Blog - Mike Bock

Mike Bock Adventures

Mike Bocks New Sandwich Shop

Welcome to Mike Bock Adventures, a space where I share my passion for purpose, challenge, and exploration. I’m a former business owner turned financial advisor, a long-time athlete, and a nine-time Ironman finisher, and I’ve learned that discipline, perseverance, and pushing personal limits are what make life truly rewarding.

Through this blog, I don’t just share the places I visit or the trails I run. I also share the lessons I learn along the way, the mindset that keeps me going, and the moments that remind me why I love what I do. From the highs of crossing finish lines to the quieter lessons learned off the beaten path, every experience shapes the journey.

I hope that by sharing my adventures, I can inspire others to embrace challenge, stay curious, and find meaning in every step they take. Thanks for joining me, let’s explore, grow, and live boldly together.

Coffee with a Side of Sunrise

Some mornings don’t ask for much, just a good cup of coffee and a place to watch the world wake up. On this one, we brewed our coffee strong enough to revive winter-weary souls and wandered down to the shoreline, mugs in hand.

Steam rose into the early light as the sky blushed pink, the kind of sunrise that feels like it’s letting you in on a secret. Pelicans skimmed the water while Mike attempted slow-motion footage, cinematic in theory, less so in execution. Linda laughed as the final cut revealed mostly sand, a hint of sky, and one very uncooperative pelican.

Still, it was perfect. Two mugs, two hearts, one sunrise. The beach listened quietly as we dreamed out loud, and for a moment, nothing else mattered.

First Steps into Technicolor

Sand, Sun, and the Slow Thaw of Two Humans

The moment I stepped out of the taxi in Rincón de Guayabitos, every winter complaint I’d been carrying since November disappeared. The beach stretched out in front of us like a golden promise, framed by turquoise water and a sky that looked almost unreal. The air wrapped around me, warm, salty, and sweet, like a tropical hug that smelled faintly of mangoes.

Linda stopped beside me and gasped.
“Mike… this place looks airbrushed.”

I laughed and nodded. “Nature’s filters are better than Instagram’s.”

Without thinking it through, we walked straight into the ocean. Shoes still on. Backpacks still zipped. No hesitation, no second guessing—just the simple certainty that this was exactly what we were meant to do.

A small, perfect moment:
The sand warmed my feet,
and maybe—just maybe—my heart thawed faster
than the last of winter melting off my shoulders.

Rincón de Guayabitos didn’t just mark the start of the trip.
It reminded me what warmth feels like—inside and out.

From Ice to Indigo Waves

Part 1 — When Winter Finally Broke Us

“Escape from the Land of Cold Toes”

The Rockies below us looked like a giant had spilled frost on a mountain-shaped waffle. Beautiful? Yes. Home? Also yes. But we were done. Officially. Done.

Linda whispered, “Mike, I think my bones have winter fatigue.”
Mike answered, “I’ve forgotten how it feels to sweat.”

And so began our escape—two romantically frozen Canadians fleeing toward sunlight like migrating geese with credit cards.

Packing Highlights:

Camera gear
Notebooks
Hope
Mike’s favorite toque (may it rest somewhere under the bed)

Poetic moment:
Above the mountains, we shed winter like an old skin,
Flying toward a place where the sky remembers it’s blue
Where the warm wind softly pushes sand
And the world is just we two