Steph & Craigs Blog on RealTravel

Ottawa journal: The Last Word ... by Craig

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:26:17 GMT

Hi all! Well if you've made it this far in the blog, congrats! That's a lot of reading! Note though that Steph added many of the photos to the blog last night, so you may want to revisit them one last time. Also, all the photos will be on facebook (check that, they're already there). If you don't have access to facebook let me know and we'll figure it out.

What a trip! For me, especially I think, that was totally the trip of a lifetime. I've always wanted to see the west of Canada. Living in Ottawa, and the maritimes, I've seen most of the country from Ottawa east, but west not ...

Ottawa journal: Home sweet home

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:23:37 GMT

Home safe and sound!

It was really strange coming home after 28 days on the road... very surreal. Still we look forward to sleeping in our own bed and getting back into the swing of things.

Spragge journal: Last night in a tent - by Steph

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:03:23 GMT

Hard to believe that our trip is coming to an end. We'll be home tomorrow night around 4pm depending on the traffic. Our very last stop is here in Spragg ON. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Fitting that we put our tent up in the dark !)

Today was just a traveling day. We stopped at the good ol' duty free for our booze and kept driving. Since we had a disgustingly large lunch, we aren't too hungry for supper. Some Mott's Clamato for me and beer for Craig tonight... hahahh... should be interesting.

Well if you followed the blog this far, hope you enjoyed our trip. Basically you ...

Fond du Lac journal: Happy Hour in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin - by Steph

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:42:51 GMT

Happy hour at Gino's Italian restaurant - a few wines kicked back and you get this entry !) Today was pretty much a travel day and I realize we have a day or so of blogging to do from the badlands to where we are now... Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Before I enthrall you with my fabulous story telling of the last day or so, I have to tell you a story I find absolutely hilarious. As we pulled into our KOA tonight, I noticed that there was a Pillow trampoline. Of course I had to give it a try. I waited until no kids were around and ran for it, jumping and giggling like a school girl. This must have ...

Seattle journal: Hole in One!!! - by Craig

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 19:12:50 GMT

Well last time we left you we were in Victoria, just having golfed Bear Mountain, the Jack Nicalaus course there. The next morning we got up, packed up camp and headed into Victoria. The first thing we did was find Mile Zero, as I mentioned in the last entry. It was a cool place ... a bit hard to find but basically you just keep following the Trans-Canada straight through town, through a little neighbourhood, and eventually you come to the end of the street, and the ocean. There lies a big sign by CAA that states "Mile Zero - Victoria, BC". We got some good pictures. Also there are a few ...

Drumheller journal: Fossils in Drumheller - by Steph

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:38:22 GMT

Today we met Albertasaurus at the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller AB. This place is definitely worth the drive in the boonies. I first read about this dinosaur bone capital of the world in none other than Readers Digest – that’s right, Canada’s best-selling, most trusted and most read magazine. It was just amazing to see full skeletons of the Albertasaurus, T-rex and other dino’s that I can’t remember their names. They had found foot and skin imprints, fossils of eggs and embryos and even dino brains.

We spent a good three hours learning about each period in time, the ice ages and the ...

Jasper National Park journal: The Mounties always get their man! - Craig

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:16:51 GMT

Hey guys! This morning we got up and packed up in Edmonton. Still a bit rainy but it has turned out to be a gorgeous day. We grabbed some groceries to carry us through the next few days and hit the road for Jasper. About half way there, sure enough we get pulled over by the RCMP. I knew I wasn't speeding ... only doing about 115 in a 110 zone ... anyway it turns out he pulled us over because the damn swift (our little car) is SOOOO full of stuff, that of course you can't see anything out the back!! Anyway after we had a nice chat with him (he was very impressed with our trip, and that ...

Edmonton journal: WEM - By Steph

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:03:24 GMT

Off to the West Edmonton Mall!Frankly this place in unbelievable, the sheer size of it... We checked out the amusement park - but the one ride I wanted to do, the roller coaster, was down !(

We got a sneak peek of the sea lion show while the stars were training before their next performance. We then made our way down to the deep sea caverns to watch the shark feeding and make friends with the penguins. Craig was amazed that there was a hockey rink in the mall and a peewee tournament finishing up. [Craig's note: I was also flabbergasted by the fact that three major junior refs were ...

Sault Sainte Marie journal: Happy Canada Day! by Steph

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:34:43 GMT

We were a little late starting out this morning, could have been the traveling from San Fran to home, but I suspect it was the beer consumed with good company at the Prescott that made us sleep in.

Long driving day today. The longest in our trip Craig says, 860km... better get it done and over with I say. Our little 2005 Suzuki swift is packed to the roof - it'll be a fun challenge to figure new ways to pack it every morning.

We drove all day to Pancake Bay a little past Sault-St-Marie. Set our tent up in the dark, made supper and took a walk down to the beach to see the full moon ...

Interior journal: Badlands - by Craig

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 06:16:37 GMT

Hi all! Today was a busy day. First we headed out to the new "Crazy Horse" Monument, a native monument being carved into a mountain which is still under construction. It was cool so see, but they wanted 20 bucks to go right up to it. Rushmore was only 8 bucks, which is complete, so this seemed like a bit of a raw deal for 20. Anyway we didn't go in but were still able to see it really well from the gate. Then we had to drive right by Rushmore again, which was free to get in with our pass from the day before, so we went in again to see it in better daylight and do the hike right up to the ...

Keystone journal: Cowboys & Cowgirls on the Wyoming Plains - by Steph & Craig

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:59:56 GMT

Well, what a day! This morning we got up and immediately reported to our horseback riding appointment. The first time for Craig in his adult life ... Steph of course was an expert. Craig was surprised to get on his horse, named Paleface, the first time with such ease, as Steph was ready to capture any embarassing moments on digital film. We went on an awesome trail, Steph riding "Smokey Joe", but she kept calling him "Sloppy Joe", by accident, I think. Anyway, it was a great ride up a Wyoming mountain and back down. The horses were a bit gassy, which added to the comedy factor. The ...

Yellowstone National Park journal: Geysers and Animals in Yellowstone Park - By Steph

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:08:49 GMT

Howdy Y'all,

Reporting from Yellowstone National Park here. Old faithful was a good 15 minutes late erupting - seems she's not as faithful as she used to be - but the old gal still put on a great show erupting for a good 5 minutes and super high (according to my scientific investigations). Driving along the park, it felt as if we were on an animal safari. Caribou, elk, bald eagle, pelicans, a grizzly bear and lots of wild bison were spotted. One bison decided he was going to lead traffic and marched right by our car... it was incredible.

A few small boardwalks brought us along hot ...

San Francisco journal: Steph and Craig's awesome travel adventures

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:46:38 GMT

Our awesome adventure begins in San Francisco... more awesome for me than Craig, since he'll be attending a conference for most of the week.

After a week in the flamboyant city, we return to Ottawa for a day to get organized and then head out for our 4 week vacation out west. We're making our way out to Victoria, dropping down to Seattle then heading home through the States. We're stopping along the way in Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, Cold Lake, Jasper, Banff, Calgary (we're in town for the Stampede!) Drumheller, Victoria, Tolfino, Seattle, Yellow Stone... I know I missed some stops. ...

Regina journal: Regina & RCMP Depot Tour! - By Craig

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:02:10 GMT

This morning we got up and took a walk into the resort town of Wasagaming inside Riding Mountain National Park. We did some emailing and blogging at an internet cafe. Steph found a coffee shop and I had a slurpee which was awesome! The greatest slushie I've ever had! We followed that up with a walk along the boardwalk of Clear Lake, which was already filled with tourists. Our walk ended up being longer then planned due to some minor difficulties relocating our campsite, but we made it!

The drive into Regina was pleasant as we explored some back prairie roads and enjoyed some really flat ...

Thunder Bay journal: Kebabeka Falls - By Craig

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:58:41 GMT

The theme of sleeping in late continued this morning, as we only woke up at 10AM. This was strange because normally while camping we wake up at the crack of dawn. I thought my watch was broken. We started off the day with a nice adventure run through the hiking trail, followed by a great breakfast at the campsite.

We hit the road at 1:30, meaning that we would probably be putting our tent up in the dark once again. The 600 and something clicks went fairly quickly, thanks to a good audio book, a moose viewing, a visit to the town of Marathon and their pebble beach and our sweet, sweet ...

Canada journal: Driving across Canada

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 17:56:02 GMT

A 12000 KM drive from Ottawa to Victoria, down to Seattle and then home through the States!

Banff journal: Golf in Banff - By Craig

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 23:24:05 GMT

This morning we slept in a bit and of course were starving by the time we got up. We went straight to Melissa’s, a local favourite breakfast spot for some grub. After that we toured around Banff a bit which was completely under construction and a total disaster. We fought our way to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and golf course, both of which were wonderful. It was blistering hot so we asked some locals where they swim. They pointed us to the “Banff Beach” which was actually a little lake with no sand and the water was 5 degrees. We took two artic dips and were cooled off.

Next it was ...

Tofino journal: Cool Drive, Hot Springs! - by Steph

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 23:09:07 GMT

Today we indulged and relaxed our muscles in the waters of Hot Spring Cove near Tofino. On our way to the little island our captain stopped for us to view whales and other sea creatures.

A board walk through a jungle of a forest (with no bugs!!!) led us to the natural spa. The water coming from the source is 50 degrees. It cools off as it flows down the rocks and mini waterfalls. We relaxed and chatted with a nice family from Barrie… we’re actually meeting a lot of people traveling from Ontario. The hot springs were amazing and definitely a highlight of our trip so far.

An updated ...

Victoria journal: Nanaimo, Victoria, and Golf - by Craig

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:54:48 GMT

Today we made our way down Van Island towards Victoria. First we hit Tim Hortons for some b-fast and the trip almost stopped right there. Someone (I won’t mention any names) forgot her purse in the place! Thank god she realized only about 10 mins down the road to Victoria, AND that some honest souls had turned it in! It contained our passports, and all of her ID, which would have made the border crossing planned for tomorrow next to impossible!! Anyway, a lucky break on that one!!!

We setup camp at the KOA just north of town. It was the earliest we’d been into a campsite so far, but of ...

Boston Bar journal: Hell's Gate! - by Craig

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:50:00 GMT

Hey everybody! The excitement continues on the west coast! Today we packed up camp in Salmon Arm and headed for the first stop, Kamloops. I’m sure Steph has already mentioned the camera incident, by which the camera was broken, so we needed to get a new one. Anyway we got a sweet new camera after a bit of shopping there, and then worked further west down the Trans-Canada. There is a new highway there now that you can take which apparently is faster … it’s called the Coquahalla (not sure on the spelling) Highway (Hwy 5) … but we opted to stay on the Trans-Canada cause it’s cooler mountain ...

Lake Louise journal: Glacier tidbits - by Steph

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:47:39 GMT

A paddle on Lake Louise gave us a awesome view we’ve seen many times in paintings and photographs, but never in real life, let alone in a canoe. The crystal blue colour the lake has is (we found this out at the Columbia Ice fields) is from rock flour. Rock flour is created by the movement of the glaciers as is grinds against the mountains. It creates this flour that eventually runs down with the melting ice and makes all the lakes and rivers in this area a cloudy crystal blue colour. Use this awesome tidbit of info at the next party you go to and see how many friends you make !)

A sad ...

Calgary journal: Calgary Stampede - By Craig

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:21:13 GMT

Wow what a day! This morning we got up and grabbed our shuttle from the campground to the Stampede. We had about an hour to roam around the lace before our first big event, the Rodeo. I particularly enjoyed watching the steer wrestling and bull riding although there were about 10 different events.

In the early evening, we checked out some other stuff like the extreme bmx racers, the giant market area and of course the slushee stand. After an official stampede corndog, it was time to find our seats for the evening show. The show starts with 9 heats of chuckwagon races, which was really ...

Jasper National Park journal: Getting our excercise in Jasper - By Steph

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:18:25 GMT

Well we got our exercise in hikes today. Our first stop was Mounth Edith Cavel. This was about an hour hike into the mountains. Midway there was a gorgeous bright aquamarine pond being fed by melting glaciers higher up the mountain. The terrain is all rock and mud, which looks pretty desolate except for around the streams where conifers, mosses and beautiful mountain flowers grow.

We had to let a papa and baby mountain goat across the road on our way to Athabasca Falls. Here we took a quick 20 minute walk along the falls and gorge. My mountain guide here says that this 23 meter waterfall ...

Cold Lake journal: Golf, Food and Oil - By Craig

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:59:49 GMT

Today was an awesome day for two reasons:1- We didn't have to drive anywhere2- We got to hangout with my buddy all day at his new home in Cold Lake

First we were spoiled with an awesome breakfast and then the three of us hit the links at nearby Grand Center Golf Club. After golf my friend took us on a cool tour of some of the local oil and gas industry where we saw lots of different stuff including Shell and Esso's separator plants. After our tour we were spoiled with another awesome meal, this time a steak dinner. At night we met up with some of my buddies friends for a campfire and ...

Cold Lake journal: From Regina to Cold Lake Alberta - by Steph

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:29:19 GMT

Today we made our way back to the RCMP training site to visit the RCMP Heritage Center. This museum was beautifully done. They brought us through the very beginning of RCMP history all the way to what the Mounted Police do today. My favourite part was the investigation exhibit where we're brought through a crime scene, identifying evidence, match up bullets to determine what gun was used, DNA sampling, foot print and finger print investigation... it was well done. They had another exhibit to explain their role in today's society all in comic book layout... it was amazing!

A record ...

Wasagaming journal: Winnipeg & Riding Mountain National Park - By Steph

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:53:38 GMT

This morning we did the usual morning routine and jumped back on the road towards Winnipeg. We got our own private tour of "The Forks" (where two major Manitoba Rivers meet - the Assinaboine and the Red River) which gave us lots of cool history facts. A driving tour downtown brought us by the new hockey arena for the Manitoba Moose (The MTS Centre) down Portage Street, and a lunch stop @ the Olive Garden (I've never been to one!). The food was great but the water tasted like swamp ... does it always taste like this??

After a yummy lunch we made our way to Riding Mountain National ...

Kenora journal: Welcome to Manitoba! By Steph

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 09:44:34 GMT

Not too much going on today. Frankly I can't wait to get to see something different than three days of Northern Ontario scenery! Beautiful, yes - but after three days it gets rather old. Bring on the prairies!!

On our way to our next campsite we made a quick stop in Atikokan, ON, a canoeing hotspot, to take a picture of what else? ... A canoe!

We followed a nasty storm cloud all the way to Falcon Lake Campground in Whiteshell Provincial Park, just inside the Manitoba border. We waited for the storm to pass under a picnic shelter and 15 minutes later with a beautiful rainbow in ...

Ottawa journal: Finally Home and some Travel Tips

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:53:15 GMT

AirCanada F@#!'s with us again. Our flight was suppose to leave at 8:10 this morning but we never boarded until 9:30... more mechanical problems. Still we're home now, tired but safe and have an afternoon to get ready for our 4 week trek out west.

San Fran traveling tips from Steph.

It's freakin' cold. Bring sweaters! Not kidding here, I didn't believe the travel books either, but it's colder than home, just because it's California, doesn't mean you'll be sweating in a tank top.

Must see: Alcatraz tour, Cruising the Castro gay tour, Fairmont Hotel, a ride on the Powel / Hyde ...

Toronto journal: Home... Almost

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:52:03 GMT

Going back home today! Or so we thought when we got up this morning. Our flight was scheduled to leave close to 2pm and we were almost 3 hours late getting into Toronto. We missed our connecting flight by 15min. AirCanada put us up at the Hilton for the night and we ordered in some pizza. POO!

San Francisco journal: Gay Tour and Sushi

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:50:17 GMT

All right! So today I got up early and took a fabulous tour of the Castro, San Fran's gay community. It was fantastic! There was so much information it's hard to remember it all, but the tour guide brought us back all the way to the gold rush days where San Fran got it's first gay roots. Being the only straight person on the tour, I was taught a lot of new things, including the gaydar... some way of telling for sure if a person is actually gay or not. I was invited to practice my gaydar for the rest of the day... I'm not very good at it - frankly being in San Fran, I just assume everyone is ...

San Francisco journal: Alcatraz and Bubba Gump

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:44:01 GMT

I'm becoming quite the city traveller! This morning I hoped on the trolly and transfered to the #30 bus to the Palace of Arts. All I can say is WOW! The most beautiful museum ever! I travelled out here not to see art, but to pay a visit to the Exploratorium - a kids science museum. It was the best science museum I've been to... not that I have that many under my belt - 3 to be exact... still I played nice and took my turn... not that I had much choice - the little buggers would jump up in front of me out of nowhere! Unfortunately I didn't make the tactile dome - it was sold out until the ...

San Francisco journal: Tea Please

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:37:37 GMT

This morning we woke up bright and early. I jumped on a bus and headed to the other end of town to visit the Japanese tea gardens. I was at the park so early that I had to dodge the sprinklers. I walked along the rose gardens and i had a quick tour of the city's botanical garden. After watching some chinese seniors practice tai chi in the park, I made my way to the tea garden. Well worth the $4 entry fee. I finished my tour with a pot of green tea and some yummy japanese snack cookies. Back downtown to meet up with Craig for lunch and then I was off on another tour. This time it was a walking ...

San Francisco journal: First day in San Fran

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 13:32:05 GMT

A well deserved sleep in was followed by a trip to the gym. Craig did some treadmill then had the suicidal idea to run the hills! No wonder he almost died, some are more than 45 degrees! I did dance aerobics and got jiggy with it !)

After an American sized lunch (we're splitting all of our meals from now on!) I dropped Craig off at his conference and then got lost in the bus system. Really this is the best way to get to know the city !) I FINALLY made it to the Hyde & Powell cable car route, which was a real roller coaster ride. A quick jump off at Lumbard Street found me at the most ...

Monterey journal: Monterey to San Fran

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:51:05 GMT

A refreshing sleep at the Quality Inn had us up early for a lovely run along the wharf where we spotted sea lions and toured the rest of downtown. We stole a few extra banana's from our continental breakfast and hit the road to Monterey. More beautiful coastal scenes followed us until we got to Big Sur State Park. We hiked along 2 of the half-dozen trails. Humongous Red Woods lined our paths. These trees have been around since dinosaur times. They are the tallest living organism in the world with the largest specimen over 3200 feet tall... well I can't actually remember how tall, but they're ...