tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-339316492024-03-24T00:11:48.309-07:001000 Places to See"Travel is fatal to prejudice."
--Mark TwainUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger273125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-78723228250770921182023-11-18T13:56:00.000-08:002023-12-31T15:21:12.737-08:00#224 Bay of Fundy"Fundy is a place of absolute wonder where the world's highest tides rise as much as 48 feet in six hours - more than twenty-two times greater than the average in open seas. Fundy National Park, established in 1948, protects 80 square miles of the land along the bay's west coast. ...Visitors can walk nearly three-quarters of a mile across the tidal flats to the water's edge - then kayak that Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-12091133190282506282023-11-16T13:43:00.000-08:002023-12-31T13:43:51.570-08:00#223 Lake Massawippi"Ten-mile-long Lake Massawippi sits in the southeastern part of the Townships, less than a half hour's drive from the US border, and is its most desirable resort area, especially around the northern end's North Hatley. ... Hovey Manor is one of these. Built in 1899 by Henry Atkinson, an Atlanta electricity baron who arrived every summer accompanied by eighteen servants and ten horses, it was Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-44917581021452706052023-11-14T08:18:00.000-08:002023-11-14T08:18:06.388-08:00#222 Mont Tremblant Resort“…Fairmont Mont Tremblant, located on a crest above the village [is] pleasantly scaled, homey, and harmoniously integrated into its natural setting, the hotel has a feel of a country inn, its north woods decor drawing from the tradition of Quebec’s 19th century Provencal style residences and its lobby warmed by the requisite huge stone fireplace.”This was a quick one-night stop and it happened toUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-55910476492921405482023-07-31T19:13:00.001-07:002023-07-31T19:13:00.153-07:00#221 Montreal's Summer Festivals
"Part iconoclastic Francophone outpost in otherwise anglais-speaking North America, part skyscraping internationalist city, Montreal is also a festival town par excellence, boasting several major festivals and a number of smaller events that fill the summer months.""Just for Laughs (Juste pour Rire) Festival promotes the idea that humor can be reinvented, with artists stretching the boundries Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-85587150785330837812023-07-29T18:20:00.000-07:002023-07-29T18:20:00.148-07:00#192 and #193 Revisited: Vermont (Stowe and the Northeast Kingdom)I stayed in an Airbnb in the border of New York and Vermont for the express purpose of spending at least 2 weekends in Vermont during the month I was there.
I managed one day. A very, very rainy day. The weather was so bad that I contemplated turning around several times, but just as I’d decide it was better postponed the rain would let up a little and I would press on. But it did mean thatUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-34788291284129782902023-07-27T17:21:00.000-07:002023-07-27T17:21:04.335-07:00#24 Revisited: Pennsylvania Dutch Country
“The English are encouraged to respect the privacy of these insular, but kind people and their simple lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a nice, aimless meander down the area’s backcountry roads, which take you past one-room schoolhouses, neat fields cultivated by mule-driven plows, quaintly named towns like Bird-in-Hand and Paradise (and Blue Ball or Intercourse).”
My Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-58111745555876618292023-02-15T13:07:00.002-08:002023-02-23T16:09:09.971-08:00#220 The Golden DoorSo, this one is a little bit of a cheat. The Golden Door spa takes 40 guests at a time, for a week-long experience costing around $10,000/week. That is....definitely out of my budget. They also make super clear that they do not have day passes and you cannot book one-off services. I'd ruled out crossing this item of The List a long time ago. However, in double checking while preparing for this Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-37758894235564107082023-02-12T13:03:00.002-08:002023-02-12T13:04:06.676-08:00#219 Hotel del Coronado"It is eternal spring on the curved isthmus of Coronado ... this is the home of Hotel Del Coronado (aka the Del, aka the Grand Lady by the Sea), which sits like a Victorian wedding cake on 26 lovely beachfront acres."I had to travel back to Long Beach for work and decided I'd fly out for the weekend and cross a couple of things off the list. Because I didn't have the chance to cross anything off Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-62857257606122624752021-12-08T09:49:00.000-08:002021-12-08T09:49:00.155-08:00#218 (continued) Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Scholar’s Secret Scavenger HuntThere are bat shapes all over the Garden. Bats symbolize good luck in Chinese because the word for bat sounds the same as the word for fortune or blessing. The door handles are also bats – a docent was giving a tour while I was in there and she whispered to me to be sure and touch the door handles to bring good luck. Near the Jade Water Pavilion is the Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-21726268465430178192021-12-06T09:02:00.000-08:002021-12-06T10:58:54.802-08:00#218 Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
“…The Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden rises from a
former parking lot on the edge of Vancouver’s Chinatown, the third largest
outside the Orient, topped only by those of San Francisco and New York. It is
the first (and is reputed to be the most authentic) full-scale classical
Chinese garden ever built outside of China. … The finished product is a
pocket-sized otherworld, a walled oasis of Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-26834118398142936082021-11-26T17:11:00.001-08:002021-11-26T17:11:00.142-08:00#217 (continued) Granville Island
“Foodies should also head to Granville Island … and spend
the morning at Granville Market, once of North America’s best, brimming with
seafood, meats, and wines from the province’s vineyards – the finest British Columbia
has to offer. It’s food court reflects the cross-pollination of Canada’s most
ethnically diverse city.”I’d been putting off the last two items on my list for this
trip because Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-60378022718987916782021-11-24T04:37:00.001-08:002021-11-24T04:37:00.164-08:00#217 Tojo’s and Granville Island
“Save yourself the cost of an airline ticket to Tokyo and
head for Tojo’s, a bright and popular restaurant that is named for its revered
chef-owner, an amiable innovator responsible for some of the best sushi
Canadian dollars can buy.”
Y’all know, seafood is not my thing, and I’d long planned to
hit Tojo’s for their cocktail hour rather than an actual meal. But COVID has
indefinitely Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-15350475371867045172021-11-22T04:15:00.002-08:002021-11-22T04:15:00.158-08:00#214 (continued) Museum of Anthropology
“In Vancouver, the province’s largest city, museum meisters
will assure you that the Museum of Anthropology’s collection of native art and
culture is no less stellar… Housed in an
award-winning building by Arthur Erickson, it’s best known for the cedar
sculpture The Raven and the First Men by Haida artist Bill Reid.”
I visited the museum on a really cold and rainy day. They haveUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-45642279830704153532021-11-20T13:30:00.001-08:002021-11-20T13:30:00.149-08:00 #216 Sooke Harbour House and the Aerie Resort
“Less homelike and more formal (and thus the special-occasion
destination of many couples), the Aerie Resort offers stiff competition with
its premium-quality kitchen and jaw-dropping setting, high atop Mallahat Summit
at 1,200 feet, overlooking Finlayson Arm
and southern Vancouver Island.”
Aerie has changed its name to Eyrie, but it’s still got a gorgeous
view from the top of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-66292553419337161422021-11-18T10:58:00.000-08:002021-11-18T10:58:00.186-08:00#215 Stubbs Island Whale Watching
So, Stubbs Island Whale Watching company shuttered a couple
of years ago. But several operators
still run tours from Victoria during October.
I choose Eagle Wing Tours; they guarantee whale sightings, and they did
not disappoint.
There was a little bit of weather drama. I’d reserved a Saturday tour, and I got a
call Thursday afternoon saying that the weather looked rough Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-22429104129359413762021-11-16T21:02:00.001-08:002021-11-16T21:02:00.144-08:00#214 Royal British Columbia Museum
“Regularly ranked as one of the top ten museums in North
America, Victoria’s Royal British Columbia is as much fun for kids as for
adults and as intriguing to locals as to foreigners. Visitors can walk through
the province’s history from the Ice Age (the 10 foot wooly mammoth is a
guaranteed hit with children) to its mining and fishing heritage, with lifelike
dioramas…”
This really is a funUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-52471310919928257182021-11-12T06:53:00.037-08:002021-11-15T18:16:36.228-08:00#213 Gulf Islands and the Hastings House
“The Gulf Islands archipelago – a string of some 100
partially submerged mountain peaks lying in the Straight of Georgia, between
Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia – is Canada’s answer to
Washington’s San Juans, though no where near as busy… Of the five most visited
southern Gulf Islands, Salt Spring is the most popular and also the largest…
Incongruously perched above the town amidUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-83627857988566278592021-11-10T06:34:00.020-08:002021-11-10T06:34:00.158-08:00#212 Whistler-Blackcomb Ski ResortI’m obviously not skiing, and not really doing anything
except another hotel splurge in Autumns finest foliage.
“Whistler-Blackcomb boasts more slopeside lodging than any
other resort in North America. It’s only ski-in/ski-out property, however, is
the swank Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort, a friendly, gabled fortress
dominating the ski area at the base of Blackcomb Mountain and embodying the
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-45374718120742449912021-11-08T21:06:00.060-08:002021-11-08T21:06:00.131-08:00#211 (continued) Yoho
“…Yoho National Park – whose name derives from a Cree
expression of wonder and reverence – is much smaller, covering about
507-sqaure-miles… It’s history is bound up with the Canadian Pacific, which in
1909 blasted a pair of tunnels right through the mountains. Today, you can
watch trains enter and leave at the Lower Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint.”
The tunnels – they are fascinating in person. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-88161355078258929442021-11-05T07:47:00.001-07:002021-11-05T07:47:00.170-07:00#211 (continued) Banff Lake Louise“Banff was Canada’s very first national park, incorporated as a tiny 10-square-mile parcel in 1885 and now grown into a 2656-square-mile giant that is Canada’s number-one destination. … [Lake] Louise has the greater name recognition due to its large ski area, its resort village, and it famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a sumptuous, turreted Edwardian dream that’s probably the greatest of the Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-67958833038497173502021-11-02T07:25:00.002-07:002021-11-02T07:25:00.163-07:00#211 (continued) Jasper/Banff Icefields Parkway
“Heading [south], the Icefields Parkway links Lake Louise
with Jasper National Park, along the way passing through a northern fantasy of
hanging glaciers, deep river valleys and waterfalls, subalpine forests, and the
Columbia Icefield, one of the largest accumulations of ice south of the Arctic
Circle, covering nearly 116-square-miles.”
The drive from Jasper to Banff was rainy and so I didn’t
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-38050707413308998372021-11-01T19:18:00.001-07:002021-11-01T19:18:17.138-07:00#211 (continuted) Jasper
“Jasper, Canada’s largest national park in the Rocky
Mountains, has rugged scenery and a less touristed vibe. … Fishermen enjoy
angling on Maligne Lake (the largest of the Rockies’ glacier-fed lakes), while
the Miette Hot Springs offer soaks in outdoor pools, surrounded by forest and
mountains.”
First up, Jasper. I actually had to rearrange a little bit –
Jasper was supposed to be second – Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-5824731195205577392021-10-28T21:36:00.002-07:002021-10-28T21:42:08.731-07:00#211 Banff, Jasper, and Yoho National Parks“West of Edmonton and running north-south for more than 300
miles, Banff, Jasper, and Yoho national parks combine with several smaller
parks to form the Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site, one of the largest
protected areas in the world.”
When COVID closed the border in 2020, my plan to road trip
through Canada was put on hold. Instead,
I hunkered down in an Airbnb and isolated Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-76928379819944109632020-05-15T15:57:00.002-07:002020-05-15T15:57:25.069-07:00#154 Revisited: SXSW
SXSW was one of the first major events to be cancelled as the COVID-19 pandemic began sweeping across the nation. It was a shocking announcement that kicked off weeks of self-isolating that is still going on….at least in my household.
A bright side of the COVID crisis is that SXSW decided to partner with Amazon to present several of its film festival applicants for free public viewing.&Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33931649.post-52225051016864588262020-02-29T09:08:00.000-08:002020-03-01T08:26:43.293-08:00#210 Amelia Island
“One of the choicest and most pristine stretches of beach belongs to The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, whose guest rooms all enjoy enviable views and perfect sunrises. Considered by many to be one of the finest resorts in the South, the Ritz-Carlton offers golf, tennis, Southern hospitality, and exceptional dining in its award-winning restaurant[s] proving that Amelia Island is, once again, the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com