Montreal. snow. cold.  did i mention snow?

it was a fine quick work trip, although a bit cold and snowy without hope of going skiing. isn’t that really the only reason you make the choice to go to the snow?!

due to the weather i didn’t venture out much, or at all really.  my hotel was across the street from the conference center (colored panels in the picture to the right), so dinner were the excursion.

that being said we went to my favorite Canadian steak House, The Keg.  sadly this Keg wasn’t as good as the one we go to in Toronto, so i was a little disappointed.  the Indian dinner at Ghandi the next night was great though.  a little on the mild side, so if you want some kick, ask for it hot.  my other meals we at the hotel restaurant and bar, and they were perfectly acceptable.

i remember Montreal being so much fun, and i’d like to go back in better weather when i can toodle around a bit.

this may be it for the 2017 posts, i know, sad.  this has been a fun year with lots of memorable vacations.  i can only hope 2018 brings a couple of good ones as well.

viva la vacation!

back on the islands once again, this time Oahu.  i went for the HomeAway Owners Summit.  i went two years ago and it was a good event, so i figured why not.  and, it was in Oahu. bonus!

my friends from Colorado came along for some sun, so there were six of us on the trip, five hitting the beach daily, and one hitting a conference then the beach. we saw Jimmy Buffet at the Shell Amphitheater which was a lot of fun.  my first time with the parrot-heads.

this was a really short trip, no crazy outings or amazing meals…….typical Waikiki restaurant going. Cheeseburger in Paradise, Yard House, Dukes, Maui Brewery and Tiki’s.  All pretty standard.  but when you’re sharing drinks and food with good friends, even standard can be super fun!

i visited London back in March and was there for almost two weeks, so i felt like i had seen a lot, but there is always more.  i love going to London close to Christmas because they have some fun street decorations, and it’s just so festive.

this time i stayed at the Radisson Blu on Bloomsbury.  i just love saying that, the Radisson Blu on Blooomsburrry. yes, i said it with a bad British accent….of course i did! Blooooommmsburrrry. nice hotel, convenient to our office, decent rooms and comfortable bar. there used to be a big red reindeer in the lobby, it’s gone now.  but……if you’re in the know and take the stairs, you can see two in the stairway landing.

time out and about was limited since i was there for work and it was a short trip, but i did manage to go to another market.  the Spitalfield Market was the choice.  no yummy-gooey grilled cheese (Borough Market) but a damn good doughnut from Crosstown. delicious.

we had a large group dinner at Imperial China, which was pretty good.  a very large restaurant, good service and lots of choices.  the area is fun to walk around at night as well, lots of activity. we waited in line for an hour to have enjoy breakfast at the Breakfast Club.  good food, but worth the wait? i don’t know…….i have really good breakfast at home too, and no wait. then again, if i’m being honest, i’ve been known to wait for a little Mama’s Royal breakfast.  i had lunch one day at the other Radisson Blu hotel restaurant, which was good.  i went mainly because of the name, Scoff & Banter. how could i not?

sadly, i think that is it for the highlights…short trip.  Next up, Oahu for a mixture of business and pleasure.

i meant to post while i was on vacation, but i never quite got around to it. it’s not like i’m letting anyone down, i think my consistent reader base is two…..but still. i was on a trip, so there should be a post.

Kauai was the vacation, Wyndham Bali Hai Villas in Princeville was the accommodation provider, Hawaiian Airlines the airline of choice (they serve a meal!) and car rental via Alamo. we were there for 5 days, although really it was 4 by the time we got settled.

i hadn’t been to Kauai for a number of years, and it was different than what i remembered, but just as lovely. touted as the wettest of the islands, we only encountered a brief rain one evening, other than that, it was clear skies and beautiful landscape.

not being too familiar with the island, we ended up doing a bit of driving, but hey, it’s pretty and it’s an island, nothing is very far away.

our sightseeing excursions included snorkeling at Anini Beach, Wailua Falls, Opaekaa Falls, Waimea Canyon, and Na Aina Kai Botanical Garden & Sculpture Park. we had other snorkel and hiking plans, but due to a road closure we didn’t make it to Ke’e Beach, which we really wanted to go to.

since the condo had a kitchen we had most of our breakfasts on our little deck and made lunch to take out with us. dinners were out, and for the most part we had really good experiences. there was one terrible restaurant, which i will mention just so you know not to go there. the good: Bar Acuda, Eating House 1849, Kountry Kitchen (stopped for breakfast on the way to the airport, best decision ever!), Kauai Ono and the Sleeping Giant Grill.

i would go back to all of these, although Kauai Ono is a communal outdoor farm to table pop-up and it’s all about the experience. for a vegetarian it was just okay, it was very good food, but once was enough for me. Bar Acuda and Eating House 1849, I’d go back today if I could!

Hideaways Pizza Pub is where we will never step foot again. even for a beer. terrible all around. bad service, bad food, bad bathrooms….bad, bad, bad.

we had a great time and felt that we were just getting comfortable when it was time to leave. i think we may go back for a longer visit next year. we had booked a trip to St. Thomas, but sadly i don’t think things will be in a tourist state again by April. if/when we go back to Kauai we will split our stay between north and south so we don’t have quite as much car time.

next up on the travel calendar, London for work.

i know so many people that really have a strong dislike, hatred even, for Las Vegas.  i on the other hand, think the occasional Vegas trip is fun.  it’s like Disneyland…..bright, crowded, overwhelming and fun for a weekend.

it’s been a long time since i wandered the strip, but it really hasn’t changed that much.  there are new hotels, shopping areas and restaurants, but the old favorites are still there.

during this trip home base was the Wyndham Grand Desert, off the strip on E. Harmon.  it was great. clean, spacious rooms, good cafe and they have three pools. one of which is adults only with a bar serving frozen fruity delicious drinks.  there is a small movie theater that shows 3-4 films a day, and they have a ton of activities for those that seek in-resort entertainment.

my friend and i ventured out for our entertainment which included a visit to the Neon Museum, home to a lot of retired Las Vegas neon signs.  pretty cool and very informative tour, and only $23.

for dinner went ended up at La Comida before the neon outing and Secret Pizza the other night.  it’s not really secret, be prepared to wait at least 20 minutes in line, but it is tasty and only $11 for two slices.  i had a slice of white and one mushroom-olive…both were good but the white was my favorite.  desert was a slice of Crack Pie from the Milk Bar.……yum!

a perfect weekend get-away.

next up………………..Bonneville 2017.  pray for good salt.

work had me going to NY this week, so i made plans to visit early so i could spend some time with friends before i had to head to the office.

my friends from Colorado are here as well for work and we are all staying at the same hotel.  we toasted being together on Saturday night at the pub next door to the hotel, as it was handy and we received 15% off.  we love a good deal.  after we went up to the hotel terrace which had an awesome view of the Chrysler Bldg.

on Sunday i took a train to Greenwich, CT to visit a friend who is on a nationwide road trip. she left the Bay Area in July and happened to be east coast this weekend.  we had a fantastic lunch at Elm Street Oyster House (i had the open-face swordfish sandwich and she had a crab and spinach eggs benedict), wandered around the overpriced shops, and then she headed off to PA and I went back to NY.

dinner was pizza and pasta at Patsy’s (which was pretty good) and then it was off to bed, as Monday was a work day, and we all needed a good night sleep.

today was spent working and now a visit to Brooklyn to visit a friend, see her new flat, and have a little dinner before the Halloween madness begins.

work brought me to Toronto once again, although this time we stayed in a different area. our trip happened to coincide with Adele playing for two nights and the Blue Jays playing a wild card game at home.  things were a little crowded, but energy was high.

we went back to a couple old favorites….Little India for dinner one night and of course Momofuku to get some Compost Cookies and Crack Pie.  seriously delicious treats, although probably not the healthiest of choices.

since we visited the zoo last time we were in town, this time we opted for the fish zoo, otherwise known as the aquarium.  pretty fun time, lot’s of super cool jellyfish and other under the sea creatures. it was a fun way to spend part of the day and wasn’t too expensive.

we also went to the top of the CN Tower to check out the view of the city.  good thing we went when we did as the rain came in later in the day and the views quickly became of clouds. this was a little expensive for an attraction, but the views were cool.  if we had planned a little better we could have had brunch in the 360 restaurant, which would have been an added bonus but we waited too long to look into it.

if you’re thinking about seeing the aquarium, zoo or CN Tower during your Toronto visit, i suggest purchasing a CityPass, it’s definitely the way to go cost-wise.

Steam Whistle Brewery was across from the aquarium and they had a free tasting, so of course we popped in there.  free beer, hello.

oh, and we had a celebrity experience (you know i love celebrity sightings!).  we met Jacqueline Byers, who recently finished filming the Showtime series Roadies.  i marathoned that show when i was sick a couple of weeks ago, so i recognized her immediately.  sadly the show wasn’t renewed, so i won’t be seeing her in that role again, but a fun sighting none the less.

the customs experience was a lot better this trip.  i don’t know if people were nicer or if knowing the ins and outs made the difference, but i’d give it a 9 on the ease scale.

we are headed back there in April 2017, wonder what we’ll go and see then?!

while on my way to Calistoga today i noticed Mark West Springs Road, Mark West Quarry and Mark West Lodge….who was Mark West?

as it turns out there was indeed a Mark West and this is his story.

in 1834 Governor Figueroa of Mexico visited Sonoma County on a mission to establish a presidio which was to be named Santa Anna y Farias.  he selected a site on Mark West Creek that later became the property of Henry Mizer near a well known redwood tree that was still standing in 1877.

information courtesy of The Mark West Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center
photo courtesy of The Sonoma Heritage Collection

i wrote a whole post with photos and everything, and deleted it by mistake.  really?  f#$@!

let’s try this again.

one thing that i haven’t done on this trip is a tour,  and you know how i love a good tour.  i realized that one reason i like tours so much is that since i travel solo, tours offer me the opportunity to spend a short amount of time with a group of people.  granted,  sometimes the tours aren’t that short (Peru and Argentina) and the people can being annoying, but you get my drift.

i tried to book a tour to Old San Juan (OSJ) but there weren’t enough people interested, so no tour.  i either had to hire a guide/driver or rent a car.  the rental car would have been the less expensive option, but how can you sight-see and drive at the same time? i’m glad i had a guide, as he gave me some local history along the way to OSJ and a brief description of what was what in the town itself.

then i was on my own for the next 5 hours.  i saw the two forts that were built to protect Puerto Rico from invaders, Castillo San Cristobal and Castillo San Felipe del Morro, the Cementerio Maria Magdelena de Pazzis, the capital building, San Jose Church, San Juan Cathedral and lots of colorful buildings.  there was also no shortage of arts and crafts/gift shops.it was a fun day, but i wish i had some company along the way.

a friend would have reminded me to put sunscreen on my shoulders. doh.  thankfully the guide was willing to stop at the drugstore on the way home so i could get some aloe.

                                                  Castillo San Felipe del Morro