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

Posted by in Pleasure, Ski, Travel

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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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Freshii Juice Cleanse

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Health & Fitness

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Happy New Year! It has been so long since my last post! I actually don’t even remember what it was about. I do have some new posts to write on my trip to Whistler over new years – hopefully I will be able to give some advice to other first timers to the wonderful western ski resort!

Today’s post though isn’t about travel and fun but recovering from too much fun. I’ve blogged a lot about my different cleanses and detoxes and thought it fair to share this one day Freshii Juice Cleanse which has been quite tasty so far!

For $30 for one day you get 4 juices and a salad which is pretty reasonable. The four juices you get are:

  • Green Energy
  • Carrot Zinger
  • Mighty Detox
  • Red Power

And the salad is the Metaboost.

Freshii has a great app that you can load payment and find locations but it wasn’t the easiest process to book or pick up… maybe I am exaggerating but I did have to send an email with my order and when I went to pick it up at 8am they hadn’t even heard of me and my stuff wasn’t ready. But stuff like that happens! Not really a big deal.

Well it’s time for me to go have my salad. Let me know if you give the cleanse a try or want to hook up for a salad!

My nourishment for the day

My nourishment for the day

 

Fixing a Shattered Iphone Screen

25 Saturday Oct 2014

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So last night, after 1 too many mojitos (for the record I had two but since I don’t drink much…) I dropped my iPhone. Now it wasn’t an epic, fly through the air, drop but a mild from hip height drop but it was the one that broke my screen. Since I couldn’t use my iPhone to take a shot of my own phone I found one online that looked similar.

It was pretty bad!

It was pretty bad!

It was a pretty sobering experience when I looked up what it was going to cost me for a new iPhone 6 and I am currently off contract which is a great feeling (no offence Rogers). I was lucky to remember that a friend had his screen replaced and said it worked well so I started looking for a place downtown and found iRepair.ca and that they have a location on the Danforth!

I arrived 15 minutes before the location opened and was so excited when Mike the owner said he could easily fix it AND that he uses apple parts. It wasn’t even going to take him long. Mike was great, he even offered me a loner but for the 35 minutes it was going to take him, I figured I could survive. I swung home for a quick bite and then went back to pick up my beloved.

Well… it was like taking a brand new phone out the box without all the painful work that goes in to setting up inboxes. She looked gorgeous and it only cost me $110. No need to get a new phone if your screen is busted, if your power button is broken, if you need a new battery or your phone won’t charge. Go see these guys instead or if you are out of town and not near their locations – mail it in!

If you don’t believe me – check out their reviews on Yelp.

 

Rocky Mountaineer – Banff to Vancouver

17 Friday Oct 2014

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Continuing my posts in chronological order…

Upper level in the gold leaf

Upper level in the gold leaf

While there was a bit of confusion starting off at the Fairmont, it was smooth sailing or should I say chugging, once we got on the train. Now we were in the Gold Leaf car which I debated and researched before booking and reviews were mixed but I decided to splurge and I have to say it was worth it!

We had assigned seats so there was no jockeying. We found our seats and settled in. We were immediately introduced to the team on our car – Brandi, David, Megan and Alex. The took such great car of us, they definitely made the trip that much worthwhile and I am sure I will rave about them later in this post.

On the lower level was our dining car that sat only half of the group from above so IMG_1701while you waited for breakfast you had fresh scones and coffee and for the lunch wait there was wine and cheese. The food was AMAZING. There are actually chefs on board and they were wonderful with my gluten-free request, even making me a gluten-free cookie for a snack after a delay! Did I mention too that the spirits, wine and beer were unlimited? I enjoyed some west coast wine, Bailey’s on the rocks and even a gin and tonic as we rolled west.

Of course the trip was more about the scenery than the food and it too was superb. The teams servicing the cars have it down to a complete science radioing to each other when animals are spotted. Over the two days we saw a grizzly bear, a black bear, eagles, salmon, and elk. Sadly most of the pictures of the animals are fuzzy blobs so I don’t have any proof!

I have over 700 photos so I can’t share them all but have selected a few of my favourites!

Lake in BC

Gorgeous Lake in BC

This is why the roof is glass!

This is why the roof is glass!

Gorgeous train passing through the tunnel

Gorgeous train passing through the tunnel

Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Banff Springs

07 Tuesday Oct 2014

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Many of my posts on this blog are reviews of spas! I love rewarding myself with a trip to the  spa and couldn’t resist booking some time at the Fairmont Banff Springs’ Willow Stream Spa. I went all out for this trip, booking a signature service for the evening of our arrival – the Ultimate Accent!

Willow Stream Spa

Mineral pool at the spa

I arrived an hour early to enjoy the water therapies and they were one of the best I had ever experienced. There are several pools of different temperatures and of course there is an outdoor hot tub right outside next to the mountains. I spent a good 30 minutes relaxing and settling in to the first day of my vacation.

When it was time for my service I went up to the sitting area to meet my therapist. Now while waiting I opened my iPad to read and mistakenly opened my email and started reading some notes. Well there was one from a client about a potential problem that sent my mind off in to thinking mode – bye bye relaxation.

My service started with a warm foot soak and scrub before moving to the table from a dry brushing followed up by a massage. Now I found the brushing a little aggressive but I didn’t say anything so that is my fault. I left the spa all soft and smooth with my new body brush.

One bit of advice, if you are congested or suffer from allergies and it is allergy season don’t sign up for a service where you will be on your stomach for over an hour. Added to my work stress was the worry of my runny nose!