Vancouver celebrated the 100 day countdown by lighting the new Olympic Rings

Wednesday night at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, John Furlong, Chief Executive Officer, VANOC, Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia, and Houourable Mary McNeil, Minister of State for the Olympics and ActNow BC held a ceremony to light the 2010 Olympic Rings at Coal Harbour.  The rings now sit on a barge in the water.   Read more, see a video and a slideshow –

Vancouver celebrated the 100 day countdown by lighting the new Olympic Rings

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Day 4 – Off to Whistler from Nanaimo-day 1 of checking out the venues

November 1st , Sunday morning:  We had to have our bags at the Best Western Dorchester by 7AM.  Since the time changed at 2AM to fall back 1 hour, we would supposedly still get a little extra sleep.  Unfortunately, in the room next door to me there were torch relay volunteers who were throwing their successful completion of the run party until 1 AM so sleep was not an option for me.  So instead I wrote the Victoria flame arrival piece and published it at 1AM, before the fall back time.

I was staying in the Coast Bastion Hotel on the 15th (top) floor facing east.  The festivities at the park in Nanaimo (on the west side of the building) also had amazing fireworks that went on for a really long time. Between the torch relay and the Halloween festivites, Nanaimo was amazing in the evening with people out walking and the street parties.  Peple are so relaxed, open and friendly in the up-island

The Coast was an interesting hotel for me.  There were many pros and cons as I looked at it from the travel agent point of view and a journalist point of view.  I tend to judge a hotel room from several points:  bathroom lighting, shower power, firmness (or lack thereof) of the mattress, the thread count of the linens, the amenities offered, the view and the ease of keeping the room temperature comfortable.  The view I had was awesome, clearly a 10; the bath lighting was outstanding, another 10; the linens were surprisingly comfortable and hypo-allergenic, as opposed to down feather (a positive for me) – about an 8 on the 10 scale.  The amenities were sparse with large pump bottles of shampoo, bath gel and lotion.  Unusual.-  about a 4 on the 10 scale.   Keeping the room temperature moderate and steady was next to impossible.  I would cool it off and then have to warm it up.  It was very challenging. (3 on a 10 scale).  This is always a real disappointment to me as a comfortable temperature in the room is critical.   Sunrise this morning was really awesome, which made up for a lot, so Mother Nature got a resounding 10.

We headed out for the ferry and upon arrival at the Quay, there was a Starbucks which even had  Top Pot Donuts Apple Fritters.  I had my first Americano in 4 days.  And I just had to have an apple fritter.  Once we drove on to the ferry, we had breakfast on the ferry compliments of  Tourism BC.  Then we arrived into the Vancouver port and headed off for Whistler.  I am writing this as we weave along the new Sea to Sky highway.  Stay tuned and I will be telling you lots more about the Whistler venues for the Olympics. 

I am so excited to be celebrating my birthday in Whistler.  What a great way to start a new decade!

Postcard from Puerto Vallarta – first evening excitements

Taking up with the dip in the pool on my first night in PV, I began talking with some ladies who were in a good-sized group of people.  We discussed why they come to the Crown Paradise Hotel every year. 

One, it is affordable and all inclusive.  Refreshing fruit-flavored drinks were flowing freely at the pool as we spoke.

Two, the staff has a low turnover.

Three, the rooms are clean and well maintained.

Four, the staff remembers the people from year to year.

Five, it is affordable enough that they can afford to go out one or two nights to an outside restaurant. 

Six, they are all over the age of forty and the age of the clientele in the hotel is not so young that the noise level and entertainment level is ongoing all night long.  It pretty much quiets down after 10PM.  If one wants nightlife, one must go outside the property.  And that is also an acceptable alternative.

Seven, this year they had a bottle of champagne in their room upon arrival. 

Some very good reasons for returning year after year.

By 7:30 we decided we were hungry but did not want to “dress” for dinner.  In our cover-ups, we were able to eat outside at a table in the corner by the palm fronds.  Chicken enchiladas and refried beans, with more beer.  It was acceptably filling if not entertaining.  Pleading exhaustion, we both agreed to head off to our respective rooms for a restful bit of sleep. 

I walked into my oven and knew rest was not going to happen anytime soon.  I called the front desk again, with a two thumbs up for the response of the staff.  Maintenance was up in a flash. They tore out ceiling panels and opened the ducts.  But to no avail.  There was no air conditioning going to be had in room 1810.  They called the front desk to recommend moving me.  Front desk suggested room #1814.  The maintenance fellow was so great.  He went and got a key to check out that room before they moved me and returned with less than good news.  It was as hot, if not hotter than #1810.  In the meantime I was online and trying to G-Chat Video with the family.  G-Chat Video definitely has some issues with international communications. 

As the minutes flashed by, the long day was taking its toll on everyone.  I took all the unpacking I had done, including all the things in the safe, and the drawers and threw it into my suitcases.  The next thing I knew I was walking down stairs to the 7th floor to a new unit.  It seemed questionable as to whether this room was going to be any cooler, but between the air conditioner and the ceiling fan, by 3AM ir was starting to cool down.

I logged into the internet yet one more time to let my family know that I had a new room and that I had packed and unpacked since I last chatted by G-chat (some 45 minutes earlier) and then said good night.  Exhaustion was finally setting in and sleep was begging for a chance.  The first day of Puerto Vallarta was coming to a close, with mixed reviews.  Maybe, just maybe, this would be ok after all.

Postcard from Puerto Vallarta – arrival at my hotel

My fellow travel agent and I arrived at the hotel and were greeted with cold washcloths and a fruity (non-alcoholic) drink.  The desk person could not seem to locate our records (they use paper records here – how quaint).  He left with my passport in hand and then returned to pull my paperwork out of the box in front of him.  I did wonder what transpired with my passport in the back office. 

He gave me the check-in spiel – if I wanted to have the use of the safe in my room, I needed a lock.  There is no charge for the lock, unless I lose the key.  Then there is a $100 fee for the key replacement.  He checked out a remote to the TV to me (again, no charge).  And he handed me a card for pool towel check out.  He assigned me the room # 1810.  That was nice because it is on the top floor.  He then snapped a blue plastic strip around my right wrist which indicated that I was in the all-inclusive plan.  I would wear this wrist-let for the next 5 days.  It felt a bit like a one-sided hand cuff, but it does mean I eat and drink for no extra charge. 

I asked about internet access.  The price seemed to change as it left his mouth.  It ranged from $9 to $29.  The good thing is that you purchase a set number of minutes or hours.  I purchased 24 hours.  As long as you log on, and then log off when you are shutting down, you may use only a few minutes and 24 hours can last a whole week.  But if you don’t log off, it can be used up very fast.  I agreed to the 24 hour plan immediately and then he checked in the fellow traveler.  She was 2 doors down from me and we accompanied a bellman to the 8th floor.  He dropped me off and proceeded down the hall with her in tow. 

I walked into an oven.  It was hot outside and hotter inside.  I walked over and opened the drape.  I checked the balcony door and it was not locked.  I stepped outside and the heat was overwhelming.  I stepped back in and tried to lock the door, but there was not a working lock.  After checking the AC control, I called the front desk.  I want to say two-thumbs up for the response level of the staff.  There was a maintenance person in my room handling the lock ASAP.  The air conditioning was a whole other issue.

My fellow traveler and I agreed it was a good idea to adjourn to the bar for a drink.  After unpacking and laying out toiletries, we met at the elevator and headed to the pool bar.  There was a menu of drinks.  There were a number of fruity flavored margaritas, but not a straight up margarita.  The same was true of the martinis, the daiquiris and well drinks seemed out of the question.  We settled on mojitos.  Then we saw him break out a huge bottle of beer for a waiter and the next drink was destined to be beer.  “Sol” was the brand name, but it was beer and it was wet, so that worked for me.  We were both so hot and sweaty that we agreed to go put on swimsuits and take a dip in the infinity pool.  We gave up on making reservations for dinner as it was after 5PM and dinner reservations had to be made before 5PM.  We also were too late to get pool towels with our cards.  When we went to the front desk to see if we could check them out from there, there were no towels available for another 5-10 minutes.  We decided we could dip without a towel.  I grabbed the beer and headed to the pool, expecting a cool dip to help chill me out.  Oops.  Wrong again.  The pool is a bit warmer than body temperature.  But once in and kicking around, it did not matter.  I may have been warm but the sweat was gone and I was drinking a beer in the pool.  Life was ok by most any standard.   

Welcome to Puerto Vallarta.

Oklahoma City has more in common with Seattle than taking the Sonics

 

It is ironic to me that Oklahoma City got the Sonics away from Seattle.  I left Hawaii for Oklahoma City only to eventually move to Seattle (and not a minute too soon in my opinion that year).  I left my only child in Oklahoma City, although she was born, raised and schooled in Hawaii.  It has worked out ok for her but it just was not a place I had wanted to be.  Seattle is a good second choice to my one true love, Hawaii.  I have grown to love Seattle, kind of like one loves a second home.  Many places I remembered from my time in Oklahoma City were very much the same, while others had changed just a little.  I had been to Leadership Square in downtown OKC, but I had never noticed the sculpture outside the building.  As we were driving around commenting on the changes, I saw a bright red sculture down one of the streets and had to go around the block just to take pictures of it.  When you look at the pictures below you will understand why. 

I currently live a few short blocks from Seattle Center and the sculpture there has been a favorite of mine to shoot.  I think I have shot it every which way but from on top of it (since I am afraid of heights, that is not likely to happen).  The resemblance is striking, don’t you agree?

Seattle Center red sculpture, Seattle, WA

Seattle Center sculpture

Red Sculpture, Leadership Square, OKC

Red Sculpture, Leadership Square, OKC

Reflection of the red sculpture, OKC

Leadership Square, OKC

Visiting The OKC Federal Building memorial

On April 19, 1995 the Federal Building was bombed using a Ryder truck, destroying the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, OK.  It marked the most significant act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks.  This bombing killed 168 people and injured more than 680 others.  The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars and shattered glass in 258 nearby buildings (source-Wikipedia).

The memorial is a solemn place, one of memories and voices now silent.  I visited on September 17th in the midday gloom that had shrouded OKC for several days.  I did not live there in 1995.  I moved to Oklahoma City in late October 1996.  It was never my intention to live there, it just happened.  And in all the time I lived there, I never visited the memorial.  Many of the people I met while living there made a lifetime of talking about that morning – where they were, who they knew, or knew of who were in the area and in the bombing.  I heard about it until I was sick of hearing about it and vowed not to visit the memorial.

Going there eight years after I left Oklahoma City was a sobering experience.  It is both a beautiful place and a very sad place. I am glad I visited there as a tourist, not as a resident.  It was at the memorial that I realized my attitude towards Oklahoma City could have been very different if I had lived anywhere else but Hawaii prior to moving there. But that is water under the bridge.

The memorial was being worked on the day I was there.  The electrical system that lights the chairs had been experiencing issues and was being replaced under each of the 168 chairs.  Rather than try and tell the story with words, here are the pictures from that day.

Deal of the Day: Las Ventanas al Paraiso spa packages offer endless romance

Deal of the Day: Las Ventanas al Paraiso spa packages offer endless romance 

I have already written of my infatuation with Las Ventanas al Paraiso since visiting Los Cabos in May.  However, when I see the offers they have for spa and romance experiences through 2010, I have to re-visit their hotel here (I can wish to do it physically, though I can only do so with words).  Read more…

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Los Cabos, Baja California Sur

At the end of May I got to go to Los Cabos for 4 days.  It was a wonderful working vacation for me.  I saw some beautiful properties that I genuinely enjoyed.  I met many warm and genuine people and had some great food (though maybe too much red snapper).  I stayed in a lovely casita at the Marqus Los Cabos, which included a plunge pool and amenity breakfasts every morning while watching the sun come up and listening to the ocean roaring right outside my patio door. 

I sailed on the New Zealand version of the America’s Cup Yacht Race boat.  Had a wonderful swedish massage at the Esperanza Spa  from Ulma.  Looked a horse in the eye and declined the ride.  Walked along the beach and had a good “wetting down” from a stray wave.  Experienced a cooking class with a Michelin-starred chef.  Drank such a great margarita (Las Ventanas al Paraiso’s  ”Welcoming Margarita”) that I was inspired to go to Bed Bath and Beyond when I returned to Seattle and purchase a soda siphon in order to make them myself.  And I might add, while not as perfect as Las Ventana’s Welcoming Margaritas, mine were plenty yummy. 

Without a doubt one of the best meals (and there were many delightful meals from many hotels and restaurants, but this one stood out in my memory) while there was at One and Only Parmilla.  We took a tour of the villa accommodations there at One andOnly Parmilla, then a golf cart ride to the restaurant, Agua Restaurant.  Our hosts included the One and OnlyParmilla, Cecilia Aragon-Bryant (Director of Public Relations),  the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau and Terramar Destinations, who provided our guide, Rico, for the evening.  The menu included a canape, 4 course dinner and dessert, provided by the Executive Chef, Larbi Dahrouch. 

The Thursday night Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo also stands out as a superb event to enjoy with the only cost being that of the delightful art one might feel inclined to purchase.  Our guide, Rico, led us up and down the hilly streets, and in and out of galleries too numerous to mention.  Wine, canapes, a delicious vanilla liqueur, margaritas all accompanied us on our rounds of the galleries.  See my Thursday Night Art Walk article at National Romance Travel Examiner for a more complete description.

I would go to Los Cabos again immediately if I could.  I fell in love with the place, the people, the food and the ambiance.  i really would like to stay at Las Ventanas al Paraiso or One and Only Parmilla each at least for a week!  Oh yes, the trip I went on was sponsored by the Los Cabos Visitor and Convention Bureau.  I appreciated everything they did to help me understand that the novel H1N1 virus was not in residence in Los Cabos!

I wrote several articles about this lovely trip in my National Romance Travel Examiner column  at Examiner.com.  Here are some of the links, I hope you read and enjoy them:

Sailing with the Cabo Adventures America’s Cup Yacht Race experience

Marquis Los Cabos – a resort for all senses

Marquis Los Cabos casita 704

An invitation to romance at Las Ventanas al Paraiso part 1

Las Ventanas – part 2 – more than a resort

There are more but that is for another posting……

Continental Air Changes Policy on Size of Bags

So Continental Airlines is now charging for checked bags and then, since people are cramming more into their carry-ons in order to avoid the nickel and dime gauging, cuts the size of the carry on bag from 51 linear inches to 45 linear inches.  Now 6 linear inches does not sound like much, but….

I am an amateur photographer, which means I like to carry on my rather hefty camera, and lens, and my 15-inch computer with a backup hard drive, and numerous and sundry filters, cleaners, and other accessories.  I have a Pelican bag that, until now, just fit the criteria for a carry on bag.  (And who in their right mind would check that kind of camera equipment!)  But with Continental, that no longer applies.  Go measure your “pilot-size” carry on bag and see if you can fit it into 45 linear inches.  If it does not, scratch Continental Airlines from your list of desirable airlines to fly! 

And my clothes?  Well, how many layers of clothing can I wear so that I do not have to pack any clothing?  I am starting to look for the clothing that is microfiber and wash-n-wear silk.  Very lightweight, rolls up into a small bag (like a gallon freezer bag) and can be hand washed each night and dry by the morning.  Efficiency is very important now.  One pair of shoes – the ones I wear to the airport, is all I will wear on the trip!  OK.  I am female.  I have to have one dressy pair, so I go by the strappiest sandals I can find that will also fit into a corner of my carry-on. Grrrrrrrr.   Maybe the airlines would rather not be in the business of transporting people and their baggage (literally) around the world.  

Does this mean I will not be traveling?  NO!  I will travel.  And I will travel in style!  I will go by train, I will fly an airline that does not abuse my good nature, and, if I do have to fly one of the other ones, I will pack very carefully. 

I would much rather buy some cool, new , lightweight clothes than pay the amount of money the airlines wants to charge me for my bags.  The lightweight clothes will last for many trips and eventually I might even have enough spare change left over to buy, well, a bottle of water while I am on the flight!

Loews Miami Beach Hotel Review

Vacationing at Loews Miami Beach Hotel  

    At the start of my first day of vacation in South Beach, I was in a conundrum of what to do first.  My stomach was growling as I arrived late at night and had not cared to go out for a late Sunday night dining experience.  The three hour time difference together with having flown just about as far as one can in the continental US…from Seattle to Miami….had left me feeling like sleep was the first and highest priority.  Rested and bright-eyed, I was more than ready for breakfast.  This hotel is in the middle of the diverse and very hip art deco section of South Beach.  I headed down to the breakfast bar called the  SoBe Coffee Bar, located in the Tower, which opens at 5:45 AM (until 2PM) and serves up fresh roasts and exotic blends with freshly baked lighter fare.  I had a coffee and muffin (huge, moist and yummy) while deciding whether to walk around SoBe and take pictures or head for the pool to take a little exercise and a dip.  In the same location, Wednesday through Saturday at 5PM, a Champagne Bar is open until 11PM.  Heavenly!

One of the things I most appreciated about the Loews Miami Beach was their people.  They give “service” a whole new meaning.  When we questioned our server, he admitted Loews has stringent hiring policies towards customer service and an extensive customer service training program.  The people learn to anticipate the guests’ needs and to take as much time as is needed to answer questions, provide services, and be as attentive or not as the guest requires.  It was extremely refreshing to be in a hotel that literally anticipates and then caters to every need their guests have.

Click here to read more about my review of Loews Miami Beach Hotel