Kenosee Lake - Moose Mountain Park

A very common summer trip for us is Kenosee Lake in Moose Mountain Provincial Park.  A weekend of wicked watersliding, camping, min-golf, beach time, and boating.

The Kenosee SuperSlides is fun for everyone with slides for all ages, there is a whole kiddie area with little kid slides and pools, tube slides, twister slides, bonzai slides, the free fall slide if you like wedgies, the lazy canal which is my ideal place to lounge on a floaty or air mattress and just relax while floating around the canal, and of a course a huge hot tub.  There are lots of picnic tables and areas to leave your stuff and just relax the day away while sliding, I highly recommend bringing your own picnic lunch and snacks.

The Park campsites are decent in size, clean and nice.  There is a great golf course, a fun mini-golf course, beautiful beach and lake.  There is decent fishing too.  And for those who like to be naturally adventurous there are lots of hiking/biking trails, I'm more of the sit back by the camp fire and drink kind of person so I couldn't tell you what the trails are like first hand.

Cormorant Lake, Manitoba

My great uncle and aunt owned a cabin at Cormorant Lake in northern Manitoba and one summer we decided to take a family road trip to do some fine fishing and sightseeing.

With a lake front cabin - the sunsets were astonishing.  The lake was crystal clear with beautiful rock beaches.  The lake is over 18 miles long and is said to be pollution free and considered to be among the most productive lakes in North America.

Cormorant is known for its outstanding fishing so what did we do each day - yes we went fishing and whatever we caught was always supper.  Fresh fish fry with homemade tarter sauce and homemade fries - a meal doesn't get any better than that!

One day Pacey was playing on the rock beach and caught a cray fish which he named Holly Polly, we kept it for the day in a small container of water and then he released it that night back into the lake so it could be with its friends.

The fishing that week was superb, Pacey caught the biggest fish and it was a week to be remembered by all!

Edmonton, Alberta

West Edmonton Mall is a definite need-to-see at least once in your lifetime place!  We have made several trips to West Ed Mall and always have a fantastic time!

For my son's, Pacey, 7th birthday rather than having a 'friend party' we opted on a trip to Edmonton for an Oilers game and of course to take in the mall.

We get to Edmonton were we surprised him and had his uncle fly in from Kelowna and had a few other friends join us for supper.  My husband's favourite restaurant is the Japanese Village in Edmonton so that is where we all met.  To see Pacey's face when his uncle walked around the corner and came and sat down with us was absolutely priceless.  

Japanese Village is an exciting place to dine as they put on an exceptional show while cooking your meals right in front of you.  It's a bit expensive, but a great experience.

As we were finishing up our supper a bunch of very good looking girls started filing in and they were all wearing Oilers jerseys with 69 on their backs.  The guys had their eye-candy fulfillment.  When the birthday cake was brought out all the girls joined in singing and a few of them came over and gave Pacey a hug and he got a picture with them.  He was so embarrassed, but all the men were fully loving it.  

When we exited the restaurant a limo was just pulling up in front and a few girls came out behind us and asked Pacey if he would like to go for a ride with them around the block in the limo.  Before the chauffeur even had the door to the limo fully opened the men were jumping in without even asking if they could tag along.  So the boys all went for a ride with around downtown Edmonton in a limo with some sexy showgirls.  A 7th birthday never to be forgotten!!

The next day we hit up the mall to go to GalaxyLand, the world's largest indoor amusement park.  With dozens of rides for all ages and a triple loop roller coaster, the fun never ends.  I think we must have did every ride two or three times until we were all exhausted and still had to have energy for the big game that night.  

From the mall we were off to the Oilers vs. Detroit game.  If you or your kid loves watching NHL games, I must say that it is a rush to be at a live game - expensive, but another one of those things that if you are a fan you need to go to at least one live game to feel the thrill and excitement!  Although for me, I would rather watch it on tv as I like having the commentators explain to me what is going, but I a have truly enjoyed the live games we have gone to, just find that they are costly.

Now, whenever we go to Edmonton we always have to have a full day to spend at the mall World WaterPark.  This is by far one of my most favourite places to go ever!  It is like a tropical paradise, being the world's largest indoor wave pool with the tallest indoor permanent bungee tower (which I still have not got up the courage to try, but I will one day) and some many unique and crazy fun waterslides.  I could spend a week at that place and never get bored!

We usually do a round of mini-golf at the Putt 'n' Glow, it's a funky glow-in-the-dark mini-golf course.

The mall also has a lot of other great attractions like the indoor Ice Palace, bumper boats, Deep Sea Derby, and a great IMAX theatre which is always a good time and let's not forgetting about the shopping and eating on Bourbon Street.

When I was a kid we stayed in the FantasyLand Hotel right in the mall and they have the coolest theme rooms.  We had bought the coolest game while there, it was called West Edmonton Mall and it was a knock off of Monopoly but the board was the mall, it's crzazy how much the mall has changed over the years looking back at the game board and going to the mall now.

TeXaS

In 2007 my husband, Ryan was working on the rigs in Texas, just south of Dallas so for Father's Day my son, Pacey and I planned a surprise trip down there to visit him for a few days to surprise him for Father's Day.  The night before we were flying I ended up telling him so that I could get directions to where exactly he was and which hotel he was staying at.  He was shocked!

This was a trip of a lifetime.  We flew down to Dallas and rented a convertible car with GPS.  I was so nervous and had major butterflies about driving in Dallas.  Without the GPS we wouldn't have been able to make it out of the airport let alone out of Dallas, the driving was insanely intense.  Driving through 10 lanes of one-way traffic was nerve-wrecking.  Even with the GPS a did take one wrong turn, I think we were driving in 'the hood' it was scary, but got turned around and took a bit to find a way back onto the main road but got there safe and sound eventually.

While Ryan was working during the day Pacey and I would set out on adventures with our top down and go where ever the wind took us!

An a couple of hours of touring around the middle of no where we finally found the Dinosaur Valley State Park we were looking for - it was nothing great and I would not recommend going to see.  It was no near comparison to what Drumheller in Alberta has to offer.

A must see was the amazing Wildlife Adventure.  It's a massive drive-thru zoo where you drive your own vehicle through a beautifully scenic valley with exotic animals coming up to your vehicle.  We had giraffes, zebras and deer sticking their heads right in the car through the windows and licking us.  There were rhino's, jaguars and so many other species.  We even got to see two giraffes getting the deed done - wowsers I've never seen something so big and large enter something so small and it was so continuous and only a few meters from us.  Once at the top of hill it is the mid-point of the drive-thru zoo with a gift shop and snack bar with an incredible view of the entire valley of animals.

One exciting day spent at Six Flags Over Texas with so many rides we didn't know where to began.  We got to meet Bugs Bunny (one of my childhood favs), Daffy Duck, Batman and many other awesome cartoon characters.

As I am a hardcore scrapbooker and I like to always get at least one postcard everywhere we go and then just take hundred of pictures as well, we went into every single gift shop to try to find a postcard.  By the end of the day we had been in every gift shop and not one had postcards, as I am talking with the cashier Pacey asks me if he can get this giant colourful looney tunes lollipop and I said sure and kind of shooed him off while I was having the cashier call around to find out where I could get a postcard.  After finding out that they don't have postcards anywhere I was in a frenzy and grabbed Pacey's hand and stormed out and we were ready to leave the park.

Now the entrance to the park had security and the scanners and right after we get through security Pacey asks me to open his lollipop and I realized I did no pay for it (it was a $12 sucker), I panicked and told him to walk fast to the car.  To this day he still reminds me of how I stole a giant lollipop.  And we all know the saying "Don't Mess with Texas" - well I messed with Texas and got away with it!

Calgary Zoo

When Pacey was 3 we decided to go to the Calgary Zoo, as Pacey was a huge dinosaur fanatic we thought the dinosaur area at the zoo would be very intriguing for him.

Well, the day we planned for the zoo it was scorching hot and walking all day in the heat with a 3 year old who wants to be carried the entire time and the heat was over bearing for him, plus pulling a wagon with snacks, water, etc. it became more of a dreadful day for me that a great memorable one.  

I think we made the mistake of touring through the dinosaur area first and Pacey was all super excited and thought it was fantastic and then the rest of the zoo just seemed like a bore to him which made him uninterested and cranky basically the remainder of the day.

The zoo is fantastic, but I strongly feel that once you’ve seen it once you are pretty much good.  And big recommendation - don’t take your kids until they are old enough to be able to walk all day without needing to be carried or pushed or pulled.

Don’t let my one bad experience detour you from taking in this amazing experience, I did go as a kid and it was fantastic - I loved it.  You get to discover Africa, the Canadian Wilds, Australia, the Dinosaur Prehistoric Park, South America, Eurasia and the Botanical Gardens.

I’ve heard that the zoo is an amazing place to go see close to Christmas with all the zoo lights, I may still make one more attempt with Pacey and I hope you will take at least one opportunity to go discover life on earth at the zoo!

Calaway Park

As a kid I can remember going out to visit family in Calgary almost every summer and when we were there that meant going to Calaway Park!  When Pacey was 3 we were on route to Calgary and I thought what better than to let his Calaway Park experiences begin.

With everything from kiddy rides to thrill-seeker rides, live entertainment and anything in between, Calaway is Western Canada’s largest outdoor family amusement park.   There’s the ferris wheel, the infamous log ride, which Pacey completely freaked out on the first time on it and now its his favorite ride, the carousal, the big boat one of my favorites, driving the antique cars, a kid roller coaster, the adult roller coaster, bumper cars for all ages and so much more.  

Calaway is all about fun for the whole family!

Tips:

• plan for a full day to take in all the fun
• bring your own picnick lunch
• get a 2 for 1 pass or family pas savings (they usually come in the mail every year or you can get them at most gas stations in Alberta)
• wear clothes that if they get wet are still comfortable/non-see through
• Have Fun!

Drumheller, AB

On our nearly once a year road trips to Calgary we usually take the scenic detour through Drumheller a.k.a. Dinosaur Valley.  My son, Pacey, and me of course love the drive through all the magnificent hills.

Depending on what time of year it is that we are going through there is always lots of things to check out and do.

In the warmer months we go:

• trek up the Hoodoo’s - huge sandstone pillars which take millions of years to form

• doing a little racing (where I always kick butt) at the Badlands Go-Kart Park

• putt a round of mini golf 
• bump around in the bumper boats
• cool off at the spray park that has several water fountains and water cannons
• take a walk across the historic Rosedale Suspension Bridge
• let’s not forget about climbing up the 86’ World’s Largest Dinosaur that weighs over 145,000lbs and is 151’ long and standing in it’s mouth we look out over the beautiful Badlands
• And as we tour around the town we stop a some of the different dino’s on the all the corner’s of the streets and do some riding of dinosaurs

In the colder months we visit:

• The Royal Tyrrell Museum where we walk through and marvel over the amazing life size dinosaurs, exhibits and there are always tons of fun things to do and learn

• all the exotic reptiles at Reptile World and the test is on to see who has the least amount of fear and will put a snake around there neck (let’s just say it’s never been me), even Pacey when he was 2 was all over having one of the snake’s ‘cuddle’ him - eww, I thinking I was doing all the freaking out for him

• tour through and check out all the kewl fossils at Fossil World

On your next trip from Sask to Alberta or vice versa, I highly recommend a short detour through Drumheller - even if you don’t have time to stop the scenic drive is well worth the 30 minute detour!!

Jamaica - Part II

We did have one day where we pushed our holiday  R&R time aside and actually got a bit of exercise - we had to walk in 4’ deep water against the current, up a hill and around some corners to fetch ourselves some tubes to float around the lazy river on.  I think with that and my snorkeling my exercise for week was completed, plus let’s not forget that lifting those drinks continually to one’s mouth is also a workout on the biceps, just don’t forget to being switching arms.  To make up for all this strenuous exercise we did book ourselves in for a massage at the spa - yah man - soo worth it.  The masseuse knew how to use her hands!

Fine dining in the Italian Restaurant

One afternoon I had considered doing the nudey beach to work on getting rid of my hideous tan lines and then realized that when I wasn’t going to be the scariest one there I decided it better that I not scar my eyes for life and besides who is going to see my ridiculous tan lines in the winter anyways.

I must admit that there was one thing that did disappoint us dearly and that was the fact that the entire week there and neither one of us seen any nice eye candy - isn’t that something one always expects or maybe just enjoys to see when somewhere hot - either on the beach or by the pool, seeing some nice looking oiled up, ripped up, tanned up eye candy is like a treat (one can not touchy, but can still have a looky).  But no, we saw a lot of hairy beer bellies all week or big busted women who felt no need in wearing anything on their upper halves.  Although one day while at the beach there were 4 backs facing us and Manda shrieked and said look Krystal I think we might have something to look at and then they turned around and they were 12 (I say they were 12, but Manda thinks they were probably closer to 18, but either way - ewww) - oops - so we moved chairs and suppressed that memory.

No idea how, but somehow we ended up having our daily rituals for the week which consisted of breakfast at 10, pool side for the remainder of the morning (pool with the swim-up bar of course, because it did open at 10), lunch around 1, then either to the beach or the main pool for the afternoon and then we couldn’t miss our daily  routine of the lazy river by 4, supper at 6:30 and then wherever the evenings took us.  One night we thought we would be risky and attempt to go for a dip in the jacquizzi which was by our room, only problem being it was in the middle of the lazy river by the pirate ship and we would have to go by tube through the cold water to get to it.  I’m not sure who voted, but apparently I got to be the guinea pig to float across the cold waters to see if the hot tub was even on for the night and nope, nope it was not brrr.  So we headed to the hot tub that was by the lobby which turned out to be alright because there was a live band playing right there on the beach that night.

Wasting away in MargaritaVille

MargaritaVille - our resort offered free bus rides daily to MargaritaVille so one night we hopped on the shuttle to see about ‘wasting away in MargaritaVille’.  The shuttle picked us up at 10 and Manda had been to MV before and when we walked in there were tables all over and guys watching the UFC fight on tv’s, Manda said oh dear it’s changed in here because this whole floor used to be a kick ass dance floor.  So we had huge disappointment and I think so did all the others that had caught the shuttle to.  We went upstairs ordered ourselves a margarita, took in the scenery and people watched down on the street.  The view was amazing from upstairs being on the edge of the sea with a waterslide going down into the ocean and a huge trampoline out in the middle of the sea.  We sat upstairs moping for over an hour and then all of a sudden Manda thought she could hear music coming from downstairs and we mossied downstairs to find that like the flick of a switch the entire main floor was packed with people dancing and a live dj was rocking out the tunes - there were no table or chairs to be seen anywhere and it was sweet!  

Pier 1 - another hot spot in Montego Bay - we took a free shuttle to Pier 1 one night for supper and tried some Jamaican lobster which was delicious and one of the largest lobster tails I’ve ever had.  A scenic view at Pier 1, as the setting is all the tables are out on a long pier in the middle of the sea.

Catamaran

A note to anyone planning on traveling to Jamaica... we had exchanged our cash into Jamaican money at the currency exchange place in the airport upon arrival there, but found that majority of all the places we went had everything price in US$ and having the Jamaican currency was confusing on everyone’s part.  There were also a couple of instances where we noted it was cheaper if you used Jamaican money versus US$, but then also vice versa.   

Something I learned... the average working Jamaican makes about $50USD/week and yet their living expenses are no cheaper than ours and their gas is even more costly than ours is.  They also all work 6 out of 7 days a week.  Most of the men seem to want to find a Canadian gal to marry them and bring them back to Canada.

Kayaking

The last we were there I asked Richie for his ‘Richie’s Special’ recipe and he grabbed my paper and pen and said here I’ll write it out for you - and he wrote the word ‘love’ and said that that’s all you need to make a great drink.  I tipped him a $5 and kept guessing at the ingredients and as I guessed the right ones he told me yes, but would not say how much of each and then after I thought I had them all he said he would never give out the secret ingredient, which was love.  

Richie’s Special

• Strawberry Daquiri
• Pina Colada
• Rum Cream
• A Banana
• Strawberry Syrup
• Coconut Rum

Our rating of Sunset Beach Resort

• Overall 41/2*
• Staff 5*
• Rooms 4* (satellite tv was great, bathrooms need upgrading)
• Amenities 41/2*
• Cleanliness 41/2*
• Food/Restaurants 4*
• Beaches 41/2*
• Pools 41/2*
• Swim-up Bar 5*
• Bars 41/2*
• Spa 4* (expensive)
• Activities 41/2* (large variety of free things to do)

Would I recommend this resort - in a heartbeat, especially for families - it has it all!

And P.S. we completed all our tasks - yah man!!!

Jamaica - Part I

Yah Man...

Me and a girlfriend, Manda, took the direct flight from Regina to Montego Bay, we left Regina at midnight and arrived at our resort, Sunset Beach Resort at 7 a.m.  It was perfect!

Our tasks to complete during our 8 nights/7 days in Montego Bay:

• Explore the entire resort
• Try all the a la cartes
• Work on our tans
• Float around the lazy river daily
• Test out the waterslides
• Taste Jamaican beer, Red Stripe
• Snorkel in the Caribbean Sea
• Learn to kayak
• Swim up to the swim up bar
• Sample new foods
• Take a ride on the catamaran
• Do an excursion
• Relax in the spa
• Sample at least 10 different fruity drinks
• Learn a new saying
• Try our luck in the casino
• Visit MargaritaVille
• Read lots of books
• Boost self esteem

The resort was quite large with 430 rooms, a long shimmering beach, a nude beach, 3 rock piers, a pirate’s paradise waterpark with waterslides, water falls, a lazy river, pools and a jacuzzi, and tropical gardens.  There was free snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boating, tennis, beach volleyball, 3 large pools (2 with swim-up bars).  A disco club, casino, pool bars, beach bar, 3 a la carte restaurants along with the buffet restaurant and the beach grill.

The staff at the resort were superb - courteous, always full of great compliments with a splash of flirtation and very helpful.  I don’t believe anyone could ever get tired of being called beautiful or continually being complimented daily, which is how all the Jamaican’s were - it sure does boost ones ego!

We definitely lucked out and had the most perfect sunny hot weather in the low 30’s all week with only a few minutes of misty showers 2 days, which was actually quite refreshing.

Within an hour of being checked into our room we were already smoldering hot so we thought what better way to cool down than taken a ride on the wild waterslide... well it was wild alright I lost not only our room key but also our towel key.  I pleaded with the front desk for new ones and they gave me one and only warning not to get our cards wet or lost them again, but they did say it happens quite regularly which made me feel a tad bit better.

On our first day we were overly excited about lounging and working on our tans we (and when I say we I mean I) forgot (or refused) to put sunscreen on regularly and by 3 in the afternoon our base tans had given us awful tan lines and actually may have made us look a bit too much like lobsters.  So we learned our lesson quick and pulled out the 45 SPF sunscreen and did hourly lotion downs for the next couple of days until the red areas turned more into brown and our lines started to blend then we took it down a notch to 15 SPF hourly.

Richie's Special

The first breakfast I fell in love with the Jamaican bacon - bizarre I know, but it was so delicious and I ate a heap of it every day for breaky.  This day we were introduced by fellow travelers to an amazing drink known only as ‘The Richie’s Special’ it was secret recipe of Richie (the swim-up bar bartender) - it was strawberry-banana flavor, smooth and creamy and went down like a milkshake every time.  We became hooked on this drink as our daily fruit intake (as there was 1 banana in each drink *wink wink*).  It was a shame one day when we found out it was Richie’s day off (down in Jamaica they only get 1 day off per week), but he was back the next day and everyone was happy once again.

A little ‘birdy’ (I won’t name her/his name) had told me prior to leaving on this trip that not only were there no bugs in Jamaica the last time they were there, but there were also no birds.  Well... first day there and not only were there a few bugs (very unnoticeable, but still noticeable) and birds, but there were also a hell of a lot of stray cats everywhere.  I didn’t see many bugs, but when I walked up to the beach grill that day there had been one bird perched on the back of each chair at the grill, I would say there had to be over 50 chairs there, yah man.

The scenery and views from everywhere at the resort was immaculate!  The swim-up bars were great, especially while lounging around in the pool on a tube and one could just float right up to the bar and grab a drink and keep on relaxin’ - now that’s service.  Although I would like to suggest to any resort that does have a swim-up bar that at the swim-up bar there should be a sign that reads ‘While sitting here enjoying your drinks please keep in mind that though your lower half is nice and kewl your upper half is being baked to a crisp and you will probably be able to fry some eggs on it later!’ - this is from experience.

One day we ventured off and attempted to do some shopping on the Hip Strip, prices are very much like they are here if not more expensive and each store has basically the same touristy stuff so it wasn’t much fun, but did get a couple of little knick knacks.

I would have to say the most strenuous part of the week was trying to decide which excursion we wanted to do and which day to do it.  We debated between going to Negril and walking the 7 mile beach, driving dunn buggies or ATVing - well the dunn buggies were broken so that narrowed it down for us, then after careful consideration we thought walking 7 miles all day in the smoldering heat seemed a bit like work and we were on vacation and so opted for the ATVing up one of the Jamaican mountains.  It was an exciting ATV adventure up a very steep and rocky mountain a.k.a. a very large hill and once at the top it was a spectacular view.  The top was some farmers land with lots of different kinds of fruit tress, we got to sample 2 different kinds of fresh oranges right off the trees.

Day 9 - Back to Ft. Lauderdale

Back to port in Fort Lauderdale, with lots of time to spare before our air shuttles would be taking us back home to reality, we decided to be adventurous and do an Everglades tour.  I felt like I was on CSI Miami, going out in the Everglades on airboats and getting within inches of alligators - wowsers - what a thrill.  I think a couple of people nearly shit themselves, I know I did!   And then we watched an alligator show afterwards where the host does many risky things, one such as putting his entire head into the alligators mouth.  There were also baby alligators that we got to hold, they had there mouths tapes shut of course!

As sad as I was for our trip to end, I was very grateful for the amazingly unforgettable experience I had that will be cherished for ever!!

If you ever have a chance to do a cruise I can't stress enough that you must at least try it once and you will be forever hooked!!  After this trip I added a new 'goal' to my 'bucket list' and that is when I retire I will be doing the World Cruise which is approximately 40 days and you cruise the world!!!

Day 8 - Arrival in Nassau

The first day of our cruise we went to book our most desired excursion - the trip to Atlantis and I nearly fainted when they said it was already sold out.  I was so upset and sad and disappointed, as this was the only reason I had planned this particular cruise for our wedding because a huge dream of mine has always been to go to Atlantis and this cruise was the only one that stopped in Nassau for a full day with time to venture over to Atlantis and explore.

After talking with some 'regular' cruisers we learned that a lot of people don't book their excursions through the cruise ship, as it is cheaper to go and do it on your, but by doing this you don't have the guarantee of the ship waiting for you if you are late for the departure.  As I am a rebel, we decided to wing it and hopped in a cab and took a 10 minute cab ride to Atlantis, which in the end we saved a decent amount of money by taking a taxi and just paying for a day pass at Atlantis.

Just nearing Atlantis was a sight worth seeing - the magnificent architectural buildings and structures are breathtaking.  Atlantis is its own paradise island - if you enjoy water parks or ancient history I must say this is a must see!

It was like I was in heaven - floating down the lazy rivers that goes for over a mile, sliding down the glass enclosed water slides through the shark tanks with sharks surrounding you as you slide through, watersliding through pyramids, watching the dolphins play (you can also swim with them there), swimming in the Paradise Lagoon, the beautiful white sandy beaches, tubing through caves.  Going through The Dig and learning and seeing a lot of the history and artifacts of the sunken Atlantis.

With only having less than 6 hours, it was not nearly enough time to discover all the amazing things Atlantis has to offer, but what I did discover was pure amazement and a yearning for more!

Day 7 - Sea Day

From swimming to suntanning to eatting to drinking and enjoying all the amazing things the ship had to offer made for a relaxing yet intriguing day!  The kids spent majority of they day in the kids club playing games with their new friends and also spent a good chunk of change in the arcade.  A few folks entered the Mardi Gras Slot Tournament, I spent a few hours in the Carnival Spa which was like heaven.  The evening was spent either at the adult karaoke party, the poker tournament or at the adult comedy show.

For lunch this day we tried out the Posh Restaurant - a fancier sit down restaurant for a more romantic touch!

Did I forget to mention that today's drink special was martini's and the famous apple martinis were delicious!