Best of 2012

Glass of wine in hand. Reflection goggles on! So, here goes! In no particular order. With no particular thought to the categories.

Best Vacation:  Atlantis hotel, Bahamas  October 2012.  Because... I feel at home there. I breathe deeply, rest thoroughly and am happy. And it's super fun and awesome and amazing! (Photo at left. That's my favourite pool.)

Best Day at Work:  The day my Uncle Baldur walked in to say hello. (September ?) Because... I was exhausted, it was about 8PM, I was sitting in a corner and finally eating my dinner. I was in a zombie state, reading the newspaper... then I heard a familiar voice at the counter. I jumped up and squealed like a cheerleader at the championships. So happy!!! He's one of my favourite people on this earth and I hadn't seen him in years. What a great surprise!

Best Meal:  (August) Dinner at Bacio. It's an italian restaurant at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. Twice I've eaten there. Two of the best meals of my entire life. It's not very expensive. The food is beyond delicious. The setting is intimate. The staff is fantastic. The celebrity chef, Carla Pellegrino has been in the kitchen (her restaurant) both visits. She's amazing. Seriously, I would go to Vegas just to eat there again! (@chefcarlapelleg) She has recently opened another restaurant @meatballspot which is also in Vegas. I think I better try it out in 2013!

Best Kiss:  (November 18th, 2012) We were looking at puppies. We were there to see a pup named Rookie and this other little black and white scamp flew past me and slurped my hand. She got my attention. Then she sat and captivated with her "pick me" eyes. I lifted her up and she kissed my cheek. My girl.... Bella. I've been getting puppy kisses 6 weeks now. I'm pleased to report that Rookie also found her right people and also has a forever home.

Best News: (March) My mom was strong enough to leave the hospital and head home. Home is always the best place to be.

Best Wine:  This year I found that I really like Apothic Red. Full bodied and holds its own with any meal. I like it with lasagna. It's good with dark chocolate and sea salt Ghiradelli chocolates too. Mmmm.

Best Photo: (November) I like this one. My friend Karen and I were being tourists in her home town. I loved our days together. This photo reminds me of her. I like to think the future holds Blue Skies for both of us.

Best Kid Time: (May) I took my older son on a hockey road trip of nearly 700 miles. We laughed and got to really know each other. It was just the two of us and I'll never forget it. I believe the Under Armour outlet at the shopping centre will remember us too!! We nearly bought the place out! (February) My younger boy and I played hours of shinny together on our ice rink. We took iphone videos of our antics. He says I play like a first year novice (that's not exactly a compliment!) Boy did we laugh hard that day! It was one of his favourite days too.

Best Sleep: (October) Sheraton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.  We were on a layover, sponsored by Delta Airlines. They comp'd us 2 rooms adjoining. Each of us had our own queen-sized, sweet sleeper bed. We had had the greatest adventure that day, were well fed and were completely exhausted from the day. All four of us slept like kings!

Best Chance Meeting:  (November) I was shopping at a market in North Vancouver, in a little boutique. I was admiring the purses for sale when the "clerk" let me know that she was indeed the purse designer and just minding the store that day for a friend. We got to talking and she was one of the most lovely people I've ever met. She makes the purses by hand, using reclaimed leather. She is an immigrant to Canada and just loves life. Each creation has so much thought to the design and clever craftmanship it was impossible not to fall in love with her work. (Yes! That's my purse!)  Of course I bought two purses for myself as my un-birthday, birthday gift! Jola and I have kept in touch and I expect she will be a huge designer once the magazines discover her.

Best Prayer Answered: (April) The lump that I was so scared of, was nothing. It was months of ignoring it. Then weeks of waiting for tests and results. I kept it pretty much to myself. Finally, the test results came in and I sunk to the floor and bawled. I texted the ones who worried along side me, and hugged the girls at work. That was a relief, big time.

Best Advice Received:  You need to make your own happiness. Live life without regrets.

Best Advice to Give: Eat ice cream. Forgive yourself. Tomorrow is a new day. Be open to new adventures!

With that, I toast 2012! Thanks for the memories! Here's hoping 2013 has blue skies, good health and much happiness ahead for all of us!

Vacation Bargains Abound

I've been looking around at all my favourite discount travel sites lately. Not for myself, but for any friend who asks. I'm happy to do this. I'm certainly not a travel agent, but I have had a pretty wide variety of travel experiences and adventures in the last 10 years.

We have managed to tote our kids to Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, The Turks & Caicos,  The Bahamas and Hawaii. We've travelled by passenger train, car, plane and cruise ship.

We've gone hiking, skiing, swimming, surfing, shopping, to amusement parks and more. It's felt a little crazy at times, but it's been good. I have no regrets at all.

My hubby and I also do the classic couples' getaway to Vegas every now and again. Personally, I love Vegas. I'd go anytime. I think one of the things I like so much about Vegas is the nightlife. It's the opposite of my hometown. My hometown exists, Monday to Friday, from 9AM -9PM. After that, the place shuts down and seems like a sleepy hollow.  So, to have concerts and plays and people out enjoying life after dark seems exciting. I like the change of pace.

But I'm not ready or able to plan another family vacation. Not yet anyway. As I stated last week, I seem to have lost my spark. Though, I am genuinely ok with researching on behalf of friends.

There are lots of amazing bargains out there right now. 5* golf vacations to california for about $700 including taxes, hotel and airfare.  Cheap jaunts to Cuba at under $1000.  Luxury caribbean cruises around $800 (Airfare extra).  Lots of bargains to Florida & Arizona.  Vegas is always cheap in the first part of December & the last part of January.

I priced out one golf vacation during the 3rd week of January at $800. The identical trip in late February is sitting around $1700. So yeah, that's what I consider a bargain.  5* trip, at 3* price.  But truly, it's about getting the type of vacation that works for your family, at a time that's convenient, at a price you can afford. I would caution to never ever take a vacation that the only thing that interests you is the price. If you go somewhere you hate, it's truly no bargain.

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Travel sites I like:

www.itravel2000.com

www.redtag.ca

www.yqrdeals.ca www.yegdeals.ca www.ywgdeals.ca  (Deals specific to your local airport)

www.aircanadavacations.com  (Check out their last minute specials.)

Both Redtag and Itravel2000 will chart the vacations days before and after your selected date and show you a grid of the varied prices. This is an amazing feature, as sometimes a day can make a $500 difference, and you'd never know unless you see this comparison. Each site also searches all the package providers for you. It will show you if Westjet has a better price than Air Canada on the nearly identical vacation.

You can edit the photo, but not the memory

The last time I saw my Happy Place, I wanted to mark the moment with a photograph. Isn't that what we all do? Aren't we all documenting our lives through photos and photo sharing these days?

Well, I was looking for the photo to capture the place and time that I absolutely cherish. And then, there was this guy. This guy and his laundry.

My Happy Place, is a palm tree on a beach, outside the Atlantis Hotel, on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. It's just a single palm tree, on a tiny stretch of beach, surrounded on two sides by the ocean, but for me it's Utopia. It represents all that is bliss and perfection in a holiday. I love this palm tree. Seriously. Now, of course, as a traveller I've seen hundreds, maybe thousands of palm trees and sure, I like them all. But this is the ONE. It's my screensaver. It's my wallpaper. It's.... it's..... my HAPPY PLACE.

When I am stressed, or scattered and I need to find my peace and my focus, I take my mind to this tree. I feel the breeze, I hear the ocean and I go back to a time when I was there and I was calm and rested.

So, back to the guy and his laundry.....

My family goes trotting out to this area of beach to see the palm tree, and along comes another tourist with an armload of towels. He unceremoniously tosses them down on the sand, in a heap. Then he proceeds to walk another 12 feet or so, to the palm tree and park himself underneath it. He just lay there. He just lay there....completely ruining my shot. Him and his pile of laundry!

See him and his pile of yellow towels?

"What the Hell? This isn't your laundry room!" I thought. "Not your basement! Not YOUR tree!" But of course, it really isn't my tree either. I shook my head and smiled, "what luck" I thought. So I simply encouraged my family to enjoy the beach. Play in the water, relax and take your time. Do whatever. "We'll wait." I figured at some point he'd get up, gather his laundry and go. Then I could have my postcard photo, and blissful moment to capture.

But no. Laundry guy thinks it's a jolly idea to linger, to "camp", if you will. Dozens of other tourists come and go in the area. They take photos. They're obviously posing. They're taking their photos in spite of his presence. He is, of course, oblivious.

"Get your picture and let's go" says my husband. "Just edit him out like you would a zit."

Now it's sunset & he's still here! Him and his laundry!

Really? Is this a school photo? I'll just blend him into the sand? Is that what my husband thinks? Now, yes, I do have the skills and it's not that hard to do, but how do I edit the memory? I can wipe Laundry Guy off the beach with a swoosh of my mouse, but how do I get him out of my relaxation ritual?Laundry, is not exactly what I would consider peaceful, or happy. Laundry is a chore! I have two sons. They play hockey. Laundry is not my happy time. Ugh.

The birds are a nice distraction, but I still see him in this sepia version.

Obviously, I'm left with no other choice than to call a do-over on this vacation. I simply must return to see my tree again, and make a new postcard memory. Frankly, I don't see any other choice. So, thanks, "Laundry Guy" I'm going to have to go to the Bahamas again. "Darn!" (She says squealing with joy and dancing a jig.) I'm just going to have to go back!

Simply cropped. But "yuck" my tree doesn't grow in the water. I NEED sand in the photo!

Olympic Travel Bargains

During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, Air Canada posted new outrageous deals whenever a Canadian athlete won gold.  The deal would start at midnight and often be all snapped up by dawn.

I remember one night seeing YWG to YUL for $49 each way. Or YYZ to YUL for $29. That's crazy! Crazy good! But, having just stumbled upon the deal late at night, and not having ever discussed taking a weekend in Montreal with my husband, I didn't jump at it. The next day when he said "you should have just booked it" I felt a little down. Like coming 4th place in the Olympics. I hesitated and lost out.

So after that, each day I'd cheer more for our Canadian athletes and if/when they won, bubble over with excitement waiting for the deal to pop up.  Then when Jon Montgomery won (remember the athlete who grabbed & downed the pitcher of beer in a post-victory celebration!) gold, I got MY deal.  At midnight, flights to NAS (Nassau, Bahamas) went on sale from across Canada. I grabbed tickets for $99 each way and in April, hubby and I went to the Bahamas for a 3 day weekend. It was crazy and spontaneous and the best quick trip bargain EVER! The Bahamas are my happy place. No place on earth I'd rather visit. Even if it was just for 2 nights. (Sounds crazy. But probably one of, if not my absolute favourite trip ever.

So, the point of this little jaunt down memory lane is to say that AIR CANADA IS DOING IT AGAIN!!! It's a little different this time, but still good and worth looking into. Each day they are offering a different Olympic special. July 30-August 12. There is a new special each day. The first one was a deal on flights to London. The second one was 10% off Executive Class.  I hope there will be some really special deals in there like last time. I'll be watching.

Simply go to Aircanada.com to see their deal of the day. Who knows, you might just strike gold! This, my friends, is the Olympics of travel bargain hunting. Typically you have a day or two to decide when a bargain price pops up, this time, if it's truly good, it will be a few hours at most to decide. Time to put your credit card and you desk calendar in their ready positions. On your mark... get set....

Planes, trains and automobiles

When was the last time you took a trip? What was your last great adventure?
A little adventure feeds the soul. There's a trip in every budget, and a budget in every trip. But I have to say the greatest trip I've ever taken was to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. That place defines 5 star! There is something to do for every age. And while this resort can be pricy... you can be a high roller or you can be "Sally Super Saver" and still enjoy yourself thoroughly. For the record,  I fall much closer to the Sally lifestyle.
First step to a grand vacation on a budget is to do your research. Plan your dream destination around the travel you have access to. Where does your local airline fly to? Are there train specials? Scour the web for your transportation link. Subscribe to their newsletter. Watch for their sales. Watch their prices weekly to learn their sales and patterns.
Next, research your destination. What is their low season? If your destination is Disney... there are many sites that give their average park attendance in any given week of the year or specific holiday. Remember, the busier it is, the more you will pay to be there, and the less attention staff will have to spend on you.  So, if you're looking for the bargain try to travel when others are staying at home. However, and this is a very important note *** make sure you research and see if there are any specific reasons it is a low season. For example, is it hurricane season?  The rainy season? A cultural or national holiday in the area you are travelling to?  
Once you have your destination and time of year and budget in mind, wait until the offers and specials start dropping into your inbox, and they will.  A little patience will pay off.
In an effort to draw tourists this summer, Atlantis hosted a number of big, no, HUGE named concerts. They hosted Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Katy Perry within 2 months I believe. Yes, each played a concert for hotel guests in a ballroom that held 500 or so guests. Seriously.  We saw Katy Perry. It was amazing!!
In future blogs I'll offer up some of my other favourite bargain tips, but lets just say that my kids had the trip of a lifetime and never even noticed that they were eating granola bars, crackers and snacks that'd I'd brought from home, in between their restaurant meals. I'm sure the money I saved on snacks paid for our concert tickets.
Train travel also has some unbelievable bargains. The VIA.ca website updates their last minute discount trips every thursday. While it may be 2 weeks notice or less, the savings can be 75%.  Grab the kids and go! Play cards and checkers and see the country from a whole new perspective. It's a real adventure.
Travel can bring many rewards. The kids and I made so many memories. We talk and laugh and look at the pictures often.