trips

cross-country skiing

The extremely cold weather has been on a roll lately… our area became the coldest place on Earth in early February. I’m hopeful that the cold snap will end soon… as my series of winter activities posts is coming to an end (for now). 😉 After talking about my amusing experience with snowboarding, skating, winter hiking, and downhill skiing, let’s move on to cross-country skiing.

Growing up in a country that only has rainy and dry season – both of which are hot compared to the freezing weather in Canada – I have very little concept of winter activities, especially cross-country skiing. For all I know, it’s skiing all over the country… literally! 😐 😬

One weekend, Jellybean and I drove to Lost Creek Resort at Prince Albert National Park for me to have a first hand experience on cross-country skiing on groomed trails. To put it simply, imagine a train going along a set of railway tracks… it’s similar to that idea. Cross-country skiing on groomed trails is like skiing on a “railway” track.

I found it restricting at first because it’s not free-flowing like downhill skiing is, you have to stay within the constraints of the track to ski smoothly. It’s important to have enough momentum to make it up the hill and not slide back down. Otherwise, you have to walk funny going up the slope… either walking sideways or “skating” with the skis in a V-shape (similar to reversed pizza move in downhill skiing). It’s just tiny a hill though so there’s no need for a conveyor that would take you up the hill like in downhill skiing.

So far, I still prefer downhill skiing over snowboarding or cross-country skiing. Hmmmm…. What winter activity should I try next? 😊

downhill skiing

We’ve had a lot of bitter cold weather recently (-43 degrees Celsius! 😲) and it’s been getting me down… it’s too cold to go for a walk outside and just thinking of winter activities makes me want to hibernate. 😖 The only winter “activity” I’ll be doing for now is sipping a hot cup of milk tea and watching the snowflakes lazily fall outside. ❄️

Hmmm… Reminiscing the winter activities that I’ve experienced is also another option. So far, I’ve experienced snowboarding, skating, and winter hiking. As I was going through old files, I happened to come across my downhill and cross-country skiing photos.

I had the opportunity to try downhill skiing on a company trip to Table Mountain several years ago. I decided to skip the skiing lesson this time since my snowboarding lesson on a previous trip didn’t go that well; I’m a visual learner, their instructions don’t really help me.

I struggled a bit (Jellybean was no help from his snowboard 😝) and Allan — one of the company executives — noticed and gave me a very helpful tip… that is to remember the “pizza” and “fries” moves. The “pizza” move is used to slow down or stop like an amber or red traffic light. It’s mostly called pizza because the ski position looks like a slice of pizza. While the “fries” move represents green light… green means go… go…go! 🤣 The ski are parallel to each other and looks like fries. 😝

On the bunny hill where the beginners flock together, there’s a conveyor that takes you to the top; on the big hill, they use a chairlift to reach the top. Since I’m a complete newbie, I stayed on the bunny hill.

Going down the bunny hill was a bit nerve wracking at first but the thrill kept me going. My confidence slowly built up as I climbed up and glided down the hill a number of times. Though, still not confident enough to try the big hill as I was still mostly using the ever trusty “pizza” move. 😳

To my surprise, I enjoyed skiing more than snowboarding. I find snowboarding stressful while skiing is more relaxing. It’s probably because I was skiing on a little hill with a “safe” slope. The next step is to join the big kids on the big hill and then aim to sail down the scary slopes of Sunshine Village someday… Fat chance! 🤣

Stay tuned for the next post on cross-country skiing… ✌

Banff in Winter

With the weather hitting minus 40 degrees Celsius last week, it inspired me to write about our winter adventure in Banff a few years ago.

Around February 2016, my husband and I met up and spent time with friends in Banff National Park, Alberta. The magnificent Rocky Mountain view, beautiful slopes covered with fluffy snow and serene atmosphere made the trip very relaxing and provided an avenue for us to decompress and catch up.

Here are some of the stunning snapshots courtesy of Mike and Shara:

Gondola ride on the way to Sunshine Village

The highlight of the trip? Winter hiking in Johnston Canyon…more details on the next post. 😀

Boston

Shara, Juvy, Fritchie and I have talked about travelling together so many times but it has never materialized. One lazy weekend… we were chatting about needing a short break to recharge and before you know it we agreed to meet up in Boston in two weeks time! Woot!

It happened so fast that we were scrambling to find cheap flights… a nearly impossible feat! If it weren’t for Aeroplan points, I wouldn’t even have made it. However it wasn’t only flights that were expensive… everything in Boston was!

Thankfully, a generously awesome goddess (code name: Atlantis) covered the hotel bill and two angels named Richard and Julia lovingly prepared and packed a delicious home cooked meal for us. Salamat po (Thank you)! 🙂

What I love most about Boston is the European feel, magnificent tourist spots, awesome food choices (love the Boston cream pie!), and most of all, the superb and friendly Lift drivers.

Would I like to go back? Absolutely! I want to complete the exploration of the freedom trail, take a more detailed tour in Harvard and probably, join the 5K Boston marathon. 🙂

Check out the highlights of our trip:

Hotel Marlowe

chillaxin’	watcha doin? 🙂
lobby	Mickey Mouse Pajama Party!

Cruise

Harvard (my dream school…)

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) / Kendall Square
My curiosity heightened about MIT when I started watching The Big Bang Theory. 🙂

Downtown



Ralph Lauren shop	Newbury

Lobster Attack!


more vinegar please! 😀

Budding Photographer Mode (My Best Shots!)

The Next Top Mowdelz… (promising right? 😉 )

It’s probably the only vacation that I’ve ever taken that I hardly contributed to the planning of the itinerary. Come to think of it, I didn’t even book my own flight this time. Thanks S, J and F… especially to G and K! You all rock!

Next trip, I’ll borrow the scissor for Fritchie. Promise. 😀 Kitakitz (See you)!

Montreal

Montreal is dubbed as the sin city of Canada and the largest city in the province of Quebec. It is said to be the second-largest in Canada and the 8th-largest in North America. There’s so much to see and do in Montreal… it would probably take a month or so!

Little did I know that I would be in for a challenge when my Popster friend, Mydzz, and I decided to go to Montreal via train (VIA Rail) last October 9th, 2012. Thanks to Google, Mydzz found the a number of popular places in Montreal to visit in our 4-hour time frame.

As expected, we had several bloopers during our trip…

1. Confused!
We nearly got off at the Dorval station, one stop away from Montreal, because we got confused with the announcement for the next stop.

2. Photo oppsie!
I was taking my photo (a.k.a. “selfie”) with the Notre-Dame Basilica in the background when a guy across the street offered to take my photo. His shouting was so loud and animated that I ended up being the center of (unwanted) attention. OMG! Mydzz laughingly walked away and pretended not to know me. O_O

It’s a good shot though…. 😀 Hmmm… better than my “selfie” on the right… Don’t ya think?

3. Train seats mixed up.
We were finally settled in our designated seats when the VIA Rail officer asked us to move. Our fellow passengers told us that there was a glitch in the online booking system that mixed up the seating arrangements.

4. So French!
The VIA rail employees were talking to us in French while directing us what car to take. All we could do was to smile and say thank you. “Car 4” was the magic word that we needed to hear to put together all the things they were saying.

5. So lost!
Our million dollar smiles opened the hearts of strangers, happily chatting with us and helping us find the best views in the city.

Below are some of our snapshots:

Notre Dame

Surprisingly, we covered several tourist spots in 3-4 hours with no tour guide. Ha! We spent an hour having lunch in a Chinese buffet… we pigged out at the Jade Restaurant! :p

The trip to Montreal proved to be enjoyable after all. Until next time! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwa!

Washington DC

According to Wikipedia, Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, “the District”, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. As permitted by the U.S. Constitution, the District is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and is therefore not a part of any U.S. state.

I gather you already know that. Silly me. 😀

I was in Virginia visiting my relatives when my cousin Vilmor suggested that we should go to Washington DC over the weekend. Seeing the famous White House and exploring the capital of the United States pumped me up to the highest level!

Ready for cool snapshots? See below:

Museum

long lost twin sister!	cave-like wall with interesting artwork
pleased to meet you.. 🙂	elephant in the museum ?!?

United States Department of the Treasury

US Treasury Department - WashingtonDC-US 2012 - 071

The White House
(Click here to read what happened as we were driving around the White House -> “bullet holes”)

Random Photos

“The voice of reason is more to be regarded than the bent of any present inclination.”	U.S. Capitol (?)
Washington Monument

The trip to Washington DC was unexpectedly enjoyable and memorable. I certainly hope that I’ll be able to have a quick tour of the White House someday… Maybe on another visit? 🙂

Ta ta for now! 😀

Virginia Getaway

As promised, here’s the continuation of my Virginia getaway…
(Lost? Click here to read the related blog entry – Oh Virginia!)

Ever heard of a landfill site (a.k.a. waste/ garbage dump) being reused and converted into a park? That’s Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia! Can you believe that? Hmmm…. I wonder if that can be adapted in the Philippines… Transforming Smokey Mountain into a park or some sort of tourist attraction… Knock knock PNoy… Watcha think? 😉

Moving on, let’s have a quick tour on some of the tourist spots in Virginia :

Mount Trashmore Park
*** Whoever thought of converting this landfill site into a park was a genius!

Virginia Beach Christmas Lights
*** I had a grand time looking at the Christmas lights. It made me feel right at home… if you didn’t know, Filipinos have a thing for Christmas lights.

it would be great if I have a car like this. 😀
it looked like a sinking ship…

Nauticus
*** It’s an excellent place to de-stress and chillax… So peaceful…




awkwardly copying the mermaid’s pose….

I was extremely delighted to visit these wonderful places. Hmmm…. Where to next? 😉

P.S.
To my relatives (Ate Pat & family, Auntie Sion, Kuya Freddie, Vilmor, Raymond, and Reichelle) in Virginia, thank you so much for the warm hospitality!

Oh Virginia!

Did you know that one of Virginia’s nicknames is “Mother of Presidents”? It’s after the eight United States of America (U.S.A.) presidents who were born there, namely: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson. 😉 Thanks Wikipedia! Click this link for more interesting facts about Virginia.

In my opinion, that’s what makes Virginia one of the most special among the 50 states. It’s absolutely impressive! I was fortunate to spend Christmas with my relatives in Virginia and visit some magnificent tourist spots. You bet! Thanks to air miles for the free airfare. Woot!

Check out our sweet photos below:

Vilmor’s (my other cousin) New House
*** He was in the process of closing his house purchase when I was there for a visit.

Buffet Time!
*** Raiding Uptown Buffet and Hibachi Grill… I may be tiny but I eat like a monster… >=D

Christmas 2012
*** I lost interest in celebrating Christmas ever since my Mom passed away when I was 13 years old. After migrating to this side of the world and spending my first Christmas here alone, I started to long for a Filipino Christmas… my holiday in Virginia filled that void and rekindled my excitement for Christmas!

Ate Pat’s lovely house

Ate Pat & TheCuriousMe

Oh Virginia… Stay put, I will surely be back sometime. 🙂 More captivating pictures coming up!

P.S.
Meeting Ate Pat was one of the highlights of my U.S.A. trip, she’s the only cousin on my father’s side that I have never met… or maybe I was just too young to remember. I’m glad that I was able to spend some quality time with her and strengthen our relationship as cousins. It’s both heartwarming and overwhelming. 😀

table mountain

One Winter weekend in 2013, the VendAsta troupe embarked on another exciting trip to unwind and make the most of the weather. 🙂 The continuous banter and laughter kept our minds off the hour and a half drive to Table Mountain aboard our chartered bus.

Some opted to ski and… I decided to take snowboarding lessons with some of the other VendAsta peepz… (click here to check out how the lessons went… it’s sooooo…. :p).

Jeff & Violet… getting ready to ski!	Scott & Dan want to snowboard!
Bella & Jack… on top of Table mountain… TheCuriousMe is soo jealous…	Aussie Alan and TheCuriousMe… nervously waiting for our snowboarding lesson

After a very eventful day, all of us met up in the chalet for a chillaxin’ moment with the VendAsta bear before going back to Toon City. See below for the snapshots:

Until next adventure… I’m lovin’ Winter! Woot! 😉
(Except in -45 to -50 degrees Celsius weather… 😦 )

New York Tour continues! (2 of 2)

The small town girl’s tour of New York continues! Travelling for free is absolutely unimaginable… It’s surreal! Whoa! Thank you so much to my sponsors… 😉

Lost? Below are the related blog entries’ links that will help you keep on track… Read on! Errr… Click on? :p

New York

New York Tour (1 of 2)

The 2-day trip felt like it lasted for ages! Our itinerary was jam-packed with activities! Thank goodness for our angels, Kuya Romeo and his buddy, for driving us around. It definitely helped us save time and visit more places. Salamat po (Thank you)! 🙂

Here’s the second batch of New York fun times… “picture posein'” as Justin Merkin calls it.. 🙂 :

Rockefeller Center
*** It was drizzling… and… it was raining men?! 😀

Manhattan
*** All I know is, there’s an upper and lower east side of Manhattan. No matter what side we were in… the touch of class and sophistication makes this place exceptional. I’m lovin’ it!

Wall Street … Broadway… etc…
*** Gotta watch Wolf of Wall Street sometime… Money… money… money…. and a bull?

Staten Island Ferry
*** Taking a breather before going to our next destination! 😀

Statue of Liberty (within the vicinity…)
*** The Statue of Liberty was under construction at that time thanks to Hurricane Sandy. Too bad… so sad… Oh well… there’s always a next time! 🙂

so far… yet so near…

	sneaking up on the NYPD (again..)

Seaport / Pier 17
*** Surprisingly, this is a cool place to check out. Very interesting!

Larchmont
*** Staying overnight in Gladys’ condo was a treat! It has that “homey” ambiance which made us feel at ease and comfortable. It must be the paintings and the couch. Hmmm…. 😀

Of course, the trip will never be complete without going to Chinatown to buy souvenirs at a reasonable price… I must say, an all expense-paid trip to New York is certainly one of the best Christmas gifts that I’ve ever received! Thanks much! XOXO

New York Tour! (1 of 2)

Click here for a preview -> “New York”

To be clear, this happened in 2012…
Thus, expect that there are a lot of changes back then and now…
I know…I know… As usual, my post is late. :p

Anyway, watching Broadway shows and a taste of New York night out were scrapped from our list because we ran out of time. 😦 Who knows? I might be back someday… Hopefully, an angel will help me travel for free again. 😀

Ok… I’ll stop rambling now… Here’s the much awaited snapshots of a small town girl’s tour of New York!

Ground Zero – 911
*** It gave me goosebumps! I can still recall the 911 tragedy.:(

Central Park
*** It certainly looked similar to the “Central Park” in the movie, Madagascar 3! 😀 Hmmm… Am I imagining things? Ha!

Madison Square Garden
*** Filipinos may be small but we are uber-basketball enthusiasts!

Grand Central Station
*** The place itself reminds me of the television show, Gossip Girl… Howdy! Blair and Serena… XOXO

Empire State Building
*** It was crowded even though the deck was closed because of the thick fog. OMG!

That’s it for now folks! Coming soon… more photos and adventures! Up next will be “New York Tour! (2 of 2)”! Have a chillaxin’ weekend everyone! 🙂

New York!

After the road trip to Washington DC (click this link to read related article -> “bullet holes”), my cousins (Vilmor and Freddie) and I decided to embark on another adventure… this time to New York!

misc-StatueofLiberty--3US 2012 - 598 — Statue of Liberty from afar

Who wouldn’t want to go to New York? Come on! The Statue of Liberty and “the Big Apple” with sky high buildings are such a “wow” for a naive small town girl like me. :p

You betcha! With our backpack in tow, we all boarded a bus from Virginia (Va) to New York (NY). The 6-hour travel was a breeze because it was utilized for snoozing. Zzzzzzz…

Kuya Romeo, one of our relatives who lives in Manhattan, kindly picked us up from the bus drop-off point near Chinatown. He drove us to Manhattan and bought us a fancy breakfast before doing “touristy” things. 🙂

breaky!	with Kuya Romeo
my turn! 😦
NYC cab	NYPD
Seaport	balls! (near Wall Street)
	Japanese Buffet
with Gladys

So… what else did we do in New York? Check it out on my next post (New York Tour! (1 of 2))!

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P.S. TheCuriousMe would like to thank the following for making this trip possible:

Vilmor and Freddie for covering my return ticket (Va to NY and NY to Va) and some foodies
Ate Cel for coordinating with Kuya Romeo and Gladys
Gladys (and Rhyan!)for the accommodation
Kuya Romeo for patiently driving us around, buying our breakfast and supper, and for providing us a tour guide

Thank you so much for your valuable time and for making the trip to New York memorable as well as free of charge! I’m one lucky girl! 😀 XOXO
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Lake Louise

On our way to Lake Louise, I saw some sceneries that reminded me of the Drielandepunt in Netherlands. Drielandepunt is where the boundaries of Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands meet.

In Lake Louise, the view is absolutely breathtaking! Glaciers on the mountain make the panorama picturesque. A truly sight to behold!

nice background ey? LOL — nice background 🙂

After an hour or so, we headed back to downtown and searched for the Devounian Garden. Unfortunately, it was already closed. Chinatown was the other option, however, the shops are also closed.

We all decided to go to the mall to grab a bite and walk around a bit. When we are about to go home, we bumped into James classmate and best friend, Jedd. The two six-year-old kids run towards each other with open arms then stopped abruptly. 😀 That surely elicited laughter from all of us.

We all thought they’re going to hug like they haven’t seen each other for a million years. The truth is, they just saw each other few days ago.

It’s a good way to end the day… Gotta snooze now. Another exciting day tomorrow. Mwwwwwwa!

British Columbia

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Click below to read related articles:
Ontario

Alberta

Banff & LakeLouise	Calgary Zoo	Pacific Place
Crosslink	road trip finale

Saskatchewan

snow	summer party	winter party	“warm” weather
the berry barn	airshow 2011	folkfest	single ladies
mineral spa	danceland	flea market	big fat ass
luau?	beach(?)	tent	camping
MoSo	barcamp

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British Columbia (B.C.), Canada is definitely my next target after enjoying the tourist spots of Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. I was planning to travel last June 2012 but for some reason, it got pushed back from my bucket list.

Later on, my cousin, Jaime (a.k.a. Chancee), informed me that he’s flying to Winnipeg for a study tour and asked me if it’s possible for us to meet up. We both agreed to see each other in Vancouver and stay in one of our relatives place whom I haven’t met.

I was so pumped! I’ll be hitting four birds with one stone! Err… it would also be cute to say, with one airfare. Well, it’s surely worth it. I’ll be able to:
*** Chat with my cousin
*** Meet & bond with my new-found relatives
*** Take a well-deserved holiday
*** “Get to know” British Columbia

Indeed, God is good. Through His “magical hands”, the wonderful trip took place and it certainly paved the way to connect some of the missing links of my life.

So, what happened during the trip? Hmmm… I’ll let you know in a bit. :p

camping

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Click the links below to read the related articles:
luau? tent beach(?)

Also, click here to check out the “Behind the Scenes at VendAsta” video 🙂
It’s definitely a must see video! I guarantee, you will have a good laugh! 😀
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I’ve never experienced camping in this side of the world, hence, I was really looking forward to the first ever company camping at the Palliser Park Marina. Impediments such as upset tummy, last-minute change of transportation arrangements, lack of camping gears, and among other things did not stop TheCuriousMe from joining the said activity.

Initially, I requested to car pool with YW but something unexpected happened so I had to ask P and N for a ride. Thanks for making me feel welcome P and N!

The “shortcut” to our destination was to cross the Lake Diefenbaker via ferry. The ferry ride was awesome! I admit, it’s also my first time to board a ferry while inside the car. :p

IMG_20120817_161343 — waiting for the ferry

The social committee agreed to designate the meal preparation to each team. For the booze and pop, everyone were encouraged to bring their favorites.

TP,TheCuriousMe,&Bryce
breakfast	lunch
most anticipated supper

Overall, we had a great time! A good bonfire, colorful fireworks, interesting (!) chitchat, relaxing music, endless supply of food and booze, crazy antics, and hilarious moments. 😀

“lil execs” meeting	badminton
TheCuriousMe with Julia Roberts younger version	“i have big head and little arms”

German S’mores	American turned Canadian S’mores

The camping activity indeed helped us bond, get to know each other on a more personal level and bring to light everyone’s quirks. It was an absolutely amazing discovery! I’m glad I joined.

Famous word of the entire weekend: Positivity!

P.S.
S’mores are so tasty! Right Alan? 🙂