Canada Day 2020 Goes Virtual

The 153rd anniversary of Canada, July 1st, will be quite different than other celebrations.  Due to the pandemic, virtual celebrations will be held across the country.  Some public celebrations are still scheduled at this time - please visit the official websites for any specific venue.  See websites below for some of the virtual activities taking place from coast to coast.

Canada Day, frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday", commemorates the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867.

Canada Day is very similar to the  July 4th holiday in the United States.  Most communities across the country normally host organized celebrations for Canada Day, usually outdoor public events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbecues, air and maritime shows, fireworks, and free musical concerts.

Canada Day Websites

• Official Website for Canada Day
• Canada Day at Home Calgary
• Canada Day City of Charlottetown
• Canada Day in Halifax Region
• Canada Day in Downtown Kingston
• Canada Day Celebration | Niagara Falls
• Canada Day | Ottawa Tourism
• Canada Day City of Pelham
• Canada Day Quebec
• Canada Day Vaughan
• Canada Day Victoria
• Canada Day Whiterock
• Canada Day at the Forks (Winnipeg)

We have had the pleasure of visiting several Canadian cities during our cruise vacations.  These included ports of call on multiple Alaskan cruises,  Canada and New England cruises, and even Transatlantic cruises.  One of the highlights was when we extended our Alaskan cruise with a pre-cruise exploration of the Canadian Rockies.

Have you ever ridden on a glacier?  You can while visiting the Columbia Icefield Glacier in the Canadian Rockies. Specially designed vehicles, Massive Brewster Ice Explorers, take passengers on a remarkable excursion onto the surface of the Athabasca Glacier.

Have you smelled flowers or gotten up close to thousands of unique flowers in bloom?  You can at one of Canada's botanical gardens such as the fifty acre Butchart Gardens located near Victoria, British Columbia. You'll see stunning floral show gardens and a National Historic Site of Canada.

British Columbia is known for floral gardens.  Minter Gardens, which has since closed, thrilled us with thousands of flowers and gardens.

Would you like to visit a fishing village, have some fresh lobster, or visit a lighthouse?  Nova Scotia has much to offer including the Bay of Fundy and many beaches where you can build sandcastles, fly kites, take a surf lesson, or just walk barefoot in the sand.

For the maritime lover, visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, where you can visit the Titanic ~ The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax, Nova Scotia exhibit and learn about the role the people of Halifax played that fateful day.

Would you like to walk where birds fly and squirrels hang out?  You can in Vancouver, Canada, at Capilano Suspension Bridge and Treetops Adventure.  I'm afraid of bridges, but I had a great time crossing a series of elevated suspension bridges, some reaching as high as 100 feet (30m) above the forest floor.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is one of Vancouver, British Columbia's most popular tourist attractions.  Odds are that unless you extended your cruise vacation in Vancouver, you probably didn't visit this attraction during your cruise vacation.

There is so much to see and do in Canada, I hope that you'll plan a visit in the near future and get to know more about this North American country.   We have only scratched the surface in this article.   There are other Canadian destinations featured in past blog posts and also on our Facebook Fan Page.

To help you plan your day, we are posting this early.  

To all our Canadian friends .... Happy Canada Day 2020.

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Happy Canada Day 2019

Canada Day, frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday", commemorates the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867.

Canada Day is very similar to the  July 4th holiday in the United States.  Most communities across the country will host organized celebrations for Canada Day, usually outdoor public events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbecues, air and maritime shows, fireworks, and free musical concerts.

Learn more:  Official Website for Canada Day

We have had the pleasure of visiting several Canadian cities during our cruise vacations.  These included ports of call on multiple Alaskan cruises,  Canada and New England cruises, and even Transatlantic cruises.  One of the highlights was when we extended our Alaskan cruise with a pre-cruise exploration of the Canadian Rockies.

Have you ever ridden on a glacier?  You can while visiting the Columbia Icefield Glacier in the Canadian Rockies. Specially designed vehicles, Massive Brewster Ice Explorers, take passengers on a remarkable excursion onto the surface of the Athabasca Glacier.

Have you smelled flowers or gotten up close to thousands of unique flowers in bloom?  You can at one of Canada's botanical gardens such as the fifty acre Butchart Gardens located near Victoria, British Columbia. You'll see stunning floral show gardens and a National Historic Site of Canada.

British Columbia is known for floral gardens.  Minter Gardens, which has since closed, thrilled us with thousands of flowers and gardens.

Would you like to visit a fishing village, have some fresh lobster, or visit a lighthouse?  Nova Scotia has much to offer including the Bay of Fundy and many beaches where you can build sandcastles, fly kites, take a surf lesson, or just walk barefoot in the sand.

For the maritime lover, visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, where you can visit the Titanic ~ The Unsinkable Ship and Halifax, Nova Scotia exhibit and learn about the role the people of Halifax played that fateful day.

Would you like to walk where birds fly and squirrels hang out?  You can in Vancouver, Canada, at Capilano Suspension Bridge and Treetops Adventure.  I'm afraid of bridges, but I had a great time crossing a series of elevated suspension bridges, some reaching as high as 100 feet (30m) above the forest floor.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is one of Vancouver, British Columbia's most popular tourist attractions.  Odds are that unless you extended your cruise vacation in Vancouver, you probably didn't visit this attraction during your cruise vacation.

There is so much to see and do in Canada, I hope that you'll plan a visit in the near future and get to know more about this North American country.   We have only scratched the surface in this article.   There are other Canadian destinations featured in past blog posts and also on our Facebook Fan Page.

To all our Canadian friends .... Happy Canada Day 2019.

Cruising Seattle - What Would a Foodie Do

Embarkation Seattle, Washington 

Seattle, Washington is the embarkation port for west coast cruises to destinations such as British Columbia, Oregon, California, and my favorite, Alaska.

My advice, for any cruise, is to arrive at least the day before your cruise departs to avoid stress of same day travel, and give you some time to explore the destination. Seattle's Waterfront is a great location to spend your time prior to departure. There are many hotels within walking distance to the waterfront.  You may even be able to arrange an inexpensive shuttle to the pier from your hotel.

Pictured above is Miner's Landing and the Seattle Great Wheel on Pier 57 of Seattle's Historic Waterfront.  Take a ride on the Great Wheel and see Seattle from your 8 passenger gondola.  Day or night the view is amazing.   Grab something to eat in one of the restaurants along the Waterfront or just take a leisurely stroll along the pier. 

click images to enlarge

Have You Seen Flying Fish

If not, you can in Seattle's Public Market. 

The Pike Place Fish Market, founded in 1930, is an open air fish market located in Seattle, Washington's Pike Place Market, at the corner of Pike Street and Pike Place. It is known for their tradition of fishmongers throwing fish that customers have purchased, before they are wrapped.

The store is now a popular tourist destination in Seattle, attracting up to 10,000 daily visitors, and is often billed as world-famous.  A must-see for foodies.

There's much more to see and do in Seattle.  We'll cover more about this homeport in another blog post.   This week #FoodTravelChat is talking about World Markets.   Seattle's market is world famous and worth consideration for foodies and non-foodies alike.


Additional photos can be found on our Close to Home Shutterfly page

Pike Place Market

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Wobbly Capilano Suspension Bridge

click image to enlarge

Memories of Canada 

As Canada celebrates their 150th anniversary, promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, we take a look back at some of our memorable moments from cruises and tours to Canada.

This would be an excellent time for you to visit Canada, as there will be year long celebrations throughout the land


Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city in Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. British Columbia (BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, with a population of more than four million people located between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. Once again we are highlighting one of the attractions in BC that is worth visiting.

We've visited Vancouver on many occasions, usually in conjunction with a cruise.   Alaska cruises often start or end there.  We suggest adding some extra time to your vacation, so that you can take full advantage of everything that Vancouver and surrounding area has to offer.

View the Entire Capilano Suspension Bridge Photo Album

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

The 450 ft (137m) long, 230 ft (70m) high Capilano Suspension Bridge has thrilled visitors since 1889. While the wobbly bridge and stunning location is a Vancouver landmark, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park offers an all-encompassing BC experience. One of the highlights for me was Treetops Adventure which takes guests 100 feet into the mid-story of a coastal rain-forest on seven suspension bridges attached to old-growth trees. It is accessible to guests of all ages. Nature guides provide hourly tours, explaining the importance of a West Coast temperate rain-forest to the ecosystem.  If you are afraid of height, this might not be the attraction for you.

Capilano Suspension Bridge is an attraction that was named  the 7th best attraction in Canada by USA Today.  10Best travel guide ranked the top 20 nominees, and the public decided the final 10. View the entire list here: the top ten attractions in Canada.

Do you have favorite memories from visits to Canada?  We'd love to hear about them.

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Visit to Buchart Gardens

Memories of Canada

As Canada celebrates their 150th anniversary, promoted by the Canadian government as Canada 150, we take a look back at some of our memorable moments from cruises and tours to Canada.

This would be an excellent time for you to visit Canada, as there will be year long celebrations throughout the land.

British Columbia

Our first stop on this trip down memory lane finds us in British Columbia, Canada. The capital of British Columbia remains Victoria, the fifteenth-largest metropolitan region in Canada, named for the Queen who created the original European colonies. The largest city is Vancouver, the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada, the largest in Western Canada, and the third-largest in the Pacific Northwest.

Canada in Bloom

Click to enlarge images

Over a century ago, Jennie Butchart began building what is now one of the world’s premier floral show gardens. The Butchart Gardens is a group of floral display gardens in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia, Canada, located near Victoria on Vancouver Island. The gardens receive close to a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

Just last month, Butchart Gardens was named the 8th best attraction in Canada by USA Today. USA Today’s 10Best travel guide ranked the top 20 nominees, and the public decided the final 10. View the entire list here: the top ten attractions in Canada.

We have had the good fortune of visiting The Buchart Gardens multiple times. Here is a sampling of images from our most recent visit, which was during an Alaska cruise, when we stopped in Victoria.

View Entire Album:  The Buchart Gardens

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