Fittingly, my first exposure to the now famous Canadian flag was at a hockey game. Oddly enough, it was in Oakland, California. I grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco and always enjoyed sports. Once, perhaps as part of a school field trip, we went to a game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena to see the California Seals play. I remember, I think, the white skates. I definitely remember trying to figure out what icing meant. The rules confused me and I didn’t really understand what was happening on the ice (something my kids will say has stuck with Read more

The new NHL team heading to Las Vegas is changing more than the city’s sports scene. As part of the re-design of the area around the new T-Mobile Arena, where the newest pro hockey team will start play in the fall of 2017, Vegas officials have created an entirely new neighbourhood that’s both pedestrian and environmentally friendly. The new development, called The Park, runs from Las Vegas Blvd. to the new arena between the New York, New York casino and the old Monte Carlo, which is being replaced by a NoMad Las Vegas and the new Park MGM hotel. The Read more

Glorious deserts and towering redwoods. Quiet canyons and daredevil climbers ascending ridiculous pillars of stone. Fierce grizzlies and adorable prairie dogs. The United States is blessed with perhaps the most diverse geographical variety on the planet. Luckily for them, and for us, they also had the foresight 100 years ago to create a national parks service to preserve these natural wonders forever. Canadians and folks from around the world can visit fantastic parks from Hawaii to California to Maine and beyond. And now, thanks to a new film, Canadians will get a chance this summer to see a remarkable, immersive Read more

Canada’s 150th birthday is all but wrapped up. It’s been a truly fantastic year all around, with great celebrations, parties, festivals and more from sea to sea to sea. I’m happy to have done by small bit by creating this website and celebrating the best country I know in my own way. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have! CANADA’S 150 BEST – A PRELIMINARY LIST TOP SPOTS SO FAR (not in order of preference!) 1. North of Lake Superior 2. Winnie the Pooh 3. The Icefields Parkway 4. Saskatoon 5. Ottawa 6. The Calgary Stampede 7. Read more

It was the summer of 1979. I had recently graduated from university in California and was backpacking through Europe. I had hoped to go with a friend but he couldn’t make it. I thought about backing out but a former girlfriend insisted I was nuts and that I should just go on my own. So I did. I bought an airline ticket and a Eurail pass to get me all around Europe, and headed off from San Francisco to London. I was roughly half-way through my trip and was in Rome with a couple American girls I had met along Read more

One of the great things about New York City is that the tourism folks don’t rest on their laurels. They come to Toronto regularly, for example, to talk about what’s new and what folks should see. They stage events all over the world to try to lure tourists to their city. They don’t just assume (as does Italy) that everyone will want to come there, so they WORK for their business. And it’s paying off. Last year, NYC welcomed a record 58.3 million visitors, their sixth straight record-breaking year. Some 12.3 million of those folks were international visitors, including a Read more