My blog made its debut a year ago today. Born as a final project for a course on blogging at OCAD. To celebrate, I briefly looked over the 287 posts I made over my first year and chose my favourites. My average rate of posting per week was just over 5 posts. Over the first few months of the year, I had aspirations to post as much as I ran and joined the WordPress postaday club. However my commitment to organize the People4Kids fundraising gala last May 3rd took priority and my rate of posting dwindled.
Hours after finishing the CIM - Feeling good!
Since the blogging course I’ve taken digital photography, InDesign and Adobe Illustrator courses and that too has consumed much time. So I’ve reset my sights on posting 2-four times a week. So here are my favourites, in no particular order.
Thanks to a flurry of emails from one of my four brothers, my husband and I decided to make Portland, Oregon the first stop on our Pacific Northwest tour. When I told him we had booked our flight from Toronto to Portland. He sent me a notice of a hotel special from Hotwire and urged me to book at The NINES. Which I did. We were not disappointed.
The Nines, a place for you and your honey bunny.
The Nines is located within a former mega-department store in the Meier & Frank Building. There is still a downsized Macy’s within this landmark building but the hotel takes up floors seven and upward to the eighteenth, top floor. The name, is a reference to the glory days of the building, “dressed to the nines” with various decorative elements reinforcing this theme.
Rooms, all dressed up at The Nines
The price of the hotel at $129 was within five dollars of what we paid for a very basic room at one of Juneau’s top hotels shortly after. We were very “down” with that to borrow a youthful expression. The rooms were comfy and chic, the location superbly central, with the light rail transit system footsteps away and just a few blocks away from the ACE Hotel.
Coffee & good food flank the Ace Hotel
While in Portland my brother and I exchanged several text messages via Blackberry messenger, including one where he asked if I loved the lobby of the ACE Hotel as much as he did. Just off the lobby is a Stumptown Coffee Roasters Cafe, so when you get your coffee there, you can then hang out in the ACE Hotel lobby.
Casual Corner at the ACE Hotel
What did I love about the lobby? Was it the offhand chic, and truly casual atmosphere where you felt perfectly comfortable rearranging the modular sofa to your needs. Perhaps that comfort level was an offshoot of the duct tape repairs on the immense coffee table with cactii and succulents as the centerpiece. Lining the passage to the lobby were to-the-ceiling bookshelves and in the lobby itself were bikes for hire and an icon of instant photography, a vintage four shot, photo booth.
Duct tape detailing carries the day
I held back on professing love, mainly because I wondered if we, who seemed to always be the oldest pair “in the house” were entitled to “love” the place. The creative and hip ambience had me wondering if the Drake Hotel and the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto drew inspiration from the ACE.
While the Drake is far more “sheeshy” or “chi chi” and self-consciously arty it is not quite as inviting and cozy. We stayed at the Drake Hotel one night, even though it is only one mile from our home just a couple of blocks off my running route. We were the successful bidders on an overnight stay there at a silent auction fundraiser for our local YMCA. The room by the way, was a lesson in good, functional design and the food at the Drake is always terrific, with fried chicken on buttermilk pancakes a pleasant brunch memory.
Stumptown coffee at the ACE, yes, I love it!
As for the coffee, Stumptown Coffee Roasters is acknowledged as giving Portland the edge over Seattle as best coffee town in North America. In Canada, Stumptown is only available at two LIT Espresso bars in Toronto. One of the locations is a few blocks from us and our attention was drawn to the Stumptown difference and our good fortune in our proximity to LIT by the same brother who directed us to visit the lobby of the ACE Hotel.
In comparison, the atrium style lobby of The Nines is of mammoth proportions, with a restaurant, pool room and several seating areas. I never made it to the fitness area but my husband reported that the treadmills had a screen where you could view a visual of a track. We also never made it to the highly recommended Asian inspired, rooftop restaurant. You know there’s a lot going on in your hotel when you don’t have time to enjoy or even peek at all its amenities. And there is so much to do in this city with Powell’s the world’s largest, independent, used and new bookstore, a fabulous weekend market, fresh and unique take-out food in abundance at the many street vendors and easy access to running routes by the river.
Nothing beats a river path for reducing the risk of losing your way while on a run.
p.s. We don’t normally travel with a stuffed rabbit. The one pictured in this post was purchased as a gift at the Japanese garden in Washington Park.
The weather in Haines, back in early June was superb and we were told, unusually summery. First order of the day was a run, and a destination run at that. I’m not the only one in my family to fall in love with Haines as my Whitehorse brother, an architect, recently bought a property in Haines. Thus sight number one, was his lot.
Final leg up the hill, breakfast just around the corner
His lot is on the edge of this town, in the uppermost reaches so it was quite a climb to get there and a bit too steep on the downhill to really enjoy an easy stride. But, man oh man, what a view! Then, down to the water and a run over to the Mountain Cafe, THE place for coffee in Haines. This combo healthy food store and cafe sits at the conjunction of the major roads into the town. Having verified the location of where we would breakfast, I was eager to get on with the eating and shortened my run a bit.
I do cut myself a bit of slack while on vacation particularly since my husband has had to cut back his running as my primary goal is to spend time with HIM. I’ve also cut back on travel shopping as well, for the very same reason.
Mountain Cafe, Breakfast Burritos
The Mountain Cafe met expectations with very good breakfast burritos and local hustle and bustle. Then we walked to Fort Seward, so named for William H. Seward who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from the Russians. The fort was decommissioned in 1947 and is now privately owned. The original buildings now a combination of private residences, B&B’s, eateries galleries and studios.
Carrying on the Tinglit cultural traditions
Tinglit artist's supply room
Notable was the Alaskan Indian Arts centre with a gallery and studio where we were able to informally tour the studio where totem poles are made. To order a totem pole CLICK HERE It was hard not to compare the quality and pricing of the work found here to the offerings of the ultra-commercialized Juneau. Any cruise ship passenger happening upon this place would feel that they had connected to the “real” Alaska.
In the afternoon we went on a three-hour guided hike. This was quite expensive but hikers are cautioned to travel in groups to minimize the risk of a bear attack. I’ve heard various numbers cited for safety from parties of three to ten. With eight in our group, including two guides, one armed with bear spray in a holster I felt safe. Being of small stature, I’ve often thought it would be useful to have a very tall, hiking hat in the shape of some sort of menacing creature.
One of our guides, Lindy was a musician and naturalist. She and her husband lived for years in a Yurt, the portable, wood-framed and felt-covered dwelling of nomadic Mongolians. Funnily enough her band played in Ottawa last year, for the Canada Day celebrations. Lindy was able to tell when a bear had scratched its back on a tree, or whether a moose had gone by, by virtue of a few hairs left on bark or a bush. Thankfully, she was also able to tell us that the very loud and scary sound we heard was not a mountain lion or a bear but the sound of humpbacks in the water nearby.
If it had been the two of us, in fear (or at least my fear) we could have set personal best times running back to the trail head. Thanks to our guides we now cherish the memory of those otherworldly, sonorous and eerily musical sounds. Sadly, we were not able to see the humpbacks through the thick forest cover but we came upon another group who were starry-eyed having seen the humpbacks play in a cove further on. Excitedly we trekked on, hoping the whales would linger so we could enjoy the same.
Humpback whales hang out here
The word pristine was invented to describe places such as the destination cove and all those beautiful, mostly unnamed places in the north. Wow! The humpbacks were gone however and that was a bit disappointing. Somewhere along the trail the topic of beer came up and this thread was eagerly pursued by our other guide. He promised to take us to theHaines Brewing Company located in the state fairground, formerly the set of the movie White Fang. Happily, time allowed and sampled some Spruce Tip Ale while I enjoyed a freshly brewed and delicious root beer.
Happiness is a bottle of spruce tip beer
From there we returned to the Fireweed Restaurant for dinner where we were greeted like regulars. I wondered if this was because our two night in a row appearance set us apart from the majority of middle-aged folk who travel Alaska via cruise ship. One of the couples on our hike were from California and they were amazed to discover that it was possible to travel down the Lynn Canal by state ferry.
The next day was our travel day to Whitehorse. Sure wish we had more time on our hands but I know we will be back.
This little town on the Lynn Canal, a fjord in Alaska, is bypassed by cruise ships, save for one day a week, Wednesday, when a single ship docks.
I was introduced to Haines by virtue of taking part in the Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay which starts in Haines Junction, Yukon and ends in Haines, Alaska for a total of 148.1 miles. I did a 20 mile leg with very modest elevation changes. Whilst others had their work cut out for them, biking past the treeline as the temperature dropped accordingly. The race ends in the Fort Seward compound, which affords a stunning view of mountain and sea. That weekend the town was bursting at the seams with people and energy as the combination of the adrenalin high and the perfect weather in this northern haven was euphoric. As a finale a fish fry in conjunction with the awards ceremony was held in the Fort Seward square.
View from Captain's Choice Patio, just steps from our room
My visit this year was my sixth to Alaska and my fourth to Haines but the very first visit with my husband. Returning to Haines with him, was the most anticipated moment of our trip. The ferry ride there was idyllic as described in a previous post, Where a Whale Was.
One of my must-do-one-day items (I’m not fond of the expression “bucket list”) is to visit Haines in November to witness the largest gathering of bald eagles in the world. My last visit was in September and bald eagles could be spotted in threes and fours, regularly. We saw one bald eagle in Juneau but I was a bit disappointed not to have seen more. Shortly after we got off the ferry and while waiting for our motel shuttle-car a bald eagle obliged my eagle-seeking-eyes and landed on atop the highest point on the ferry.
Fettucine with smoked salmon, fuel for the morning run
I was very keen to revisit a restaurant, the name of which I was uncertain but guessed to be Fireweed Restaurant. There I had enjoyed the most delicious plate of pasta with pesto sauce in a most laid-back setting with a gorgeous view. As we chatted with our driver from the Captain’s Choice Motel my description of a restaurant called Fireweed seemed to match reality and we were driven straight there.
Does it get any better than dinner at the Fireweed?
How to describe the feeling I had in entering the Fireweed Restaurant. There seemed to be a pause in the action as we entered, a quick glance to see what category of northern species we were; cruise people, who missed their boat, locals, adventurous youth, or rambunctious Whitehorse youngsters? I’m guessing that we were sized up as Canadians from Whitehorse. But, it was a curious rather than an intrusive pause and I imagined that there was a mutual meeting of hearts and minds in recognition that here we all are in this most cozy of restaurants, in a tiny northern paradise with a world class view. None of us wishing to be elsewhere.
As a self-professed, chicken-hearted traveler, I was surprised by my sudden desire to hop in a tiny five-seater Cessna to tour the ice fields and mountain range of Kluane National Park. Curiosity carried the day (as did MasterCard) as I convinced my husband that we should spring for a tour to see what is impossible to see on foot, or overnight camping expeditions. The park has been deemed a world heritage site and the waters from the glaciers are the third largest source of ocean water on the planet.
On a clear day the view from the park visitor’s centre is stunning however, what lies beyond is hidden. This remarkable wildlife preserve with the world’s greatest concentration of grizzly bears, along with a mountain that boasts the largest base circumferance of any non-volcanic mountain in the world, topped by the tallest peak in Canada, Mount Logan, second to Denali in North America howled out to me, “Just do it!”
Anticipating that the ride would be bumpy at times, I spent $14 at the general store for Gravol, consuming only 1 tablet of the 12. In addition to the dreamlike beauty of the park, I found myself astonished by the man-made miracle of flight as we soared up to 12,000 feet. I tried not to think too hard about the vulnerability of our position and felt quite doubtful that the emergency survival kit and first aid kit could ever be of use should anything go wrong in this extreme terrain.
Born to fly?
When time allows, I’ll post more of the photos of this priceless but pricey experience and leave it to those wiser than me to articulate the awesomely instructive powers of the natural world.
The color of the mountains is Buddha’s body; the sound of running water is his great speech. ~ Dogen
We’ve been without the internet for nearly two days so it is getting ever more difficult to keep up the blogging with our whirlwind tour of five cities/towns. The 4 1/2 hour ferry trip from Juneau to Haines, Alaska took place on a perfect day which allowed us to stay up top on the lounge deck the whole way. We were treated to partial body and tail sightings of a humpback whale, with photo evidence of it’s water spout.
Look for the water spout in the centre of this photo.
Cruising down the Lynn Canal is one of my absolute favourite activities. We’ll be back.
So much to say, that it becomes to hard to write about it. A fabulous day all-round with the most perfect weather of the year to date. Very short run along the Juneau waterfront.
Yes, we have a stopover at the Seattle airport, enroute to Juneau and are a little weary although the day got off to an energetic start. Shortly after rising I left for the the first leg of my run. The flat river route seems to be the preferred route for the Portlanese. One side is eclipsed by the closeness of the highway to the river but a path has been created a little offshore to offset this abomination of urban planning.
Off shore running path
I ran 4Km solo, returning to the hotel to pick up my husband for the second leg, a much hillier route up by Washington park. Talking about “real estate”, the view and vegetation was magnifico, well worth the huffing and puffing to climb the steep hillside terrain. The photo below may bear some resemblance to the Glen Road bridge in Rosedale, Toronto however that is due to the shortcomings of my camera. By comparison, the depth of colour and density of the foliage in Portland makes even the most treed areas of Toronto look wanting
Running up that hill!
The greens surpassed those of Ireland in the fall although I’ve yet to experience an Irish spring. Where there is greeness, there is rain and lots of moss. Check out the concrete benches lining the sidewalks of this older section of town.
Moss park bench
The properties are so gorgeous that it seems owners feel compelled to name them. Thus, you have The Rhododendron House, which incidentally was for sale.
A bit of rest after a hard climb
Gamely, my husband agreed to run with me for this third day straight. With his knee trouble it has been avoiding running consecutive days but he says his knee is “okay”.
House on the hill
The most risky aspect of this run, knee-wise was the steep return downhill. I advised him to walk down the steepest sections. Hopefully, this tourist-trotting won’t aggravate his tender meniscus as we are heading up to “rave run” territory and our shared runs are always a highlight of any vacation.
Until recently, I had a vague notion that I might like to visit Eugene, Oregon one day being a famous runner’s city but Portland was just a name. I asked my brother who lives in the Yukon whether he thought we would enjoy visiting Anchorage, Alaska and I received a flurry of emails detailing the wonders of Portland. We spoke on the phone and he assured me that I would love it and if I didn’t love it, he would give me my money back.
Early morning hang-out, THE NINES lobby
And that is how we ended up sipping coffee in the lobby of the ultra-hip THE NINES hotel. My brother sent me a Hotwire alert that was offering rooms at THE NINES for nearly half price. The same price as what we will pay for a very modest rooms in Juneau and Haines in Alaska and where the internet will probably not be free. So we arrived mid-afternoon on Thursday and fly to Juneau, late Sunday afternoon through Seattle, touching down in Juneau around the time the sun will set.
In pitching Portland to me, Jack described the city as being very Lynn-esque. Hmm, my husband and I have been mulling this one over, and he says, “Well, not my Lynn particularly.” The key elements, I think are a bike, runner friendly place with great coffee and bookstores, extensive public transit and casual outdoorsy feel. But, the birthplace of grunge and a skateboarders haven, not really. I’m definitely into low-risk sports and if pressed, would have to name jazz as my favourite music. On the other hand I was a huge fan of Patti Smith when in art school and her bio was the top seller at Powell Books, which is a far better showing than on the NYT best seller list.
So, so good . . . going back for more.
Highlights so far have been; Powell Books, which far outstrips the Strand in New York City, the Japanese gardens in Washington Park, the amazing light rail transit, Stumptown coffee at the ACE Hotel and the best cheese blintzes ever at Kenny and Zuke’s deli just a door away from the ACE Hotel.
A time to blog and a time to RUN!
So much to do, and so much to report but I have a run to get in so gotta go . . . adios!
The early Saturday drizzle was not the best set up for a longer run without company. I got a lot done while in procrastination mode, tidying up, gardening. My husband offered to run five miles with me however this involved a loop back to the house, and the idea of getting close to home with many miles still to run, seemed mentally challenging. But once I got bunch of chores done, the mood to run long finally arrived and out the door I ran ready to relax into a two hours or more solo run.
View from Coronation Park foot path
The marathoner in me triumphed as I enjoyed a steady pace through High Park, out to the Palace Pier bridge, then back east along the lake, heavily clothed in fog to just south of the Rogers Centre. From there I ran northwest, home through the city.
Saturday run by mileage markers
It was our anniversary weekend but different commitments including a party for soon-to-be-parents made it difficult to get away. Our solution was to travel very close to home and that somewhere was on one of my regular running routes. A place by the lake of course!
Radisson by the Lake
The only expectation I had of the Radisson Hotel on the lake, just west of Queen’s Quay was that there would be a view. It was a surprise to find our room nattily attired to a standard one might expect in a NYC boutique hotel. And then with a little something you might not expect at a NYC boutique hotel, a high powered telescope. Which seemed a bit funny given that the easterly view of our corner room was a wall of condos.
Room with a . . . . telescope!
Coincidentally, the Toronto Goodlife Marathon route passed in front of our hotel, affording the chance to provide a bit of crowd support where none existed. I hope the strong tailwind made up for the drudgery and discomfort of the rain. It was painful to watch runners slog by, both eastward and westward. Go, marathoners! I was impressed at how our cheers, lit up the faces of some. I’m not sure if I could manage a smile in those conditions.
Brendan Kenny, Toronto Marathon Winner
As for our run, we did a route that took us to the Esplanade, a never run route for us. This also gave us a chance to see the eventual winner speed by half-marathoners who had started out an hour earlier.
Tourist in Toronto
After our run, we walked over to Terminal Quay for breakfast at the Watermark Pub and an enjoyable browse through the Tilley store. Exiting the hotel parking lot proved easy, in spite of the ongoing stream of marathoners we were delayed barely a minute or so.
All's well that ends with Eggs Benedict
Ah, life by the lake. I found myself wondering how much space and garden I would be willing to give up to trade in our too-big-for-us fixer upper for a lake view.
Mind, Motion & Matter 