A Visit to Vermont

I recently went on a road trip with some girlfriends to Burlington, Vermont. It started out a bit dicey with downpours of torrential rains and wind for most of the drive. But as we made our way across New York State the clouds finally began to break and we arrived safely in Colchester, Vermont. We visited the friend of a friend and now she is a new friend, funny how that works. This woman has a lovely camp on Lake Champlain where we experienced three fun filled days full of shopping, hiking and good times. Here are a few pics of the glorious outdoors.

We went for a terrific hike at Shelburne Farms, a 1400 acre working farm, framed by Lake Champlain. It was established in 1886 as the agricultural estate of William Seward and Lila Vanderbilt Webb. The relaxing and rejuvinating feeling of the property was intentional. Frederick Law Olmstead, the father of landscape architechture, guided the design of Shelburne Farms to refresh and relax the mind and spirit. The landscape is a beautiful canvas for the mind. Every mile is as beautiful as the next. The farm contains a gorgeous working barn, the summer home which is now an inn, a working dairy and a coach house.

Summer Days

This summer I have been fortunate to visit many great Ontario summer spots. This is Muskoka, where we went on a boat trip and we saw the most amazing places, they call "cottages".

This is a tree that is growing upside down into the rock face.

A perfect view from our balcony of the lake.

This was taken in Haliburton. This year there seems to be an abundance of dragon flies. I loved the colouring of the rock and the bug together.

I took this shot because it is the perfect "y". I thought of those photographs where they spell out words using natural elements.

This is in Haliburton where you can sit in the river all day or float down it in a tube.

This was a perfect summer's eve on Lake Simcoe.

A Visit to Chicago

Chicago is a beautiful city with it's mix of old and new architecture. There is lots to see and do in this wonderful city. It was our first visit to the windy city and yes it was windy and cold!

We took the architectural boat cruise along the river and saw some great buildings. One of my favourites was the Carbon and Carbide building. It was built in the 1920's. Some say it was inspired by a champagne bottle. What made it so unique was it's greenish, grey colour and gold top. An example of the 1920's art deco movement. It now houses the Hard Rock Hotel.

The trains make their way around the city, snaking over the streets.

This is part of the gorgeous Wrigley Building.

On Saturday we took in the famous Chicago Blues Festival at Grant Park where we listened to some great bands.

This was the Duwayne Burnside Band, who were from Mississippi.

Weekend in Myrtle Beach

I went down to Myrtle Beach, SC to visit my mom and dad who were down there for the month of February. It wasn't the warmest but it was nicer than here. Some crazy kid, (my nephew) went for a dip in the 50 degree ocean (and air temp). He carried on the Canuck tradition.

Myrtle Beach hasn't changed all that much since we were kids, just more hotels and restaurants. They built a nice boardwalk down near the pier. It was a nice escape from winter.

We just returned from Varadero, Cuba. We stayed at the Iberostar Varadero, which was wonderful. The rooms, the facilities and the food were all good. The hotel grounds were immaculate. The gardeners always working hard.

All the vegetation was very beautiful and some very unique.

The beach was exquisite. You could walk for miles and the water was crystal clear, turquoise and so warm.

You could literally soak in the ocean all day. We floated around with dozens of other tourists, many from Europe. I have never seen so many people in the water.

The people of Cuba are friendly and work extremely hard for next to nothing. The beach vendors would push there carts all the way to the beach and set up for the day, never bothering you.


We took a day trip in Havana. There is the new Havana which you can see above which consists of many buildings that were built before the Revolution in 1951. New Havana is named Las Vegas, because it consisted of casinos and hotels mainly built by the mob. There is barely anything new in New Havana.

Old Havana is full of beautiful, old buildings, some dating back to the 15th century. Unfortunately, many buildings are in ruin. There are old american cars every where, it is like a time warp back to the 50's. There are 3 million in Havana, probably even more. There is very little for the Cubans to buy and transportation around is very limited. People are walking everywhere. There is so much history in this city, it is a must see for anyone venturing to Cuba.

This purple car was in great condition, the majority of cars were not. Most Cuban`s can not afford a car.

When we went to Cuba, we brought with us some things to leave with the people since it is so hard to get things. We brought some baseball gloves. At the bus, four boys were asking people for things, so we took out the gloves and they went crazy. I gave a brand new small glove to this little boy, he was so happy. Giving me a big hug and kiss. We take so much for granted. If you ever plan a trip to Cuba, you must bring lots of things to leave with the people.

This is one of the goverment buildings in Revolution Square. It has the famous sculpture of Che Guevaro, on the front of it.

This is the cinema in Havana, I think the only one around.

This is what most of the city dwelling looks like in Old Havana. When we drove through new Havana which had homes, some old and some built in the 40's & 50's when the American's were there, but many are falling apart too.