Cuba 2023 - Twice in One Year

 Hello Readers...

2023 was a big year for me, going to San Francisco, getting engaged and getting to travel to Cuba twice!!!

The Pool View out to the Ocean
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Cuba is the third-most populated country in the Caribbean. I had never been before, but it is definitely an affordable country to visit. When choosing where to travel my husband (boyfriend at the time) did some research with his travel agent and decided for Christmas 2022 he wanted to take me to Cuba in the new year. I was excited, we booked a resort that was fairly new to Cayo Guillermo for January 7 - 14, 2023. 

Cayo Guillermo is a small island in the Jardines del Rey archipelago, off of Cuba. You fly into the airport at Cayo Coco. It is a small airport, that brings in flights from Canada full of vacationers. We then had a 45 minute bus ride in the dark to Cayo Guillermo where we stayed at the Gran Muthu Imperial. The hotel was new in 2018 and was adults only. I was very much looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the sunshine, and we loved the hotel and its amenities. There was no beach at this resort, it was very rocky, but the beautiful Playa Pillar was a 5 minute taxi ride away with the most amazing white sand beaches. The sand felt like the texture of powdered sugar. 

Enjoying a Sunset at the Gazebo
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

While on the plane we were seated with a guy going to the same resort, by himself (Geoff). Geoff became a fast friend, and we hung out with him often over the course of the week there. Night one, after check in, we met Geoff at the only bar at the resort open and over some drinks met a lovely girl named Kati. Day two we met Kati's husband Alex - and begun hanging out by the pool, having dinner together and attending the evening shows. 

We did a few excursions while on the trip. First up was a Cigar and Rum Tour. The tour explored sugar production, in an ancient sugar mill that is now converted into a sugar industry museum. Enjoy some time in Remedios, we received a bottle of Havana Club Rum as a gift from the tour. 

Second we attended a Catamaran Cruise. This was relaxing, we did a lot of snorkeling, but Chris was feeling a bit under the weather, so the boat rocking wasn't really up his alley. The food and drinks on board were great. Some of the water was rocky, so I didn't get off at every spot. We should have held out, as a few days layer we went to Playa Pillar with Geoff, Kati, and Alex. There was a boat tour here as well that was only $40 per person and it included snorkeling and lunch as well. If we had of known of this tour before booking the catamaran, we may have chosen instead to have a day at the resort instead of the catamaran. There were jelly fish in the water at the pillar beach, so we did not stay too long in the water, but they did not seem to be bothering the other vacationers. 

Chris in his Christmas Shirt enjoying
a drink and a cigar
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

In December 24 - 31, 2023 we planned a vacation to Cayo Santa Maria over Christmas with both sets of parents, but due to medical reasons we only ended up going with my husband's (fiancé at the time) parents (Bev and Janet). This trip would be Chris' moms first time in an airplane, she did AMAZING even though she was scared. 

Cayo Santa Maria is a small island off Cuba's north Coast also in the Jardines del Rey archipelago.  You fly into the airport in the city of Santa Clara. Then we had a 90 minute bus ride in the dark to Cayo Santa Maria where we stayed at the Sanctuary Grand Memories Hotel. The hotel was new in 2001, so it was quite dated compared to our other experience. The hotel is not a 5-star like most websites state, it is more like a 1 or 2 star hotel. Something good about the hotel is that the beach is amazing. Clean sand, clear shallow water, with a sand bar, no rocks, no seaweed and warm water.

Since we had such a success previously with snorkeling, we decided to go on another Catamaran Cruise with Chris' parents. Before we left, I had ordered us our own snorkel masks (the one piece ones that allow you to normally breathe). We took these with us and I must admit, they are a real game changer. There was a lot of fish to see, and it was quite enjoyable. Janet did not enjoy it as much as the rest of us, she panicked in the mask, but that was okay, she watched the rest of us and enjoyed some time on the boat. 

Chris with his Catch
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Deep See Fishing
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Chris and his dad very much wanted to go on a Fishing Charter. There was a 4 Hour charter we booked (it was the same price for 4 people as it would be for 2, so Janet and I tagged along). When we got to the marina, we found the lovely bartender Bev had made friends with the day prior on the Catamaran. He was now a captain of a fishing boat, and ushered us into the boat as he had claimed our group for the day. Chris was on fishing first, and he happened to catch our only catch of the day, an Albacore Tuna. The rest of us took a turn in the seat, but none of us got to reel in a catch. We got to enjoy some beverages out on the open water and learn lots about fishing from the Captain and Deckhand (two locals who have been fishing for many years). Our Tuna did not go unused, the boat captain assured us it would be given to some locals in the near by town to feed their families. 

All of us on the Cart
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The rest of our vacation was all about relaxing, and that we did. This was the trip to celebrate our engagement (originally Chris wanted to propose in Cuba but he did so before we left Canada). We spent time on the beach, time in the pool, time with one another. 

One of the days we did rent a golf cart at the resort. It was $100 for the entire day and we used it until we got poured on with rain. We took it to the sister resort next door, through the adults only section, we also went out onto the road to look for flamingos (no luck there). We had a  such a great time cruising around on that thing, it sat all 4 of us. Janet had her phone connected to the Bluetooth in the cart, so the tunes were bumping the entire time. 

Check out Cuba if you ever have the chance, there are many different areas to the country. I hope to check out more in the future, Havana sounds like a lovely culture driven place. Thanks for reading.

The Pool at Night
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Chris and I ready for Christmas Dinner
Photo Credit: Bev MacLeod

Engaged - December 17, 2023

 Hello Readers, 

I drafted this post, and am just now rereading and deciding to post, to say I am still on Cloud9 is an understatement. 

I wanted to document my feelings through this post. I got engaged on December 17, 2023. As I was typing this it was January 17, 2024 and the exciting feeling is still in effect. I am often caught staring at this new piece of jewelry that has such love captured in it. This ring symbolizes a new level of devotion and commitment to each other. 

It happened after Christmas with my fiancés family - his parents, sister, her husband, great grandma and a family friend were all in attendance. He had other plans but those changed a few times, and decided in about a 30 minute window that it was time for him to do it. The pressure of hiding the ring any longer was getting to him, he was worried I would somehow find out. 

Collage of Photos
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby, Background is a standard Google Image.

I shook for two days when showing off my new bling. My voice is just coming back as I would tell anyone that would listen of the wonderful news (family, friends, co-workers, everyone on our vacation). There have been so many video chats, phone calls, posts and visits to share the wonderful news. I had just gotten my nails done for vacation, so many people thought I was showing off those, until they saw the sparkle. Both families knew of the planning's that had gone on and were excited when the news was shared. 

A week after engagement we went on Christmas Vacation to Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba. It was a great way to celebrate engagement. We enjoyed laying on the beach. having dinner together, or just having conversations about our lives together. I am feeling grateful that my fiancé decided to propose before we went on a trip, so that we had that time together to celebrate. If we were working or just at home rushing around for the holidays, I am not sure I would have gotten as much enjoyment. The private time together, away from others, was a great foundation starter to our new chapter as a couple. 

Thanks for reading, let the planning begin for a 2025 Summer Wedding!

Lake Tahoe and a bit of California

View of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the Hotel
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

 Hello Readers, 

Sitting in a Chair made of Ski's
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The mountains really are my happy place. After spending an amazing 5 months in Banff, Alberta for my College Program Co-op in 2012 I have had a love and appreciation for the landscapes. It was just 10 years later (2022) I would get the opportunity to travel with my parents to Lake Tahoe to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. You can view the photos of Banff on the Banff, Alberta Page of this blog. You can also see that I have upgraded my camera equipment over the last 10 years and see the quality upgrade of the photos produced.

The amazing glacier water and the white snow capped mountains are nothing short of spectacular. My parents and I rented a car so we could drive around the entire lake as well as made a day trip to California. Speaking of California, the hotel we stayed at was right on the stateline of Nevada and California. We stayed at the Harvey's Lake Tahoe Casino in Stateline Nevada, you could see the mountains from bed in the hotel rooms as they are situated on angles looking out at the view.

Emerald Bay
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The one day in the rental car we visited Virginia City, NV. Its an old Nickel Mining town outside of Carson City. We learned a lot of history there, and spent some time looking around the saloons that still stand today. After that, we drove through Reno so we could make the entire trip around Lake Tahoe. We took a quick stop through Truckee, I am one of those travelers that follows the signs, when I see something of interest I always want to check it out. While on route we had to visit Emerald Bay with its deep green coloured water. The switch backs on the mountain roads are not for the faint of heart, some have guard rails while others do not, but if you take your time you can make the best of it. 

The next day with the rental car we summitted the mountains in California and headed to Folsom. My dad is a big Johnny Cash fan so we thought it would be best to take him to Folsom Prison, which is still an active prison today. However, it was a weekday so the museum there wasn't in operation. Instead we ended up taking him to the Harley Davidson store there to get him a souvenir shirt with the Prison on the back of it.

View from the Airplane of the Sierra Nevada Mountains - May 2023
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Painted Ladies
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

In May 2023 I got to visit Lake Tahoe again, after a record year for snow fall in the area. The snow melting on the mountains was beautiful. My mom and I rented a car again and drove over the summit passes to California, so we could spend a couple days on the West Coast in San Francisco. San Francisco is a must see destination. The cable cars, the Golden Gate, Painted Ladies, Fisherman's Wharf, and sea lions where to begin. It was all wonderful, and we really got to see it all in the 1.5 days we were there. We would suggest planning to be there longer, as we spent most of our day on the Hop on Hop off bus, and went around the City Twice. We didn't visit Alcatraz but if my sister had been with us, she would have loved that. 

Food at Boudin Bakery
Photo Credit: Kathy Gadsby 

The first night in San Francisco, we took an uber to the Downtown to get our barring's and go for dinner. There was a bit of traffic as their was a baseball game happening at the Giants Stadium (Oracle Park). However, our driver dropped us off at the Wharf and we wandered around, took at look out over the Bay where Alcatraz Island is located. The sun was setting and we were starved after the drive. We had heard that sour dough was specifically special to San Francisco. There it was in front of our faces Boudin Bakery - "Home of the mother dough". There was a full restaurant upstairs which we ended up eating at the second night. The first night we used their downstairs market style, café. Mom got a sourdough bread bowl full of chili and I got a beef dip sandwich made on sour dough. There is a conveyor belt going around the entire building moving sour dough, as well as in the corner of the room behind glass you can see trays and trays of sour dough rolls and buns being prepared for the next day. Boudin or somewhere for sour dough is a definite must for food in San Francisco. 

Golden Gate Bridge
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Our past experiences travelling around the globe have made us comfortable using public transit the second day; our only FULL day. We rode the subway from our hotel (we stayed out at the Airport away from the Downtown to save money). Once we got downtown via the subway, we hopped on a Street Car to the downtown core, where we arrived at Fisherman's Wharf to catch the hop on hop off tour. The Street Cars in San Francisco are quite unique. They are vintage street cars from many different cities in America, you can read where the car came from inside the car. Ours specifically was from Birmingham, Alabama. More information can be found on their website: San Francisco Historic Street Car Website. 

 In our short period of time, we got to fit in all of the large sightseeing items. We did not visit Alcatraz, so I would suggest planning a full day for that if you are interested in that. I would also mention that we were quite fast paced, trying to hop on the next bus to the next destination. For a more relaxed trip to San Francisco I would suggest 3-4 full days. 

The mountains really are my place where I am relaxed and enjoying the beautiful nature. Until we meet again Canadian Rockies or Sierra Nevada's I love you all. 

Thanks for reading...this was a long one, however please enjoy a few more photos on the San Francisco Page. 

European Vacation Covid Edition

All the City/Town Signs
Photo Credit: Amanda Rood

HELLO Readers, 

I am writing today to speak about a trip my sister and I decided we would take together during COVID Restrictions. We would have loved to explore Europe but due to travel restrictions we stayed in Ontario. There have been many small towns and cities named after European towns, as the settlers named them when they came to Canada. Therefore, we decided that we would do our own version of Europe and travel to those specific towns. 

We went to 11 different places, and stopped to take a picture at the City Sign in each location. We got some ice cream in Paris, ON and we always like to get some Sparta candles, though this trip we were behind in our timing. 

The Four Corners in the Center of
Downtown Paris, ON
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

We started our trip in Zurich, not too far from where my sister lives. We then went onto Dublin, I tried to find the more designed signs at each location, but most have the general county blue signs. After that we went to Brussells.  It is self proclaimed "Ontario's Prettiest Village", this may have been true sometime in the tenure of 150 years. In Brussells, there was a shop with old signs and many old cars out front, but not much of anything else. 

Penman's Dam on the
Grand River in Paris, ON
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

We then drove to the small hamlet of Lisbon, followed by Luxemburg and New Hamburg. We then decided we wanted to travel to Paris, as we wanted to be able to walk around and see the Grand River. We needed to stretch our legs at this point. We wandered the streets and took in the view, laughing, photographing and having an ice cream. There is one intersection that has multiple ways to cross, you can go the regular route, all the way at each section, but there are also crisscross through the intersection. I decided I wanted to try and take a photo standing in the middle. 

When we left Paris, we still had a few more places on our list. We headed to Scotland, Vienna and Copenhagen which were all south of Paris. These were cute little places as well, neither of us had been here.

After the day long trek we travelled to St. Thomas for dinner and decided to take pictures with the elephant statue we had driven by many times as children.

Standing under Jumbo the Elephant
Photo Credit: Amanda Rood

Growing up my Great Aunt lived in St. Thomas. She informed my sister and I of the history of why Jumbo the large elephant statue is on display in St. Thomas. She always told us that she had the glass negatives of photos that were taken of Jumbo's death. When she closed her photography studio these were donated to the archives of Elgin County. She and her husband had taken over a photography studio from her father-in-law. Her father-in-law had purchased the business from Murray Scott in 1955. The glass negative of Jumbo was a photo taken by Murray Scotts father Thomas in 1885.

This statue was built in 1985 as a monumental memory in the 100th anniversary of his death. It is speculated that Disney's Dumbo is loosely based on the real life of Jumbo who was originally in a Paris Zoo after his mother was killed by poachers. Later Jumbo was sold to P.T. Barnum, and became the world's first animal superstar.

Jumbo was the star of P.T. Barnum's "Greatest Show on Earth" in 1881. September 15, 1885 the circus stopped in St. Thomas, a booming rail town. After the show, Jumbo was walking with a smaller elephant down the tracks before being loaded into their train car. Unfortunately, an unscheduled oncoming Grand Trunk train struck the two elephants. The manager of Jumbo leaped free but Jumbo passed away in minutes. The smaller elephant did make it, thanks to the circus's onsite veterinarians. 

Using flower leaves to make it look like a Jungle
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The Red Caboose Souvenir Shop
Photo Credit: Amanda Rood

This has all been interesting for me to research Jumbo a bit while writing this and link to stories from my childhood. All of this while appreciating getting to spend a great day of adventures and laughs with my sister. 

Thank you for reading...

Sources:

Full Timeline of Jumbo the Elephant

St. Thomas Tourism and Jumbo's Story

Scott Studio History, and timelines

The Real Life Dumbo