One of the many magical moments to be experienced within Universal Orlando's magical Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a visit to Ollivanders Wand Shop where "the wand chooses the wizard". The wand choosing show is a close up, intimate, and fun, interactive experience for Harry Potter fans of all ages. If you're wondering how to get picked for a wand at Universal, what the … [Read more...]
A Canadian Travelling to San Diego
San Diego, California’s beach city, welcomes Canadian visitors this summer with warm sunny weather—averaging 24°C during June through August—112 km of sparkling beaches, world-famous attractions, one-of-a-kind festivals and events, hot new restaurants and more. Many people are avoiding travel more than normal it seems. They watch the news and see it is a bit on the scary … [Read more...]
Legendary Obama Cookie at Moulin De Provence Bakery in Byward Market, Ottawa
"Obama Cookie" from Moulin De Provence in Ottawa. When I was in Ottawa last Spring I just HAD to do the touristy thing by visiting Moulin De Provence in the historic Byward Market to get an Obama Cookie. Apparently at one point Obama stopped by this bakery during a visit to Ottawa, bought one of these maple leaf shaped shortbread cookies, and said "I love this … [Read more...]
Camp Jurassic Kid’s Playspace, One of the Hidden Gems of Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure
Camp Jurassic is a kids' playspace within the larger Jurassic Park section of Universal's Islands of Adventure. It would be easy to overlook, and in my mind, that's a mistake because this highly themed area is a ton of fun to explore. Camp Jurassic is off the main path. You head through an archway, over a bridge and past the line up for the Pteranodon Riders, to get to … [Read more...]
Visiting Iceland with Riley Blue
For a few months now I've been planning a trip to Iceland. You are probably thinking, "What? Really? Iceland?". Or maybe I'm wrong, perhaps you're thinking, "That sounds awesome, I wish I was travelling to Iceland.", or maybe you're reminiscing about when you went on holiday in Iceland. I somehow feel like the later is less likely because it seems as though Iceland isn't on … [Read more...]
Top 5 Family Friendly Places in Canada to Visit this Winter
Canada is one of the best places for families to visit during the winter, because everyone will be able to find snow, ice and extremely cold temperatures everywhere in the country. Families should plan on taking a lot of warm clothes that can be layered, so that they can enjoy everything that Canada has to offer during the winter season. Here are 5 of the best … [Read more...]
Joining the Militia, 1812 Style
Every Summer we go to this big crafter's fair called Art by the River. It's held at the Fort Malden National Historic Site in Amherstburg, Ontario. We enjoy walking around and looking at all the various things for sale, doing a little Christmas shopping, maybe eating a frozen yogurt or two. The kids always want to stop and paint a picture at the art station. The one part of the … [Read more...]
Cottage Life Made Affordable at Great Blue Resorts (Plus Cool Contest Alert!)
We've never considered owning a cottage. It's not that I wouldn't want the chance to get away to cottage country, enjoy lazy days by the lake and have family vacations in a home-like setting. It's just that I've always felt like owning a cottage was something only rich people could do. (Check out this article from the Toronto Star which talks about how cottage prices are on the … [Read more...]
That Time I Went to Sunny Mexico & Used Moisturizer Instead of Sunscreen
I want to tell you guys the story about that time I went to Mexico and I didn't bring any sunscreen with me. A friend had convinced me that it would be better to just buy a container of sunscreen when I got there, instead of worrying about trying to find the right travel sized container that would be okay to bring in my carry-on luggage. However, once I got to Puerta … [Read more...]
Making Connections and Finding Time to Explore Ottawa
I went to Ottawa, back in April, to take part in the BConnected Conference. BConnected bills itself as a conference for "digital influencers". It was two days of listening to speakers talk about things like authenticity and copyright issues, of hearing why video is the wave of the future, and learning clever email marketing and SEO tips. I took notes. I munched on tasty … [Read more...]
Love Travel? Use #TravellingMaple on Instagram & Share Your Travel Adventures!
Welcome to Travelling Maple Tuesdays! Each Tuesday we invite you to post a picture on Instagram and include the hashtag #TravellingMaple. (This happens EVERY Tuesday, I just post about it every few weeks on here as a reminder.) Travelling Maple is a website meant to showcase Canadian travel content. Each Tuesday we move the party over to Instagram, sharing our Canadian … [Read more...]
Sunset and Butterfly Wings…
Sunset at the Windsor Sculpture Park, A Butterfly's Wings, by the Brain Injury Association, "Dedicated to those who have lost a loved one to brain injury, honours those who bravely face the challenges of brain injury on a daily basis." … [Read more...]
Past, Future, Why Guess? Know!
You don't run into these old fortune telling machines too often. I remember the first time I saw one, at a penny arcade in Frankenmuth. I absolutely HAD to waste an American quarter on seeing how this thing worked. There is something compelling and almost eerie about watching an automaton move from up close. The one in the picture here is from Kennywood amusement park in … [Read more...]
What’s in my Travel Kit? a.k.a. travelling with P&G
A few months back I was staying at a hotel on an overnight trip. I was packing everything up to head back home when I ducked my head into the bathroom to find half of the contents of my toiletries kit spread out over the hotel bathroom counter. As I unzipped the bag and started to carefully stack everything back inside I had a realization. Laid out on this counter … [Read more...]
Racing Vultures at African Lion Safari
One of the highlights of our visit to African Lion Safari back in September was when Rainbow got chosen as a volunteer during the Birds of Prey show. And she got to race with vultures. Only she was too distracted with staring at the birds to actually run fast, and ended up way behind all the other kids taking part. Still biggest grin ever, think she had a good … [Read more...]