June 27, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Nakusp, Festivals & Events
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If you plan to celebrate Canada day in Nakusp, be prepared to get woken up by a fire truck.
Members of the Volunteer Fire Department drive around town waking people up using lights, sirens, and every other annoyance thing they can think of in an attempt to get people to the Canada Day pancake breakfast fundraiser at the firehall.
Once you have a gut full of pancakes and sausages head over to the other Canada day celebrations including an old-school soap-box derby.
At night the Volunteer Fire Department puts on a celebration of Fireworks, with a surprisingly large amount of kabooms for such a small town. Show usually lasts around 13 minutes. Most people watch from the waterfron gardens.
June 25, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Powell River, Sightseeing Tours
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Summer is the time of year to go "up the lake," Powell Lake that is. The lake is about 51 km long with three major arms radiating from centrally located Goat Island. It was carved by an ice-age glacier and is up to 1,100 feet deep. Ancient trapped sea water can even be found at the bottom.
Whether you have a day or want to spend several days, Powell Lake is a great summer getaway. The Shinglemill Marina has a public boat launch and swimming beach. The nearby Shinglemill Pub and Bistro is a great place to have dinner and drinks on the deck to watch all of the boat action, especially on Friday and Sunday evenings when cabin owners launch and recover their boats. There is another boat lauch and swimming beach at Mowat Bay. Want to spend the night? Try a houseboat or even a float cabin. Contact Lakeside Floating Vacations. If you've never experienced a float cabin, I highly recommend it. You will be staying in a part of Coastal BC history. Powell Lake is one segment of the Powell River Forest Canoe Route and it has several water access campsites. If you don't have a canoe or kayak of your own, you can rent one from Powell River Sea Kayak or Skeeter Jacks. Like to hike? The Sunshine Coast Trail also skirts the lake on the southwest side. Car campers have lots of options. We like the Willingdon Beach Campsite. It's within walking distance of town and is right on the water of Malaspina Strait. For lakeside camping there is Haywire Bay.
Want to read more about Powell Lake? Try Up the Lake by Wayne J. Lutz or visit http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com.
June 24, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Galiano Island, Accommodation
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My husband and I wanted to go to the Westcoast, but after buying tickets to fly there our vacation expenses were piling up. How could we get any waterfront rental and stay within our budget? We were starting to feel that it wasn't even worth doing if we had to sit somewhere inland since we could find a similar place here - Ontario, north of Toronto. I grew up on the west coast and definitely was missing the sea - but wanted the ocean as a close part of our holiday. We came across a website: www.gulfislandwaterfront.com
and our needs were answered. Not only was it REALLY reasonable but its location was perfect (waterfront and beautiful view) as well as it could save us money. We decided to do as the website recommended and save money. We caught the bus to the ferry terminal (schedules are on the site)instead of the expense of renting a car and drivignon the ferry. BC Ferries loaded our stuff on a van that was unloaded on the other side. The cottage was just a four minute walk. To our delight, everything we needed was within walking distance (very close but not on top of us) and we had our own staircase to the beach. We never even felt like we needed to add any additional activity as we were having wonderful walks everywhere, seeing lots of deer, eagles and seals whenever we went out. The cottage was an intimate size to just be together. The sunroom was a favourite and my hubby loved the arbutus arching right outside the window. It's a quintessential stop and Galiano was our favourite of the gulfislands that we've seen so far. We'll be back there again. Thanks
June 23, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Attractions
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My friend a I decided to visit Hatley Castle and we were amazed
at the infos that we got from the tour guide. Because it is
working castle, meaning that some rooms had been converted into
offices, the only way to see the inside of this castle is by reserve a
tour. We took the one hour tour and our guide told us the history
of the castle starting from the outside and we worked our way in to the
upper floors and along the way we stopped and went in at some of the
rooms and were told what each rooms was used for during the early years
that the Dunsmuir occupied the castle. Did you know that the
whole castle was built in only eighteen mothns.
After the tour we had the privilege to walk around the Italian garden,
as well as the rose garden and the Japanese garden. We also saw a
couple of peacocks walking about. The whole outside surroundings
was a peaceful place and I can just imagine how beutiful it was once
during those early years.
June 23, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Dining
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To read the first part of my post about whale watching, check the whale watching posts.
On June 15th in Victoria, while on the last day of my BC Book Tour promoting my new bestseller Whale Song, we went on a fun little cruise in search of killer whales.
Afterward, my reward was a delicious dinner at Vintage Wine Bar & Grill in Victoria. It's a gem of a restaurant that I think must often be overlooked since it's in the Super 8 Hotel on Douglas Street. And they don't serve your ordinary Super 8 fair.
Marc had the grilled 8 oz. AAA New York Steak with a wild mushroom demi-glace, shallot mashed potatoes and seasonal veggies--broccoli, paper-thin onion rings and what I am sure was panfried squash (perhaps spaghetti squash).
I had the Pacific Seafood Linguine, which was absolutely heavenly. The linguine was tossed with a delicate white wine sauce, spinach, grape tomatoes and red peppers, and then topped with a generous portion of mussells, clams, halibut and prawns, and sprinkled with shaved parmesan.
We also shared one of the best Caesar salads I've ever had. The Vintage Caesar is made with hearts of romaine, shaved fresh parmesan, double-smoked bacon, parmesan crisps and foccacia croutons. The homemade creamy Caesar dressing had an extra bite of anchovy, just the way I like it. In fact, I had it for supper again tonight! :)
While we were waiting, our attentive waiter Gordon treated us to some tapas--amuse-bouche, pan-seared tuna 'kissed' with wasabi aiolo on a flatbread croustini. Delicious! We finished our dinner with a dessert that was almost sinful--a coconut & pineapple creme caramel, light and fluffy, served with whip cream, pineapple crisps and presented with flair. I wish I had my camera! Maybe I'll have to go downstairs to the restaurant later and order it again...uh, just so I can get a picture of it, of course...
Chef Jamie Martineau has created an awesome taste-inspired menu that compares to some of the fine dining restaurants I've been to, although Vintage is casual dining.
Great service, relaxing ambiance, generous portions and concoctions by a talented chef--what more could you ask for? I give Vintage Wine Bar & Grill...5 ankhs! :)
My day in a nutshell: I saw more sea creatures at suppertime on my plate than on my whale watching trip. But all in all, it was a divine day!
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com/
http://www.whalesongbook.com/
June 23, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Whale Watching
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On June 15th, we headed to Victoria for the last stop of my BC book tour promoting
Whale Song, my new bestselling novel. We spent the day settling in and enjoying the sunshine--the ONLY full day of sun we had on our entire trip. And thank God, because that was the day we planned to go whale watching.
So we sped off the ferry in order to get to the hotel, check in and then find the whale watching office. We reached Five Star Whale Watching Expeditions and sped around the block looking for parking. Not a fun thing to do when you're already 5 minutes late! Finally, Marc let me out while he went to park the car.
When I reached Five Star's office, the man behind the counter said we were scheduled for the NEXT trip out...in 2 hours. Yikes! Somehow I was sure the gal had said 2 pm on the phone. And I had that terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach--the kind that says 'oh boy, did you screw up...and Marc is going to be sooo happy.'
Then the very nice fellow behind the desk said he could get us on the 2 o'clock tour! YES!!! Marc showed up after finally finding a parking spot and off we went down to the boat dock to board a 45-passenger catamaran. On the way to the dock I let it slip that we had luckily been squeezed onto the 2 pm tour. I think it's a good thing they did squeeze us in. I have a feeling I would have been swimming in the bay.
The cruise was breath-taking. We sat outside at the bow, the wind whipping at my hair, the sun on my face, the smell of the ocean all around us, while glistening diamonds covered the surface. We hit a few choppy patches and the boat bucked, slapping the ocean and sending huge sprays over the stern. In some areas the currents clashed and swirled and it looked like we were speeding over mini-whirlpools.
For three hours we looked for whales. We saw sea lions, seals, porpoises, many different species of birds (seagulls, bald eagle, cormorants and more), lots of seaweed...uh, driftwood...a couple of buoys...but no whales.
I was disappointed, as were many of the people on the trip. In the end, the only whales we saw were the photographs that one of the gals showed us and the whales on my bookmarks. However, I did enjoy the trip and the time 'off', so it wasn't a complete waste, but it was the whales--in particular, the killer whales--that I wanted so dearly to see.
Although I completely understand that Five Star and the other whale watching tours can't really guarantee we'll see whales, I was surprised that with technology these days there wasn't a more reliable way to know where they were hiding. And yes, there was a part of me that thought those darned whales should have stayed where they were that morning and waited for me! :)
Oh, well. Now I have an excuse to come back. (Not that I ever really need an excuse to come to Victoria.)
To read the second part, look for my blog post in the dining blogs.
~Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Whale Song, The River and Divine Intervention
http://www.cherylktardif.com/
http://www.whalesongbook.com/
June 19, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Victoria, Sightseeing Tours
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Since I'm currently working in Seattle (though live in Sacramento, CA) it made perfect sense to spend a few days in Victoria and then take the Ferry over to Whistler. It had been quite a few years since we'd been to either area and it was definitely time to revisit. The weather was beautiful the whole time. The scenery was the Northwest best as it is in summer. Food, sightseeing, the ferry ride and activities -- including the ziptrek in Whistler-- made it a great week!
David and Linda
June 18, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Surrey, Dining
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There is not much anyone can do when the weather isn’t ideal outside. Last Saturday, I decided to venture out and try something new. My boyfriend and I love dining out and trying new cuisines. Since it was pouring outside, we decided to go for something spicy that will warm us up: Indian food. We went to “Taste of Punjab” in Whalley, since it came recommended by an East Indian co-worker for its authentic flavours. I order a butter chicken dish with rice while my boyfriend decided to try one of the chef’s recommendations, an assortment of different Indian dishes that include chicken, lamb, and beef. The food was absolutely delicious and the portions were more than enough. The atmosphere of the restaurant was excellent and I would definitely go back again. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys lots of flavour and spice in their food and is interested in trying something ethnic.
Dining tip: Stop by the Surrey Visitor Centre diagonally across the street and pick up 10% coupons for the restaurant.
June 17, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Powell River, Beaches & Swimming
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This is an area that may soon be logged, we are trying to protect it for the public to enjoy. We have to protect these areas for the fishing, the serenety, enjoyment and for those who seek peace.
June 17, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Powell River, Guest Ranches & Horseback Riding
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I rode my horse on a logging road up to this bluff from Louis Lake. The view across the Jervis inlet was awesome.
We really need Canadians to stop and think about what we have and what we can lose if we do not look after it.
