Turn Left at Louis

I particularly like the collectible photos of musicians & the sculptures on this cruiseship, the Rhapsody of the Seas. It's a beautiful ship & we had a great experience. I'll blog more about our adventures in Hawaii & on board Rhapsody later.

Now that it’s time to disembark, I’ll let you in on a little secret. There’s a very practical purpose to the musical decorating theme too. It makes it much easier to find our stateroom! How? There’s a classic photo of the great jazz trumpet player Louis Armstrong on the corner when we get out of the elevator. So... take a left turn at Louis and then a few doors down the hallway , turn right at Benny Goodman.

Just Mauied... Very Best Wishes to Lissi & Graham!

We found it... a perfect place for a destination wedding. Lissi McPhillips & Graham Lutwyche are two of our eight dinner table-mates on board the Rhapsody of the Seas. Ron & I were the only guests at their absolutely gorgeous wedding on Maui three days ago. It was only with a bit of good car karma.. I managed to find the last rental car available on Maui: a silver mustang convertible. Our other new friends Lindsay & Chris met us on the cruise dock for the wedding too. They went on a motorscooter. The vehicle wasn't able to keep up with the limo and they missed the wedding at an amazing secluded Maui beach.

It all turned out great though. Lindsay & Chris were there in spirit & of course, Graham & Lissi are now happily married. One look at the photos makes it clear this was the real thing... true love & a fairy tale wedding. Ron & I send our very best wishes to Lissi & Graham! We will never forget their wedding.

P.S. Lissi & Graham had a terrific wedding planner. Arabelle is sending me her contact information. If anyone is planning a destination wedding, contact TPI - Janus Travel. Whether you want to be "Just Maui-ed" in Hawaii or married at a different destination... you know how it turns out... We'll take you there!

Follow that limo! (above)

Graham & Lissi

Leaving Vancouver on the Rhapsody of the Seas

Now we're on board the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas. The art & decorating theme is music... which suits me fine. We sailed from Vancouver on Friday. Today is Sunday & I'm having a marvellous time.

P.S. Since the costs for internet access are outrageou$, I'll do the blog posts later & use the time available to add photos to the Photo Gallery at the TPI - Janus Travel website.

Lion's Gate Bridge, Vancouver, B.C.

Vancouver's Blue Horizon & Sylvia Hotels

It's time to add my favourite hotels in Vancouver to the Great Canadian Links on this website's Touring Canada page. Look for the Sylvia Hotel and the Blue Horizon Hotel in the section of the Great Canadian links. My blog post on September 15th focused on the Blue Horizon Hotel. Today's focus is the Sylvia Hotel. It's a historic building with a great summer time patio & a restaurant that are great for people watching. The location and views are terrific here! The hotel is situated on English Bay at Second Beach, just a stone's throw from Stanley Park at Denman Street.

For visitors to downtown Vancouver, Ron & I recommend the Blue Horizon and the Sylvia Hotels without hesitation. The Sylvia is the place for you if you are looking for a great historic building in a location that's eclectic, scenic and central. The Blue Horizon is a modern hotel with great views and facilities in the heart of the Robson Street area.

Two views of the Sylvia Hotel (above & left)

Second Beach on Vancouver's English Bay (below)

What is it about Vancouver & shoes?

Are there any shoppers in the crowd? I'm definitely NOT a shopper. In particular I'm not fond of shopping for clothes and I really looking for shoes. But there's something different about Vancouver. I always find shoes here, even when I'm not really looking for them.

Five or ten years ago my cousin Andrea took me shoe shopping here in Vancouver & started a tradition. We went to Freeman's & at least one other shoe store. It was the first time I enjoyed buying shoes. Andrea gave me an attitude adjustment.

During the past few months Ron developed a minor foot condition. When we arrived in Vancouver he was in real pain. Now he's on the mend after meeting Amyn at the House of Clogs. (The store is at 1280 Robson Street; about half a block west of the Blue Horizon Hotel on the opposite side of the street.) Not only did Ron find two pairs of shoes that are both handsome AND comfortable, I found shoes too. Actually it's more accurate to say Amyn found them. I'd pick up a shoe and he'd say "Let me bring you something else just to try" or "That one won't work." Everything he brought out felt like a pair of slippers on my feet & looked great. I had choices. Is it magic? Maybe. Amyn & his colleague Rose are shoe experts who enjoy selling shoes! When you enjoy your work it makes good things happen.

Room with a Vancouver View

Have a look at these photos we took from our balcony at the Blue Horizon Hotel in Vancouver. The rooms here have some fabulous vistas. Ours faces Robson Street & the view is still fabulous. We've seen the views from rooms on the corners near the ocean & they're even more amazing. The first photo is looking towards Stanley Park with it's trees & green space. The second is looking west across West Vancouver to English Bay. Not bad at all.

To celebrate this visit I'm adding a new subalbum at the TPI -Janus Travel website's Photo Gallery. Welcome to **British Columbia! It's the most recent addition to the Canada section. I have loads of older images from across Canada but these two new ones and one or two more will be the first in the new British Columbia subalbum.

** For our non-Canadian readers, British Columbia is the province on the west coast of Canada. It is Alberta's neighbour on our western boundary. B.C.'s capital city is Victoria on Vancouver Island. Ron & I are enjoying Vancouver, on the mainland at the southwest corner of the province.

Goin' Boingo in Vancouver. Greetings!

Well... I think I'm going to like Boingo, the Wi Fi service for folks on the move.

I'm in Vancouver now. This morning I used Boingo at the Edmonton International Airport to establish a wireless connection & posted here on my TPI - Janus Travel blog. To give credit where credit is due, our friend & new business associate, Beth McColl, recommended Boingo when she heard I'm travelling with a laptop for the first time. (If you follow this blog on Facebook the earlier post was deleted from my Notes there. It's still available at this link: TPI - Janus Travel Blog.)

We just had a great lunch a block or so from the Blue Horizon Hotel at Don Quacamole's Mexican Cuisine & Taqueria. Afterwards, I set up my laptop to retrieve my cousins' phone numbers from my email & Facebook messages. It was a bit of a surprise to see the blog comment from Lauren at Boingo that reads: This is Lauren from Boingo. Have a great trip! Please let me know if you have any questions about the service; we're here to help.

So far... so good. Boingo was easy to use & seems like a good value. Thanks Beth! Greetings from Vancouver to Lauren too.

When's your next trip?

We often get asked "When's your next trip?" Ours is soon!

Beth McColl will take care of all your travel dreams while we're away. Another member of the TPI network, Dianne Palovcik, will help you on our behalf for a few days while Beth travels. Thanks Beth & Dianne for this vacation coverage! (The TPI - Janus Travel voice mail message includes contact information.)

I'm looking forward to this journey immensely. My earlier posts mention the repositioning cruise from Vancouver across the Pacific and through the Hawaiian islands. We'll also have four days in Vancouver before we sail off into the Pacific and three days in Honolulu after the ship disembarks. Our sailing on RCI's Rhapsody of the Seas will visit five different islands over seven days. We're going on some great island adventures too. I have a lot to do before we leave plus a local convention to attend this weekend. Until my next post, here are a few more photos of beautiful Hawaii. The first is the Spouting Horn Spouting near Poipui, Kauai & the second is an aerial view of an ocean side Wailea golf course in Maui. Enjoy!

Hawaii Has It All!

Have you ever wanted to go to Hawaii? There are plenty of reasons to choose this destination. These islands in the Pacific combine exotic natural beauty with a fascinating culture as well as a touch of the cosmopolitan. Look a bit further, beyond the surface, and you'll find that Hawaii offers much, much more. Did you know Hawaii is affordable too?

Throughout September this blog is focusing on Hawaii. The images I'll tempt you with for the first 2 1/2 to 3 are from the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Let's start with two gorgeous, classic pictures: a Hawaiin waterfall & a sunset shot. Later in the month Ron & I will be on the islands posting our own stories & photos for you. That'll be big fun!

TPI - Janus Travel We'll Take You There

Join Us On Our Repositioning Cruise to Hawaii

Orchid farm on Maui

Hi. It's my birthday. I'm all excited about it & about the trip we planned a year ago to celebrate. Most of our holidays are in January. This time we're going on a repositioning cruise to Hawaii in September!

When a cruise ship changes its base of operations from one port to another it's called a repositioning cruise. You get additional time at sea for a great value. It's even better value if you book at the last minute. Like now...

Do you want to join us for a 12 day Hawaii cruise on RCI's Rhapsody of the Sea departing September 18th from Vancouver? Let me know.

TPI - Janus Travel We'll take you there!

Pool deck on RCI's Rhapsody of the Seas

Does anyone know...?

Today I'm just wondering... Does anyone know where the summer went and how August disappeared so fast?

In the meantime, happy September! We will be travelling later this month. I'm even going to bring my laptop so I can get the blog and website done more efficiently during this trip.