in the major leagues – it opened in 1912, and I could feel the history and memories – and the place is surrounded by a fun mix of eateries and taverns.

Between games there’s the rest of Boston, of course, which offers other opportunities to be “that fan” at NBA, NHL and NFL games, along with countless other big-city diversions.

You know what? I’ve talked myself into another trip. I know tickets to MLB road games are usually easy to nab via home teams’ official websites – 162-game schedule and all – but there’s more to fancations than tickets: When are the Jays in Boston this season? Where should I stay? What about getting there? And where can I buy non-permanent blue body paint?

This is where Expedia Canada steps in. The Jays’ long-time official partner takes the headaches out of planning a Blue Jays fancation with a dedicated hub that not only saves money and hassle by bundling hotel stays with airfare – all the better to buy more Fenway Franks – but lets fans browse by MLB city and only displays dates when the Jays are there. I select “Boston,” for instance, and instantly see when the Blue Birds are in town and can filter accommodations and flights based on ratings and price.

Now I’m hooked. My MLB bucket list also includes New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Seattle, Baltimore, Atlanta…OK, pretty much every American League city. Even Detroit! But in Motown, I’d prefer to book a hotel that hasn’t been used as a zombie-apocalypse movie set, and Expedia.ca helps with that.

Do you like New York in June? You should, although the Big Apple is notoriously expensive at that time of year. But with the Expedia.ca service I found a four-night stay in a well-regarded hotel, including airfare and taxes, for $600 a person (based on double occupancy).

If it’s good enough for Ace, as the video below shows, it must be good enough for me…

There's still plenty of pizza left in the Great Canadian Travel Draft box. There are the final selections, of course, but also some burning questions: What's at stake here? And if anything is at stake, then who wins it? And why isn't the Gopher Hole Museum (pictured) included? (If you're new to the GCTD, you may also wonder what I'm yammering on about; if so, click here. To see the Round 2 and 3 picks, click here. To read about inadvertent spa nudity, click here.)

Before we all start panicking and running for the emergency exits a la Anatoliy Baranovich, let's deal with Item No. 1. In fact, let's recap the whole shebang, pick by pick:

JIM BYERS
Round 1: Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail drive
Round 2: Niagara Falls
Round 3: Alberta’s Icefields Parkway
Round 4: “The rugged and beautiful shores of Lake Superior; an area even most Ontario folks don't know. Stunning canyons, tumbling waterfalls with no amusement park rides in sight and endless vistas. Not to mention both Winnie the Pooh and the Wawa Goose.”

VAWN HIMMELSBACH
Round 1: The East Coast Trail
Round 2: Beamsville Bench wineries
Round 3: Montreal’s Old Port
Round 4: “Exploring Toronto's amazingly diverse neighbourhoods. Kensington Market, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, The Junction, Little India, Chinatown, the Danforth, Little Korea, Little Italy ... and Vogue did name Queen Street West as the second-best place in the world to find hip street style.”

KARAN SMITH
Round 1: Tofino, B.C.
Round 2: Dawson City Music Festival 
Round 3: Algonquin Park
Round 4: “Watching the northern lights (pictured below) in the Yukon or Northwest Territories. It almost makes you want to use that m-word that travel writers try at all costs to avoid.”

ADAM BISBY
Round 1: Virginia Falls, NWT
Round 2: Whistler Sliding Centre
Round 3: Ottawa’s Carleton Cup
Round 4: “Dinner at the Eagle's Eye restaurant (pictured below) atop B.C.'s Kicking Horse ski resort. There are plenty of world-class eateries in Canada, but this is the only one that offers views of four alpine national parks with a gondola ride to boot.”

ROBIN ESROCK
Round 1: Polar Bears in Churchill
Round 2: Cycling across PEI
Round 3: Hotel de Glace, Quebec City
Round 4: “Walking on the sea bed of the Bay of Fundy at the Hopewell Rocks (pictured below) in New Brunswick. Then jumping in a kayak and paddling around the same rocks as the world's highest tides come in.” 

They’re all pretty sweet – looks like my daughter will have to start hucking lawn darts again to determine the winner (outdoors this time!). The GCTD prize, meanwhile, is obvious: A signed copy of one of Esrock’s new regional editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Trouble is, we own these titles already, along with Robin’s line of scented candles and those cozy Esrock-branded Snuggies.

Maybe we don’t need a prize. We’re “professional” travel writers, after all, so in some ways we’ve already won. Unless you believe the Telegraph, which does build a strong case...

So here’s the deal: Tweet me any Canadian bucket-list experience you feel the draft has overlooked, or post it in the comments below (along with your email), and if Ava pierces your submission with a lawn dart you’ll win your choice of the Central Canada, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Then all you have to do is show up at one of Robin’s free cross-Canada speaking engagements, mention the Great Canadian Travel Draft as if you’re both members of a secret society, and he’ll hand you the prize with a smile and a signature.

But not with a Snuggie. Those sold out long ago…

Round 2 of the Great Canadian Travel Draft kicks off amid a storm of controversy and recrimination. Himmelsbach is stuck in a meeting. Smith is juggling 17 deadlines. Esrock is surreptitiously calling from the cabin of a taxiing aircraft, and Byers is still a bit miffed about not being able to pick McDavid. I’m still smarting from Smith’s Round 1 Tofino pick, but not matter: With so much at stake – and the actual stakes yet to be determined – these battle-hardened travel writers won't back down without a complimentary upgrade to first class or something!

(To see how Round 1 of this fantasy travel draft went down, click here. For an explanation of what the heck is going on, click here. For a photo of a man in a narwhal costume, click here.)

ROUND 2
Robin Esrock: “Cycling across PEI. Gentle slopes, great seafood, the Confederation Trail, luggage shutte service, sweet coastline. Who needs Tuscany?  Shuck me an oyster...”

Adam Bisby: “A skeleton run at the Whistler Sliding Centre: I spent the scariest 30.45 seconds of my life hurtling down the 2010 Olympic track at nearly 100 kilometres an hour and pulling four Gs in the turns.”

Karan Smith: “Dancing under the red and white striped big top during the Dawson City Music Festival in this dusty Yukon town.” 

Vawn Himmelsbach: Beamsville Bench along the Niagara Peninsula, where you can walk or bike between small, charming wineries. Well worth a visit: Tawse, Malivoire and Daniel Lenko.”

Jim Byers: "For all the amusement park atmosphere around the town of Niagara Falls, there's also an immense beauty to the falls. The majesty and power of the billions of gallons of water that come thundering over the Niagara Escarpment every day is truly awe-inspiring, especially when seem from below on a boat excursion or from inside the rock on the Behind the Falls experience.

ROUND 3
Byers: “Alberta’s Icefields Parkway. The majesty of ageless, dark brooding mountains capped with the fiercest and most pure white snow imaginable. Deep canyons filled with gushing white water in spring. Summer time visits from elk and deer and, yes, powerful black bears. Fall colours that sparkles in the autumn sun. There's a reason the drive from Jasper to Banff is considered one of the finest in the world.”

Himmelsbach: “Montreal! Hanging out at my favourite spa-sur-l'eau in the old port ... on a boat ... with a bar ... and a DJ.”

Smith: “Okay, I think Ontario needs a little more love. Canoe camping in Algonquin Park.” 

Bisby: “Well then how about Ottawa’s Carleton Cup, aka ‘the Ultimate Canadian Triathlon.’ Skating the eight-kilometre length of the world's longest skating rink, running through the Byward Market, and sipping a ‘victory quart’ at a local dive bar.”

Esrock: “Spending one chilly night in the Hotel de Glace in Quebec City. If you can handle it. Many guests don't make it all the way through.”

Stay tuned for the draft’s dramatic conclusion on Wednesday…

I’m hunched over my laptop, searching desperately for a travel story idea that will yield a sure-fire assignment and/or Pulitzer.

At the same time, I’m terribly distracted by the impending NHL playoffs. One browser window is devoted to the latest family getaways in Calgary. Seven others, however, are devoted to the career statistics of Calgary Flames players I’m hoping to draft for my playoff hockey pool. (See how I snuck that in there? Sorry Kings fans!)

Then I notice a newly arrived email from Robin Esrock, a friend and fellow travel scribe who knows all about really good ideas. He undoubtedly had one when he came up with The Great Canadian Bucket List, which has been the biggest-selling travel book in the country since its launch in 2013.

“Heyza Adam,” the note begins. “I'm giving a talk in Toronto on Saturday, April 25. Last time round Rob Ford smoked crack and totally Ford-blocked me. This time I'm promoting my three new expanded regional books: Central Canada, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada (pictured above). If you know any editors/writers who might be interested, fire away!”

I’ve compiled more than my share of bucket lists, but none of them can touch Robin’s coast-to-coast compendium of more than 100 places and experiences. Still, the great thing about bucket lists is that they're all different, and comparing mine with Robin’s, or my wife’s, or that of REO Speedwagon’s frontman, is part of the fun.

Story ideas, hockey pools and bucket lists are swirling in my head when it hits me: Why not run a Great Canadian Travel Draft, where poolies pick Canuck experiences they deem bucket-list worthy? I fire off a few emails to fellow writers and bloggers who might be keen, and in a matter of minutes – OK, by 11 a.m. the next day – I’ve assembled a crack team (not in a Rob Ford sense) of GCTD participants: Myself and Esrock, as well as the talented and terrific Karan Smith, Jim Byers and Vawn Himmelsbach, all of whom host blogs that are required reading for travellers. (A few of our relevant photos appear at the end of this post.)

After my daughter Ava randomly determines the draft order – note to parents: do not let eight-year-olds throw lawn darts indoors – it kicks off with Jim’s first overall selection at exactly 11:18 a.m. EST. (He tries to take Connor McDavid, but then I explain the concept more clearly and we’re good to go):

ROUND 1
Byers: “Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail drive. Joyful views combined with joyous music. You'll find one of the world's best drives, with a road that snakes along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and rises and falls in thick forests of deep green alongside small fishing villages and some of the world's best golf courses.”

Himmelsbach: “Hiking the East Coast Trail in Newfoundland and Labrador, where you can take in stunning views of the rugged Atlantic coastline, often in complete solitude.”

Smith: “Surfing, eating, beach walking – take your pick in Tofino, B.C., the ultimate end of the road town.”

Bisby: “Flying by float plane to Virginia Falls, NWT. The two-hour bush flight from Fort Simpson to Nahanni National Park is almost as thrilling as standing near the crest of this cascade, which is twice as tall as Niagara Falls and infinitely more picturesque.” 

Esrock: “Polar Bears in Churchill. No brainer. The world's most southerly population of polar bears, fogging up your camera lens while you stand on a Tundra Buggy. Attracts wildlife nuts from around the world for the unique experience it offers, plus the chance to experience a few days of life in a remote northern town.” 

That's all for now. To follow the rest of the draft please check back on Monday, and think about where you would pick...