This is part II of my annual Jimmy Awards for best travel experiences of the year, ranging from great pasta at the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver to an incredible wine cellar in the Bahamas and an amazing (and surprising) guitar player on the Queen Mary 2. Thanks to everyone that helped along the way! BEST SAILING TRIP: A sunset cruise with the folks at the Santa Barbara Sailing Center in California. I love Santa Barbara, but this was my first time on a sailboat in the region. They do a great job, and we had a stunning sunset. If Read more
Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Grain silos turned into a zipline course. Gardening as a competitive sport. And an abundance of glorious architecture. There’s a travel cliché that gets kicked around a lot, where someone says, “If you haven’t been to Destination X in three years, you haven’t been to Destination X.” With apologies to the cliché police, it wouldn’t be a stretch to use that kind of phrase about Buffalo. I was in town a few years ago to have a look at the improving waterfront and other areas of this surprising city. I went back early last week for another Read more
I didn’t get anything directly from the JetBlue folks, but I spotted in the business section this morning that JetBlue will be adding flights from Buffalo-Niagara International and Los Angeles International (LAX) starting June 16. It’s a bit of a drive for some Torontonians, and there’s the U.S. dollar strength to worry about. But I went online this morning and found seats for a flight to LA on June 18, with a return June 26 (on the red-eye) for about $300 U.S. Even with the horrendous exchange rate we’re stuck with right now, that’s about $418 Canadian dollars. On Air Read more
I wrote this blog for the Toronto Star last year after a nice visit to Buffalo. From what I hear, things have improved even more since I was last in town… BUFFALO, NEW YORK – Mea Culpa. For years, as I recall, the head of media/public relations for Buffalo Tourism had been bugging me to come on down and check things out. I envisioned cool architecture and chicken wings and a nice Frank Lloyd Wright building Ihad heard about. I covered the Buffalo Bills off and on for the Star’s sports section in the early 2000’s, but I didn’t have Read more
WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK – This might be the most under-appreciated national park in Canada. Ask Canadians about Waterton Lakes , and probably half the time you’ll get a blank stare. Other times, you’ll get a small nod and the response, “I’ve heard it’s beautiful.” Most of the time, the latter phrase is followed by “But I haven’t made it yet.” Me? I don’t remember when the place first entered my mind. But I get reminded it of every time I go home to my Dad’s house in California. For years, he’s had a black and white drawing of Waterton Read more
