Category Archives: Pleasure

Things to Consider When Planning Your Alaskan Cruise

06 Tuesday Sep 2016

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I feel like an expert having just gotten back from an Alaskan and I want to share what I learned and help others avoid possible mistakes in planning their dream vacation. And an Alaskan cruise has the potential to be the best vacation you’ve taken!

Selecting Your Cruise Line and Itinerary 

For us we wanted to leave and return to Vancouver and be on a ship that had more than 4 stars as a rating. That lead us to Celebrity and their ship the Infinity. We picked a cruise that went to Icy Strait, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau and Ketchikan with 2 full days at sea. I book through Vacations To Go – they never disappoint me with their knowledge and prices. My guy Johnston was fantastic so let me know if you want his details.

The Infinity at the Hubbard (taken by Celebrity)

The Infinity at the Hubbard (taken by Celebrity)

Veranda or No Veranda? Concierge Class or Regular?

It can be very overwhelming when trying to decide what type of room to book especially when the prices can start to get pretty steep. One thing that is a must for this cruise is a Veranda room – do not miss out on sitting on your veranda with a glass of wine looking at a humpback whale forage for herring with mountains as the backdrop. We went with the concierge class and were treated to upgraded sheets and pillows, priority getting off at ports, a bottle of bubbly in our room when we arrived and a concierge if we needed one.

How do I plan for Shore Excursions? 

I learned an important lesson (or a few with this cruise). First, not all excursions are offered through the cruise line. There are hundreds but you might find something you want to do that is through a non-affiliated company so do your research. I found a kayaking trip I wanted to do two days before we left. Sadly for me I didn’t book it right away and that is lesson two. If there is something you really want to do, don’t delay. Some of these tours can only accommodate a half dozen people per outing and most days there were three ships in port. Next lesson is a bit contradictory to lesson one. You don’t have to book everything on the first day. I booked before getting on the ship then went to an advance session for Concierge Class travellers (another perk) that gave me a sneak peak and ran down to book before the mob. Unfortunately I didn’t pay attention to the deadlines and when we thought we might want to cancel we couldn’t get a refund. (It all worked out in the end though!)

The Infinity docked in Ketchikan (photo by Celebrity)

The Infinity docked in Ketchikan (photo by Celebrity)

Budget for More Spending On Board

We were lucky enough to get two bonus items on our package and we selected the booze package and gratuities with a $50 onboard credit. Well, we still managed to spend quite a bit with our excursions, a trip to the spa, onboard shopping, an upgrade to the classic beverage package and a bottle of Evian in our room (another learning there, get the water at the bar since the one in your room is not on your package!)

 

I’d love to hear your tips for cruising since I plan to do it again and if you have questions for me I’d be happy to help, if I can! More on my trip in the coming days and weeks.

 

 

Orcas in San Juan

10 Sunday May 2015

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Lolita, slave to entertainment

Lolita, slave to entertainment

This post is dedicated to Tokitae who was abducted from the waters of Penn Cove in Puget Sound for almost 46 years. If you’ve seen Blackfish the movie you have some insight to her story. She has been living at Miami Seaquarium all these decades and for most of them alone after her cell mate Hugo died after he repeatedly slammed his head against the concrete wall.

Tomorrow is a very special day for Tokitae (oh, you may know her as Lolita, the name they gave her in Miami). Tomorrow a ruling takes affect changing her status to an endangered species like the members of her family that are free in Puget Sound (their dwindling numbers are due to the capture of so many in the 70s). While this doesn’t change her captive status (yet), it is a move in the right direction as there is a plan in place to move Tokitae to a sea pen in the waters of the San Juan Islands.

Free J pod orca does a tail slap!

Free J pod orca does a tail slap!

See, Tokitae still vocalizes in the dialect of her family and her family members are still alive, likely even her mom. There is hope that the next ruling will force her release and the well thought out retirement plan will move in to action. If you want to watch Lolita’s story you can watch the documentary “Lolita: Slave to Entertainment“.

For me the visit to San Juan was the highlight, it was a dream coming true! See San Juan Islands’ waters are home to many orcas – both resident pods (Southern Resident Killer Whales or SRKW) and transients. We drove from Seattle and took the leisure route with the only “must do” is our ferry ride from Anacortes to Friday Harbour late in the afternoon. We took a short ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton and I was truly in heaven – mountains, the Pacific Ocean. It was bliss. The drive was gorgeous. We stopped in Langley on Whidbey Island and stopped in at the Orca Network (it was actually Welcome the Whales parade day although we couldn’t stay for it) and then Penn Cove where Tokitae was taken from.

123 West over on the right

123 West over on the right

We got in to Friday Harbour after an hour long ferry ride, checked in to 123 West which was perfect for us – new, comfortable, right in the town and such friendly staff! With nothing really planned this first evening we went and grabbed some drinks and soaked in the views before we decided to head out to Lime Kiln Park to watch the sunset and hopefully see some orcas from shore. J, K and L pod often play off the coast of the park for visitors to enjoy!

Sunset in Lime Kiln

Sunset in Lime Kiln

While the sunset was stunning there were no whales hanging out, just a seal. I wasn’t discouraged though having an excursion booked on the Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching the next day.

Jeff had called, from Maya’s, while were having drinks the day before and asked if we were flexible with our time. We had been booked for 4pm but there is more likelihood for sightings earlier in the day when other boats are out. Of course seeing whales was a priority, so whatever it took. I was ecstatic when Jeff called that morning and said that J pod was spotted off the island and as an orca fanatic they are my favourite pod with 3 calves!

The trip was fantastic, mind-blowing, life-changing… Captain James Maya and his first mate Jeff made the trip even more enjoyable with their knowledge and love for orcas and everything in that ocean. We also had Melissa Sehgal on the trip who once served with Sea Shepherd in Taiji Japan and moved to San Juan Island to be closer to the amazing orcas and other sea life!

J pod Male

J pod Male

We had porpoises play on off the bow, hung out stellar sea lions lounging and of course the orcas! I saw my first male, who I think was J27 Blackberry or J26 Mike whose dorsals are just so majestic! 

Baby J Orca

Baby J Orca

Of course we were almost about to head in but before we did Captain James made sure to find us one of the babies, J52 was swimming close to shore with it’s mother and seeing them made the day complete.

Now if you are interested in orcas and ever want to learn more, message me! I could talk with you for hours about them! I hope to make it to Super Pod next year (to visit with my new friends Jeff, James and Melissa and the orcas) and some day spend, at a minimum, a summer on San Juan Island. If you make it to the island make sure you book a trip out with Captain James and Jeff. We might be lucky enough to share a trip out together, if when I make that dream a reality!

Friendly Sea Lions

Friendly Sea Lions

Lounging Stellar Sea Lion

Lounging Stellar Sea Lion

One Night in Seattle: Meeting Mark Anthony Dobransky

03 Sunday May 2015

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I totally over-promised when I said I would post one entry a day when I got back from vacation (if you came directly to this post you can check my last two for Cannon Beach and Portland). I am not going to make another promise of when my posts for Friday Harbour and Salish Lodge will be up but I will have them done before the month is over!

Me at the Market

Me at the Market (scroll down for more photos)

The longest part of our drive was from Cannon Beach up to Seattle – about 4 hours but it was pretty smooth until we got in to Seattle where the traffic was obscene! We were lucky enough to have booked a place right at the market, Inn at the Market, once we checked in we headed to the market to search out the places I found on Trip Advisor that I wanted to try. Pike Place Chowder was delicious, as was LoPriore Brothers meatball sandwich!

Where we met Mark

Where we met Mark

After that lunch we needed to walk it off, so we headed down to the waterfront and down there is where we met Mark Anthony Dobransky. Mark Anthony was obviously living on the streets and first I thought he is going to start asking for money but he didn’t. He sat down to talk with us and asked us about the camera and if we print pictures. We chatted about many things – chukars (I had a bag from Chukars Cherries – amazing chocolate covered wine soaked cherries!), drugs and a surfer he says he mentored who died of an overdose (Andy Irons), and Facebook. He told us he is on Facebook and that we can find pictures of him on there.

Signing our picture

Signing our picture

He asked if we want to see a picture and he goes to his bag and comes back with two black and whites. Both are of him and taken obviously by someone who knows his or her way around a camera. He asked us if we wanted one. We decided which we wanted and he grabbed a fresh one from his bag and told us he would sign it and put our names on the back.

As we were leaving he asked if I had any of those loonies or twoonies (we had told him we were Canadian) and luckily I did. I handed him the twoonie and we headed back to the hotel.

On our walk back I googled Mark Anthony Dobransky and found a tweet that clicked through to a blog post of a photographer. As I read it I began to cry. It is a touching story and I encourage you to read it. So not to spoil it for you who will, I am not going to write anything else about Mark Anthony’s story but that I had wished that we spent more time talking with him. I walked backed to where we had seen him earlier but I didn’t find him… (there is also a news story you can read!) (and if you want to read the comments on Facebook)

Once I was done reading the story I sent a tweet to the photographer and told him that I read his story and that it moved me to tears. He asked me how Mark was doing and I told him he seemed to be doing well.

I know there isn’t much here about Seattle but honestly Mark Anthony was the best part of the day. Remember, if you have someone approach you, someone who looks a bit down on their luck, maybe give them the time, have a conversation with them, it will probably do you both some good.

And one more post about Mark. 

Oh ya, the first Starbucks is there too. It was underwhelming. I should mention we had an amazing sunset on the roof deck of the hotel. Cheese, bread and wine!

Gorgeous sunset

Gorgeous sunset

Market Pig - forget her name

Market Pig – forget her name

Crab Roll & Chowder

Crab Roll & Chowder

Yum

Yum

Flowers!

Flowers!

Cannon Beach: More than sand and surf!

25 Saturday Apr 2015

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We left our place with the elevator in Portland quite early and started to venture north to Manzanita (I know it sounds like somewhere in Mexico but it is a coastal town in Oregon) however we had planned to visit some wineries on the way but there was a problem – it was too early for wine tastings! So I opened up the trusty Trip Advisor app and found us some things to do to kill the time.

Roloff Farm

Drive by

We stopped in Banks at the Banks Cafe where we had a delicious breakfast. With an hour or more to still kill I found us some sites. A church from the 1800s and… the Roloff Farm. Don’t pretend you don’t know the farm from the show with the little people! The farm isn’t open though so it was a drive by.

David Hill

I love wine tasting!

At 11am we rolled in to David Hill Winery where I really enjoyed their whites. We left with 3 bottles – some for the trip and some for home (Remember: as a Canadian if you are away 48 hours you can bring back 2 bottles of wine. And I failed to mention how cheap the wine was in Portland. We bought a Barolo at Trader Jack’s for $19!) The scenery was just spectacular at this winery…

We continued our drive north and west to the coast and actually found one more winery on our route. Another bottle of wine and a bottle of port were added to our collection from Shafer Vineyard! And before we reached the coast one more stop was made for cheese at the Blue Heron French Cheese Co and bread… and maybe a bottle of sparkling wine (we didn’t have any with bubbles!). When we got to the coast it was just stunning (cue Wait Kygo Remix).

Cheers!

Cheers!

We lunched on the beach in Manzanita with our Pepsi cups. It was perfect. It was a bit chilly for the beach but I did change over to flip flops and felt that the vacation had truly began. From Manzanita it was a quick drive to Canon Beach and it was mostly along the gorgeous ocean.

Haystack Rock

Getting the fire ready at Haystack Rock

Now, you may think you don’t know Cannon Beach but you do if you saw the movie Goonies! The kids visit Haystack Rock as part of their scavenger hunt. If you haven’t seenthe movie, get your hands on it and watch, it’s a fun movie (at least it was when I was 8). We stayed at The Cannon Beach Hotel and I was happy with my pick! Close to the beach, breakfast included (with mimosas) and a fireplace in the room.

Things you have to do in Cannon Beach:

  • Funcycle on the beach (but beware if you start riding with the wind that the ride back against is not going to be easy!)

    Beach Fire Cannon Beach

    Marshmallows!

  • Visit the town and do some shopping for souvenirs
  • Have a fire on the beach and watch the sunset (yes, it is legal there to set up a fire on the beach!)
  • Visit the glass blowing shop across from the Cannon Beach Hotel (it was amazing to watch, wish I had room to bring a piece home and the budget!)
  • Buy a kite and fly it on the beach! (There is a kite shop on the way out of Cannon Beach towards Seaside, the guy there was great and had a big Canadian flag in the window)

A couple Cannon Beach tips:

  • We were there in the off season and were told it is bedlam there during the summer so go in off peak if you can
  • Places close early during the off-season at least so we got stuck with some dismal meals while we were there except for the amazing breakfast, calamari overlooking the beach and oyster cocktail thingies during happy hour

Next stop Seattle!

kite

Go fly a kite

Beachfront

Rehydrating after bike ride

Beach toes

Beach toes

Kite Shop

Kite Shop

40 hours in Portland

23 Thursday Apr 2015

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Since we had a lot of ground to cover on this trip we had to trade off some locations for others and we trade time in Portland for time at the beach but we did want to get a flavour for the area.

Tin Shed menu

Tin Shed menu

We had the most amazing breakfast at Tin-Shed Cafe which I found on Trip Advisor. This cool spot even allows dogs! With huge portions we were set for the day. I made sure to get a good mix of salty and sweet for my breakfast cause I do believe every meal should have dessert!

Eggs, Bacon, French Toast

Eggs, Bacon, French Toast

We walked around the area while we waited for our cab (Tip: cabs seem scarce in Portland so give yourself lots of time!) and found the Random Order Pie Bar and got ourself some chocolate cream pie (which we sadly left on the patio table when our cab arrived and which may have still been there when we came back with our rental car!)

First falls we saw

First falls we saw

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls

With our car we set out to check out the The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area and decided to spend the day doing that. It was gorgeous! It wasn’t a warm sunny day but we got to see the natural beauty of the area. Multnomah falls is really something to see and this is coming from a girl who grew up in Niagara Falls.

Snow on Mt Hood

Snow on Mt Hood

With the new Rogers Roam Like Home (and no I didn’t get paid for this mention but truly love being able to be on my phone doing research while away and each day it only costs me $5) I was able to discover that The Shining was filmed at the Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. So I had to check it out. Bad idea! And not because we crossed paths with some crazy ghost twins but because we drove in to a snowstorm without an SUV and snow-tires. We made it to the top but couldn’t see a thing and turned around scared for our lives! They actually ski up there all year round!

Yes, the pillow says Portland. You have to check out the link.

Yes, the pillow says Portland. You have to check out the link.

For our second night in Portland we moved over to an apartment in a very fancy area of the city. Lucky for us the whole city was booked for a brewers convention (heaven for most men right) and I couldn’t get a hotel room. I stumbled upon a great apartment on TripAdvisor rentals that had an elevator and parking!

We walked down to a Jo’s a great spot and shared fondue, salad and some great wine. Afterwards we walked to Salt & Straw so I could have some snickerdoodle and salted caramel ice cream.

The sleep in the apartment was heavenly but sadly just one night. In the morning we packed up and started to head north! Next up… wineries, Roloff’s and surf.

Easterner skis Whistler

06 Friday Mar 2015

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I thought I better finish this one before the ski season is over!

It was my first time west to ski and I knew it would be bigger, better, more challenging but wow are those mountains humbling! My skiing got better as the week went on but day one wasn’t my best skiing and it was a bit cold by Whistler standards and the wind was blowing.

It is steeper than it looks! And it looks steep, no?

It is steeper than it looks! And it looks steep, no?

We saw this great run from the restaurant – The Saddle. We looked it up and it was a blue square and I can do those, not with my eyes closed, but I am pretty good at ’em! Well this blue square, on that specific day, kicked my butt. I won’t go in to all the boring details (and by boring I mean embarrassing for me) but one warning is to be prepared for some challenging blue squares and even green circles!

More to come on our Whistler adventure with tips on what to do, where to eat and all that good stuff! You can use them for next season.

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Planning a trip to Whistler

25 Sunday Jan 2015

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Sunrise at the top of Whisler

Sunrise at the top of Whistler

Almost exactly a month ago we took off for a week in Whistler. This trip was almost 6 months in the making from booking flights and figuring out where to stay and I have to say, for someone who hadn’t stayed at Whistler before, it was not an easy as you would think. So my first post is going to provide some tips for those newbies who are hoping to head west this ski season for the first time.

Where to stay

We wanted to be close to the lifts so there was minimal effort on the days we planned to ski. Nothing worse than having to walk half a kilometre back to your place at the end of ski day! So we picked Blackcomb instead of Whistler. Blackcomb is quieter than Whistler too. We knew we could walk over to the action but when we wanted quiet we could retreat back to our condo and relax. Now if you have a big budget go with Four Seasons or Fairmont and you get to drop your skis at the base of the hill to be shlepped back to the hotel by someone else!

Since we didn’t have $1,000 a night to spend we picked the Aspens which was a ski-in, ski-out complex on Blackcomb. It was perfect for us. We got dressed in our room, walked down, grabbed our skis and headed down to the lift. It was superb!

Aspen's lobby

Aspen’s lobby

From the hill

From the hill

Rent or Pack

We rented skis instead of bringing our own and I am not sure whether or not we made the right decision! The pros – we didn’t have to haul skis from home to airport and airport to hotels and on and on. We also saved the fees for packing but of course did pay for rentals. The big benefit would have been if we had a powder day. At Whistler they let you trade in your rentals for a different pair depending on the conditions.

A friend of ours made a good suggestion – ship your skis. Then you don’t have to worry about carrying them around. Of course you run the risk of the skis getting lost!

Edge Card

At Whistler, as residents of Canada you can get a discount on your Edge Card which allows you to go directly to the lifts. Of course ours just arrived last week. A bit late but it was easy to go and get replacements.

Whistler knows how to do customer service. In fact, if you have any questions there is a chat function on their site or you can use email and they do reply.

I absolutely loved Whistler and am already hoping I can get back this season. More to come on the blog on places to eat, where to ski and things to do. If you know and love Whistler please share some tips for my next trip out!

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