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One of the attractions we visited when we were in Carlsbad, California recently was the Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park. It was a fascinating place and one of the most fascinating aspects was the peacocks which were wandering everywhere. Tom managed to get this shot of one showing off his tail feathers.
We are huge fans of train travel.
Well.
That’s not technically correct since we really haven’t traveled by train all that often.
In point of fact. Never.
We did take one completely awesome train trip when we were in Arizona but we have never actually travelled by train where you sleep on the train, eat on the train, and generally…well…travel by train.
But we think we would love it. We love small ship travel like the Un-Cruise Adventures cruise we took and the Blount cruise so the idea of unpacking once in a small but comfortable room and stepping out at destination after destination holds a huge amount of appeal. We are totally open to the idea of train travel.
So when we found out that there was a train you could take from Carlsbad to San Diego on our visit, we immediately worked it into our schedule.
The Coaster is actually a commuter train which runs North and South through San Diego county with eight stops between Oceanside and San Diego. Not only is it extraordinarily cheap ($11.00 roundtrip for adults) and convenient, it’s luxuriously comfortable and the scenery along the way is incredible.
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Best. Tacos. Ever.
That.
That right up there may have been one of the best things about our stay at the Hilton Carlsbad Oceanfront Resort and Spa.
Those are shrimp and lobster tacos.
And they were just as good as they look.
We had them one night out on the patio of Chandler’s, the restaurant at the hotel. When we discovered they had a happy hour from 4:30 – 6:30 every day which offered “small bites” – specially priced appetizers – we decided that was our best bet for a light dinner. The appetizers had to be consumed on the patio and we were absolutely fine with that as it was a lovely afternoon and we could see the ocean from where we sat.
Outside dining area.
We loved everything about Mackinac Island, especially the fact that just about everyone rides bikes. There is even a 7-mile bike path that runs all the way around the island. Tom got this unusual shot of the path.
The first time we hopped on and off was in New York City, but it would not be the last. We were in New York spending a couple of days before we embarked on a cruise to Bermuda and we wanted to see as much as possible in the little time we had. A tour was what we needed but a tour of the most important tourist destinations in the short time we had? How was that possible?
Then we discovered the joy that is the “hop on hop off” tour. We booked a three-day pass with Grayline and packed the next three days with all the many attractions to which we could drag our weary bodies. We hopped on the ubiquitous double-Decker buses and hopped off whenever we saw something interesting. There were always more buses coming by and it was an easy, fun and fairly cheap way to see the city.
We loved every minute of it.
Read the rest of this article on Travelhoppers HERE.
One of the most interesting things about our visit to Carlsbad in our sweet red Venza was when we discovered that there are actually three lagoons in the area.
We have seen this phenomenon before; in coastal regions there are often lakes, lagoons, and wetland areas but Carlsbad has three and each one is unique. The three lagoons cover more than 1,000 acres and consist of nature preserves, hiking trails, water recreation areas.
The lagoons are beautiful, pristine bodies of water which have been carefully preserved and maintained to provide lovely open spaces for the public to enjoy nature, hike, relax and take in some beautiful views, including sights of various local critters.
The Buena Vista Lagoon is an ecological preserve, the Aqua Hedionda lagoon is used for watersports and the Batiquitos lagoon is a nature preserve.
Because the Batiquitos Lagoon sounded the most interesting to us, we headed there one afternoon. The 561 acre lagoon is actually open to the ocean, adjoining it under a bridge where fishing is allowed and cars pass, many without even realizing the beautiful lagoon is beneath the bridge.
Fishing is permitted on the rock jetties at the mouth of the lagoon and the rocks under I-5 which runs near the lagoon and we saw some young boys perched on the rocks fishing. Because it adjoins the ocean, the water is brackish and home to a variety of fish, plants and birds. We pulled up the neighborhood beside the lagoon and parked under some incredible trees covered with purple blossoms which we later found out were Jacaranda trees.
Gorgeous Jacaranda trees near the Batiquitos Lagoon.
We love Victoria, B.C. and the Empress Hotel is one of the most interesting and beautiful landmarks on the island. The trees out front are fascinating and rather eerie. Tom got this shot of them looking like they might start walking at any moment.
The Pelican Cove Inn Bed and Breakfast
The feather bed really put this location over the top.
Huge, fluffy, and placed on a bed so high we had to use a stool to get in it, it was pretty darn fabulous.
We had spent the previous night in Carlsbad at the lovely Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort, but the Pelican Cove Inn Bed and Breakfast was a completely new experience.
Located just two blocks from the beach and three blocks from the lovely village of Carlsbad, it’s in the perfect location. It’s really more of an inn than a converted house, so each of the 10 rooms has a private bath and private entrance, along with a feather bed and fireplace. A full breakfast is included, which is always a nice plus when traveling.
We checked into the inn after easily finding a place to park in the lot and met our lovely hostess, Nancy Nayudu, who showed us to our room and welcomed us to the area. She is actually the one who informed us about the June gloom in the area and explained why it seemed so gray and cloudy. She suggested we drive a mile or so inland to see the sun and she was absolutely correct!
We lugged all our stuff up to our beautiful suite (there is no elevator but there are ground floor rooms if you can’t manage stairs) and settled in. Our suite was huge with a nice bedroom, sitting area, a big walk-in closet and bathroom.
Fabulous feather bed!
Stool to get into the bed!
Nice sitting area.
We never made a plan to visit this fascinating little town nestled between the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina; it just happened to be halfway between Lexington, Kentucky and Savannah, Georgia where we were headed. But when I began to do research about the area and realized belatedly that the Biltmore Estate is located in Asheville, the decision was made. Asheville North Carolina was added into our girlfriend getaway travel itinerary, and it turned out to be absolutely one of our favorite destinations!
We stayed at two equally wonderful hotels and I can unreservedly recommend both. Our first stay was at the Hilton at Biltmore Park . Located in Biltmore Park, a new area near the Biltmore Estate and conveniently full of little shops, restaurants and a movie theater right by the hotel itself, the hotel is brand spanking new and in lovely, pristine condition. We checked in with no problem, settled into our comfy room and then strolled around, checking out the free Internet connection, fitness center, pool and the Sensibilities Spa. One of the most surprising things about this particular Hilton is that pets are allowed and we immediately saw people with their well-behaved dogs on leashes. Asheville is very pet-friendly and we saw dogs all over town, most especially on the terraces of the restaurants downtown. This is the place to go if you like to travel with your pet.
Read the rest of this article on Girlsgetaway.com HERE.
Pin ItWhen we were on our yacht cruise in British Columbia, enjoying the incredible scenery, scarfing down delicious food, and seeing amazing animals, we were actually working hard.
As difficult as it is to believe, we work hard for all the amazing travel opportunities we are given. I spend an exorbitant amount of time writing once we get home and Tom spends every trip with a heavy camera around his neck, often perched precariously trying to get the perfect shot. The yacht cruise was no exception as Tom had agreed to take photos of all our adventures so Un-Cruise Adventures could use them on their web page and other public relations materials. When we returned home, I chose the best photos, put them in Dropbox, shared them with Un-Cruise Adventures and forgot about them.
Until last night.
When I was reading articles on USA Today and happened upon one of Tom’s photos. Un-Cruise Adventures had shared it for use with the article and there it was. We actually had to go back to our photos to confirm it but yep. There it was. One of his photos. We were just blown away.
One of his photos.
On USA Today.
Then we realized we had never actually gone to the Un-Cruise Adventures web site to see if they had used any of his photos yet.
And the first thing we saw was one of his killer whale photos.
Not only that, it actually had his name on it. In tiny print over on the left. But it’s there.
They also used some of his photos in the Gallery of images of the Coastal Washington and British Columbia slide show on the site.
Of course, we have seen plenty of his photos used before. In all of my articles in a variety of venues, both print and online. He has even had them featured on magazine covers.
But this.
This is pretty damn cool.
And worth all that precarious perching he does on every single trip.
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