The Shortest Runway In The World

Flores Air Strip 2

  Given our preference for little known and quieter places, we headed to the smaller islands of the Azores. The smaller islands also have the most rich green countryside, and the most genuine people. Of the nine islands of the Azores, Sao Miguel, Terceira and Faial are the three islands with… Continue reading

#1 Travel Cosmetics: Irresistible BOOM!

Photo Boom Sticks Trio

  Wow! I just love BOOM Sticks. Compact cosmetics sticks, perfect for purse and travel.   I don’t know about you, but when I travel, I rarely have time for make-up. We are anxious to get out and see the million things there are to see in a new country…. Continue reading

Falling For A Stranger in Havana

  One day I was checking out all the shops around Parque Cristo in Havana Vieja, when I saw the Churros wagon in the park.   The Lure of Churros The delicious aroma of fried dough was wafting directly to me. Mmmm…  50 pesos (65 cents) for two freshly fried… Continue reading

Only Heros Climb The Great Wall of China

  My friend, L, arranged a car and driver to take us to the GREAT WALL – not to the touristy rebuilt sections but to the original authentic Great Wall, unrestored, fewer tourists, 120 km NE of Beijing, called Simatai.    We were anxious to see the countryside in China,… Continue reading

Our Favourite Place In Europe

  What a surprise! This country’s lush green countryside was as beautiful as Southern France!   It was very clean and tidy, with beautiful highways and modern conveniences everywhere. Very warm helpful people too, with a great sense of humour.   This country is relaxing, easy, friendly, and has fewer tourists than France,… Continue reading

Stopping By To See Goldie (Hawn) and Kurt (Russell) In The Muskokas

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Taking the Trans-Canada Highway from our home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to our home in London, Ontario, is a long, long drive. 7000 kilometers, to be exact.   Crossing Saskatchewan and Manitoba over miles of prairie and whispering grain fields holds a wonderful sense of freedom. You can see for miles,… Continue reading

Borneo: Rare Sighting of the Cutest Pygmy Elephants

A Rare Experience   We felt extremely privileged to see the Pygmy Elephants in Borneo.   These Borneo Elephants are the cutest elephants you have ever seen! They look like they are straight out of a Disney movie. They have big baby-face heads, big floppy ears, chubby tummies, straight husks… Continue reading

Little Boy Gets Buried in Sand

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  One evening on Isla Mujeres, Mexico, the sunset was particularly beautiful. We walked out onto the beach, closer to the water, to take a few colourful sunset photos. A Mexican man and his four children were laughing and playing beside a table and chairs. I asked if I might… Continue reading

BOOK RELEASE: “Tell Us Another Story, Grandma”

Announcing the release of my new book, “TELL US ANOTHER STORY, GRANDMA”. You can find it on Amazon.   This book shares true stories about growing up on the farm on the Canadian Prairies.   Bored? These days, we are all at home a lot more…   If you’re getting a… Continue reading

Affordable Travel in Retirement

  The Problem: The problem is that when you are working, you may not have much time off to vacation, or you still have commitments at home preventing you from leaving for any extended period. On the other hand, if you wait until you are retired, you will likely have… Continue reading

Amazon Riverboat

  There were only six guests on the Amazon Riverboat so it was almost like a private cruise, and it was the highlight of our Ecuador trip. We can highly recommend the Manatee Explorer.   As we flew high above the clouds from Quito to Coca over the Amazon Jungle , we… Continue reading

“Aw Sha, It Could Always Be Worse!”

  Lost luggage is a fact of life for most travellers. It has rarely happened to me but it did once, at the worst possible time. Travel misfortunes are just to be expected. Ireland   We had just arrived in Ireland, and I was given assurance that they would find my… Continue reading

Kicked Off The Train in Milan

  Managing the trains in Europe is not so easy as one might expect. Nice to Venice through Milan was $120C, changing trains three times with only 10-12 minutes each time to change trains.   Now when you have to find a new train, on a new platform, usually requiring you… Continue reading

10 Reasons You Should See St. John’s, Newfoundland

  The rain was coming down in sideways sheets when we landed in St. John’s. Once outside, I tried to capture how intense the downpour was blasting down. It was dazzling how beautiful the rain created reflections/refractions against the lights, but photos just didn’t do it justice.   St. John’s… Continue reading

Cyclone In Tonga

[mapsmarker marker=”1″]   Our dear friends survived a major cyclone in Tonga this spring. Their beautiful private island, Uoleva, and their amazing cabins on an absolutely perfect South Pacific beach were destroyed. Their entire resort was smashed and they were were lucky to withstand the cyclone alive.   First, here are… Continue reading

Travel To Little Known Places: PRINT Book Just Released

  My print book is done!    DESCRIPTION: Travel. Exotic destinations. Once in a lifetime adventures. What could go wrong? Often revealing their silliest fears or dumbest travel mistakes and consequent misadventures, you will be chuckling in spite of yourself. Travel To Little Known Places is filled with humorous stories… Continue reading

Tonga: A Land Where Big Women are the Most Beautiful

A Land Where Big Women Are Most Beautiful

The Women of Tonga     The women in the Kingdom of Tonga are beautiful and large. Many are over six feet all and well over two hundred pounds.     In fact, the bigger you are in Tonga, the more respect you have.   That’s a hard concept for people… Continue reading

10 Top Travel Secrets For Europe

  If you would like to travel cheaper, save money and have fewer travel issues, these tips for Europe will help: 1. Forget super-expensive Western Europe (England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy). It’s hard to enjoy travel when you are aghast at the costs of everything. 2. Focus on cheaper Central… Continue reading

There Are NO Restaurants In Ireland!

  You may be surprised that there are no restaurants in Ireland! None. Every town we came to, we could not find a restaurant. There are dozens and dozens of bars, one on every corner, even in the smallest town, but no restaurants.   Finally, we reluctantly started going to… Continue reading

Come Rain Or Snow…

 [spacer height=”20px”] Happily touring around Ireland enjoying the lush richness of every shade of green imaginable, from lime green to kelly green to deep sage green, we could hardly believe how beautiful it was.    [spacer height=”20px”]  [spacer height=”20px”] Our B&B was lovely, but with icy cold bedrooms, as most… Continue reading