• The Olympic Village in Whistler Canada
    Canada,  Travel

    Touring the 2010 Winter Olympic Sites in Whistler

    Whistler Olympic Village One of the main attractions on our week long vacation to Whistler, Canada was checking out all the Olympic sites up close and personal. From the Olympic Plaza in Whistler Village to the Olympic Park and the Sliding Center, we were able to see a lot of the iconic structures that up until now, I’ve only seen on tv. I’ve watched the Olympics since I was a young girl and so it was especially thrilling to finally see the Olympic rings in person!  Whistler Olympic Park Whistler Olympic Park: Biathlon Shooting Range If you grew up in the 80’s, it’s likely you played some version of the Winter Games on…

  • Sea to Sky Gondola ride
    Canada,  Summer,  Travel

    Sea to Sky Gondola: Adventures in Squamish

    If you are planning a trip to the Whistler area, the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish is definitely worth checking out. Squamish is located between Vancouver and Whistler. The Sea to Sky base camp is about 2 kilometres south of Squamish, directly on the Sea to Sky Highway/Hwy 99. This fairly new attraction opened up in 2014 and has exceeded projected visitors by 40%. It’s no surprise that this is such a popular destination. With so many different ways to experience Sea to Sky, this was easily one of the highlights from our trip to Whistler. Originally we planned to do the Peak to Peak Gondola in Whistler, but some of our…

  • Afternoon tea at the Georgian in Seattle
    Celebrations,  Dessert,  Travel,  Washington

    Afternoon Tea at The Georgian in Seattle

    On our way to Canada, I arranged for my daughter and I to stop and share a special tea for two in honor of her 16th birthday. Our original plan was to take the ferry over to Victoria and have tea at the Empress Hotel, however due to the recent wildfires in British Columbia, we shortened our trip and the Victoria BC portion got cut. I quickly researched some other locations for us to celebrate and I just knew when I found the afternoon tea held at the Georgian, in the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, it was just what I had in mind for her first formal tea…and it was absolutely…

  • National Parks
    Great American Road Trip,  National Parks

    Price for the National Parks Senior Pass will Increase next Month

    If you or someone you know is 62 or older, don’t forget to get a lifetime National Parks Pass before Aug. 28th! The price goes from $10 to $80. The pass pays for access to all national parks and many other public lands for life. Annual and lifetime Senior Passes provide access to more than 2,000 recreation sites managed by six federal agencies: National Park Service US Fish & Wildlife Service Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation US Forest Service US Army Corps of Engineers The pass also admits 3 additional adults. A great investment for $10! For more details regarding this price increase, go to the National Parks…

  • Crater Lake National parks passport
    Great American Road Trip,  National Parks,  Travel

    Family Adventures with our National Parks Passport

    For the past three years our family mission has been to travel to as many National Parks as we can given the constraints of school and work schedules. Thanks to our National Parks Annual Pass, we have seen some pretty amazing places all within driving distance from our home in Oregon. We bought our National Parks Passports on our first family road trip to Yellowstone in 2015 and have pretty much planned our vacations around national parks ever since. Not only can you get cancelation stamps at national parks, but there are also stamps at national monuments and national historic sites. There’s a whole list of places to check off inside the…