Who's counting

Happy 42nd Birthday, honey! Today is my fly guy’s birthday. Hmm… 42 has played a pretty significant role in our travel life together. We hiked 42 km along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, stood at the corner of 42nd Street and Times Square, sweltered in 42 degree celcius heat in Arizona, and… well that’s all I’ve got. But, I’m sure we’ve flown out of gate 42 endless times and are nearing 42 trips taken together?! I can’t imagine having anyone else’s hand to hold at 42,000 feet (except for the countless strangers who have held my hand, like it or not, when encountering turbulence). And, I can’t imagine having anyone else’s hand to hold through life. I would be lost without your sense of adventure and your sense of humour. Wishing you a wonderful day and a wonderful year! I love you.

Hope springs eternal

My paternal grandparents spent their honeymoon at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, so it was somewhat nostalgic to spend a few days at this iconic hotel in the Rockies. It must have been quite a journey to travel by train from Southern Ontario in the 1930’s during a time when taking a honeymoon would have been a luxury. So, as I arrived in Banff at 1:00 a.m. after 9 ½ hours of travel I couldn’t really complain… But, isn’t it only supposed to take an hour to get from BC to Alberta? Anyway, I don’t think there is a more spectacular slice of Canadian scenery than the majestic Canadian Rockies and the Banff Springs Hotel is certainly the Castle in the Mountains it is positioned to be. Since I would not have a chance to ski while in Banff I soaked up every minute I could at the hotel including every last drop of water in the mineral pools. I was also delighted to learn that we would be visiting the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It has always been a dream of mine to skate on the lake in front of the hotel. Unfortunately this chance was preempted by heavy snow so a horse drawn carriage ride would have to suffice. Oh well, hopefully one day I will skate at the Chateau Lake Louise… with my honey… under the moon.

Great expectations

All trips do not turn out as planned. I was so looking forward to our 4-day family ski vacation to Whistler for Spring Break. Unfortunately, I soon learned that I would have to cut the trip short to head to Banff. How I came to visit two famed Canadian ski destinations in the same week is a total fluke and involves a big favour to friends currently sailing the French West Indies. I also wasn’t planning on coming down with the flu or getting pink eye… in both eyes! Everyone knows I love pink, but this was pushing it. Rain and heavy fog in Whistler created miserable conditions. Despite head to toe Gor-tex I was soaking wet and wind burnt my face as literally the only person on the mountain not wearing goggles. I also wasn’t wearing a helmet and had one of those falls where my head hit the ground before I even knew what was happening and pulled all the muscles down the right side of my neck. If only a little luck o’ the Irish had rubbed off on me at the St. Patrick’s Day party we attended maybe I wouldn’t have also lost my voice to top the weekend. Despite everything I still had a smile on my face by time I had to leave and was ready to do it all over again. But, to hell with Whistler… I’m going to Banff.

Something old, something new

As I tend to travel to the same destinations each year, I always try to do one new thing in each city I visit. Of course you always start with the landmarks, or at least I do, and then peel back the layers from there… getting to know the neighbourhoods and finding local gems. But, when you are visiting some of the greatest cities in North America it’s hard to keep up! There is always something opening that is the must-see at any given time. Case in point… the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Founded in 1895 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the de Young has been the city’s museum of fine art for over 100 years. But, the de Young recently reopened in a state-of-the-art new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Built of copper, I wanted to see the building while it was still in its industrial state before it oxidizes and turns green; an organic process in keeping with its natural environment in the park. My love of architecture and art combined with a special exhibit on the fashion of Vivienne Westwood was a draw I couldn’t ignore. My expectations of the building proved a little high, but the 360-degree view of San Francisco from the observation tower was worthwhile as were the subtleties of the tower and the punched copper as you gain distance and perspective from the museum. I look forward to visiting again in several years to see how it has changed... God knows there will be enough to keep me busy in the meantime.

Déjà vu

Exactly 44 hours after returning home from LA I am on a flight back to Cali. This time to San Francisco. We will be using BART rather than Lois to get around the city so in theory should emerge unscathed at week’s end. The only potential damage will be to my waistline after my annual pilgrimage to The Slanted Door in the refurbished Ferry Building as well as to the authentically French and oh-so-charming Café de la Presse. But, I am currently training for a 10k and can’t think of a better city in the world in which to hill train so perhaps a couple of trips up and down Nob Hill will counter my indulgence. Oh, who am I kidding… I can barely walk up the hills let alone run so maybe I’ll save the workout for back home and grab a cable car… and another pain au chocolat.

We are family

One week in Los Angeles and one week in San Francisco. Arguably a dream vacation for many, but two weeks in California on business has the potential to be a nightmare. Especially when I determined that my family would not be able to join me over the weekend. So, I decided if they can’t come to me, I will go to them... even if it meant I would only be home for little more than 24 hours. In the meantime I would have the company of my family-away-from-home… my travel-savvy colleagues… my sisters: Emily, Darlene, Janice and… Lois? Yep, this year we have a fifth lady travelling with us. A GPS system we lovingly named Lois. Well, it’s a love-hate relationship. I won’t say Lois wasn’t unplugged in frustration more than once as she repeated “Recalculating… recalculating…” as she led us astray or we disobeyed her directions. My travelling companions are smart, stylish, interesting, funny women and I am always grateful for their company and entertainment when on the road. I don’t know that Lois quite compares… mind you she did come with her own handbag… But, as the days rolled on and we became comfortable navigating our way around LA, we found common ground and warmed up to Lois. As I parted ways with the girls to head home, I sat in silence in a taxi enroute to LAX… a stark contrast to the time spent on LA’s freeways this week. I almost missed the noise… until I looked up and noticed a GPS mounted to the taxi’s windshield. Ah, Lois. She’s always got my back.

Recalculating

“Why is Mulholland Drive so famous?” I asked as I navigated the hairpin turns of this scenic route above the congested traffic that is Los Angeles. “Because there are so many accidents,” the girls replied moments before the silver Mercedes Benz ran a red light directly into the vehicle I was driving. The only crash I want to associate with LA is the award-winning film, not the sight of my mint green bumper lying in the middle of the intersection at Laurel Canyon Drive and Crescent Heights. If the vehicle behind me hadn’t honked its horn to coax me forward when it did, the ending to this script could have been very different. There is nothing like that split second moment when you realize you are going to be hit and you are helpless, unable to react. You almost sit prepared to accept it as the scene plays in slow motion despite the speed at which it is happening. Thankfully no one was hurt and I was not at fault. Especially since we called 911 and were placed on hold for 10 minutes and when finally patched through to the LAPD were informed there was nothing they could, or would, do. Incidentally, it was at this moment that Emily claims to have spotted Cojo driving by… our only celebrity spotting for the week despite arriving in LA on Oscar night and touring the E! Network studios. Perhaps if Bernt Schmidt, the lawyer rushing to court who hit us, had greater celebrity things would have been different. Only in LA! I wonder what Lois was thinking during the accident... Without a doubt she was “recalculating.”