Gator Bait Airboat Tour, Vero Beach, Florida

Airboat

Airboat Garcia Lake

Airboat and Spanish moss

Blue heron

Flock of Egrets

Gator bait boat with Charley Brody

Great Egret

Lily pad blanket

Mom and babies

Oh say can you see the alligator?

We booked this excursion through Club Med. It included a transfer from the Sandpiper Bay resort to Garcia Lake not far from Vero Beach. An hour to get there, an hour on the boat and an hour back. It was on our bucket list for this Florida trip. We were pleased with our guide, Charley Brody. He was knowledgeable and friendly, willing to address any questions. We all had headphones so we could hear him, and questions from other riders, above the noise of the boat.

The thing about nature guides is that they are not God. They do not control either weather or wildlife. The day we went, the weather turned significantly cooler than it had been for several days. The alligators had submerged themselves to keep warm. That’s what they do. We did actually see one small one and a baby with stripes. Charley saw another bigger one, but all we saw was a splash.

If we go again, we would take our rental car and to save the cost of the transfer there and back. If you really want to see the birds and gators in this area, I believe Gator Bait is a good option, just not on a cool day.

Sky Garden, London

Fern in the rain forest type envionment

Two restaurants and a bar

View across the Thames River

Enjoying the view

Foliage

Order up a drink at the Sky Pod Bar

Sky Pod Bar from above

The Gerkin from Sky Garden

Thames River view

Go on line to get tickets. There is no charge, but you will be get a time slot for your arrival time. You have one hour’s time to visit from the time of your entry. Your ticket is good only for yourself and you will need matching photo ID. You will go through a security screening, much like an airport. It is capacity controlled and sometimes they have to hold people downstairs until some folks leave before allowing you to take the elevator to the 35th floor.

There are two restaurants on the 36th and 37th floors. I would suggest reservations if you want to eat at one of the restaurants. Or you can eat more reasonably with food and drinks from the Sky Pod Bar on the 35th floor. That floor has a viewing deck outside overlooking the Thames River. Inside you can climb some stairs on either end of the building. Those stairways go to/though botanical type gardens. Occasional sort of alcoves are available for sitting in relative quiet amongst the trees/plants. You can also see out the opposite side of the building from the river, but cannot go outside.

We really enjoyed visiting the Sky Garden! The views were great! We did see some people who thought they would just walk in and go up the elevator. They were told they had to go on line to get tickets. https://skygarden.london/ . That made us fee rather smug!

Royal BC Museum, Victoria, BC

View from museum

Diversity of people

So many languages!

I loved this museum! There are a lot of interactive exhibits that will be of interest to all ages. Those that focused on the First Nations’ languages and cultures were very interesting to me.
It’s hard not to love a woolly mammoth. I had to have a picture of him! There are a lot of masks here as well. I always think they give a glimpse of how people look at their lives and what their beliefs were at the time.

A rather off-the-wall exhibit is John Lennon’s 1965 Rolls Royce Phantom painted in “hippie” colors to celebrate Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was expensive, and it was donated to the museum. Look for it just inside the front door of the museum.

This museum is well worth a visit!

Watching for Whales with Prince of Whales Tours, Victoria, BC

Carolyn, Donna and Larry all suited up

The closest I got to a Mountie

Our boat, the Queen of Hearts

We were really more happy than this

Captain Mark gives information

Beautiful Bald Eagle

Lighting the way to safety

There are a lot of options for whale watching tours out of Victoria, BC. More are available during the summer season when the town is full of tourists and the local waters full full of whales. However, the Prince of Whales takes tours out to look for whales much of the year.

All of us had to suit up in survival suits so that was entertaining in itself. These suits not only keep you warmer but act as a personal flotation device should you need such a thing. We were advised that we could bring cameras, but to keep them zipped inside our suit until we were ready to take a photo. That avoids salt water spray on your camera lens.

Mark, our captain, is a native of Victoria, and has been doing this for decades. He’s also a marine wildlife photographer. If there are whales to be seen, Mark will likely find them. While wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, if there are not whales to be seen, he can show you bald eagles, seals of several varieties and perhaps porpoises or dolphins. We saw Dahl porpoises. It was so fun! They followed us and were surfacing almost from under the boat!

Be prepared for a wild ride in a zodiac boat! It goes fast and hits the waves hard at times–especially if you are sitting in the front seat. The survival suits protect you from much of the spray, but you need to be dressed in layers that will help you stay warm. Even though they provide you with a stocking cap and fleece gloves, you might want to bring gloves for yourself. I wore mine inside of theirs to help keep my hands warm. If you wear glasses, at least your eyes will be protected from salt spray. If you don’t wear spectacles, take sunglasses. You might need them anyway, and they will allow you to open your eyes with the wind blowing strongly in your face from the speed of the boat.

Be aware that if you have issues with your back, this activity may not be for you. The ride is very jarring. We had a great time, and I’d do it again, but preferably in the summer when we would be more likely to actually see whales, which, of course, was the point of going on the tour in the first place.

Victoria Clipper–like flying on water!

Beautiful Olympic Mountains

nice day

I love being outside but windy from the speed of travel

All aboard!

Morning departure on the Victoria Clipper

I have wanted to travel on the Victoria Clipper for a long time. I’ve heard about it, but never experienced this high speed transport from Seattle to Victoria, BC. The boat was nearly full, perhaps because it was Friday or maybe because of Spring Break. Either way, I was surprised at the comfort of the ride. I realize the weather was beautiful and that may have contributed to the smooth ride. Still, it was a lovely way to get to Victoria from Seattle. The seating was comfortable and you can get locally sourced snacks and food for $4-$10. We had discovered Ellenos Yogurt at Pike Place the day before and were so pleased that they were selling that on board! I’m glad we ordered early as they ran out of this wonderful treat.

Those of us with luggage disembarked after those without, which was just fine as by the time we got off, our luggage was available for pickup. As you would expect when going from one country to another, you must go through customs where they ask about things like foods you might be carrying with you.

Just a reminder that Canada has restrictions about people entering the country who have DUI records.

In the winter months, traveling from Portland, Oregon to Victoria going by train to Seattle and then taking the Clipper to Victoria requires an overnight stay in Seattle. However, the schedules mesh better in the summer due to increased departures. You can actually take the train to Seattle and then catch the Clipper the same day to Victoria, making a long weekend in Victoria very doable.

Butchart Gardens, Vancouver Island, BC

I have been to Butchart Gardens before, but it never fails to boggle my mind that someone could have the vision and perseverance and use their resources to create such a beautiful garden out of a limestone rock quarry!

We were shown around the gardens by Kevyn who gave us historical insights into the gardens as well as showing us the various aspects of the gardens. He hosted us to a lovely afternoon “tea”. You will see in the photos, that this is no dainty cup with tiny sandwiches tea, but something you could eat in lieu of dinner! Very nice!

Every time I go, I love it! I highly recommend it!

Amtrak Cascades Portland to Seattle

Amtrak Union Station Portland, Oregon

Today was my first time to ride the Amtrak rails to Seattle from Portland. As part of a travel adviser familiarization tour, it was good for me to experience the train so I can help my clients understand what to expect.Union Station in Portland was clean and beautiful to look at. The staff was friendly and very helpful as most of us wanted to check a bag. Unlike airlines, there is no charge for the bag, but it is limited to 50 pounds.

Overall it was a very pleasant experience. The seats were comfortable and we had lots of legroom. The fold down table was very adequate for a laptop or work space. Some seats had an actual table, and while we were not assigned those seats, it turned out that what we had was just fine. We did have some delays along the way as, for some reason, there were workers on the tracks. It seemed odd to us that those who scheduled the workers did not seem to be in contact with those running the trains. Fortunately, I was not on a tight schedule so the delay did not inconvenience me this time.

There was food and drinks for purchase, but I had brought snacks so did not need that. Luggage retrieval in Seattle was a simple process similar to airline luggage but with only one carousel so that was easy.

Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas

In September we sailed with Royal Caribbean on the Liberty of the Seas. The sailing was 9 days out of New Jersey, sailing north to Halifax, Nova Scotia and returning to New Jersey/New York. We chose mid September deliberately in order to avoid times that would be more crowded due to school being out or people looking for Fall Colors. We were hoping to keep the cost of this vacation lower by choosing that time frame and also having an inside cabin. We felt like we achieved those goals.
We hoped for good weather and we did get that. It was, in fact, really HOT when we arrived in New Jersey, but once we were sailing, the temperatures were mild and pleasant. The Liberty is a great ship, not huge but big enough to have the central promenade which we like. Sitting at a table drinking coffee or munching on a cupcake. Although we have done specialty restaurants in the past, this time we ate in the dining room most evenings, with the exception of going to Johnny Rocket’s–a very fun place and not much cost. We chose to do the My Time dining which allowed us to choose our time to have dinner and arrange for those times before we ever got on the ship. We had the same table and waiters the whole trip. Very nice! And we lucked out with a window table, even seeing dolphins swimming one evening.

Entertainment in the evenings was varied. We always love the ice show and enjoy the Broadway style shows as well. It was fun to travel with a few friends/family. You can do your own thing or hang together.

There’s always something going on if you want to be active, or you can just watch others being active and still feel like you did something (like surfing or rock wall climbing!). We did make use of the miniature golf course, creating our own tournament.

I will say that this particular sailing seemed to have a LOT of senior citizens from the east coast area. Maybe that is normal for the New York area. It wasn’t a bad thing, just interesting.

One of my favorite activities is to walk the open decks early in the morning. So peaceful!

I have to admit I even played in a slot machine tournament–and won!

I never hesitate to book Royal Caribbean for my clients. It’s one of my favorite cruise lines.

Liberty ready to board

Liberty Flag

Liberty from St. Tropez Deck

Liberty departure instructions from the bridge

Liberty departure

Liberty sailing under Brooklyn Bridge

Liberty Chihuly Glass

Liberty water fun

Liberty Childrens pool evening

Liberty climbing wall

Liberty Sunset leaving Boston

Liberty sea day spa special

Liberty Schooner Bar

Liberty Morning walk looking aft

Liberty looking down from Deck 12

Liberty Johnny Rockets

Liberty Donna and the Big Red Dog

Liberty Dolphins along side

Liberty center promenade

Elvis seranades at breakfast

Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Reno, Nevada

Grand Sierra Resort

Lobby

2 queen beds

Bath

spa entrance

Spa pool

co-ed jacuzzi

Bowling alley

Pool

I admit I visited this hotel during Spring Break, but I was very impressed by the number of families, children of all ages–and dogs! Not just one or two, but I saw several while waiting to meet my contact here at the Grand Sierra for a site inspection. My goal is to find a good place to send golfers who want to play golf as well as gamble and maybe indulge in other fun entertainments. The lower level here is filled with all kinds of things to do, shops for all ages and some great restaurant options.

Like many other hotels in this town, they have confined smoking rooms to one floor of the hotel. The lobby was clean and had a busy but friendly feel. Dogs are allowed–$50 fee/night for dogs less than 50 pounds. There is a resort fee: $10/day. That covers wi-fi and 2 bottles of water in the room per day, plus the fitness center and the airport shuttle (runs every half hour).

For golfers, they have a very fun practice facility called Sierra Bay Aqua Range. With 37 hitting stations and eight island target greens, you can practice until 2 am. Of course if you do, you might not be fit to play golf the next day! The Bunker, an indoor virtual golf course allows you to play simulated championship golf courses. Like most hotel/casinos in the area, they do offer golf packages.

If you are of the bowling persuasion, they have a 50 lane bowling alley.

Check in is 3 pm and check out is 11 am.

Nuggett Hotel and Casino, Reno, Nevada

Here’s the good news. Lots of renovations are going on in this hotel. They are changing from mirrored ceilings and glitz to elegant. It’s going to be really nice when finished. Smoking is allowed on specific floors of the hotel. Resort fee: $10.00. Includes wifi, fitness center and pool and airport shuttle every half hour. It takes about 7-10 minutes from the airport to the hotel, which is downtown. Check in 3 pm, out 11 am. Dogs less than 50 lbs, $50/day.