Canada Day : What's it all about?

Being an American, I know what the Fourth of July is all about.

But every year, there it is on my calendar: July 1, Canada Day (Canada).

What's the scoop on this holiday, anyway?

I went straight to Wikipedia, which has a lot of information about the holiday.

I also checked out the Canadian Heritage website:

On June 20, 1868, a proclamation signed by the Governor General, Lord Monck, called upon all Her Majesty's loving subjects throughout Canada to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the union of the British North America provinces in a federation under the name of Canada on July 1st.The July 1 holiday was established by statute in 1879, under the name Dominion Day.

O Canada!

The Canadian flag at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort, BC
Photo by Sue Frause

Are we really penny pinchers in the US?

I had to laugh at a headline in a recent Globe and Mail article about Canadians traveling in Canada:

My American bargain: Tour Canada like a penny-pinching U.S. visitor

Adam Bisby's feature has some good tips, including how to book like an American, along with other inside info on how to get good deals.

You can read the article by clicking here.

As far as being penny pinchers, Canadians have the same reputation down here.

Mostly, they're known as poor tippers.

We're even!

Mustang and a caleche in Vieux Montreal
Photo by Sue Frause

CD celebrates 400 years of Quebec City

In honor of Quebec City's 400th anniversary, a new CD issued by Putumayo World Music titled Quebec was produced as "a celebration of the rich musical diversity of this fascinating French Canadian province."

A friend from Montreal recently gave me the CD and it's lovely -- just like Quebec City.

Sadly, I won't be attending any of the 400th anniversary festivities in Quebec City, which you can read about on a special website.

I'll just sit back with a tall glass of pink lemonaide and listen to the following artists who are featured on the Quebec CD:

Mathieu Mathieu, DobaCaracol, Martin Leon, Annie Villeneuve, Chloe Sainte-Marie, Florent Vallant, Marie-Annick Lepine, Mureille Bedard, Polemil Bazar, La Bottine Souriante, Le Vent Du Nord.

Even their names are lovely.

Viva Quebec City!

Photo by Sue Frause

Canadian gas prices hit record high

Fill-up prices hit new record across Canada

The average price of gasoline in Canada rose 2.3 cents a litre over the last week, putting it at a new record of $1.384 a litre, a petroleum industry research group said Tuesday.

In Calgary, the average price was up 0.1 of a cent to $1.305 per litre, MJ Ervin & Associates said in its weekly pump-price survey.

To read the rest of the story in the Calgary Herald, click here.

Gas station on Whidbey Island, Washington
Photo by Sue Frause

Millionth guest on Rocky Mountaineer

Earlier this month, a Wisconsin couple was honored as Rocky Mountaineer Vacations' One Millionth Guest. Mark and Catherine Casper of Superior, Wisconsin were awarded with prizes valued at more than $9,000 US.

The couple received a Classic Rail Vacation package for two aboard the Rocky Mountaineer in GoldLeaf Service including deluxe accommodations, return airfare from Wisconsin, a $600 Farimont Hotels & Resorts gift card, upgrades to deluxe accommodations and limousine transfers. Tourism Kamloops provided a package that includes return airfare from Vancouver to Kamloops, a three-day car rental and overnight stays at luxury properties in the Kamloops region.

Photos and video of the One Millionth Guest are available online.

Rocky Mountaineer Vacations has four rail routes through BC and Alberta. I've taken the two-day, all daylight rail trip aboard the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Calgary twice: once in summer and the other time in winter. It is spectacular. They also have trips on the Whistler Mountaineer train from North Vancouver to Whistler. It's a scenic three-hour trip, with breakfast served in the morning on the way to Whistler and afternoon tea on the return trip.

Rocky Mountaineer station in Vancouver, BC
Photo by Sue Frause

Special Centennial Tea at Fairmont Empress

The Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria continues its centennial celebration this year with special packages and lots of new looks for Victoria's grand dame.

A special Centennial Tea will be served at 12:30 PM and 3 PM and begins with a flute of Mumm's Cordon Rouge Champagne Brut, which was used to toast the opening of the Fairmont Empress in 1908.

Executive Chef Takashi Ito and Pastry Chef D'Oyen Christie have created a special menu which includes such gourmet finger sandwiches as Dungeness crab salad with lime vinaigrette and smoked salmon on a toasted dill brioche; organic curry chicken with mango on dark rye bread; duck confit, poached pear on a toasted filone baguette; local tomato, buffalo mozzarella, cucumber and tarragon dressing on multi grain bread. Warmed scones are served two ways, along with a variety of French pastries and sweets.

And of course, tea! The elegant tea is finished off with a glass of Lustau Dry Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry, hand rolled chocolate truffles, a complimentary tin of Empress Centennial Blend and the Centennial Afternoon Tea menu to take home.

Price of the Centennial Tea is $100.

The hotel's traditional Afternoon Tea will continue to be served ($49-$60)also.

Other specials/highlights include:

· A Breakfast in Bed with Royal Tea package for$269 that includes one night's accommodation, breakfast for two, tea for two and a copy of the updated The Empress of Victoria coffee table book.
· Over $1 million invested in refurbishing the famous tea lobby floors as well as the Crystal Ballroom.
· A centennial garden will be unveiled this summer.
· A Fit for a Queen facial or a 60-minute Scentry Experience for $100 per person at the Fairmont Empress' Willow Stream Spa.
· The Fairmont Store is featuring The Royal China, an exquisite pattern that made its debut in 1939 when King George and Queen Elizabeth dined in The Empress Room. It was hidden away until 1951 when it was used during Queen Elizabeth's visit. Years later, it was discovered locally in an antique store and recreated for the hotel and re-launched in 1998. This is the first time it has been offered for sale to the public.
· The Palm Court's famous dome – which was lost for years after it collapsed under the weight of snow during a freak storm - has been recreated in a commemorative bowl. The dome was rebuilt during the hotel's renovation in 1989.
· The hotel's exterior will be lit up to highlight the architecture of the Francis Rattenbury-designed building.

The Fairmont Empress Hotel reigns over Victoria's Inner Harbour
Photo by Sue Frause

Tall Ships return to Victoria

The 2008 Tall Ships Festival is docking at Victoria's historic Inner Harbour this week. Kicking it off on Thursday, June 26 is the Parade of Sail, with more than two dozen of the world's finest Tall Ships gathering under sail off Victoria and parading into the festival docks.

The star of the show will undoubtedly be the HMS Bounty. Famous for her role alongside Marlon Brando in the film Mutiny on the Bounty, she hasn't made an appearance in BC in nearly two decades.

Also sailing to Victoria is Nina, a replica of Christopher Columbus' 15th century vessel during his historic voyage of discovery in 1492. It's said to be the captain's favorite ship, and she not only weathered a hurricane during the voyage but was involved with a clash of pirates off the coast of Italy.

Other ships include the brig Lady Washington, featured in Pirates of the Caribbean; HMCS Oriole, the oldest ship in the Canadian Navy; and Hawaiian Chieftain, a replica of a 19th century European merchant trader.

Victoria is the first port of call and the only Canadian venue during the 2008 Tall Ships Challenge, a series of races along the west coast of Canada and the US.

The four-day festival includes ship tours, a pirate school, sail training activities, music, art, maritime displays, model boat building and nightly mock cannon battles.

Go to the Tall Ships website for more details and ticket information.

Amazing Grace under sail near Gig Harbor, Washington
Photo by Sue Frause

A Quebec seafood lovers' website

One of my favorite places in Canada is Le Quebec Maritime.

They've always had a good website, but now there's a seafood "micro website" as part of their tourism package.

Check it out.

Then head for Bas-Saint Laurent, Gaspesie, Cote-Nord and Iles de la Madeleine.

You can even enter a contest and win a trip for two.

Quebec Lighthouse Trail on the Gaspe Peninsula
Photo by Sue Frause

Planes/Trains/Ferries : Goin' Home

I rode this tiny ferry in Victoria.


It's 45 minutes on Kenmore Air to Seattle's Lake Union.


South Whidbey with the Cascades in the background.


The Seattle skyline is ever changing.


Appetizers al fresco awaited me in Langley.


It was a fun getaway, but nice to be home. Cheers!

Photos by Sue Frause

Trains/Planes/Ferries : Victoria

Via Rail Canada arrives in Courtenay from Victoria.

Victoria Harbour from aboard the train.

How fun to run into the fine folks of Tourism Victoria!

Room with a view, #1002, The Oswego Hotel.

Photos by Sue Frause

Trains/Planes/Ferries : Vancouver Island

I took the bus from Vancouver International Airport to Victoria. The cost is $45.50 one-way, including the 90-minute ferry ride. Slick!


Aboard BC Ferries from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay.


I spent the night in Victoria. Not here at the BC Parliament Buildings, but at the always lovely Fairholme Manor.


Great scenery aboard Via Rail Canada's train to Courtenay.


There's nothing fancy about Via Rail's train. Bring snacks/water, as there is no food service on the Victoria-Courtenay route.


Parksville is one of the stops on the route.


There's plenty of greenery on the five-hour journey.


The train is only 15 minutes late when it arrives in Courtenay.


My room at the Old House Village Suites & Hotel in Courtenay.


Photos by Sue Frause

BC's Skookumchuck : Mission Possible!

Chelsea Ruben points out the area of our hike.

Our mission, if we accepted it, was to go for a leisurely 45-minute hike through the woods in Skookumchuck Narrows Provincial Park.

At trail's end and from the water's edge, we'd board a boat and experience the Skookumchuck Narrows.

We're on!


"I love to go a wandering along the Skookum track ... "


Moss grows nicely on the park's Big Leaf Maples.


A view from the trail down to a quiet cove.


Kevin "James Bond" Toth will transport us to a bigger boat to experience the rapids. In real life, Kevin is co-owner of Rockwater Secret Cove Resort in nearby Halfmoon Bay.

Boarding the boat from the beach was a slippery affair.

Kevin negotiates the small craft with ease.

M.V. Topline, built in Pender Harbour, awaits our group to board.

The rest of our group prepares to come aboard.

Topline's Captain Bryce Christie of Sunshine Coast Tours.

The moody scenery of the Agamemnon Channel.


One of the BC Ferries en route to Earls Cove.

A view from the back (stern) of Topline as we approach Pender Harbour.

"The plane! "The plane!" that will return us to Vancouver.

I think they want boats to go SLOW.

Our float plane lands at Pender Harbour.

This is Cinda Chavich, all smiles aboard Tofino Air.

Rockwater Secret Cove Resort from on high.

Travel journalists Debra Cummings, Sue Frause, Michael McCarthy, Cinda Chavich, Janet Gyenes, Sonya Eskoy (media coordinator) and Darcy Gaugler. Photo by our Tofino Air pilot.

Photos by Sue Frause

BC's Sunshine Coast Shines

Rockwater Secret Cove Resort in Halfmoon Bay


My stay at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort is coming to an end. It's been a fun, fun three days.

We've done it all : kayaking, sailing, wining, dining and spa-ing.

It's a great spot for a getaway and I'll be back soon!

Later today I'll continue my carless Planes, Trains and Ferries journey as I take the bus and ferry to Victoria from Vancouver.



Nigel transports the day sailors from Rockwater.


"Put your left foot here, put your right foot..."


Debra, Janet, Sue and Cinda on board.


It turned out to be a great day for sailing.


Co-captain Chelsea is also a marine biologist.


Co-captain Nigel is a good guy to have on board.


Even with clouds, the Sunshine Coast is beautiful.


Our "campsites" from the water -- tres chic!


An aerial view of one of the 13 "tentalows."

All photos by Sue Frause