Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island

I can’t say exactly what has been happening with my blog this year, but I haven’t felt super drawn to it. I have my moments, I’ll write a whole bunch, post it, and act like I’ll continue to do so, but then life gets in the way and I get busy. Busy doing nothing in particular and nothing worth writing about. I also frequently write posts, finish them to about 75% and then leave them in my drafts. I'm sure one day they'll be finished and posted.


All that aside, it is almost vacation time and that is my favorite time to write. Partly because I like to share but also because going back, re-reading and re-living these trips is one of my favorite things to do.


Ryan and I leave for the Maritimes (yes, again) on Saturday and I cannot wait! We will be gone for 10 days and 11 nights and that seems simultaneously like a nice long trip and also like it's hardly anytime at all.


This year we will spend the majority of our time visiting Prince Edward Island and just a few days in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Here’s the plan:


We arrive at 7am the day before Thanksgiving. We have reserved a rental car and will be headed straight for Barrington to visit Ryan’s family, probably with a stop along the way for treats at Lahave Bakery. We will spend 2 days and 2 nights in the area before moving on.

Stop number 2 is Moncton, New Brunswick. We should be meeting up with my brother and his family for the evening. I haven’t seen my niece since 2015 when we visited and I’ve never met my nephew who will be 3 this month. While we are in New Brunswick we are also planning a trip to St Martin’s to see the sea caves at low tide; hopefully the tide times will work for us!


After a short stay in NB we will make our way to PEI where I expect to be quite busy but will also hopefully have a bit of relaxation. So far our plans include Cow’s ice cream, Moo Moo grilled cheese, visiting Green Gables, Thunder Cove and driving tip-to-tip on the island. I found what looks like a very nice home on AirBnB and we will stay there the whole time, taking daily road trips.


Finally, we will head back to Nova Scotia and spend a day each in Cape Breton and Halifax with a short stop in between to visit my Nanny in Truro. 1 day is not enough for Cape Breton, but I couldn't go to Nova Scotia in October and miss out on the fall colors throughout the Cape Breton Highlands national park. I'm hoping to get to Inverness, Meat Cove and maybe Baddeck. As for Halifax, in our 3 previous visits we have never spent more than a few hours in the city and never spent the night. I really love Halifax and can't wait to spend some time there this time (mostly eating..)


As I always do, I will be writing all about what we see and do on this trip so keep an eye out for more posts!

Abraham Lake + Crescent Falls - Winter vs. Summer

Several months ago now we made it out to see something I’ve been excited about for a few years, and it was everything I hoped for!

On a random Saturday morning we left home bright and early with the desire to make the most of our day in the mountains since it’s over 3 hours each way. Ryan and I had been to Abraham Lake about 3 times before and it’s been beautiful each time, but what I was after this time was the frozen bubbles.

If you’ve never heard of frozen bubbles before I wouldn’t be surprised. I've never heard of this anywhere else and every picture I’ve seen is at Abraham Lake. This strange and beautiful sight is caused by dead organic matter (leaves and animals) falling into the water and sinking to the bottom where bacteria can eat it and create methane gas.

If you are interested in finding it for yourself, there are only a few spots on the lake where the bubbles appear and you’ll probably know where that is because of how many other cars and people are there. If you plan to arrive before the crowds you’ll want to look for “Windy Point” which has no signs but does come up on Maps and is, unsurprisingly, extremely windy. I guess this information isn't terribly helpful at the moment, but there is always next winter!

As previously stated, it was pretty obvious once we arrived that this was the place. Plenty of people were around, all with heads down and cameras out, just as pleased as we were to have finally found the spot. The ice is some of the clearest I’ve seen and gives the illusion of walking on water, except when you step on a patch of bubbles.

During the same trip we visited Crescent Falls. I've been many times before but never in winter and I was curious about whether the fall would be frozen; it was.

In stark contrast, we've just been to visit again and it's a whole different world. Abraham Lake is Alberta's largest man-made lake, created by the building of the Bighorn dam in the 1970's. Because of the dam the lake depth fluctuates quite significantly between seasons and this year is was the lowest I've personally seen. We only spent a short time there during our trip but we were able to drive out to a point that is usually under water and therefore get a slightly new perspective.

Again, we made Crescent Falls part of the same trip due to its close proximity. I managed to convince everyone to hike to the bottom of the fall with me this time since no one would in the winter and it was much more fun. If you've ever considered going down but didn't like the look of the trail, just remember that I got a 6 year old down and up again without incident.

I took the aforementioned 6 year old as close as you can go to the base of the waterfall without getting your shoes wet and she screamed in delight that this was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. And that pure joy was one of the most amazing things I've seen.

Which do you prefer, Summer or Winter in the mountains?

A Green Sand Beach and The Worlds Tallest Mountain {Hawaii, Day 1}

We arrived late into Kona on Tuesday night, well after my bedtime, and hopped straight on the shuttle to get our rental car. That’s the beauty of travelling carry-on only; other than saving $50 on checked bags, I also never have to wait around at the airport when I arrive.

In the interest of future visitors I will tell you not to get your rental car through Budget. The lady we dealt with was a big liar and pretty much bullied us into an upgrade. Her sales pitch for the upgrade is that 3 out of the 4 top “attractions” on the island require a 4x4 vehicle and that our vacation will just be OK with a regular vehicle. We said we would be hiking 2 of the 3 and she said they are extremely long difficult hikes, “I’m a strong, avid hiker and I would never even attempt those hikes. By the time you make it one way you’ll be so exhausted that you’ll have to beg for a ride back!” Liar, liar, pants on fire. Anyway, the other employee agreed with her and we asked for a price. $330 USD for the upgrade (not including tax, insurance, etc,) we said no. She then swiped her mouse, pressed one key on her computer and said since we flew with WestJet it would only be $180 for the upgrade. Long story short, we decided we would go with the Jeep.

I’m not going to pretend I didn’t enjoy our time in the Jeep, but I have a few more thoughts to share. Firstly, a 2-door Jeep is a highly impractical vehicle if you have any kind of luggage. Secondly, we absolutely, 100% could have done those hikes and I bet you could too. We saw average people, seniors, small children, people in sandals, hard-core hikers, teenagers… everyone.

Moving along now.

We got on the road, drove the 30 minutes to our hostel in the pitch blackness and promptly passed out. Because we were travelling West, I was up by 5:30am and I loved it! Being a morning person on vacation is so pleasing, especially in a place that gets dark so early in the day, it really allows for more time to enjoy.

Our first stop was breakfast and I opted for a donut since I had already had a nutritional shake. Let me just tell you, I love donuts, pretty much all donuts, but this one was disgusting. The donut is actually a Malasada, a Portuguese treat similar to a donut but with no hole. I’m not sure if they are all like the one I had or if I just picked a bad place to try it. I was planning to try another one but it just didn’t appeal after the first one. It was the wettest, oiliest donut ever; I could literally wring the oil out of it.

I realize this post is pretty negative so far, I promise it’ll get better!

Our very first destination of the trip was to the green sand beach, Papakolea, on the southern tip of Hawaii and coincidentally also the southernmost part of the USA. This is one of the places that we allegedly needed the Jeep for and wouldn’t be able to hike, so we hiked.

The trail, which is more of a maze of different dirt tracks, is about 4.5KM each way. The way there took over an hour because we didn’t know where we were going and because I needed to stop often to take photos and enjoy the sea breeze.

Our eventual arrival at the beach was a much welcomed break from walking in the sun. I very much enjoyed taking my shoes off and feeling the ocean for the first time in months while enjoying our beautiful surroundings.

I should tell you, the green sand is not very green. If you are expecting bright green or even obviously green sand you will be disappointed. Maybe in just the right lighting with your eyes squinted it’ll be what you thought, but don’t trust what Instagram shows you. Not to discourage you from visiting though! It was a nice hike to a picturesque beach and that should be enough.

The way back felt much longer and hotter but was met with two and a half hours of air conditioned driving to check into our Yurt. Despite being in Hawaii, I didn’t expect to get burnt on my first day, but I underestimated the sun again. I was too distracted by the cool breeze to realize it was happening.

From South Point we drove back to Captain Cook to buy groceries for the week. Eating from the grocery store instead of restaurants is a huge factor in keeping my vacations from being too expensive. We knew we had a kitchen but weren’t sure what appliances we’d have beyond a microwave and mini fridge. We stuck to quick, simple foods that would be easy to make, fill us up and didn’t cost much.

While shopping we made the last minute decision to drive to the top of Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest mountain, for sunset. Unfortunately, that timing meant we had about 20 minutes to check in, change, kick out the resident yurt cat and get back on the road for another 2 hour journey.

Road trips in Hawaii can be intimidating. I hit an animal for the first time in my life but I’m pretty sure it was fine… (I will continue to tell myself that!) My ears popped constantly from the elevation changes. I drove 14,000 feet up in 2 hours. Just letting you know.

We stopped at the visitor centre, as recommended, to acclimatize to the altitude. The centre is just over 9000 ft elevation and is a good place to check the weather at the top, prepare your body to climb further and read the signs telling you how to get back down once you get up.

From 9000 to 14,000 feet was certainly the scariest and also the most thrilling drive I’ve ever done. Most of the way is gravel, there are no guardrails along the way, it is fairly steep and very bumpy. I laughed like mad the whole way up to keep myself from screaming every time I got near an edge and considered how far down it is.

I was instantly blown away when we reached the top. The view up there is truly one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen and would recommend a visit to anyone who can handle it, just keep in mind the health risks and temperature. It wasn’t half as cold as people make it out to be, but maybe I’m also just a tough Canadian coming out of a long winter..

I could do little more than stare at the world in front of me while we were up there and I would have been happy to watch the clouds for hours. Unfortunately, the sun set pretty soon after we got there and visitors are only allowed to stay at the summit for 30 minutes after sunset. And trust me when I say, photos do not do this place justice.

The road back down to the visitor centre seemed a lot longer in this direction  but wasn't scary at all. If I'm going to go over the side of the mountain at least I didn't see it coming in the pitch black night... You have to drive in low gear to get down and I'm not going to pretend we didn't have to Google this before attempting. We put the Jeep in 4-low and neutral and rode the break all the way back to the paved road.


It was a long way home in the darkness but so worth it. I had a pretty awesome first day despite driving for nearly 10 hours!

How Much Does It Really Cost To Visit Hawaii?

I think by now you have all realised how much I like to talk about money and travel budgets, so here I am doing it again. I get people asking me all the time how I can afford to travel the way I do, as often as I do and to the places I choose to go, now I’m going to tell you.

Here is the key: destinations are only as expensive as you let them be.

Seeing the world in general is more important to me than seeing the world from the perspective of a 5-star resort or Michelin star restaurant. In fact, resorts and restaurants really have no place in my trip plans at all. If those things are what is important to you, find a way to make it work.

Since we are talking about Hawaii today, I’ll try to be as specific as I can and hopefully crush some of the popular beliefs about not being able to afford an island getaway.

This will be my third trip to the state of Hawaii in 4 years. In 2015 I went to Oahu, 2017 I went to Maui and this year I will be in Hawaii, The Big Island. The overall frame of each trip has been pretty similar despite being with different people each time and being on different islands.

I've never had much desire to see the islands from a hotel perspective and I can think of so many better things to do with the extra money saved by staying elsewhere. I like to eat out sometimes, but I still prefer a piece of fruit and cereal for breakfast, that's very inexpensive. I didn't want to rent a car the first time I went but I'm glad I did and the money saved on accommodations was more than enough to cover the car.

I didn’t track my expenses in Oahu, but it was very inexpensive. I was with 4 other girls and therefore split the cost of most things by 5. If memory serves, it was about $350 RT for my flights plus about $500 for the rental car, $2100 for our accommodations and about $300 on groceries for the week. That is only $930 per person for a week-long vacation. Beyond that, everything is pretty variable. If you want to go shopping, that’s up to you, same with eating out, excursions, etc. The Hawaiian Islands are the perfect place to get outside and enjoy free activities in paradise.

All-in for Oahu (1 week in March): Under $1000 each

Where we stayed: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/3898389?location=Honolulu%2C%20HI%2C%20United%20States&s=733DKthm&check_in=2019-03-20&guests=1&adults=1&check_out=2019-03-27

I partially tracked last year’s trip to Maui and it was quite different for many reasons. Most notably, there were only two of us and we did half camping and half hotels. Flights were $500 RT and the rental car was $255. We did grocery store breakfasts, cheap lunches and had supper in reasonably priced restaurants. It was about $120 for 4 nights of tent camping and in stark contrast, about $1300 for 4 nights in hotels. You can see what I mean about destinations being as expensive as you let them; If we stayed at the camp ground the whole time our trip would have been $1180 less than what it was. I don’t think we did any shopping at all and the snorkels we rented were about $27 for the week which provided us the most enjoyment.

All-in for Maui (1 week in April): $3500 for 2 people

Where we stayed:

https://www.campolowalu.com/tent-camping/


https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/days-inn/maui-hawaii/days-inn-maui-oceanfront/rooms-rates?hotel_id=34006&checkin_date=04/22/2018&checkout_date=04/23/2018&adults=2&children=0&brand_id=DI&rate_code=SSP&iata=05513292&CID=ME%3ADI%3A20180321%3AGGL%3Agha%3ACPA%3ANULL%3A34006

Hawaii. My flight was $370, our AirBnB was $620 (5 nights), hostel for the first night is $50 each and the car rental was $900. We also booked one excursion for $80/person. That is just over $1200 per person for all of the expensive bits. I was only be with 1 friend this time so everything is split in 2. Since we had a kitchen we mostly cooked for ourselves, we did predominantly free activities and I didn’t do much shopping.

All-in for Hawaii (1 week in April): $1600 each

Where we stayed:

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/13534296?location=Captain%20Cook%2C%20HI%2C%20United%20States

http://www.myhawaiihostel.com/

Now, I don’t know about you, but $1600 per person for a week in paradise seems pretty decent to me. This number could be significantly higher or lower if you changed up a few of the details, when you go, how many people split the cost, etc. For this trip specifically, we could have skipped the vehicle upgrade and saved a ton.


Here is the detailed break down of my 1 week trip to Hawaii:
Flights: $368.24
Car rental: $469.27
Accommodations: $371.29
Food: $72.50
Gas: $90.11
All other spending: $178.61

TOTAL: $1550.02
The cost of the car rental, accommodations and gas are all split in half as I was with one other person.

Bucketlist Hawaii

Creating a list of things to do, places to see and delicious (donuts) to eat before going on any trip is one of my favorite things to do. I’m always prepared to see and do very few things on the list since we never know how a trip will go, but just the planning for potential activities makes me that much more excited to get going!

 

Here are some of the plans for Hawaii.
 
The Internet very kindly informed me that Hawaii has a few bays where, with a bit of luck and good conditions, people can see/swim/snorkel with wild dolphins. This sounds like the most amazing experience and I really hope we get the chance to live it. I’m still researching the best Bay for it since we will need to swim out rather than taking a boat.
 
Visit the summit of Mauna Kea for either sunrise or sunset, or just in general. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and the tallest mountain on earth! I was quick to assume that this fact was untrue when I first read it as well, but with a little research I found that it is very true. Mauna Kea does not reach higher into the sky than Everest but it is a taller mountain because its base is below sea level. Mount Everest is approximately 29,000 feet and Mauna Kea is around 33,000 feet.

 

Hawaii boasts having one of the only green sand beaches in the world and I have every intention of spending some time on it. It will be a bit of a hike to get there but one we are excited to do! It is also the southernmost point of the USA which fits well with my new love of geographic extremes.

 

I went to the black sand beach on Maui and though it was beautiful, but honestly, I couldn’t imagine spending too much time there. Being barefoot was unbearable due to the heat and it was one of the busier places we visited. The one in Hawaii looks very nice as well but the main draw is the high chances of seeing turtles and I don’t think I have to tell you how excited I am about turtles!

 

We have been talking about hikes we want to do since day one but haven’t really settled on a definitive list. I know we need to hike to the green sand beach, through Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and most likely to visit some waterfalls, but other than that, we’ll have to see when we get there!

 

Visiting Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and having the possibility to see an active lava flow are actually my top draws to this particular island. I’ve wanted to see this for so long; fingers crossed it happens! Even if we don’t see an active flow, I’m pretty excited to just walk through the lava fields and hopefully through the lava tube.

 

I’ve been getting more and more excited for our snorkelling excursion as we get closer to leaving. We’ll be going out at night to swim with Manta Rays that can be up to 20ft across! I highly recommend you look this up on YouTube because it looks truly incredible!

 

I’m not a foodie but I do have a few food items I’m really looking forward to having on the island. Donuts mostly, but also shave ice and fresh seafood. I may even try a cup of Kona coffee while I’m in Kona, despite being someone who doesn’t ever drink coffee.

 

You can click on the embedded links to view some of my other posts about previous Hawaiian adventures!

Big Island, Hawaii; April 17-23, 2018

Having loved Hawaii before I ever went there and loving it even more once I did, I can’t turn down a good seat sale to take me back to the islands.

Way back at the very end of December I scooped up round-trip tickets for under $400 Canadian and by January 1st my rental car, accommodations and 1 excursion were booked as well. As great as it feels to have a fully booked and paid for trip, it still unfortunately means I’ve had to wait nearly 4 months to go; and now that we’re down to 1 week I’m vibrating with excitement!

Going to all of the major Hawaiian Islands is a Bucketlist item for me and I’m well on my way! This year I will be going to Hawaii, or the “Big Island,” as it is commonly called. This will be island number 3 for me in 4 many years and I expect it will be an equally amazing experience.

It’s just 1 girlfriend and I going and we have so many plans we’re hoping to squeeze in.

• Summit of Mauna Kea

• Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

• Snorkel with Manta Rays

• Snorkelling with wild dolphins

• Black sand beach

• Green sand beach

• Hiking

• Stand-up paddle boarding

As excited as I am about the things we will do, which I will elaborate more on in my next post, I am also quite excited about where we will stay. I booked us a yurt on AirBnB that is located on a Macadamia Nut farm! It is so much more affordable than even a basic hotel at barely over $100/night, but also gives us the chance to be in nature even more.

For anyone interested, this is the one.

If you have any suggestions of places to go, things to do or excellent donuts, please let me know!

5 Misconceptions About Travel

1-It will be easy: I’m putting this one here because I was the one who thought it. In 2011/12 when I started planning for my first big trip I never considered that it might be “difficult.” Not the planning, that part was easy, but that actual trip. For many reasons, I was very wrong. I have to admit part of the difficulty was just because of the kind of person I am and because it was my first time out on my own, either way, the difficulties began as soon as I landed in Amsterdam. I didn’t speak the language and so I didn’t understand the announcements in the airport and I couldn’t read any signs or schedules. Since I’m on the shy side I found it really difficult to convince myself it would be ok to walk up to a stranger and ask for help. See where I’m going with this? Language barriers, culture shock, getting lost, loneliness and anxiety; all these factors keep a journey from being “easy.” There are so many fears and difficulties that make travelling more difficult that you might guess! Don’t let this hold you back though!

2-Everything will be Instagram perfect: There is a word that is frequently seen on social media these days, especially Instagram, and that is Curated. People create “themes” for their account and choose very particular photos with specific content that have been edited a particular way. In the end the account ends up looking like a well designed online gallery. With that in mind you can now browse your social accounts with new eyes and remember that your experience in Madrid, Los Angeles or Tokyo may not be like that. Don’t let that disappoint you; you can create your own dream vacation!

Just remember that what we are seeing is a specific highlight reel of curated photos that are likely sponsored content. What we see is not what we will get.

3-You have to be rich to make it happen/it’s always super expensive: I think about this one frequently because Ryan is always quick to tell me who must be rich or spoiled whenever he is looking over my shoulder at Instagram or YouTube. But the thing is you don’t need to be either of those things to have an amazing trip to somewhere new.

Some of the best ways to make it happen for less are:

-Staying in a hostel instead of a hotel

-Booking your travel based on seat sales

-Allow the sales to help you choose a destination

-Buy your food from grocery stores instead of eating at restaurants for three meals a day

-Go with the cheaper mode of transportation (walk or take public transit instead of renting a car, take a train instead of flying, take a bus instead of a train, etc.)

-Travel to somewhere that your currency is strong
-Go outside of peak season

Choosing to use some or all of these tips can make for a much cheaper trip. Adjusting your expectations, choosing places you know you can afford and being open minded can help stretch your dollar further and therefore stretch your travels farther.

4-It should be done at a certain point in life: The world likes to tell us that travel, especially long term travel, should only be done at two points in our lives. First, and most obviously, after graduating high school. Some call this “Gap year” and others use different names. Regardless, the concept is the same. Either directly after high school, or maybe a few years into college when you no longer feel inspired, are getting bored or just don't know what to do, this is the time to go. You should be young, energetic and have minimal financial and personal obligations. If you miss this opportunity then you may not try again until retirement, this is option 2. You have lived your life, raised your kids, survived working 35-50 years and now you may go travel again IF you are healthy, fit and financially able. If that doesn't work for you, to bad, you missed out.

Wrong, wrong, wrong!! Travelling should be done by anyone who wants to and at any time that works for you. 37 years old, have a job you hate and a decent savings account? Take a trip. You’re 24, no direction and only just enough money for the journey? Do it anyway.

The point is that you can and should go places anytime that it works for you.

5-Travel and Vacation are 2 different things: I read an article recently that claimed travel and vacation were two different things; this isn’t the first time I’ve heard that either.

Travel: to go from one place to another, as by car, train, plane, or ship; take a trip; journey:

Vacation: a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday:

They are technically different things, as per the dictionary, one refers to the action and the other is a state of being. That is not what is meant when people refer to their differences though.

Travel is typically said when the person means to describe the long term whereas vacation usually implies a short time away.

When you are travelling you should expect it to change your life, you will learn new things about yourself and the world and you won’t fit in when you return home. It's long term and long distance. Those are some of the most common things I hear about travel that are not associated with vacation. Oh, also, you should probably be using a backpack, not a suitcase.

Vacation involves eating, drinking too much and working on your tan at the pool or beach, maybe visiting Disneyland, camping, short non-meaningful trips and things of that nature. You will learn nothing new, you are probably more willing to splurge financially and you will be back at work/school before you know it.

As far as I’m concerned we can and should all be travelling and taking vacations and going on journeys and adventures and explorations without feeling any pressure that it should look a certain way.