• the_flight_before_christmas
    Travel

    The Flight Before Christmas – Everything You Need To Know Now

    October 22, 2019 - By 

    Need to travel over the holidays? Need the flight before Christmas? Oh sure we all want to travel during the holiday season and go somewhere warm, or even some place familiar filled with family and friends. But do you need to travel during the holidays? If so, then you need some ground rules and also some guidelines and tips on how to go and when to book the flight before Christmas. There are lots of benefits to holiday air travel and a few big drawbacks too. But, if you want to know the ins and outs and the ways to…

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    Best Places to Wine and Dine in Tualatin Valley, Oregon

    October 13, 2019 - By 

    Hundreds of families push strollers through downtown Beaverton, Oregon while middle aged couples line up at each food station waiting their turn to buy everything, from organic fruit popsicles to Falafel burgers, and gourmet grilled cheese. Nearby, in a green space, families spread out impromptu picnics on the lawn. Some stroll hand in hand browsing bright coloured Indian scarves, Korean jewelry, crafty bookmarks and holiday decorations made from old tattered, repurposed, maps. Across the tracks, a cable car periodically splits the crowd in two, while police stand by watching and guarding barricades. The streets are cordoned off in a radius…

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    Travel

    Reasons to Stay at a Ski In Ski Out Lodge

    September 30, 2019 - By 

    No big surprise for many of you that we love to ski. We have done at least one epic ski trip every single year since learning how to ski at Tremblant in 2015. We have stayed: on the mountain, at the resort, right at the base of the lodge, ten minutes away, half an hour away, in condos and most recently in a ski in ski out lodge. So, we have formed some opinions of the benefits and even the slight inconveniences associated with each type of family ski trip accommodations. Ski in ski out lodges are our new favourite…

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    Wyoming’s South Gap Lakes Trail Outdoor Adventures

    September 16, 2019 - By 

    Jagged rocks of South Gap Lakes Trail are slick with Wyoming’s first snow of the winter. This morning this Ontario Canada girl left Vee Bar Guest Ranch near Laramie where the scenery was all golden light, faint autumn breezes and babbling brooks only to find winter here. Wintery Welcome I came to explore Wyoming and had zero intentions of finding snow. My city in southern Ontario nets more than enough snow from December through end of March that I need not hunt more down. And yet here in the mountains of Medicine Bow National Forest finding the first snow of…

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    51 Summer Things To Do at Smugglers’ Notch Now

    August 6, 2019 - By 

    Bring your family to Smugglers’ Notch in the summer and never hear I’m bored again. Oh, believe me, I know it takes all of five seconds into most holidays for kids to launch into that familiar refrain. But, there are hundreds of summer things to do every single day at Smugglers’ Notch. A Vermont Summer Vacation Story I’ve been back for three weeks and I am still getting text message alerts about the activities at Smuggs. Why? Maybe I am a bit of a masochist as I live nine hours away and can’t exactly drop everything and race right back…

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    A Smugglers’ Notch Summer – Open Your Eyes to Something New

    July 23, 2019 - By 

    We were hosted media guests at Smugglers’ Notch this summer. My opinion is all my own and also truthful. Have you ever seen a Luna moth? They have an impressive wingspan, a lime green colour that makes them look almost bioluminescent and streamers trailing behind as they fly. If I’d never seen this moth, I’d still believe all moths drab and grey. Looking Through a Different Lens If I’d never experienced a Smugglers’ Notch summer I might have missed seeing all the fun ways you can play at a ski resort when the snow has long since melted. Sometimes, a…

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    Where in Canada Can You Stay in a Hotel Made of Ice?

    May 23, 2019 - By 

    I wake on a bed of ice, intricate carvings of a basilisk surrounding me, light subtly creeping through a snow ceiling and polished bricks of ice. Outside this crystal ice palace, the world is still and silent. The kids, in the bed beside ours, just a few feet away are still snugly bundled, not yet stirring. Beside me, wrapped in a burrito sleeping bag, is my husband. I hear the familiar rise, fall and slight catch of his breath. What Can I Expect Overnight at Hôtel de Glace Quebec? I squeeze my eyes shut a moment longer, listening with my…

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    Travel

    Where Can You Find Amazing Skiing in Maine?

    April 30, 2019 - By 

    “There’s skiing in Maine?” That’s what my family asked the week before we left for a 12-day road trip through New England and up to Quebec. Oh yes, indeed, there’s great skiing in Maine and when it comes to affordable family friendly ski trips, Sunday River Resort delivers. Spring/Winter Family Road Trips As a family, we ski Vermont every year and we’re extremely familiar with that territory and the Green Mountains. But this year we decided to add on to our trip and keep exploring for as long as we could. So, after five days of skiing at Sugarbush and…

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    Don’t Miss – Prohibited Items Banned From Cruises

    April 16, 2019 - By 

    Prohibited items on a cruise ship can land you in hot water if you forget to check what’s allowed and what is not. SO, don’t forget to check the specifics of your cruise line before you head to port. Some cruise ship prohibited items are completely obvious to most of us. I mean logically most people know not to bring any sort of weapon, however there are some items that might surprise you. When traveling, knowledge is power, and it’s just as important to know what not to bring on board a cruise ship as it is to know what…