Tinkerblue

Views from the Rocky Mountaineer - 3 Valley Gap

3 Valley Gap is near Revelstoke. We go past it on day 2 of the Vancouver to Banff/Calgary trip. The 3 Valley Gap Resort is owned by the Bell family. They've owned it for the last 50 years or so. It's quite the resort. What started out as something small, has been added to over the years and is now almost a village.

 

 

There's the Chateau with 200+ guest rooms including the cave honeymoon suite, a cafeteria and dining room.

 

 

Then there's the Roundhouse - the largest fully operational covered turntable in North America, and home to 12+ pieces of rolling stock. (in the photo below, the Roundhouse is on the far left). If you're not interested in trains, how about cars? They also have an antique auto museum.

 

 

The 3 Valley Gap Resort even has it's own ghost town.  Oh and don't forget their own fleet of helicopters. You can see one preparing to take off in the first photo.

 

 

Hubby and I have driven past many times on road trips but never really given it much thought, and we have certainly never stopped. Maybe next time we will. I'm kind of curious to see it now, that's I've gone past it twice a week, almost every week over the summer. Of course we never take road trips any more because we fly everywhere.

And the resort is only open from April to October, it closes for the winter. So we definitley won't be visiting this year.

Road Trip - Merimbula to Canberra

The obvious choice would be to continue up the coast on the Pacific Highway to Sydney. The obvious choice? Yes.  They route we took? No.  Hubby had heard that the Australian War Memorial in Canberra had a very good aviation section.  So off we went on the very winding Snowy Mountains Highway.

 

Hubby was quite taken with some of the place names on the map. Wolumla, Tantawangalo, Bemboka, Big Bog Creek, Bombala, Nimmitabel, Wanniassa, Tuggeranong.  We made two stops. One in Bemboka for lunch at the Pie Shop. Lee had recommended we stop here for lunch.  Good idea. For a tiny town (pop. 350) the Pie Shop was packed. The crews working the area all stopped in for lunch too. We each had a pie (steak and mushroom for Hubby, potato for me), a custard tart each for dessert and we were on our way again.

 

 

Our second stop was at Pipers Lookout. It was so shrouded in mist that there was nothing to see.  Our only stops were for petrol, toilets and to change drivers. Hubby drove into Canberra and to our hotel, and hated it. The big roundabouts, and they are huge, terrified him. We stayed at The Rex. It was like something straight out of the 70's. Which could be why they are undergoing some major renovations now.  However it was clean and cheap.

 

Road Trip - Melbourne to Merimbula

 

 

When we were booking our trip home to Australia, we have flights from Vancouver to LA to Hobart, then Sydney to LA to Vancouver. We hadn't booked Hobart to Melbourne to Sydney. Mainly because we couldn't decide on dates. In the end that was a good thing. We flew from Hobart to Melbourne with my parents who were on their way to New Zealand. Then we hired a car to drive from Melbourne to Sydney and see some sights. Hubby's bright idea was to drive from Melbourne to Adelaide, then up to Cooper Pedy and Alice Springs, turn right in the desert and head to Mt Isa, and then down to Sydney. Okay.... Not going to happen, have you ever looked at a map of Australia? Not to mention, we are not driving in the desert in a tiny little Toyota Corolla hatchback. Maybe next time. 

 

Instead we (I) decided on the coastal route.  That was all I decided, once we picked up the car and hit the highway Hubby was in charge of directions and stops. He apparently doesn't like to stop much, an likes to go as far as possible.  We didn't stop in Victoria at all. We drove through Morwell, Traralgon,   Sale, Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Orbost and Mallacoota. Finally stopping in Merimbula just over the Victoria/NSW border.

 

Lucky for us, my Dad has a cousin in Merimbula. I felt a bit weird phoning someone I hadn't seen since 1988.  That's over 20 years ago, I wasn't even sure Lee would know who I was. But Dad had said if we were in Merimbula we should give Lee a call.  Lee and his wife, Sue, own and operate the Comfort Inn and they very kindly put us up for the night, cooked us breakfast the next morning and took us on a whirlwind sightseeing tour of Merimbula. It would be nice to spend a couple of days there, but Hubby had an itinerary in mind.

 

Sleeping in Seattle

Hubby traveled so much for work this summer that he had a couple of free hotel nights that had be used and soon.  He was out in the field working all day Friday, we had no plans for the weekend.

Within 30 minutes of him getting home, we had decided to go to Seattle for the weekend, we'd phoned to redeem our free night at the Best Western Plus Plaza by the Green for Friday night and at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites in Lynnwood for Saturday night, packed, found hubby's passport (at the hangar) and were on the road.

 

Thanks to our Nexus cards there was not wait at the border.  If we'd had to use the normal lanes the wait was 30 mins. Gotta love Nexus.  Seriously if you don't have it, and you cross the border a couple of times a year, you should get it. $50.00 for 5 years is worth it.

We stopped at Costco to buy new windshield wipers. It was dark and pouring, and all my wipers were doing was smearing the rain across the windshield. Making it very hard to see.  Not the best when you're driving down the I5 at 70 miles an hour.  

Right next to Costco is a Five Guys Burgers and Fries. You should never choose a dinner spot when you're already starving. Five Guys is so not healthy, but it was good.  Hubby had a regular burger, which is two patties. It was huge. Luckily I only ordered the Little Burger.  There's no way I could have eaten the regular.  We split an order of large cajun fries, which were really salty.  Even sharing the fries, we didn't eat half of them. Next time we'll both order the little burger, and slit a regular fries.

 

We had a great room at the Best Western, king bed, view over the golf course which we couldn't see as it was dark and a welcome basket.  I went for a run in the hotel gym and then it was time to sleep.  Breakfast was free, but not overly exciting.  Toast, bagels, waffles, cereal, yoghurt and bananas.

Then we started our day of shopping.  First up Frys and Target.  Hubby spent a bit in Frys on who knows what. And I managed to cross quite a lot of things of my Christmas shopping list. Target is great for stocking stuffers. I also stocked up on Aquaphor, moisturizer and other essentials.

 

Onto University Village. Hubby stayed in the car and played with his iPhone.  He finally got a pay as you go sim card for the US and a data plan - web access for $1.49 for a 24 hour period.  That's an awesome rate.  Meanwhile I was shopping/window shopping at J Crew, Anthropologie, Madewell, Crate & Barrel, Pandora, Victoria's Secret and Williams-Sonoma. I didn't even get round 1/2 the stores. Next time I'll send hubby to the Ram Restaurant & Brewery or Blue C Sushi or up the road to Kidd Valley and I'll shop all day.

Next stop was for hubby, although you may not believe me.  Seattle Fabrics. Yep, a fabric store. Hubby is making wing and tail covers for the airplane. He needed webbing, elastic, clips and other bibs and bobs.  This time I waited in the car, while he shopping.  Ebooks are awesome.

 

The Holiday Inn Express in Lynnwood is relatively new,  when we stayed here earlier this summer we were upgraded to a deluxe room, not this time, but that's okay, we'll survive.  We had a nap and a snack before hitting Storables, World Market and finally Azteca for dinner.  Try finding a healthy option in a Mexican restaurant.  Especially when you've skipped lunch.  That wasn't the plan. I was so hungry that any intention of ordering the Pollo Mexicano (grilled chicken with green peppers, tomatoes and onions sauteed in a salsa sauce) went out the door. Instead I feasted on Flautas (flour tortillas filled with chicken and deep fried, then garnished with cheese, sour cream and guacamole). Lets just say between Five Guys burgers and Mexican, I'll have to be good for the rest of the week.

What else? Sunday morning we stopped in at Alderwood Mall. Surprisingly I bought nothing. Hubby bought a new pair of running shoes. I guess that means he's going to start running with me. Why else would he buy new shoes? And that was pretty much it. We stopped for lunch, groceries and gas on the way back to the border and then we were home.

 

Usually we spend the weekend of our wedding anniversary in Seattle, it's US Thanksgiving and all the big sales however the Century Flight Christmas dinner is that weekend.  But that's the thing about not having kids or pets (or in my case, a job), it's easy to plan last minute weekends away. 

 

(and the only photos I took all weekend were at Five Guys, so that's all you get to see)

 

 

 

NK'MIP Cellars

 

In all our trips to the Okanagan we have never been to Nk'Mip Cellars. Not sure why. This trip our goal was to visit different wineries. Our first stop?  Nk'Mip. Nk'Mip is pronounced In-ka-meep. It is the first Aboriginal owned and operated winery in North America. The Osoyoos Indian Band, who operate Nk'Mip, own approximately 32,000 acres of land. Including the Nk'Mip Resort -consisting of the winery, golf course, interpretive centre, spa, restaurant and accommodation.

 

I throughly enjoyed the time we spent here. The tasting room is huge and light and airy with stain-glass windows, sculptures, and artwork. The tasting staff were very friendly.  They didn't make you feel stupid and they answered the same questions over and over again. Wine tastings are free, there is small fee for tasting the premium wines, it was $2.00 I think, don't quote me on that though. There is also a free winery tour, we missed it by about 10 minutes and didn't wait for the next one (11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm). We'll do it next time, I think it would be very informative.

 

We tasted about 5 or 6 wines, and they were generous servings.  We were particularly partial to the 2009 Reisling and the 2007 Merlot from the Nk'Mip range.  All $20.00 or under.  Pretty good. From the premium line, Qwam Qwmt, we both liked the 2007 meritage ($30.00).  I'd quite happily serve any of the Nk'Mip wines to family and friends.

 

Down the road short ways is the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre.  A real short ways, you can easily walk there in a couple of minutes.  We didn't stop, Hubby was not a museum/cultural centre mood.  I think it would be worth it. From the website "Extensive indoor and outdoor exhibit galleries create a fun, interactive learning environment with hands-on displays, education stations and two multi-media theatre experiences."

 

And I am definitely coming back to spend a night or two at the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa. Breakfast sitting on the balcony of a room overlooking the valley, the morning at the Desert Cultural Centre, a bike ride and a picnic lunch, the Desert Bliss Body Polish or Luxury Lavender Body Treatment at the Sonora Desert Spa, a nap, ending with dinner at the  Passa Tempo Restuarant.  Next morning I'd have eggs benedict at the restaurant, tour the winery, taste some wines, buy some wines and then head home. Hubby are you paying attention - this would make a good birthday or anniversary gift.

      

West Edmonton Mall

Have you ever been to West Edmonton Mall? The place is huge. Really huge. Apparently it's the largest in North America and the 5th largest in the world.

You could spend all weekend here and never leave. Seriously. There's a hotel, amusement park, waterpark, indoor lake with number boats, aquarium, mini golf, glow in the dark mini golf, ice skating rink, bowling alley, movie theatres, IMAX, 24 hour gym, dinner theatre, Segway park, casino, numerous spas and over 100 places to eat.

That's before you even start to shop. You could show up with absolutely no luggage and buy every single thing you would need for a weekend away.

I'd post links but I'm using the typepad app and it won't let me. But you can find more info than you can imagine AT&T www.wem.com

Well That Was Interesting

We arrived in Hinton without a hotel reservation. Don't worry, it wasn't a problem there were lots of rooms available.

We checked bestwestern.com and they had rooms at $127 a night. We called the hotel directly and they offered us $129. We didn't book the room but hopped in a taxi.

On arrival the front desk clerk said they only had the $140 rooms. So we logged onto the website and booked a room for $127.

The hotel said we would receive an email from the website canceling the room as they didn't have any left for that rate. We spent a good 15 minutes standing in the lobby arguing with them.

Anyway they received the booking from the website and they had to honour the rate. She was so annoyed with us that we thought she'd give us a really crappy room, but we got what we booked, an oversized room. It was a nice room, pity we are only staying one night.

Places to Fly - Paine Field (Everett)

After breakfast, the Mile's flew off to Victoria for lunch with some family, hubby and I decided we weren't ready to head home yet.  We had never flown into Paine Field before, and hubby wanted to check it out.

 

Paine Field is home to Boeing, The Future of Flight Aviation Centre, The Flying Heritage Collection, Historic Flight Foundation Restoration Centre, Museum of Flight Restoration Centre, Legend Flyers - ME 262 Project, and the Harbeck Wetland Sanctuary.  It's an aviation enthusiasts dream.  But they will have to wait for another time.  

 

We landed and asked the tower for directions to transient parking, they directed us to Regal Air.  Regal Air is the FBO (fixed base operator) for Paine Field.  FBO's provide services for general aviation.  It varies from FBO to FBO must offer fuel, aircraft parking and tie downs, bathrooms and phones for flight planning.  Some FBO's also have courtesy cars or rental cars, maintenance, passenger and baggage handling etc.  

At Regal Air it costs $3.00 to tie down each night, however if you buy fuel from them there is no charge for the tie down.  We arrived late Sunday afternoon and all the local rental car companies had closed.  Lucky for us, the Hampton Inn and Suites in Lynnwood has a free shuttle bus - and free wireless internet, free breakfast, and free wine, beer and snacks in the evening - there's a reason we always stay here:)

 image courtesy Hampton Inn and Suites
 

We spent the remainder of the evening shopping at Alderwood Mall, good thing it's open until 7pm.  Hubby has been looking for a camera to tie to the wing of the airplane, we found it at REI. Monday morning it was back home.  It was a successful weekend for us - three new airports, lots of good food, camping under the wing and a new camera.

Barb, are you reading this?  If so we thought this might be a good idea for Stew's birthday.  Fly to Paine Field, visit one or two of the flying collections, stay at the Hampton Inn, dinner at Beppos, shopping at Lynnwood and fly home again.  Let me know if have any free weekends in August. 

My Whistler Home

Somebody asked me if I commuted back and forth to Whistler during the Games.  Not likely, although sometimes if felt like it.  No, I got to stay here, instead.

 

My home from January 25th to March 1st was room #600 at the Sundial Hotel in Whistler Village, right at the base of Whistler Mountain. 

I had two room mates.  Heidi (workforce) and Charlene (Transportation) had the two twin beds in the bedroom and I had the sofa bed in the living room. 

 

Because of the hours we worked I think there was only once when we were all in the room at the same time. They were great room mates.  I'd share with them again. I just realised I never took of photo of the three of us.  

 

I could walk to the Medals Plaza, the bus to Creekside was right around the corner, and the gondola to the sliding centre was just steps away.

 

Cedar Springs Bed and Breakfast Lodge in Whistler

10 years ago Joern and Jackie were generous enough to gift us a weekend in the honeymoon suite at Cedar Springs Bed and Breakfast Lodge as a wedding gift.  Back at the beginning of November we finally managed to cash it in.  The night we went up was the first snow big snowfall of the season.

 image - Cedar Springs
 

If you need a place to stay in Whistler go stay with them. Don't just take my word for it, check out the reviews on Trip Advisor.  They are fully booked for the Olympics, but they have rooms before and after, and they still have rooms during the Paralympics.

Sleep in big comfy pine beds, ours even came with chocolates on the pillows.

 Image - Cedar Springs
 

Watch the snow fall while keeping warm in the hot tub on the deck.

Relax and watch a movie in the guest lounge

 image - Cedar Springs
 

Fill up for a day of skiing, snowboarding or sightseeing with an awesome breakfast.  It was delicious - fruit, toast, blueberry pastry thingy of which I ate two because it was so good and hubby doesn't like blueberries, toast, frittata, orange juice, tea, coffee and more. I needed a nap after breakfast.

Go spend a night or two with them. Please tell Joern and Jackie I said hi.