Come to Vancouver – we have the best weather!

               Ahh, summer in Vancouver.   Perfect days with a rare cloud punctuating the pure blue sky, a gentle breeze coming in off the ocean, the majestic mountains surrounding us in a comforting hug, and the sun glinting off the glass skyscrapers of the downtown core.  Damn, right it’s the best place on earth.  And you should all drop what you’re doing and come now.  Immediately.  Vancouver wants you.  We have perfect weather, so take advantage of it before stock runs out! 

                Summer finally arrived at the end of June, after the longest winter on record.  Well, technically winter was exactly the same length as every year, but this year it felt like we skipped spring entirely.  But once summer dawned, it hasn’t let up one bit.  We’ve now had nearly a month straight of “coat?  I don’t even need socks in this weather” weather, and I’m loving every second of it.  Life should operate at this temperature every day.  I guess it does in LA, but here we don’t need to deal with nearly as much traffic, garbage, smog, noise…  you get the point.  As much as I appreciate (and boy do I appreciate) the chance to finally thaw, this weather also shows off Vancouver at its best, and everyone needs to take full advantage of it. 

               Right now we’re in the midst of the Symphony of Fire fireworks competition for four consecutive Wednesday and Saturday nights, which floods the shores of false creek with thousands of “ooooh”ers and “aaaah”ers.  Soon we’ll have the Dragon Boat festival, too.  We actually don’t have a deep pool of festivals and events, but the attractions we have year-round are pretty damn spectacular, and when you see them in this fantabulous weather, they’re even better.  You can immerse yourself in the native culture of the pacific coast at the UBC Museum of Anthropology and then get your nekked on at Wreck Beach; shop Robson Street’s trendiness and then finish off the day at a waterfront cafe on False Creek; bike Stanley Park’s seawall, feed the squirrels and enormous raccoons, then visit one of the best Aquariums around to splash with the belugas and dolphins.  A few weeks ago I did the bike thing for the first time since I was like 6 and it was great.  It’s a really smooth, relaxing ride, and a 2 hour bike rental from Spokes on Denman only cost CAD$10.00!    And regardless of what you do, remember to snag a funky twist on lunch at the world-famous Japadog gourmet Japanese hot dog cart.  Trust me, it’s worth the wait.

          But honestly, I’m here in the best place on earth, and I cannot recommend strongly enough that you should be too.  What are you waiting for, people?  We have sun!!!!

Tags: aquarium, best, bikes, BlogSherpa, Canada, fantastic, fireworks, fun, Japadog, Stanley Park, sun, vancouver, weather

Southern California so much fun!

            As a long-overdue Girl’s Week Out this past January/February my Mom and I vacationed in Southern California, seeking sun, sand and surf.  We were hoping for pure fun and boy, did we find it.  Not ones to lie on the beach all day, we packed our trip with all the stereotypical tourist haunts, beginning in San Diego.

            There we took in the exotic San Diego Wild Animal Park; admired the stunning views (and gale force winds) from Cabrillo Point, where Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered San Diego in 1542; saw hunky lifeguards, low-flying military planes and the famous Hotel Del Coranado; and shopped for souvenirs in the tourist-oriented Seaport Village.

            From there we drove up the Pacific Coast Highway to Anaheim.  As a Christmas gift I had given Mom a Beach Boys CD, thinking that it would put us in the sunny California mindset.  No one could have guessed how perfect it turned out to be.  With songs such as “Surfin’ USA” and “Surfin’ Safari” we were driving through places such as La Jolla, Huntington and Redondo Beach when they were mentioned in the songs!

            Our final destination was, of course, Disneyland and it’s sister park, the California Adventure.  We couldn’t travel all that way without spending some time with the Mouse.

            Undoubtedly, the winter is the best time to visit the parks, with lineups so nonexistent that you could finish one ride, walk back around to the beginning and get right back on it again.  And the best part was that there weren’t millions of kids there.  Sure, there were plenty of toddlers and some older ones (those that we met hailing mainly from Australia on their summer vacation), but there were tons of child-free adults, too.

            We’d thought that we’d stick out, being two adults who couldn’t claim that “we’re only here for our kids”, but we were far from alone.  Couples, honeymooners and groups ranging from their 20’s to their 80’s were running from ride to ride, just as eagerly as the preschoolers.  How can you not be happy in a place where everyone – staff and guests- have permanent joyful grins on their faces?

            Our trip was exhausting, busy and full of all the tacky tourist stuff: absolutely perfect.  The people were all unbelievably nice and happy to talk or take a picture, and the sky was endless blue.  Coming home was hard, and both of us would go back in a heartbeat.

- As originally published in the Vancouver Province

Tags: Anaheim, beach, BlogSherpa, Disneyland, published, San Diego, Seaworld, sun, theme park, zoo

Las Vegas Baby!

               “What the heck are we doing here? It’s nothing but sand” was my first impression as the pilot announced final approach into Las Vegas this past fourth of July.  Then suddenly there she was, rising out of the heat waves like a miniature Egypt…no, Paris…no, Italy…no, Camelot.  The hotels should give passport stamps to go with their wonderfully tacky souvenirs.  As a Vegas beginner, the city comes at you like an adult Disneyland, all bright and flashy and promising to make dreams come true.

We were staying at the Excalibur, and were lucky enough to get one of the newly renovated rooms (read: tasteful décor and a massive flatscreen TV – that we never figured out how to operate, but it wasn’t like we were in the room long enough anyhow).  Already we had learned the first rule of Vegas: everyone’s looking to get rich, including all the taxi drivers who delight in taking the “fast way” which happens to cost double.

                 For two Canadian girls, the heat hit us like a blanket you can’t shrug off. Mid-afternoon we prayed for the wind to stop as it was hotter than the ambient air temp, and the sun setting didn’t provide much relief, because then the baked pavement released it’s stored heat, turning the whole Strip into a shoe-softening hot plate. On the 6th we were lucky enough to get the hottest day of the year, a blistering 125 degrees (according to our Gondolier at the Venetian) that would have been unbearable had there been any humidity.

            And the hotels lived up to their reputations.  Our favorite was the spectacular Venetian and the Paris flowed close behind, both in terms of great themes and overall photogenic-ness.  The Bellagio and Cesar’s Palace are beautifully over the top, and the Luxor’s playful Egyptian carnival was a lot of fun.   We managed to talk our way up the inclinators (diagonal elevators) ascending the walls of the giant pyramid and get memorable views over the casino and mock ancient city below. 

            If you’re not lucky enough to win the jackpot (as we were), you learn rule #2: Vegas is expensive.  Between the $4 bottles of water, $10 average fast food meal and souvenirs, our money went faster than if a slot machine had eaten it.  But there is hope, as the free dancing fountains at the Bellagio were spectacular, the volcano eruption at the Mirage was cool and the cheesy Pussycat Dolls-meets-Chippendales Sirens of TI show was fun to laugh at.  At both the Showcase Mall and Hawaiian Marketplace there were also half price ticket booths where you could snag great same-day tickets to many of the big-name shows for a steal.

            All told, Vegas wasn’t the “adult playground” I’d expected, much more tongue-in-cheek, a city that seemed to go out of it’s way to make fun of itself.  No matter how much you see, you will always leave with a list of things you missed or, as I like to put it, “saved for the next trip”.

- As originally published in the Vancouver Province

Tags: BlogSherpa, hot, hotels, Las Vegas, money, public transportation, published, sun

Chiang Mai – Ele-fun with Elephants

           “In Thailand you must ride elephants” advised my Lonely Planet, so I found myself in a squeaky minivan on a cloudless January morning driving through the outskirts of Chiang Mai towards the Maetamann Nature Camp.     

            We arrived just in time to see 12 of the camp’s 57 adopted pachyderms frolicking in the river, squirting and splashing and getting a good scrubdown from their mahouts (trainers).  Coming to Thailand I had been concerned about the welfare of the elephants,  having seen the TV exposes, but any worries I had were washed away as, after their baths, the elephants strolled past, free of any chains, whips or even fences.  The performance that followed was like Superdogs at the PNE, where verbal or practically invisible foot commands highlighted the elephants’ dexterity and intelligence as they moved logs, kicked soccer balls and marched in formations.

            A table sold bundles of sugar cane and bananas for 20 baht (60 cents CAD), and during the art portion of the show (where a baby elephant actually painted a detailed picture of an elephant holding a flower – if I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed a trunk could make such intricate movements) my friend bought some.  It took seconds for the baby to spot the treats, and each time he gave his brush to his mahout for reloading he slyly peeked our direction through long eyelashes to make sure they were still there.  It was love at first sight.  As soon as the painting was completed, the baby elephant, like a kid on Christmas morning, looked to his mahout for permission and when he got a nod he rushed right over to us, trunk extended.  Though it was a crowded amphitheatre, for the few minutes it took for him to enjoy his sugar cane, everyone else ceased to exist and he was ours.

            Then the show was over and he was gone, but the disappointment was short lived as, after an oxcart ride to a nearby village, we got an elephant ride back to the camp.  The scenery was postcard perfect, lush and unspoiled as we sauntered along the sparking river (or, in our case, through the river, as our elephant decided it was too hot to follow the path like everyone else)!  En route we stopped at a lifeguard tower-esque booth and bought some bananas.  As we wandered away (periodically placing a banana in the trunk, like feeding quarters into an arcade game) I realized: we’d just gone through a drive-through on an elephant!    

            All too soon it was time to go, but the memories are priceless and evoke an excited buzz in me every time I think back.  The perfect day in Chiang Mai.  I’m so glad I listened to my guidebook!

Tags: BlogSherpa, camp, Chiang Mai, elephants, oxcart, sun, Thailand