Our First Time Lapse: Niagara Falls, Lit Up

TRAVELS WITH KID  |  NIAGARA FALLS



We propped up our little iPhone on the window sill of our hotel around 4 pm and let it shoot periodically, using a time lapse app, until the lights went out at midnight. We ended up with 4 minutes of moving mist and colour. Looking forward to making more time lapse movies with the kid!

Chihuly Glass Garden

TRAVELS WITH KID  |  SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Spud's birthday request was to drive down to Seattle to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Sounds a little crazy but we did it! We wrapped it all up with a visit to the EMP, which was amazing, and to the Chihuly Glass Garden, which was jaw dropping, and called it an "experiential" birthday present. The cherry on the cake was going with good friends. Here's a sample of what we enjoyed at the garden.

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada and Sawfish Love

A recent trip to Toronto was mainly about being with family but we did manage to squeeze in some touristing too. The largest aquarium in Canada had opened since we last visited there and it was getting some good reviews. So Spud and I checked it out.

There are no whales or dolphins or seals; that didn't bother Spud one bit; he's more of a non-mammal guy anyway. But there was an amazingly long underwater tunnel through a 2.5 million litre tank! If you can believe it. It includes a ride on a slow moving sidewalk which is a genius method for dealing with crowds — every spot is a front row seat to beautiful vistas including colourful fish, rays, sharks, turtles and sawfish.

Spud was really excited to see the endangered green sawfish up close, in person. He's had a fascination with sawfish since his grade 2 project on endangered animals. This was his rendition of the sawfish reproductive cycle. The two in love kill me every time.

Ottawa 2013: The Museum Tour

I've been SO busy that it's taken me this long to post photos but last month the family met up with the Ontario grandparents in our nation's capital, for 9 great days. We stayed in a beautiful rental, just across the river, which meant many shared home cooked meals and much time just hanging out and visiting. 

I also worked a lot but I'm trying to forget about that. For touristy fun we hit as many museums as we could. Starting with the Royal Canadian Mint.

Wow, $750,000 worth of gold is HEAVY!

This is a really interesting tour. Worth booking ahead of time.

Then there was the Canadian War Museum on Remembrance Day. This photo goes against every peace-loving bone in my body but it's also kind of adorable. 

Best part ... the flash mob choir performance especially for November 11th.

Then there was the Aviation and Space Museum. Spud made a family connection here; his great grandpa was on the team building this plane during the WWII.

Spud also went into space.

Wow. This is Canadian.

And then there are the Parliament Buildings, of course. 

Why does my 9 year old look like he's the same height as me?

Here we are enjoying the first snow of the year.

Here's the Senate ...

And the library ...

And the view from the Peace Tower.

Feels like Hogwarts.

Other highlights include The National Gallery.

The telephone poles outside the gallery are adorned with the entrance stickers you get when you pay to get in. An art installation in the making.

The Museum of Civilization has been on my list since it opened in the 80s. Naturally this was a big tick. Every province and territory is covered and here are some stunners representing our home province ... two Bill Reid sculptures ...

... oh and happy-cute grandparent alert ...

The kids section was fantastic too.

And one of my tops was the Nature Museum. We don't seem to have any photos of that. But that one is at the top of my list for a re-visit if/when we find ourselves back in Ottawa.

Photo Credits: Ed Boucher, Adrian Mandy and myself.

Summer Fun Passport: Hike With Friends

TRAIN WRECK TRAIL   |   WHISTLER, BC

And a couple of Instagram videos ...


Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Oregon Road Trip with Friends!

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Summer Fun Passport: Summer Night Markets

Another tick ... Summer Night Markets! Love them. And we are blessed to have 3 of them! We hit the Richmond Night Market for the first time this year. Love the larger than life, loud, crazy-busy nature of it all. Food stalls stretch as far as the eye can see offering all sorts of tasty morsels. If you are ever in the area make sure you bring cash, an empty stomach, and a sense of adventure.

We also checked out the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market this year which we've done a few times in previous years. It's closer to home but a fraction of the size, making it less likely you'll get jostled in a crush of people yet still offering a modest array of yummy Asian street food and shopping stalls.

The third market, which we've been to several times, is the International Summer Market, also in Richmond and voted by the BBC: Travel as one of the world's top night markets!

Here's our full Summer Fun Passport List for 2013 and our passport we made to keep track of everything we accomplish this summer!

Spud's London: 13 Favourite Things

Well, it's been over a year now since we visited London. And we miss it a lot. Here, in no particular order, are Spud's most missed spots:

· Hamley's Toy Shop: The 250 year old, multiple floor toy store was an obvious favourite. Spud found his treasured toy Tube trains there.

· Tower Bridge — where Spud got a tick on his life list, which was a 2-parter it turns out.

· The Tower of London — where spotting royalty was but one reason it left a lasting impression.

· The Tube — a true obsession.

· Big Ben. Although the first thing he said when he saw it in person was "It's not as big as I thought it would be". We have since learned though, that it is the 3rd tallest free-standing clock in the world and over 150 years old.

· The British Museum. Ancient Egypt and Greece. The Rosetta Stone. Clock, clocks, and more clocks. And a jaw dropping space.

· Harry Potter Studio Tour

· The London Eye

· Science Museum — Points to those who know what this is ...

· Bet you can't guess Spud's favourite part of the Tate Modern

· The Playground we stumbled across on our way to the Tower of London

· V & A

· And then there was that little kids Bookstore that someone directed us to ... a skinny shop ... with a few floors. No idea where it was now or what it was called. We enjoyed at least an hour there, browsing and picking out a few to take home. Not sure if it's on this list but we will take it with if we go again, it looks like a good one.

For all our London posts, click here.

Photo Friday: Spud's Obsession — The Tube

LONDON   |   TRAVELS WITH KID

Our dear boy was literally obsessed with the Tube while in London. Within in a day of arriving he was our self-appointed tourist navigation coordinator.

And a credit to the Tube system and its wayfinding signage; an 8 year old can get around this city with little or no help. Even I could manage it in a pinch!

It took a little while before we realized that Spud had an agenda: to ride every line at least once before our 11 days in the city were up. Sometimes, as you can imagine, that meant taking some pretty creative routes ... that could take a very long time! But we did it. We hit every line.

We got pretty good at it but sometimes our timing was terrible ... here the after work rush was lined up out into the street! That's when it's time to find a cafe (or pub!) to wait it out. And we did.

Sometimes it's more fun to play with your own Tube train.

Especially at the Tate Modern, as it turns out.

>>Thanks to Delicious Baby for hosting Photo Friday ... check it out for loads of family-friendly travel fun.