Travel Cheap on a Repositioning Cruise

January 23, 2015, 9:43 am

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Cruising is a very popular trend and it's getting more competitive within the industry all the time, especially in the mass-market area of giant ships.

Therefore, empty cabins mean reduced revenue, and that's not something to make cruise operators smile; maximizing the dollar, pound, euro, or whatever currency you have, is their priority. Repositioning cruise deals can offer some amazing value for those who are flexible.

What is a repositioning cruise?

Generally speaking, cruising areas are seasonal, (you don't hear of mid-winter cruises to Alaska, for example), so transitions must be made so that ships voyaging in area 'A' leave there at season's end in order to arrive in area 'B' in time for that season to begin.

The distance from Barcelona, (a popular Mediterranean port), to Miami, for example, is about 4,100 nautical miles, depending on the route. The bigger the ship the more fuel used, and of course that means more costs. Operators try to offset these costs by offering deals on repositioning cruises.

If you're a traveler in, say, Europe, with plenty of time on your hands, (these cruises are not generally for the two week vacationer), it can be as cheap, or cheaper, and a lot more comfortable, to grab cheap repositioning cruises back to North America, (generally Florida if you're coming from Europe), than it is to fly; thus you'll find a large number of retirees among the passengers.

Evan Leeson / Flickr

How to find cheap repositioning cruises

One good source is Repositioningcruise.com; you'll need to sign up for an account but it's free. Start by filtering out the ones that don't appeal to you, monitor those that do, and watch the price trend. If you're prepared to leave at virtually the last minute/week, you can get some killer deals.

It pays to shop around so take a look at Expedia and directly with the cruise lines. You also want to pay close attention to their deposit/cancellation policies. Some travel companies/lines will allow you to cancel, and re-book if prices drop (before the final date for full payment). Prices drop. Even if you have to pay a cancellation fee to rebook, the savings might still be worth it.

Sometimes the cruise lines might offer "sweeteners" such as onboard credits, (perhaps $50-$100 that you can only spend aboard ship), gratuity reductions, or even, in rare instances, cabin upgrades to get sales going. Once in a while, you can find a deal that's too good to pass up.

Cruisecritic.com is another great resource to learn tricks about cruising and to get expert advice.

What kind of activities are there?

If you've never been on a cruise ship before, then prepare to have your mind blown. These ships offer endless entertainment including pools, whirlpools, movie theatres, spas, casinos, clubs, karaoke, rock climbing wall, video arcades, and some even have bumper cars.

Many people don't realize that you're not on the ship the entire time. Depending on the cruise you select, you'll get a few stopovers before you reach your final destination. Every stopover represents a new destination for you to explore.

What are the extra costs?

We mentioned 'cheaper,' and it can be, if you avoid the 'specialty restaurants,' (always available for a surcharge), and stick with the buffets and other options that are included in the fare. The cruise lines will of course attempt to get you to pay for extras: from photographs, to spa treatments and to cruise shore excursions that they have organized. Don't forget, there's also 'mandatory gratuities' in the region of $12US per person, per day.

If you want to save money during stopovers just book your own cruise shore excursions, or walk around the ports on your own. The tour companies are well aware of what time you need to be back, so the odds are you won't be left behind.

Unlike all-inclusive beach resorts, booze is not free on cruises (some exceptions apply), but drink packages can be purchased; no cash changes hands, but everything is charged directly to your room to be paid at the end. Cruise lines prefer this credit system since psychologically we'll spend more when we don't see physical money leaving our wallets.

As you can imagine, if you're not paying attention and opt for every upgrade, you can be hit with a pretty big bill at the end. Cheap repositioning cruises can be done without spending a penny extra; it's all up to you.

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For more budget travel stories from Barry, check out his blog at Moneywehave.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @barrychoi

UPDATE: Great news for the Congolese people. The DRC Senate on January 23, 2015 amended the census bill earlier approved by the lower house, which would have extended President Joseph Kabila's presidency rather than stand down next year as required by the constitution. Hundreds of students have taken to the streets to celebrate the news. The Senate President Leon Kenya Wa Dondo is quoted in the media stating that "We have listened to the street. That is why the vote today is a historic vote."

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Escape Route to Florida #1: Pittsburgh

January 23, 2015, 9:53 am

≫ Next: Taconite Yacht, Built For William E. Boeing, For Sale (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

≪ Previous: Travel Cheap on a Repositioning Cruise

Every year around this time, Canadian snowbirds flock south to Florida. You don't need binoculars to spot these birds--tens of thousands of them blast through the central and eastern U.S. states in a conga line of cars, RVs and motorcycles. Most of them are hard drivers, one eye on the gas gauge, the other on the GPS, and no fooling around. Because in this crowd, the quicker the trip, the bigger the bragging rights. But a full-on fast forward through a landscape of fuel plazas, food chains and no-frills motels? Fifty shades of boring.

With so many great things to do and places to see along the way (think Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia), we decided to take a week to make the journey at least as much fun as the destination. It's not hard to do:

Day 1 & 2: Pittsburgh
Location. Location. Location.
If you've never been to Pittsburgh, forget everything you think you know about it and spend a couple of days enjoying some under-the-radar awesomeness. From Toronto, it's just 6 hours and a tank of gas away. We left on a Friday morning and arrived in time for cocktails in the Cultural District, 14 blocks of theatres, restaurant and galleries in Pittsburgh's downtown Golden Triangle.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

Our spacious digs at the Omni Renaissance Hotel, a stylish 4-star landmark refit, were perfectly located for a stroll through the district before dark. We were astonished at how many performance venues and eye-candy buildings we stumbled across on the way. The architectural surprises ranged from the classic old Dollar Bank building, complete with stone lions, to the neo-Gothic PPG Place, with its postmodern take on turrets, to the LEED-pedigreed Convention Center on the riverfront. At the tip of the triangle is the Point, a park where the Allegheny and Monongahela come together to form the Ohio River.

Good looks, great style, and a past.
Pittsburgh and good looking: words that seemed incompatible pre-visit now seemed like a natural fit. Once an industrial era superstar, a wealthy railroad town with a huge production of iron and steel, the city has transitioned brilliantly into the 21st-century with some revitalized glories of the past. Pittsburgh has more than good looks; it has great style.

At the Grand Concourse Restaurant in the repurposed Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Station, we opted for a table on the glassed-in platform and had dinner as boats and the occasional freight train rolled by a riverfront view of the city at night. Afterward we rode the Duquesne Incline, an original 19th-century cable car still used by urbanites as part of the public transit system, to catch the view from Mt. Washington.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

In a city with more than 400 bridges, you can't help but feel connected. The only trio of identical bridges built in the U.S., known as the Three Sisters, crosses the Allegheny to the North Shore. They are named after local cultural heroes Roberto Clemente, Andy Warhol and Rachel Carson. On Saturday morning, it was a no-brainer to take the Warhol Bridge straight over to the Andy Warhol Museum, which is staffed by people who would look at home at Warhol's 'Factory' if it existed today. From early works to iconic portraits--the original uncut version of the silkscreened silver Elvis series is a standout--a sampling of his kitsch housewares and the boxed 'time capsules' of memorabilia he collected every calendar year, it's all here. You can even take a Factory 'screen test' that uses the original technology, a Bolex camera and 35 mm black and white film, converts it to slowmo and emails you a digital file to share with friends and followers.

We drove by Randyland, a one-of-a-kind Pittsburgh landmark, and stopped in to see the installation art by Yayoi Kusama, James Turrell, Greer Lankton and others at The Mattress Factory.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

Then a quick lunch and a few hours in the amazing Phipps Conservatory, a philanthropic gift from 1893 that keeps on giving. The Phipps has room after room of fabulous plants and Chihuly sculptures and, with its innovative net zero energy Centre for Sustainable Landscapes, is a must-see for anyone interested in greener living.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

After hours on our feet, we sank into a sofa for tea under the dome in the plush Omni lobby, dashed around the corner for a dinner from Chef Richard DeShantz's gastropub kitchen at Meat and Potatoes, then hit up a fun show at the Cabaret in Theatre Square.

Whew, Pittsburgh. Who knew? It's full of charm in a best-kept secret sort of way. But word's getting out, so better be quick. Condé Nast Traveler just named it #3 of their "Top 15 Places to Go in 2015" and yes, "The furnaces are long gone, but this city's on fire."

Coming soon...Escape Route to Florida #2: American Beauties
Stay tuned to Huffington Post for the next instalment in this 3-part series.

For more information: www.visitpittsburgh.com

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Taconite Yacht, Built For William E. Boeing, For Sale (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

January 23, 2015, 5:57 pm

≫ Next: Alberta Photographer Of The Month: Amanda Nand (PHOTOS)

≪ Previous: Escape Route to Florida #1: Pittsburgh

A luxury yacht originally built for the founder of Boeing Aircraft is now being sold in Vancouver.

Named the Taconite, this 125-foot teak yacht was launched 85 years ago and is on the market for $2.5 million USD.

With the sale being handled by Emerald Pacific Yachts, the Taconite can accommodate up to 10 guests in five rooms; there's a large salon, spacious deck, and dining room complete with brass portholes.

Commissioned in Vancouver by Seattle-based William E. Boeing, the vessel stayed in his family for 47 years. It was rumoured to be the largest privately owned yacht in Canadian waters back in 1930, and its launch celebration was billed as noteworthy by many newspapers at the time.

Vancouver's Capt. Gordon Levett has owned the yacht since 1987, according to Puget Sound Business Journal, and restored it under the guidance of Bill Boeing Jr.

"It's been in the Pacific Northwest all its life," Levett told the paper. "And that's where we hope to keep it."

The Taconite was "built specifically for sailing the spectacular coasts in the Pacific Northwest," according to dealers at Emerald Pacific Yachts, and carries "with her the aura of the time she was built."

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Alberta Photographer Of The Month: Amanda Nand (PHOTOS)

January 24, 2015, 9:16 am

≫ Next: H7N9 Bird Flu Found In Canadian Traveller Is 1st North America Case

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We first came across Amanda Nand's stunning photography during 2014's Spreading Creek wildfire.

Amanda sent us several powerful photos of the thick yellow, black, and orange smoke rising above Banff National Park, as crews worked to keep the controlled burn in check. They were some of the most remarkable wildfire photos we've ever come across.

And we weren't the only ones to think so. Amanda's photos have since been featured on National Geographic, Distractify, HUH Magazine, and many other sites.

Amanda was kind enough to share some of her photos and answer a few questions for us:

Q: Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?

A: I grew up in Red Deer, and I recently moved to Cochrane.

Q: How long have you been shooting photos?

A: I've been taking photos since I was a little girl. Anyone who knows me would tell you that I've always had some sort of camera on me, whether it was a disposable, a point and shoot, a camera phone or a DSLR. I have shoeboxes full of my old photos. I never started thinking of it as a potential career until recently, it was always something that I just did because I loved it.

Q: What about Alberta inspires you?

A: Everything! The way the towering peaks of the mountains can make you feel small and humble. The way the vibrant blue lakes make you feel the need to pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming. Or the way the fiery sunsets over the prairies can capture your attention and make you feel so peaceful and at ease. And of course, the abundant and diverse wildlife!

Q: How patient do you have to be to photograph wildlife and nature?

A: You have to be extremely patient. Wildlife and nature are both so unpredictable, so you can never entirely plan a shot. There are times where it takes days of going back to the same location just to get the proper lighting, or just to catch a glimpse of the animal you were hoping to see. Patience is truly a virtue in photography.

Check out some of Amanda's favourite photos from her collection. Interview continues below:

Q: What's the most unusual, remarkable thing you've ever had happen while taking photos?

A: When I was photographing the wildfire near Banff, everything about that experience was unusual and remarkable. Hearing the trees loudly cracking and popping and feeling the heat of the flames was unreal. Although, the most memorable part would have to be when I came across a black wolf about 2 kilometres from the blaze, walking down the middle of the highway at dusk. Wolves are normally very elusive and it was also my first time seeing a wild one, so this was very special for me.

Q: Have you ever found yourself in a scary situation while shooting?

A: Yes, just recently actually. I was in British Columbia, and I decided to take my vehicle down an extremely remote logging road with my husband to find some nice areas to photograph. The road is normally dirt, but it had a fresh layer of snow and only one set of tire tracks. After attempting to get up the steep, narrow hills and almost getting stuck, we decided to walk up the road to see what we could find. What we found was very fresh, very bloody wolf tracks. Needless to say, that was enough for me to want to turn around and get out of there!

Q: What's your advice to people who want to learn to take remarkable nature photos?

A: Just get out there and shoot! From my experience, practice is absolutely essential, and learning is constant. Even the pros are still learning in some way or another. Always shoot in manual mode if you are using a DSLR, and always keep your camera on you because you never know when an opportunity to take a spectacular photo will arise.

Q: What do you like to do when you're not taking photos?

A: I like to explore nature and take road trips with my husband. One of our favourite things to do is find wild hot springs and soak in them. When I am at home I like to spend my time reading, doing yoga, and hanging out with my three dogs.

You can follow more of Amanda's work here:
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Website

Are you interested in being Alberta's Photographer of the Month? Email us and we can chat!

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H7N9 Bird Flu Found In Canadian Traveller Is 1st North America Case

January 26, 2015, 11:09 am

≫ Next: Julie Abrahamsen, Snowboarder Rescued In Whistler, Says She'd Consider Going Out Of Bounds Again

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TORONTO - A woman from British Columbia is the first person in North America to be diagnosed with H7N9 bird flu, after apparently contracting the virus while travelling in China earlier this month, Canadian health officials said Monday.

Her husband, who had been travelling with her, was also sick with an influenza-like illness around the same time and it's believed he too was infected, but test results are still pending, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s deputy provincial health officer.

"We're quite confident he had the same thing," Henry said in a telephone interview.

The discovery of the case was announced Monday by Federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose, B.C. health authorities and officials of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

All stressed that it is unlikely more cases will result from this imported infection. To date there have been very few instances where H7N9 is believed to have spread from person to person. And there have been no reported illnesses among people who had contact with the couple when they were ill.

"All of them so far are well, including the ones that had the closest contact in the period early on in their infection," Henry said.

The couple, who are in their 50s, did not require hospitalization, but they were sick enough that they stayed home and had little outside contact at the height of their illness.

''It was very classic influenza. Fever and a cough," said Dr. Reka Gustafson, medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health.

"Though one of the individuals we interviewed said that it did feel a little bit different. That's probably about as close as she could describe it. And it felt different enough for her to seek care."

The couple's names were not released and officials would only say that they were residents of B.C.'s Lower Mainland region. They have since recovered.

H7N9 is a subtype of flu that infects poultry. But in March 2013, authorities in China reported several cases of human infections. Since then, roughly 500 human infections have been diagnosed, all either in China or in people who had travelled to Mainland China. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia have all diagnosed infections in returning travellers.

Roughly a third of the known infected patients died from the infection. The death rate is lower than that of the other main bird flu virus that sometimes infects people, H5N1, which kills just under 60 per cent of the people who become infected.

Despite the fact it isn't as deadly, flu experts consider H7N9 to be at least as worrisome as H5N1.

For one thing, H7N9 seems to infect people more easily. There have been 500 H7N9 infections in less than two years; the cumulative count of H5N1 cases is about 700, but those infections have built up over more than a decade.

And H7N9 doesn't make poultry visibly ill, which means it's impossible to know which chickens are infected. H5N1 is lethal to poultry; dying chickens make outbreaks easy to spot.

This British Columbia H7N9 infection might easily have gone undetected but for the actions of an astute family physician.

The couple returned to Canada from China on Jan. 12. Two days later, the husband became ill with influenza-like symptoms. A day after, the wife developed the same symptoms, and decided to seek medical help.

"Typical behaviour — he stayed home and she went to see her doctor," Henry said.

British Columbia — like the rest of the country — has been in the grips of a very active seasonal flu outbreak this month. The woman's doctor could easily have diagnosed influenza based on the woman's symptoms and sent her home to rest and recover.

Instead, the physician swabbed the woman's throat and sent the test to the provincial laboratory for testing.

The next day, when she received confirmation that her patient was infected with an influenza A virus, the doctor prescribed the flu drug oseltamivir — sold under the brand name Tamiflu — for the woman and her husband.

"I think it is surprising that we discovered them as cases," Henry admitted.

"If she had not done that test — both of them recovered uneventfully, they were given Tamiflu by the family doctor — we never would have known."

H7N9 is an influenza A virus. But so are H1N1 and H3N2, the flu virus responsible for this season's flu activity. Laboratories do not subtype every single positive flu test doctors submit during flu season; they process a representative sample. Had the lab stopped after this virus was identified as an influenza A, the assumption would have been that the woman was one of the many Canadians who was infected with H3N2 this winter.

But the lab — the B.C. Centre for Disease Control — tried to type the woman's sample, and discovered it was not a match for either H3N2 or H1N1. When further testing revealed it was an H7 virus, BCCDC alerted local and provincial public health officials, and the Public Health Agency of Canada was notified.

At that point public health officials reached out to the couple, and the man was tested. Results are still pending, but given that he had recovered it is likely the test will come back negative, Henry said. She added that there are plans to test blood samples from both the man and the woman for antibodies to the H7N9 virus.

Meanwhile, the woman's sample was flown to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for additional testing, which confirmed Monday that she was infected with H7N9, said Dr. Gregory Taylor, Canada's chief public health officer.

Taylor said Canada has informed the World Health Organization, as it is required to do under the International Health Regulations. And it is providing China with information on the cases.

But it appears unlikely that anyone will be able to determine precisely when and how the couple became infected. They reported being in a number of places where chickens were present, but that is common in China.

"There's a number of different periods of time where they were aware of there being birds around and bird droppings in a number of places. So we're going to give the details to the Chinese government obviously. But we're not going to say where because we can't tell where the exposures were," Henry said.

Last January, a woman from Red Deer, Alta., died of H5N1 bird flu, the first known case in North America. She too had recently returned from a trip to China, but officials couldn't determine how she became exposed to the virus.

"We never did find out exactly where that case came from and I would assume in this current one that we probably won't find out either," said Taylor. "It's extremely difficult to detect where that came from."

Taylor said the Public Health Agency does not recommend that Canadians travelling to China avoid particular cities or towns — H7N9 has been found in many parts of that country — but it does urge people to avoid contact with poultry and so-called wet markets, which sell and slaughter live poultry.

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Julie Abrahamsen, Snowboarder Rescued In Whistler, Says She'd Consider Going Out Of Bounds Again

January 26, 2015, 9:46 pm

≫ Next: B.C. Couple's Surrogate Twins Fighting For Their Lives In Mexico Hospital

≪ Previous: H7N9 Bird Flu Found In Canadian Traveller Is 1st North America Case

Julie Abrahamsen, the Norwegian snowboarder who spent three icy nights in the Whistler backcountry before being rescued, says she'd consider going out of bounds again.

Abrahamsen, 21, told CBC News that she's "too enthusiastic when the powder is there on the mountains" and acknowledged what she did was stupid.

She said she learned a lesson and would go into the backcountry again — as long as she had the right gear, and was accompanied by two people who know the area, reported CBC.

Abrahamsen was staying in Whistler for the month of January in an apartment with other tourists, according to Global News. She was scanned at a Blackcomb chairlift on the morning of Jan. 21, but no one noticed her missing until two days later and reported it to officials, said The Province.

Abrahamsen, who was snowboarding by herself, told CBC she saw two hikers leave the ski boundary, so she followed them in search of deep powder.

But she got lost and her phone battery died. She tried to make half a container of pasta last as she slept outside and tried to stay warm.

At one point, Abrahamsen tried to cross a frigid river, ending up neck-deep in water.

Several fortunate events factored into Abrahamsen's survival, said Whistler Search and Rescue manager Brad Sills.

Despite heavy rain, temperatures averaged 3 C, which is warmer than normal. And the helicopter pilot helping in the rescue noticed tracks earlier in the week that helped searchers focus on one area, said The Province.

Abrahamsen was found on Saturday afternoon in a rugged area.

“Thank you to everyone that’s been helping with the case, especially to the rescue staff and the doctors in Whistler,” Abrahamsen told Global. “I’m just happy to be alive.”

The search for the lost snowboarder, including helicopter time, likely cost more than $5,000, Sills told The Globe and Mail. It involved 40 people, half who were unpaid search and rescue volunteers, while the others were police and Whistler Blackcomb staff, he said.

Sills and other search officials disagreed with calls for irresponsible outdoors enthusiasts to cover the costs of their own rescues.

In 2012, Cypress Mountain initially said it would send a $10,000 bill to a snowboarder who went out of bounds, sparking a search operation.

Shortly after that high-profile case, a man got lost on Grouse Mountain but avoided calling officials for help because he couldn't afford to be charged such a cost, Mike Danks, a veteran volunteer with North Shore Rescue, told the Globe.

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B.C. Couple's Surrogate Twins Fighting For Their Lives In Mexico Hospital

January 27, 2015, 2:13 pm

≫ Next: Douglas Coupland Vancouver Art Gallery Exhibit Can Be Toured On Google Street View

≪ Previous: Julie Abrahamsen, Snowboarder Rescued In Whistler, Says She'd Consider Going Out Of Bounds Again

A B.C. couple is struggling to come up with more than $55,000 to cover the growing medical bills for their surrogate twins, who are fighting for their lives in a Mexico hospital.

Greg and Elaine Smith rushed to Villahermosa, more than 850 kilometres from Mexico City, earlier this month when their surrogate delivered the twins prematurely at 31 weeks. The boy and girl, named Ayden and Ariana, have been fluctuating between critical and stable condition at the private Angeles Hospital ever since.

The Maple Ridge couple has been trying for years to conceive, said Aaron Gelowitz, whose wife is Greg's cousin. They had considered a surrogate from Iran (as Elaine is of Iranian descent), but it wasn't a viable option once the Canadian embassy closed in 2012 due to political turmoil, he said.

Surrogacy in Canada is legal, but surrogates cannot be paid. Intended parents can, however, cover expenses.

When the Smiths couldn't find someone in Canada, they turned to a paid clinic in Mexico, Greg's aunt Linda Pruden told CBC News.

"They didn't actually let us know that they were pregnant until December. They let their mom and dad know as a Christmas surprise," said Gelowitz in an interview with The Huffington Post B.C. on Tuesday. But a few weeks later, the babies were born prematurely, weighing roughly three pounds each.

greg elaine smith

Greg and Elaine Smith of Maple Ridge, B.C. had tried for years to conceive.

The latest update from the couple said that Ariana's lungs have both collapsed and she's back on a respirator. Ayden is also in critical condition.

Compounding the stress is the fact Mexican authorities have not issued birth certificates for the babies, Elaine said in a message to family. A notary public needs to take the twins' fingerprints and footprints, but he hasn't been allowed into the intensive care unit.

ayden surrogate twins

The paperwork is needed to change the babies' last names to Smith — which is then required for Canadian passports to get them out of the country.

However, the focus right now is for the twins to well enough to be flown back to Canada, where their parents hope they can be treated at the B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

The couple's tight-knit family — described by Gelowitz as "a big Brady Bunch" — started an online fundraising page that was meant to be circulated among friends and family. But as the costs and bureaucratic headaches continue to grow, they decided to branch out for help, he said.

They're looking for advice from people with experience with international surrogacy, as well as with the Canadian embassy in Mexico.

Another cousin in B.C., Stephanie McCombie, sent out an appeal on her Instagram account, which has almost 150,000 followers.

"There's been a lot of criticism from people that don't know the back story, who say, 'You made your bed, you lie in it.' But we want people to know [Greg and Elaine] have enough on their plates," said Gelowitz. "This is the only time they've been able to have children, and if we can alleviate some of the burden, that's the best we can do here."

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Douglas Coupland Vancouver Art Gallery Exhibit Can Be Toured On Google Street View

January 28, 2015, 7:51 pm

≫ Next: Enchanted Forest For Sale: Owners Of B.C. Fairy Tale Attraction Want To Retire

≪ Previous: B.C. Couple's Surrogate Twins Fighting For Their Lives In Mexico Hospital

Douglas Coupland's exhibit "everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything" may no longer be showing at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG), but you can now tour it on your computer.

The exhibit, which was incredibly popular during its tenure at the VAG, can be seen virtually through Google Art Project.

Translation: You can Google Street View your way into the VAG and ponder all of Coupland's intriguing, bizarre, and colourful installations.

"It is a compelling and relevant way to showcase Coupland's art through Google's powerful platform, as the artist frequently addresses the impact of technology in present-day society in his practice," Daina Augaitis, chief curator/associate director at the VAG, said in a statement.

Coupland is one of Canada's first living artists to be featured on Google Art Project. The Vancouver-based creator and author is known for his quirky body of work, which includes a pixelated orca whale, a giant statue of his head covered with gum, and a whole lot of Lego.

The future is now.

See photos from the exhibit:

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Enchanted Forest For Sale: Owners Of B.C. Fairy Tale Attraction Want To Retire

January 29, 2015, 3:57 pm

≫ Next: Andree Hamel Drowns In Costa Rica Trying To Save Grandniece

≪ Previous: Douglas Coupland Vancouver Art Gallery Exhibit Can Be Toured On Google Street View

That magical place in southeastern B.C. known as The Enchanted Forest is up for sale.

The 38 acres of fairy tales come to life — the Three Little Pigs' houses, a castle with a dungeon (and prisoners!), and the shoe where the old woman lived with so many children she didn't know what to do — has been listed for $2.7 million.

enchanted forest revelstoke

The "turnkey business," as it's advertised, has grown through the years to include B.C.'s tallest treehouse as well as the SkyTrek Adventure Park, which boasts zip lines, climbing walls, and bridges suspended in the wilderness.

The Enchanted Forest — located on the Trans-Canada Highway between Sicamous and Revelstoke — is a fond childhood memory for many British Columbians (and tourists) taking road trips through that part of the province. It attracts 85,000 visitors each year.

Current owner Rocky Ehlers hopes the forest will continue to create magical memories.

"We'd like to see somebody who would like to buy it and carry it on. We sell a good product. We sell healthy recreation for people of all ages. They don't get fat and they don't get drunk," Ehlers told The Huffington Post B.C. in an interview.

enchanted foest revelstoke

Ehlers and his wife are the third owners of the property. They are selling because they want to retire and travel more.

"I'm old," joked Ehlers, 69, who has three children and six grandchildren.

Sutton Group sales agent Steve Daschuk says this is more than a business transaction for the current owner: "He loves it. It's his heart and soul, this place. He's picky about who to hand it over to."

Interest has been "very active" since The Enchanted Forest and SkyTrek were listed at an "aggressive" price in September, he said. About a dozen buyers have shown interest, with quite a few from Alberta.

Story continues after slideshow:

Original owner Doris Needham was an artist in the '50s who created fairy tale figurines from cement without any molds or forms. She and her husband, Ernest, found the isolated forest to showcase Doris' creations as a retirement project. For 10 years, they cleared trails by hand using shovels, picks, and a crosscut saw, says the Enchanted Forest website.

The Enchanted Forest opened in 1960, drawing a growing number of visitors. Telephone service didn't arrive in the area until 1980, and electricity in 1981.

Today, more than 350 figurines are still displayed throughout the attraction.

Ehlers said he's had some very rewarding 25 years running the beloved site: "I do what children do for fun. I build treehouses and forts, and then people come to see it."

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Andree Hamel Drowns In Costa Rica Trying To Save Grandniece

January 29, 2015, 5:03 pm

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MONTREAL - A Montreal man says his mother drowned in Costa Rica while trying to save her two-year-old grandniece from getting caught up in the waves.

Alexandre Charron says his mother Andree Hamel, 70, had travelled to the Central American country to help out her niece, who was alone with two young children.

Charron says his cousin in Costa Rica told relatives in Canada the fatal accident happened in the blink of an eye while the three were at the beach on Monday.

He was told the toddler, Jasmine Rodriguez Olshansky, wandered over to the water's edge and his mother ran to get her out.

But he says the undertow was too strong and both were pulled under.

Charron says he is working to get his mother's body back to Canada so his family can start to properly mourn her death.

"It happened so suddenly," he told The Canadian Press in a French-language phone interview on Thursday.

"My mother was there to get some rest and to lend a hand."

Hamel had injured her feet in a fall years ago and needed prosthetics in her shoes, which she took off on the beach, he said, suggesting she may have lost her footing.

The family is launching a website to raise funds for the funeral and to help Jasmine's mother, he said.

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Tips for Booking a Rental Car in Europe

January 30, 2015, 5:16 am

≫ Next: B.C. Orcas Rare Beach Rubbing Behaviour Caught On Video

≪ Previous: Andree Hamel Drowns In Costa Rica Trying To Save Grandniece

Traveling around Europe and Great Britain is simple thanks to a network of fast and efficient trains and plenty of low-cost airlines. But if you really want to slow down, see the countryside and explore more deeply, renting a car is the only way to go.

I have fond memories zooming thorough the Irish countryside in a fabulous rental car (semi-automatic). Enamored by the lush green colors, dramatic ocean-side cliffs and charming farms and villages, I blindly followed my GPS.

It was only when I realized that the road I was on was becoming much too narrow for vehicles, and my only companions on this road were sheep, did I take my eyes off the scenery to focus on properly reaching my destination.

Once I got my bearings, I realized getting lost is sometimes part of the adventure. The scenery was well worth the diversion in this case.

If you're planning on renting a car in Europe, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Pay Attention to Insurance

Most auto insurers offer a basic RTA (Road Traffic Accident) level of protection. Consider purchasing incremental insurance through a local car insurance company like Lancaster Insurance. In the event you need to make a claim, a company with knowledge of the local market will ensure a speedy and positive response.

And if you're a British citizen, don't travel without your green card. British motorists traditionally need a Green Card document as proof, as their insurance coverage overseas. To avoid any difficulties on your trip, it is highly recommended that you do carry your Green card no matter what country you travel to.

Be Sure to Consider All Costs Not Just Base Quote

When shopping around for rental cars in Europe, be sure to go beyond simply comparing initial price quotes from the typical sites of Expedia, Kayak or CAA. Consider which company quotes the best combination of rates, including all fees and any extras you may need, service, and pickup and drop-off locations for your trip. Don't forget to check office hours for pickup and drop-off, as many car rental agencies inexplicably work with limited hours.

European cars are rented in 24-hour periods, so think carefully about selecting your pickup and drop-off times. For example, if you pick up the car at 9 a.m. on the first day and drop it off at 11am on the last day, you'll be charged a whole day's rental for just those last two hours.

I generally find a wider choice of pickup and drop-off locations when booking through a larger company. The two major Europe-based rental car agencies include Europcar and Sixt. With these companies, if something comes up with your car a local office and a replacement car are more likely to be nearby.

Choose the Right Car for the Best Experience

In Europe, you can expect most cars to have manual transmission, less passenger room and minimal trunk space. Cars with automatic transmission are more expensive, usually by as much as 50 percent more, and may only be available if you upgrade to a bigger, pricier car.

To avoid the extra cost, I'd suggest brushing up on your shifting skills and go with the manual transmission option. Not only will this save you money, but also larger cars are not as easy to maneuver on Europe's winding, narrow roads, as I found out trying to park my car in a Dublin Garage.

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B.C. Orcas Rare Beach Rubbing Behaviour Caught On Video

January 31, 2015, 5:24 pm

≫ Next: Escape Route to Florida #2: American Beauties

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An amateur videographer has captured rare footage of northern resident orcas rubbing themselves at a beach in B.C.'s Discovery Islands near Campbell River.

The Orca Network posted Chris Wilton's YouTube video seen here to its Facebook page.

In the video, at least four orcas can been seen circling the beach and taking turns rubbing themselves on the smooth, small stones.

"Holy, moly," says one of the amateur whale watchers as an orca manoeuvres in close just metres away and rubs itself along the bottom. "This is crazy ... probably feels like a nice massage."

"Powerful," says another as the snuffling whales noisily blow up a storm. The Orca Network in its Facebook post quoted Jackie Hildering, who runs a blog called The Marine Detective.

"Absolutely remarkable footage of northern resident orcas with their culturally unique behaviour of rubbing themselves on beaches like this."

Northern resident orcas were captured rubbing themselves at a beach in B.C.'s Dscovery Islands.

"I happen to be with whale researchers Janie Wray and Christie McMillan and we believe these whales are the A42 matriline. The big male is very distinct. He is A66 born in 1996."

Scientists say this behaviour is almost entirely unique to northern resident orca whales and is so uncommon it's hard to study.

They aren't sure why the northern resident whales exhibit this behaviour although some have theorized it's a learned habit passed down from one generation to the next.

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Escape Route to Florida #2: American Beauties

February 1, 2015, 8:46 am

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This is the second instalment of a three-part series on driving to Florida. Picking up where we left off (see Escape Route to Florida #1: Pittsburgh), we were ready to see more of the country -- because one of the luxuries of a longer road trip is the freedom to veer off the highways onto the roads less traveled.

On the third and fourth days of our journey south, we took in a couple of cultural hotspots. We visited two National Historic Landmarks, very different but quintessentially American.

Fallingwater: American Zen

After checking out of the Renaissance Hotel on a misty Sunday morning, we set out through the Laurel Highlands to reach Mill Run. We were in the Allegheny Mountains, deep in Southwestern Pennsylvania cottage country. The landscape was bare-boned and grey in the late December drizzle, yet it was easy to see how glorious it could all be on a sunny summer day.

We arrived in good time for our 11.30 a.m. group tour of Fallingwater, probably the most famous house built in the 20th century, and one of the most bucket-listed spots in the western hemisphere.

Photo: Lin Stranberg; used with permission from WPA Conservancy

Fallingwater is a zen koan set in stone. The house, considered to be Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, is improbably cantilevered over the Bear Run stream as it rushes over the rocks and down the mountainside to meet the Youghiogheny River. Designed in 1935 and completed in 1937, it still articulates a contemporary vision.

In the context of a visit that was highly regulated and stopwatch-precise, nothing could have prepared me for the sense of freedom I felt when I rounded the last bend of the footpath and came face to face with this spectacular piece of work.

Photo: Lin Stranberg; used with permission from WPA Conservancy

You just have to stop and stare. And you'll have time, because you'll have to wait here for a few minutes until one of the other groups leaves the house. No worries. It's worth waiting for.

A soul-lifting genius loci inhabits this house. The treatment of space, the sounds of nature, and the natural materials are transcendent. Boulders form the hearth; rocks from a nearby quarry, levelled and waxed, are set down in a field-to-floor treatment in the living room, and a natural spring trickles water inside and back out again in an Asian-inspired passageway to the guest quarters.

Except for periodic restorations and repairs, everything is pretty much as it was when Fallingwater was inhabited by its original owners.

Kudos to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy for its careful stewardship of a rare treasure.

The Greenbrier: American Classic, with a twist

Driving through the rain and fog of dreary West Virginia was the least fun part of our trip. Night fell as we wound back and forth through the switchbacks on lonely Highway 60, and we checked into The Greenbrier late, tired and hungry. Disoriented by hours of trying to focus in the thick fog, arriving to the glitz and glitter of this over-the-top confection was like landing on another planet.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

Even in the light of day, The Greenbrier was unlike any other place we'd ever been. It's an American classic -- the oldest resort in the country and the host to 26 U.S. presidents, from James Monroe to George W. Bush. Davy Crockett stayed there, and so did Robert E. Lee.

The Greenbrier is a hotel with history. It started up in 1778 as White Sulphur Springs, evolved into a hotel called The Old White, was renamed The Greenbrier, and became an army hospital and diplomatic internment centre during World War II. It reopened after the war with a splashy refit by Dorothy Draper, the celebrated 20th century interior decorator, who gave it the twist.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

All endless hallways and rooms with exuberant colours, riotous textures and patterns, sweeping spaces and overscale dimensions, this is kickass décor in vivid HD. It is the opposite of minimalism, an overboard plunge into mid-century drama by the woman Frank Lloyd Wright famously called "an inferior desecrator." But the Greenbrier is Ms. Draper's masterpiece, and her vision, though vastly different, has held up as well as his.

Photo: Lin Stranberg

With its obliging service, abundance of activities (tennis! spa! falconry! tour the decommissioned Cold War bunker!), aisles of pricey shopping, aspirational dress code and guests-only gambling casino, The Greenbrier is a glorious homage to excess, American-style.

It's the other side of the moon from a boutique hotel; maybe closer to a cruise ship. There's not a hipster for miles around. It was all good. We loved our lavishly large room and the old-fashioned luxe of a deep sleep in total quiet.

Coming soon...Escape Route to Florida #3: Raleigh & Savannah
Stay tuned to Huffington Post for the third instalment in this 3-part blog series.

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Cuba Libre

February 1, 2015, 6:46 pm

≫ Next: Travel: Panorama B.C.

≪ Previous: Escape Route to Florida #2: American Beauties

When I was in my early 20s, fresh out of university, we jetted to Havana to celebrate with friends and see, with our own eyes (for surely the last time) communism in action. "Action" may not be the most appropriate word, as we spent most of the time in lineups: for paint for the diplomatic licence plate to travel in our lawyer-friend's car; for markets that yielded no food; for police checkpoints that would not let us pass without a marriage certificate, prostitution being a problem at the time. We funded our trip by re-selling Romeo et Julietta cigars to Vancouver's Yaletown Cigar Company, then in its heyday.

Fast-forward almost 20 years and my husband and I recently had the opportunity to circumnavigate Cuba aboard the Louis Cristal--a re-purposed Finnish ferry (how very socialist!) now operating as Cuba Cruise. It's a second-year startup by two intrepid Torontonians, one of whom is a harbinger in the cruise industry in Northern Canada. Our experience venturing into uncharted cruise territory and conscripting the locals in their operations proved useful in entering the long-disused ports and less-travelled waters of Cuba, not to mention unwinding the bureaucratic red tape of a benign socialist dictatorship. With the recent détente in U.S.-Cuban relations as a news hook, and a promised stop in Montego Bay as a carrot, we signed on for the week-long expedition.

This was not a cruise about counting stars (well, except for the ones in the night sky) but more about adventure. We cruised by night and, every morning, we arrived at a new place, some so remote we dropped anchor and accessed the shore via the ship's lifeboats. Once, locals set up a bar on a pristine white beach and used machetes to harvest coconuts for us to drink from. The best day, by far, had us arriving by catamaran on Paradise Island, where we snorkeled off the pontoons. The island is populated solely by ostriches and herds of water buffalo, which we observed from somewhat rickety Russian army Jeeps. This corridor of baby powder-white beaches punctuated by beautiful shells and lush foliage was where Christopher Columbus (or a Spanish conquistador, depending who you ask) first landed in the Americas in 1492, declaring it the most beautiful place on Earth. Can't argue with that.

While our one night in Old Havana was a highlight--tracing the romantic path of watering holes of Ernest Hemmingway and Errol Flynn and marveling at the crumbling Colonial architecture--the cruise also took us to more far-flung destinations. In Trinidad and Santiago de Cuba, the real-life struggles and tenacity of the Cuban people were more apparent, the music more raw and haunting, the cobblestones more uneven. Everywhere we went we saw children flying homemade kites of balsa wood and tissue paper, a metaphor if there ever was one for hope and resilience in times of adversity. (This time around, I knew to bring dozens of bottles of nail polish from the magazine's ample beauty supply closet to distribute to the local women. I had witnessed, all those years ago, a group of female lawyers sharing one highly coveted bottle of contraband red nail polish.) Jamaica's Negril beach, with its curry goat and jerk chicken cooked over coals, ample ganga and rum punch and dramatic cliff jumping (not necessarily in that order) was unforgettable--and a stark foil to its Caribbean country cousin, Cuba.

While we didn't lounge in the touristy all-inclusives of Veradero or even, unfortunately, get to check out the retro-Soviet restaurant in an apartment on the oceanfront Malecon in Havana--currently all the rage and opened by our old lawyer friend Gregory of the licence plate paint days (look it up if you go, it's called Nazdarovie)--we did enliven our senses, recharge the batteries and kick-start our imaginations.

And the cigars we brought back? Straight into the humidor. --Sarah Bancroft

www.yourcubacruise.com

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Travel: Panorama B.C.

February 1, 2015, 7:05 pm

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Our winter weekend getaway to the new-and-improved Panorama Mountain Resort in southeast B.C. took us to the top of the world--here's our itinerary to help you achieve great heights, too.

stay: Cosy and hugely convenient, accommodations at Panorama range to suit all tastes and budgets, with many literally a snowball's throw from a chairlift. Between the upper and lower villages, your options are wide open (bonus: a free gondola runs between the two areas all day and late into the night).

sup: Top-notch dining experiences include the recently opened Monticola, with fresh Italian-fusion fare and a mouthwatering list of handcrafted and expertly executed cocktails (try the Italian Gunfire--a reimagined Old Fashioned with, wait for it, a red wine float--or a house Caesar with homemade clam juice). Or head over to Cliffhanger at the Greywolf Golf Course, where delicate modern European dishes satiated our fancy appetites. A meal at one of the resort's three mountain cabins is also worth doing; it's just a short chairlift ride to Panorama's Mile One or Summit hut, where you can enjoy a cheese and chocolate fondue feast, or, ski to Elkhorn cabin for raclette--a traditional Swiss alpine-style cheese grill--and an exhilarating night ski down to the base when you're done. All serve delightful B.C. wines and brews to wet your winter whistle.

spa: No ski weekend would be complete without some well-deserved downtime. Pop over to Pure Massage for a hot-stone massage and coconut passion fruit wrap (talk about yummy). After you're sufficiently blissed out, slide into Panorama Springs Pools--Canada's largest slope-side hot pools--to soak away those aches and pains après. With three steaming in-ground pools set right at the base of the mountain, you can bathe with a view (in other words, the perfect end to a perfect day).

So many (new) reasons to strap on those skis. --Amy Dillon
Panorama Mountain Resort, 2000 Panorama Dr., Panorama, B.C., 1-800-663-2929, www.panoramaresort.com

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Revelstoke Promises A Jolt Of Adrenalin

February 1, 2015, 7:22 pm

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REVELSTOKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- The morning view at the summit of Mount MacKenzie was definitely Instagram material: snow-covered peaks across the way, illuminated by a bluebird sky, with an otherworldly blanket of deep cloud shrouding the lower slopes and the town of Revelstoke below.

This top-of-the world vista, which we enjoyed one day last winter at Revelstoke Mountain Resort (RMR), gave my group of skiing buddies a jolt of adrenalin as we began to descend.

We were following RMR ski school manager Dan Sculnick, who earlier warned us not to be discouraged by the leaden skies in the resort village. "You can be miserable down in town and grumbling because it's winter. But then you get above the clouds and you get your vitamin D and everybody is smiling."

High-Speed Quad Chairs at Revelstoke

And we were grinning as we flew down groomers and then ventured off-piste, down steep bowls and through glades; fast and long runs that left our quads burning by the time we got to either of the two high-speed quad chairs, The Stoke and The Ripper.

The conical Mount MacKenzie is a big hardcore affair, perfect for intermediate and expert skiers, though there are green runs on the lower levels. One expert run under the Revelation gondola is called Kill The Banker. The cheeky name was attached to the run after RMR's original financier was led down it in 2007, just prior to the resort's official opening. "What are you trying to do? Kill me?" said the money man, according to RMR lore.

The pull of gravity on Mount MacKenzie impressed Olympic champion skier Aksel Svindal, who told Sculnick during a tour a few years ago that the mountain had the ingredients for a world-class downhill course.

"We had fun all over the mountain but when we got onto a run called Pitch Black, you could tell that Svindal's mind went straight to racing. He looked at the run and said things like 'take out that tree' or 'smooth that out' or 'open up that corner a bit' and you would have an amazing downhill course, one that would rival the best downhill runs out there," Sculnick said.

Famous Powder Dumps in British Columbia

On the day we visited Revy last season, there wasn't much new snow at the resort, which is famous for its regular powder dumps. (Revelstoke typically gets 12 to 18 metres of snow annually.) But the massive ski terrain combined with the lack of any lineups left us more than satisfied when we finally stopped for lunch.

"We just skied over 1,100 feet in four runs between 9:30 and 11:40," Sculnick told us as we caught our breath, outside the Revelation Lodge, that morning. "You couldn't ski that much at a lot of other resorts in such a short period of time because you'd be on the lifts way more."

Sculnick noted the sprawl of the mountain allows skiers to spread out, limiting the amount of time required to queue. "Five-to-10 minute lineups at the most on a really busy day here."

Based on three visits to Revelstoke, I can corroborate Sculnick's assertion. Lineups on the upper half of the mountain are typically minimal or non-existent. Usually, I've skied straight on to a chair -- unless, I am just too tired from the never-ending runs and want to give my legs a break before climbing aboard a chair.

When you're ripping it up at the resort with the highest lift-serviced vertical drop (5,620 feet / 1,713 metres) of any North American ski operation, lactic acid build-up and the need for a breather comes with the terrain.

Sculnick, a Quebec native, told us he decided to live in Revelstoke after skiing here one day in April a few years ago. "My wife and I came on a bluebird day, deep powder -- and 15 turns from the top of the mountain, she turns to me and says: 'We're moving here, right?' And so we got Revel-stuck."

Before RMR opened eight years ago, there had only been a small local ski operation with one chairlift and a few ski runs. But Revelstoke had a well-known heli-skiing and cat-skiing industry. So the potential for a world-class resort on Mount MacKenzie was obvious to those familiar with the mountain and the local ski culture.

"The top half of the mountain used to be just cat-skiing. You got onto a cat and drove up the mountain to where we have a lift now," said Sculnick.

That means skiers and snowboarders at the resort can enjoy, on a powder day, the thrill of cat-skiing but without that snowsport genre's steep price point. Peter Nielsen, general manager of RMR'S Sutton Place Hotel, similarly said that the heli- and cat-ski operations paved the way for RMR.

"If you have a helicopter, then you go where the best snow is and it's in this valley -- and now there is a ski resort in the middle of it," said Nielsen. "That was the vision of the original developer. And it's not uncommon for visiting skiers to say they had a better day skiing at the resort than they did with a helicopter in the backcountry."

Story by Doug Ward, Vacay.ca Writer. To read the full story on Vacay.ca, click here.

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Penticton Beach Has Turned Into 'Kinky Swingers' Area: Angry Neighbours

February 2, 2015, 12:32 pm

≫ Next: New Orleans: 10 Years After Katrina

≪ Previous: Revelstoke Promises A Jolt Of Adrenalin

A months-long fight between nudists in Penticton, B.C. and property owners in the area has led to a "shaming" website and a date in front of city council.

For years, nudists had been using a secluded property on Three Mile Beach on Okanagan Lake, reported Castanet. This past summer, the property owner who was selling the land hired security guards, and erected fencing and "No Trespassing" signs to keep them out.

Consequently, the nudists moved to a public part of the beach.

Landowners in the area want the city to implement a bylaw banning nudity, because they say dozens of naked people are still accessing the private property as well as the city-owned beach for sexual encounters.

Matt Fraser's family has owned a property on Three Mile Road since 1951. He said the problems have grown over the last 15 summers.

"Most of these people are drinking etc. and it just turned into a kinky swingers type beach/area," Fraser wrote in a letter to Penticton council.

He points out that families and kids no longer feel safe going to the beach, and that the activity is driving down property values.

The owners have also created a website featuring surveillance images of people who are allegedly trespassing on a private trail on their way to the beach. It also accuses people of vandalism, squatting, and indecent acts.

“We are looking for assistance to identify all of the trespassers. The neighbourhood has not ruled out a lawsuit against these people,” Katya Kuzina told the Western News. The images appear to be taken in the summer of 2014.

But Dustin Wolchina, a spokesman for the naturists, told Infotel the majority of them are respectful, and anyone causing problems may not actually be part of their community.

Penticton city council is slated to hear the issue on Monday evening. Mayor Andrew Jakubelt said he'd like to see a compromise like possibly designating a clothing-optional beach, reported The Province.

Wolchina started a petition to save the clothing-optional tradition. He told the Western News in May that visitors from "all over the world" visit Three Mile Beach.

“We have everybody from bikers to cross-dressers, businessmen, lawyers, families with kids, air force pilots," he said. "You name it, we get them down here."

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New Orleans: 10 Years After Katrina

February 2, 2015, 1:08 pm

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There are some common things between Calgary and New Orleans that are not immediately apparent. With a distance of nearly 4,000 kilometres, a time zone apart, and dramatically different weather and terrain, it makes sense why it would be hard to miss the common links. Despite these differences:

Both cities have cool nicknames: NOLA and Big Easy versus Cowtown and Stampede City.

Both have annual outdoor events of international fame -- Mardi Gras, Stampede.

Both have a dominant industry that plays a huge impact on its economy -- tourism and conventions, the oil patch.

And both have experienced one of the biggest natural disasters in North America.

New Orleans suffered terribly from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, while Calgary endured the flood in 2013. Both claimed to be the costliest natural disasters in their respective countries.

It was for this last reason that inspired me to visit New Orleans for the first time in 2014. Since I had lived through Calgary's flood, I was curious to see, or rather compare, how the two cities endured their respective misfortunes. Therein lied my assumption error in thinking that the two cities could be compared in terms of the devastation caused and the revitalization process thereafter.

"The 2013 flood is a distant memory,"

- owner/operator of Calgary restaurant in a radio interview in 2014

Apples to Oranges

Whereas the Alberta flood impacted Calgary significantly, with over 75,000 people displaced from their homes, Canadian Forces deployed in the rescue efforts, and damages estimated in excess of $1.7 billion (across Alberta), the direct impact of it essentially was restricted to a certain section of the City, while leaving the majority untouched. In fact, so dramatic was the focus of the impact on a specific zone that majority of Calgarians who were not impacted by it would not know of the dramatic events unfolding in the city core if not for the media reports. The city core was back in operation within a week and majority of the small retail businesses that were directly impacted were more or less up and running by Stampede season.

On the contrary, the estimated damage from Hurricane Katrina was estimated at $108 billion (2005 USD) with nearly 275,000 people displaced across the regions affected by it. The impact lasted years following its aftermath and continues to play an integral role in defining this city.

In 2015, the City of New Orleans is going to have its 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The recovery and revitalization since 2005 has been a long arduous road. The effort did pay off in 2013 when the direct revenue from tourism finally surpassed the level in the year prior to Hurricane Katrina.

While first-time visitors to NOLA typically plan a trip around Mardi Gras season (late Jan to early Feb), I specifically decided to make my first jaunt to see it in context of how it had evolved, particularly with an emphasis on businesses involved in the tourism sector. I visited local businesses, national chains, communities, and talked to many locals to hear their stories on how Katrina affected their business and how they have fared over the years. Here are their stories:

Joe's Story

Joe Spadaro was working at Landry's Seafood restaurant in the French Quarter when the flooding occurred. Contrary to popular belief, the historic French Quarter of New Orleans was not affected to the extent that the other places did. I met Joe at the Landry's Seafood located on Lakeshore Drive that fronts on to Lake Pontchartrain. Unless you knew about its history you would not think this place was on the first point of impact of the storm.

Joe described the state of chaos during the storm in a way that only a local could describe it. The water levels had risen up to the second level of the restaurant. As one might have expected, the restaurant suffered significant damage to property, inventory and business loss. Amazingly, the structures survived the brutal force of the storm. Today the business and location is back to normal operations.

Antoine's Story

Search for images of French Quarter or Bourbon Street online and you are bound to come across the photo of the iconic building that houses the oldest running restaurant in USA.

Antoine's Restaurant has been operated by the same family, without interruption, for 167 years. That record nearly broke during the storm. Nearly! The famous French Quarter was least affected by the storm or the floods so there was not direct impact to the restaurant. The disruption came from the restaurant staff whose homes and lives had been directly impacted during the hurricane.

Antoine's cuisine is original New Orleans with French and Creole backgrounds. This place is all about old school service and class. One of the classier things about New Orleans (and the southern culture of USA in general) is their continued tradition of dressing up even for the typical dining experience.

Kellie and Andrew's Story

Andrew Brott and Kellie Grengs are locals. Kellie heads up the Freret Street Improvement District (an uptown location of NOLA that was hit hard during the storm). Kellie and Andrew invited us in to their house for drinks and snacks when we arrived at Freret to check out the locale. They shared stories of how their homes got flooded and how the neighborhood became derelict and dying. Today, thanks to the revitalization efforts spearheaded by Kellie's organization, Freret is on its way to become one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the City.

Whitley's Story

Whitley Donsereaux left NOLA several years ago to pursue opportunities in the hospitality sector outside the state given the dramatic dearth of jobs in this industry in the immediate years following Katrina. An initial stint at a Hyatt Regency led her back to NOLA to work in media relations with the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, which underwent a six year restoration period. Today it has emerged as one of the preeminent locations within the Hyatt banner and is regarded as an iconic landmark of NOLA. Whitley indicated that her return to NOLA was fortuitous since it not only brought her back home but also offered several avenues of growth and opportunities in the industry in this city for young professionals. I had this sentiment repeated several times with others I talked to. NOLA is bringing back the energy through commerce and the vibe is felt throughout the people in the city.

The image below is of the former lobby of the Hyatt that became ground zero for the recovery efforts. While no longer in use it remains intact after the renovation to serve as a piece of its legacy.

An Indie Band's Story

So Long Storyland is a young and thriving indie band that comprises locals singer Sophia Preston and songwriter Andrew deBuys. The collaboration of this duo has put the band in the forefront of eclectic and innovative music to come out of the city of jazz. Andrew was away at college and Sofia was just a child when Katrina hit so both didn't experience it firsthand. But Andrew's father lost his home. He lived on the very street where the canal broke in lakeview. He stayed on that property in a trailer for a few years until they were able to rebuild. Out of every tragedy evolves hope. Out of hope comes inspiration. Some of the songs by the band have indeed been inspired from that period. You can check out a detailed interview here with the band to read about new digs, eateries, shopping and cool neighborhoods from a local artist's point of view.

Stories Abound

New Orleans is a storyteller's dream come true. Given its legacy and origins (and perhaps, in my case, author John Grisham to an extent) numerous stories abound. The people, the buildings, the streets, the venues, the locales - all have a different flavor in their stories that are rich and varied. Stories of the legends of jazz, ghost tours night walks, tours on Hurricane Katrina, an afternoon with boat operators in the Bayous, all abound to a culmination of stories that are as vivid and vibrant as its famous Cajun and Creole cuisine.

No more talk about the towns that won't be saved
New Roads got washed,
St. Rose got razed

Oh, Oh no, the flood is rising in the streets
Oh, too bad, too late, the flood is gonna break

Oh, The rain, the wind,
The house is caving in
Black cloud, no fair
I don't want the flood to break

- from the song THE FLOOD by NOLA Indie Band So Long Storyland

Disclaimer: Portions of this post appeared originally on this author's blog and have been reproduced in here with full acknowledgement by this author.

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Outdoor Winter Fun in Canada's Capital

January 30, 2015, 2:20 pm

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Let's face it Canada, winter can be rough. From scraping ice and shoveling snow to dry skin and waiting for the bus in a -30 below frozen tundra, it's not the easiest season to celebrate. Fortunately, our nation's capital has some of the country's best outdoor adventures. With fun festivals, skating rinks, pancake shacks, toboggan hills and more. It's time to bundle up (and tuck a flask in your pocket for good measure) and explore the best of winter in Ottawa.

Rideau Canal Skateway
Perhaps the best-known landmark in Ottawa, the Rideau Canal is easily one of the first things people look forward to when the temperature dips below freezing. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is transformed into a 7.8 kilometer skating rink complete with food vendors, ski and sleigh rentals, and rest stations to warm those icy feet! Stretching from downtown to Dow's Lake, you might even be lucky enough to skate to work.

Winterlude
For three weeks in the dead of winter, Ottawa braves the coldest of temperatures all in the name of fun, pride, and BeaverTails. Business set up shop along the Canal, majestic ice sculptures are carved at the Crystal Garden in Confederation Park and the largest snow playground on the continent comes alive at Snowflake Kingdom. Events include the Great Winter Ball, DJ nights, fireworks, cultural events and more.

Parc de la Gatineau
Speaking of snowshoeing, this park has some of the NCR's best. Another Gatineau gem, this conservation area boasts 57 kilometers of trail dedicated to snowshoeing. Trails have several levels of difficulty from beginner to challenging. There are shelters scattered throughout the park with picnic tables and wood stoves, and just in case you really get the urge to rough it, there's winter camping sites at the ready.

Rink of Dreams
I know what you're thinking - Ottawa has the world's largest skating rink. Why on earth would we need another? This colourfully lit rink is for those who prefer a bit of a different ice skating experience. Located in front of City Hall, the surface is super smooth, and the music is plentiful. It's a great spot for beginner skaters, and a bit less intimidating than 7.8 kilometers of ice stretching out before you. Should you feel a craving come on, BeaverTails remain close at hand, and nothing beats the beautiful lights that switch on at dusk. Best of all? It's free.

Edelweiss Ski
While this Wakefield ski hill is certainly a destination for skiers and snowboarders alike, there's another winter activity that might be even more fun - snow tubing! Grab your friends and family and get ready to spin, race and slide down these huge hills, atop your giant inner tube. This is the ultimate winter sport for those non-athletes who prefer maximum fun with minimal effort. Forget dragging your tube up and down the hill. The conveyor belts transport you and your tube up the hill with ease. Want to switch it up? Try tubing at night under the stars!

Flapjack's Pancake Shack
Sure, you could grab the traditional BeaverTail, but Ottawa insiders know the place to curb that winter carb craving is at Flapjack's. Walk through an inconspicuous alleyway and into this winter wonderland, complete with tree stump seats. Sample a stack of buttermilk or gluten-free pancakes, a Big Joe breakfast sandwich, or pancake poutine, then wash it all down with hot chocolate or warm apple cider. They also have a shack on the Canal at Concord Street for those on skates who've worked up an appetite.

Mooney's Bay
Trying to climb this doozie of a hill in the summertime is definitely not worth the tan, but if you've got a crazy carpet, GT racer, toboggan or even a shiny metal disk a-la Clarke Griswold, get yourself up there. Yes, there are a few poles and fences around, but the city makes sure they are padded, and hey, obstacles are fun, right? If you're not thoroughly exhausted after barreling down that hill, Mooney's Bay also runs a cross-country ski club at the Terry Fox Athletic Centre. Two winter activities in one spot!

Camp Fortune
Tremblant may be a favourite getaway for many a snow bunny, but this hill is much closer to the city (only 15 minutes from downtown), and boasts some great deals like 2 for 1 rentals and lift tickets on select days. Dying to hit the slopes after work? They light up 12 runs for night skiing and snowboarding Monday through Saturday.

Le Nordik
Has all that outdoor fun left you spent? Maybe you're just sick of layers, static, and space heaters. Beat the winter blues at this Old Chelsea oasis. It's the biggest spa in North America! While they do offer indoor services such as massage and body treatments, the full experience includes taking a dip in the outdoor baths and warming up in seven different saunas. If you close your eyes, you can almost convince yourself it's summer! Willing to brave the cold at night? They also offer snowshoeing under the stars -- a positively magical way to chase away the winter blues.

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3 Ways to Fly for (Almost) Free

February 4, 2015, 9:54 am

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≪ Previous: Outdoor Winter Fun in Canada's Capital

There is a travel experience out there for every budget.

Travelers looking to save money on accommodations can consider staying in a hostel, pitching a tent and camping or even give housesitting or couch surfing a try. While the sky is the limit when it comes to fine dining around the world, travelers can save money on food by cooking meals or eating local, street food.

But these days it's very difficult to find a good deal on a flight. Especially on long haul, international flights, there isn't a whole lot of difference or flexibility when it comes to pricing.

However, we have a few tips and tricks that can actually save you some serious money on your next flight.

Earn More Airline Miles

Of course you can earn airline miles for miles you actually fly by signing up for airline frequent flyer programs. But you can aggregate miles in other ways as well.

One easy way to do this is to earn miles for your monthly expenses. A number of credit card companies offer rewards in mileage on almost any airline. These programs are great ways to earn miles for every dollar you spend on things each month such as groceries, childcare and gas.

Keep your eyes open for credit card (low interest) promotions offering airline mileage sign up bonuses. These can be as much as 50,000, which in some cases is enough for a round-trip international flight, if you open a new card or meet a minimum spending limit over a set period of time.

By simply putting your monthly expenses on a credit card that earns miles, you can easily save enough miles for a round trip flight every year. Also, be on the lookout for sign-up bonuses and other incentives that could expedite how fast you earn a free flight.

Volunteer to Get Bumped

Increasingly, airlines intentionally overbook flights. This allows them to maximize revenue per flight understanding that on every flight there is usually a person or two who is a no-show. However, from time to time 100% of the passengers show up, and the flight is in an overbooked situation.

In this instance, the airline will ask travelers to voluntarily take the next flight. In exchange for this inconvenience, known as being "bumped," the airline compensates the traveler with a voucher for a free flight in the future.

Depending on the level of inconvenience for you, this is a great way to earn a free future flight.

The best chance of being on an overbooked flight is during peak times, such as Friday and Sunday evenings, or around holidays. Be sure to arrive at the airport a little early, and ask right away if the flight is full. If so, be sure to let the gate attendant know you are willing to be bumped if they need someone. By being proactive, and of course calm, polite and friendly with the gate agent, you'll be more likely to have the opportunity to be bumped.

And did you know you could also be proactive about scoring a free flight this way?
Websites like SeatGuru actually show you how many seats are left on certain flights. So if you're booking a flight last minute and have some schedule flexibility, consider booking a very full flight for your best chance at being able to take advantage of being bumped.

Earn Miles from Non-Airline Companies

Financial companies and retailers are also increasingly offering airline miles rewards programs.

For example, the loan company Lending Tree offers customers free flights (via miles) for securing a loan or refinancing an existing loan. Recently, investment houses and brokerages like Fidelity and TD Ameritrade have also offered mileage incentives for customers opening new accounts or who added to existing accounts.

It has also become much more common for retailers, stores and merchants to embrace loyalty programs that give away airline miles.

By simply taking advantage of programs and opportunities like this when possible, you can fly for free or very inexpensively on your next vacation.

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