Hornblower Niagara Cruises

Journey Behind the Falls

We greatly enjoyed getting wet and exploring the waterfalls area, but let’s talk about the food. The Groupon previously mentioned includes $15 off for breakfast at IHOP at the Best Western. Perfectly poached egg, with teeny tiny pieces of bacon and sausage. I always get the blueberry pancakes at IHOP, and these did not disappoint. The perfectly poached eggs did take a bit longer to make and we had to wait for maybe 5 minutes more, but they were poached to a perfect medium. I still wouldn’t come back, not for the life of me, not for how much they charge at this location.

Back to the present – I planted my first aloe plant baby, separated from a huge plant that my father has been growing for 4 years. Let’s see how long it survives!

Weekend getaway to Salt Spring Island with M+P and H last weekend. H recently purchased a 4runner, 2nd hand through Craigslist, so we drove down to the ferries after work on Friday. After a 3 hour ferry ride, and a 15 minute drive to St. Mary’s Lake Resort, we unpacked and just went straight to bed. The next day would be a long one, at least I hope I had instilled that expectation in everybody, because there were so many things we wanted to do!

7:27AM - I was adamant about catching the sunrise.

We made breakfast:

We tried to go to the Saturday Farmer’s Market, but they were still setting up the tents and because it was still early in the season, a lot of the vendors were not attending yet. We left shortly after that and bought groceries at the Thrifty’s instead.

10:30AM - P was adamant about digging for clams, so we set off for a beach that apparently was safe for clamming. He found the advisory online, through some government website:

We sat here for about an hour, I think… Got bored. I wandered off.



This is literally somebody’s backyard. The houses are right off the beach, and one of the neighbors actually came out to chat with his. He had recently purchased one of the properties lining the beach, and the struggles he had with bidding for it. Real estate market is still a war zone. Anyways, he recommended we find some fish and chips in Vesuvius.
 

It started to pour, but it quickly passed. We got impatient, and the boys jumped into the water. That was when we realized it’s still too early for clamming. We cleaned up, and decided to follow the friendly Islander’s advice to find lunch at Vesuvius, a bit defeated by the lack of fresh clams for dinner, but still excited for the island adventures to come.

Go to Day 1.5 on Salt Spring
Go to Day 2 on Salt Spring

Now that the whole wedding shenanigans are over, I thought I would have more time, but that’s just been replaced by other worrisome things (the sad weather, the company getting sold, gas prices going up, my hair needs a cut… the list goes on, but let’s try some positive thinking tonight).

38/52: Visited the Scandinave spa, went for tacos at La Cantina, and went to Garibaldi Lake.

Clockwise from top left: Scandinave spa; La Cantina decor; messy burrito topped with avocado and lots of sauce; wouldn’t be a food post without a flatlay – tacos and the same burrito drowning in sauce.

The burrito was soggy. The taco shell was too thick, but had pretty strong flavor (corn?). The toppings on the tacos were lacking. This ain’t Tacofino, but it’s pretty good for a small joint in Whistler. We were starving, so it was wolfed down pretty quickly.

We also visited this green juice shop called The Green Moustache:

Shots!

Healthy shots of green juice and something with ginger and tumeric. Apple slices to chase. This place felt very hipster and new age and organic/gluten free/vegan/whole/clean. Just full of good stuff. I get cravings for smoothies sometimes, so it’s nice to know there’s this place readily available in Whistler, after a day of whatever it is I’m doing there.

This wasn't even the whole weekend! I’m one week behind, and yikes, playing catch up sucks. I’ll have to post everyday to get up to date, with all the mini day trips and meals I’ve been having.

Here’s where you can read about the rest of the trip

Day 1 and Day 1.2

Day 2 and Day 2.2

Day 2.3 and 3

Day 4, 5, 6, 7

It’s only been a month since we came back, but it feels like years. It’s a whole new world over there and still so much to explore. I only briefly touched on our glacier tour, so I wanted to bring us back to the good old days when I was in Iceland…

We went on our glacier tour, booked through Trip.IS at their office for about $220CAD per person. They provide a guided tour of Solheimajokull, all the equipment (crampons and pickaxes), and a bus to take us there. Also included a quick ice climbing session (no pictures, because I was too busy being spiderwoman). There are some tours for a much better price, but we were pretty last minute so we didn’t bother searching too much.

The snow is black because of the ash from recent volcanic eruptions (2010? is that still recent). The ash actually helps to protect the ice and insulate it. There were random cracks and  holes, so it would’ve been a pretty treacherous hike if we did it on our own.

I really can't wait to go back, but with Europe the way it is now (France... Turkey... less recently Brussels), I can't help but be afraid to visit. I think I've decided on a few places I want to see, so look forward to more #luwesatravels posts.

After hot dogs, we went to find Glymur, the second tallest waterfall in Iceland (it used to be the tallest until a taller one formed on Morsárjökull). We got lost along the way, which stressed me out, but in the end, we made found the sign that we were supposed to turn at:

…we found the sign behind the gate at the head of the trail…

 

…we found the other little signs pointing towards Glymur…

…going down the steps…

…sitting on a precipice (can you spot T?)…

…going into the dark and heading back into the light…

…crossed the log bridge that actually is not available in the winter to discourage the faint of heart…

…up the rock steps…

…found it!

And here’s the view with your back facing the waterwall. I find this a bit more fascinating:

Then, be greeted by animals all the way home:

We tried this licorice chocolate that I got for half price because it was expired at the tourist trap that we visited:


Pretty fucking gross. End of Day 2.

1. Lost luggage
2. Lost on the trail
3. Lost cellphone
4. Lost Altoids box
5. Lost passport

All found. This is the place to find yourself. There’s so much space to develop and grow. It was exactly what I needed.

1. Lost luggage

We arrived on the 24th after a 7 hour plane ride at the lovely KEF airport. I was feeling quite excited and refreshed, because I slept pretty much the whole way. H makes a magnificent pillow. We went through customs with no problems, met up with TPL, and went to grab our luggage. We all grabbed our stuff, and waited for T’s suitcase to come out of the chute. We waited and waited and waited for a black suitcase with a little red string on the handle. Where was it?!

As the rest of the crowd dispersed, we realized it would not make sense for us to keep waiting pointlessly, so T went to the counter to ask. D and TPL went to get the car, while H and I went to pick up alcohol at the duty free (it’s so much cheaper!). T eventually had some forms to fill out and was sitting near the conveyer belts, where one of the airport attendants was checking the remaining pieces of luggage left behind. There was a black one, a random stroller, some other bags, and a grey one. The airport attendant approached T, who was sitting forlornly by the belts.

“Is this one yours?” she asked, pointing at the grey one. “It has your last name on the tag.”

“No, it’s not, mine’s black, it’s probably somebody else’s.” T was sure that it wasn’t his. “If it’s mine, you can laugh,” he says, stubbornly.

“Pretty sure it’s yours, it even has the same flight.” The attendant starts laughing.

At least we picked up some good alcohol:

We dropped off stuff at the place we were staying (Airbnb is the way to go in Iceland – we each spent about $218CAD for 7 nights), and headed back out for what was supposed to be breakfast, now brunch. Went to Kaffi:

This place took a bit of hunting to find – had to ask a kind stranger for help. Food was great, maybe because we were all starving. It was pure vegan heaven. Too bad I’m not a vegan. We were now ready to continue exploring the rest of this quaint little city (town?).

When’s the next adventure? February, at the latest. Today, earliest, cause everyday is an adventure, amirite?

BUT FIRST… COFFEE…

Working the Nespresso machine. It comes with about 24 capsules in different flavours, including decaff (ew), and I tried Kazaar this morning. I think this is one of the most intense at a level of 12. Beautiful crema… I love my Nespresso. Thanks again, H, for getting it for my 27th birthday.

Been listening to this Tydi mix for the last few days (4 days ago is when it came out). Turn it up!

Nice day on the water, back in August:

Rented out double fibre glass kayaks from MEC for a day when H’s HK friend came to visit. About $60 for one, including paddles, life jackets, and all the other gear (rates found here). Compared to renting at Deep Cove, it was much more cost effective.

The only thing was we had to figure out how to transport it from the MEC in North Vancouver to the waters of Deep Cove. They gave us hooks and straps, and we somehow drove the boats back to my house to store for a night on H’s Kia Soul. It was a bitch to carry and load, but overall, worth it. Would do again.

Cookie day at work today, check out the oil in this thing:

 

I’m so tired. I can’t wait to get outdoor.