Welcome to Our Home Page!

    The specific intention of this Celebration of Selves is to keep relatives and friends that "Surf-the-Web" abreast of the Stephansons' goings on. There are links to pages covering specific events (including pictures) and selected prose which Garry has written as part of his second career as a freelance writer. Please note that where first person singular is used in this Home Page, the "I" is Garry who has done the vast majority of the writing, editing and publishing! Of course this puts all the blame for poor spelling and English grammar transgressions on "my" head, not Judy's (The Teacher).

To get all the details, just click here, or on the Wizard or Viking and this will transport you to "Our World"or, use the Quick Table below to go direct. 

On August 24th, 2019, we set out on a wonderful 15 day, Viking cruise to the Baltic and associated locations. Viking really treated us well - the ship accommodation was excellent, the meals spectacular and the personal-support outstanding! All the excursions were well planned and truly interesting -11 guided tours, in 8 different countries all with Viking historical association. Our ship pictured above is named the Viking Sky - can you see us waving? It was built in 2017 and is a veritable dream ship! The following is the map showing where we cruised in our wonderful ship starting in Bergen, Norway and concluding in Stockholm, Sweden:

Usually I have described in detail each of our past trips on our personal home page , but they have been individual, not multi-locations as is the case here in Scandinavia. Obviously this is not the situation for this trip! I was somewhat stymied, but remembered the Viking Cruises home pages and how impressed I was with the details! This then was the answer! As my addition of a link to the Viking website didn't seem to work, I recommend you just do a search for "Viking Cruises Canada" and then open the "Viking Homelands" link. This will get you all the info for each individual excursion including photos and videos. (Be sure to select the Bergen-to-Stockholm button in the upper-left corner.)

I doubt if I will be creating any special sections on our web site for detailed descriptions as it is a matter of having a real plethora of photos/videos (3160) and would be a really overwhelming work load for something already aptly covered by the Viking Cruises web site! Regardless, there may be some excursions I could include such as the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum should there be any demand.

Judy and I enjoyed a fantastic three week trip to Japan in March 2018 at the invitation of longtime friends. I have organized the photos and added them to our Steph Web Site with some background notes as necessary (or even possible due to the language differences). I've covered sites such as the Cherry Blossom Festival, Tokyo including the huge Fish Market, Hiroshima, the Toyota Museum plus many other interesting locations. Also included are some 'Family' pics at restaurants and elsewhere with our wonderful hosts, the Kodamas. To access the page just click on the 'Rising Sun' or here.

In 2014, we were approached by our longtime friends, Keith and Fran MacLeod, as to whether we would like to accompany them, along with Fran's sister-in-law Trudy and Trudy's sister Carol, on a river boat tour up the Danube from Budapest to Prague in 2015. As we already had such a trip on our "Bucket List", we quickly responded, "Count us in"! Arrangements were made through the Toronto CAA travel representative and we departed on the 19th of September, arriving in Budapest on the 20th.

To view our in-depth description and photo album of our wonderful trip, just click above on our Avalon river boat, the MS Avalon Expression, or click here.

On this Viking cruisetour in September, 2013, we discovered two countries, two cultures and two ways of life linked by Indochina’s most important river—from Vietnam’s bustling cities to the tranquility of Cambodia. To see our photos and comments, just click on our river boat, the RV Saigon PANDAW .

Johnson Cousins' Reunion !!!

To get the info, just click here or on the Dancing Cousins

 Leif and Wendy's excellent African Adventure.

Just click on the picture at left, or click here!

On 6 July 2010, Judy received an award with covering letter from Canadian Blood Services recognizing her 150th blood donation - a truly remarkable achievement!!! Just click on the Canadian Red Cross icon at left to get the details.

Our Italy Adventure October 2010! Just click here, or on the flag.

Back to Our Roots - 2009 -Garry, Dan & Leif explore their ancestral homeland! Just click on the icon at left to follow their amazing journey. To get to a particular page, just click on one of the following page titles:

On 17 April 2008, Garry finally had a successful heart procedure at the Ottawa Heart Institute to fix the palpitations he had been suffering from for the last few years. To get all the details, and they are interesting and informative, just click on the hearts at left.

 "To Knee or Not to Knee ... "

On 20 August, 2014, I finally was given a total left knee replacement at the Ottawa Monfort Hospital. For the previous few years I had really suffered from shooting pains, knee weakness and the resultant lack of mobility so basically this was the only choice. The operation was a success, but recovery has taken much longer and with more pain than I had anticipated.

I suppose that's due to my military and engineering background so using an automotive comparison:

"From the Andes to the Rainforest" Just click on the girl or title to view our wonderful trip to PERU in May 2006.

Poker Club Golf Trophies

It was decided at the wrap-up meeting after our June 2015 get-together in Niagara Falls that we no-longer would bust our butts for a chance at winning a trophy, but rather simply enjoy (if this is possible) a scoreless golf outing. So, the trophies have been officially retired, but I have created a web page containing a plethora of photos of the trophies and past winners. To get there just click on the above 'Garry Golfer' or here.

Our E-Mail Addresses are: gwstephanson@rogers.com or jstephanson@rogers.com