All posts filed under: Travel

Never Miss a Moment of Tranquility at Ste. Anne’s Spa

Never Miss a Moment of Tranquility at Ste. Anne’s Spa

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“The next best thing to the enjoyment of a good time, is the recollection of it. ~James Lendall Basford” I like to have souvenirs of my good times. They help me transport to that past moment and relive it once again. Technology has made the accumulation of memories so very easy these days and I’ve taken full advantage of this. High quality photos, video and audio is available to everyone using today’s advanced smartphone technology. Motorola and I have teamed up this summer so that I can share with you on how I #NeverMissaMoment thanks to the Moto g4 plus and the Moto 360. The #NeverMissAMoment campaign challenged me to devise a summertime adventure to share with you. There are so many possibilities when presented with a challenge like this but there is one place I couldn’t get out of my head: Ste. Anne’s Spa. It’s one of my oldest bucketlist items. When I was first discovering the joy of the spa experience, I learned about this award winning, all-inclusive spa resort situated in the …

A weekend at Deerhurst, Huntsville, Ontario

A Weekend at Deerhurst

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I first heard of Deerhurst in 2002. I was working at my first software testing job after finishing my programming diploma. It was a startup and the executive team when to Deerhurst for retreat. They were partiers. It made for an amazing work environment at the time. I was in my 20s. I always imagined these retreats as booze filled, hazy weekends with little real work done. There are a few things that have stuck with me from those days: a friend, a crush and Deerhurst. When the opportunity to visit Deerhurst came about from their owners Skyline International Development, I couldn’t say no. I finally would find out the secrets of this Deerhurst place. The itinerary planned certainly didn’t call for a booze filled, hazy weekend but a relaxing and blissful one. The resort is 800 acres of beautiful wilderness on Peninsula Lake in Muskoka. I haven’t driven north of the city in a very long time and I forgot how beautiful Ontario can be. The leaves were still holding onto the fall colours …

LAX LAS Diaries 2011 – Departure and loving my Rimowa Suitcase

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The last time I got on a plane was in February and I decided it was time I went somewhere on vacation. I hadn’t left Ontario for 7 months, it was beginning to wear on me. I needed to get out. My friend Marija lives in Las Vegas. I documented my last trip there in 2008 on I want – I got. It was a blast but I didn’t expect she would be there long. Well, here we are four years later and even she’s bought a house in the Vegas suburbs. That is how Las Vegas became part of my trip. My newlywed friends Paul and Lauren live in Santa Monica. In August 2010, I flew to Los Angeles to visit them because of a perk I received from Klout for the doomed Virgin Airlines route YYZ to LAX/SFO. Santa Monica became part of the trip since I was heading west to Las Vegas already and it wasn’t far away. I’m also in love with Santa Monica and California living. Oceans, mountains and desert …

I want – I got takes Vancouver and Whistler – Visiting Orb Clothing

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During the Vancouver portion of my trip, I visited Orb’s Vancouver flagship store and headquarters. Orb is a Vancouver based women’s sport lifestyle clothing line that started in 2001. Orb is part of the Global Collective Design company, established by Vancouverites by Glenn Taylor and Leslie Lee in 1992. The Global Collective Design company now has two labels that they design and produce: Arson and Orb.  The two brands also have sub brands Orion and Orb Outerwear. Orb is empowered. The intent of Orb is to inspire all to live empowered lives of generosity; creating and attracting brilliance, beauty and well-being. The Orb design triad of mind, body and soul represents an active, fashion-forward lifestyle, designed to enhance the momentum of people engaged in living purposeful lives – to live like you mean it! Orb is very big on corporate responsibility and have implemented ways of reducing waste in their business practices. You can read more about those initiatives on the Orb website. They also have manufacturing initiatives to reduce harmful chemicals. They also incorporate …

I want – I got takes Vancouver and Whistler – ROXY All Star Snow Camp

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I wasn’t interested in snowboarding. I was a happy skier who didn’t really understand the appeal of these kids riding around on one plank and their feet strapped to it. Thanks to Seema Dhillon and Kelly Etsell of Roxy was provided the opportunity to learn how to snowboard with the ROXY All Star Snow Camp at Whistler Blackcomb. The Roxy Snow Camp is a two day snowboard and ski camp for legal age women of all abilities from absolute beginner to experts. The idea of the camp is to give women a chance to learn or improve in a women friendly environment. All the instructors are amazing women riders who are there to impart their wisdom to the attendees. It’s pretty cool to have these great role models to learn from and break the male stereotype of hardcore riders. This program is designed for women over the age of 19 in all skill levels from their first stages of skiing to those who like to dabble in the park. This is a warm positive environment …

I want – I got takes Vancouver and Whistler – Skiing Whistler Blackcomb

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My first 4 days in Whistler were spent skiing, sleeping and eating. I kept up with the blogging a bit. I tried to keep up with the fashion weeks unsuccessfully. Once the craving for sleep got to me the blogging dropped off. I usually ski 4 or 5 days in a row while in Whistler. This trip I did 7 days. Two of those days were spent learning to snowboard at the Roxy Snow Camp. My body is hurting. I did a lot of skiing alone this trip. My friend Eric came out a few times but had to work. He’s a local and has a season’s pass so he gets out a lot. I’m very jealous of his lifestyle. Eric likes to tease me with text messages about the conditions while I’m sitting at my desk in the Financial District. It’s absolute torture. I was hoping to meet up with my friend Mo who took me on my first double black diamond runs that last time I was in Whistler. Our paths weren’t meant …

I want – I got takes Vancouver and Whistler – Vancouver Stopover

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Getting to Vancouver was hell. I missed my flight with the perfect seat setup. I ended up on another one that way flying to Hong Kong. It was huge 777  the 3-4-3 seat configuration. I had a middle seat. It sucked, but thank god I was so damn tired that I slept the whole way. I was totally off my vacation vibe and was a super stress ball. That disappeared when I saw Denise and her car at the airport. Denise is the wife of my one of my best friends from childhood, Andrew. Denise is awesome. She arranged a surprise reunion with Andrew and I on my last trip out west to hit up Whistler. Facebook is how she tracked me down. I posted about being on the west coast and the rest was history. It was great to reconnect as we hadn’t spoken in a several years. The weather in Vancouver was a trip. It was like Toronto, cold and snowy. I was astonished and sad. Where was my 12 degrees dammit! I …

I want – I got takes Vancouver and Whistler

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  Hello my dear readers, I’m on vacation. I’m in beautiful British Columbia right now hanging out with friends in Vancouver. Tomorrow I’m heading up to Whistler for some fun ski times. I’ll be keeping you up to date on my adventures. I’ll be trying to keep an almost regular schedule here on the blog with my travel updates in between. Things will return to normal when I get back on March 9. Cheers Anita

LAX Diaries – Day 4

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When I got up Monday morning I appreciated the SoCal sun. It doesn’t usually come out till after noon so you can sleep in and not feel guilty about missing the day. The weather by the ocean was overcast with clear breaks. When it’s sunny, it’s fantastic and you fall in love. Hell, when it’s overcast you fall in love; it doesn’t rain. I decided to check out the shopping at the 3rd Street Promenade. It was very close to the ocean. I first stopped at the Le Pain Quotidien and had Organic Red Quinoa salad with arugula, chickpeas and artichoke. Paul and Lauren’s original choice for breakfast/lunch was closed. This lunch put me on a quinoa kick and I’m making salad often at home using both regular and red quinoa. 3rd Street Promenade is pretty much all chain stores. That is something I noticed a lot of in my travels. I didn’t make a list of cool shops to visit before I left and I regret that. I really want to see what independent …

LAX Diaries – Day 3

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Sunday started out with brunch in Malibu at Moonshadows (20356 Pacific Coast Highway). This restaurant is the most beautiful place I’ve ever eaten at. It overlooks the ocean and it takes your breath away. We were dive bombed by very large seagulls at times but it was totally worth it. This spot really solidified the need of oceans and mountains in my life. Moonshadows is called one of the world’s best beach bars and I can understand why. The west coast is calling me big time. I didn’t expect to love southern California but it was becoming apparent that I was drinking the koolaid hard and fast. I love desert weather, Las Vegas exposed me to it and LA perfected it. Santa Monica is a beautiful place with tree-lined streets and non cookie cutter homes. That was something I noticed a lot, homes with individual personalities. I learned there are no basements and wood dwellings are hard to come by. This is apparently because of earthquakes, termites and cockroaches. After brunch it was a trip …