Whales don't like John Denver, a cool B.C. Thai-British ranch, Air Canada deal

EDMONTON - I'm out here in Alberta enjoying not only a heat wave (up to the mid-20's in the next day or two) but also learning a ton about new and existing attractions in this great country of ours.

I spent Tuesday sitting down with 15 or 20 (I lost track) tourism folks from various cities and provinces and territories and came away quite impressed with what we have to offer. Here's a sample of what I was told.

- Ottawa is gearing up for a big 2012. The Chateau Laurier turns 100, the Junos are being held April 1, the NHL All-Star Game (with or without Sid the Kid) is there early in the year and there’s a major Van Gogh exhibit May 25-Sept. 3. Oh, and it’s the 60^th anniversary of the city’s tulip festival.

- Next year marks the 100^th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. Be sure to look for the Keister Family Fiddlers. They entertained at lunch yesterday and they’re a hoot; a mom on guitar and four adorable young girls playing the fiddle and stomping and singing like there’s no tomorrow.

- Best line of the day goes to Jantine Van Kregten of Ottawa Tourism. I was telling her about how I spotted these gag gifts called “Squirrel Underpants” at stores in Halifax and Edmonton. They come in white and in pink and they’re just tiny little things that look to go onto a photo of a squirrel. “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe it’s a great place to hold their nuts.”

- The Canadian Tourism Commission has a facebook page at facebook.com/keepexploring

- There’s a guest ranch called Echo Valley in B.C. that’s run by a fellow from Britain and a woman from Thailand, and they have a Thai-inspired spa in the interior of the province, as well as riding and other traditional ranch activities. Sounds cool.

- They turn Fort Henry in Kingston into something called Fort Fright at Halloween time, with ghouls and goblins and ghosts, and you can even stay overnight. Oooooohhhh, scary.

- You can snorkel with beluga whales in Hudson’s Bay in summer. Many folks like to hear the whales sing. Others like to sing back to the belugas. “They like Amazing Grace,” said Cathy Senecal of Tourism Manitoba. “Also they like it if you sing ‘Corinne, Corina’ in a really high voice. But they hate John Denver.”

- The Keefer Suites in downtown Vancouver (Chinatown) has three suites, each a whopping 2,400 square feet, and a huge pool on the roof. Owen Wilson recently rented one of the suites, and is said to have come back another day with a friend and knocked on someone’s door so he could show them where he had stayed.

- They raise chickens on the roof of the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City. I knew they had a beekeeper on top of the Royal York in Toronto, but the Quebec chickens were news to me.

- Great Lakes Cruising is an increasingly popular activitiy, with cruises that include Toronto, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay. Sounds cool.

- The Chapleau Game Preserve in northern Ontario is said to be the largest preserve in the world.

- I don't look so good in a cowboy hat. Of course, the photographer asked me to ham it up a little for this photo.

- I hadn’t thought of it, but 2017 will mark our nation’s 150^th anniversary.

-  There’s a new Rock and Roll Musical History tour in Winnipeg that includes sights and places frequented by such greats as Neil Young and Bachman Turner Overdrive. Takin' care of business, indeed.

- There’s a big pond hockey tournament on Lake Louise again this winter, their third annual such event.

- The Tergesen General Store in Gimli, Manitoba has been run by the same family for more than 100 years.

- Sault Ste. Marie has the second largest wind farm in Canada and the largest solar energy farm in North America.

- A new provincial museum will open in Edmonton in 2015, right downtown. The existing Royal Alberta Museum is a fine facility a few minutes from downtown. They had a reception for media and tourism types there on Tuesday night, with Tom Jackson handling the entertainment and native dancers out front. The aboriginal history exhibit is terrific.

- The World Figure Skating Championships will be in London, Ontario in 2013.

- Starwood is about to open their 60^th property in Canada, a Sheraton in Red Deer, Alberta. Their biggest property in Canada is the Four Points Sheraton brand, with 23 hotels.. They’re also breaking ground on a new Element Hotel in Vancouver, which will be branded as an eco-friendly hotel. There are no firm plans for a W hotel in Toronto, but the Aloft brand will open a facility next year across the parking lot from Vaughan Mills. They already have 70 hotels in China and will open 100 more in the next few years.

- The Banff Centre has a new feature called the Shaw Ampitheatre with 1,500 seats. Blue Rodeo (see photo of Jim Cuddy of the band, courtesy of Julia Pelish) and the Calgary Philharmonic each have played there.

- Victoria’s Secret opened its first Canadian store at the West Edmonton Mall two weeks before it opened at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. Nyah, nyah.

- The Soho Metropolitan Hotel on Blue Jays Way in downtown Toronto has a 4,000 square foot penthouse unit with three floors and its own library.

- Wine is growing as an industry in Nova Scotia. A lot of money is being poured into sparkling wine, especially.

- They clear snow on the main lake in Sudbury in winter and some students at Laurentian university skate from their apartments over to the university for their daily classes.

AIR CANADA DEAL

A huge sigh of relief from anyone (me included) who was to fly today or tomorrow on Air Canada. It remains to be seen if the union members will ratify the tentative deal, but at least for now it's business as usual for Air Canada and for thousands of fliers. Good news, indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

Best beaches of the Great Lakes: USA Today list includes Bayfield, Ontario

Well, whaddya know? A USA Today list that is not only useful but also includes Canada!

I've often railed at U.S. studies and lists that ignore those of us who spend 11 months of the year huddled in our igloos and watching curling highlights. But I spotted a nice one today at USAToday that talks about the best beaches in the Great Lakes, and one of the five is Bayfield Main Beach in Ontario.

Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a professor at Florida International University who calls himself Dr. Beach, picked the following as top beaches in the Great Lakes:

Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan (which also, bizarrely, got the nod from Good Morning America viewers as the most beautiful place in the U.S.)

Presque Isle State Park (not ours in Ontario) on Lake Erie, between Cleveland and Buffalo

Sand Point Beach on Lake Superior in Michigan

Bayfield Main Beach, Ontario

Oak Street Beach, Chicago

As for Bayfield, Leatherman cited the sunsets over Lake Huron from the Bayfield Pier, the "Blue Flag" status as a clean beach and amenities near the shore. He also said crowds are never a concern, which is probably a surprise to some locals.

As well, he cites The Little Inn in Bayfield, which was a stagecoach stop in the 1830s and serves Lake Huron trout and wild blueberry pancakes with local syrup.

The Star profiled the area in one of our "Perfect Weekend" features earlier this summer.

Actually, though, Leatherman said he didn't visit Bayfield, which I find rather odd.

"The area is so vast, I couldn't get everywhere. But if we're doing the Great Lakes, I thought we shouldn't leave out Canada."

Nice of him to include us, as I said, but strange that he's basing his ratings on descriptions from other people...

Leatherman usually sticks to rating ocean beaches but finally this year did something on the Great Lakes.

Asked why, he responded, "Years and years of being battered by all the people who were from the Great Lakes."

Definitely some good stuff. I love the beaches along Lake Huron and also enjoy Sandbanks. Closer to home, there are great beaches on the Toronto Islands, of course, as well as all along Lake Ontario on  both sides of Toronto.

As for Sleeping Bear Dunes being the most beautiful place in the U.S., I don't think so. The picture in USA Today (see photo at left) is quite boring, I thought. I went online and found some nice ones, but I don't think it's a place you can compare to Pt. Reyes, California or the Grand Canyon or the Grand Tetons, which might be as fantastic as the Canadian Rockies.

Of course, that's what make lists fun to dream up. And write about....

 

 

 

 

Brilliant times in Buffalo ... Awesome deals at Kaanapali Beach Hotel Hawaii

Before I get to a great deal for a terrific hotel in Maui, here's a great guest blog from Toronto Star travel guy and entertainment reporter Richard Ouzounian.

BUFFALO - I had a terrific time with my family in Nickel City this past weekend.

Hey, don't look at me like that. Buffalo is a great place to visit and The Star will be telling you all about it. The Star's Adrian Brijassi, who wrote a great piece about Buffalo in a recent blog on his own site, will be running a special "2 Days, 2 Nights" feature in Star Travel this Saturday and I'll be back later in the fall to provide a "Six Meals in Buffalo" story and a piece on the city's thriving cultural life. But here's some stuff that's  best sampled right now during the last weeks of summer, which you can add on to Adrian's substantial list.

First, a big shout out to the Embassy Suites (200 Delaware Ave.; 866-299-2910; www.embassysuites.hilton.com).  It''s brand new and right downtown and it offers a plethora of perks.  You can book a room for as little as $156 Cdn. on-line and you also get a free hot breakfast, free cocktail hour every night and free wireless. Valet parking is only $10 a day. Very friendly staff as well. Toss in a pool and a 24-hour fitness centre and it's hard to beat.

Shakespeare in Delaware Park (716-856-4533; www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org)  has been going since 1976 and it's having one of its best years ever. The setting, only 10 minutes drive from downtown, is superb, in a venue designed by Frederick Olmsted, the man behind Central Park, on a gently sloping hill where all of Buffalo brings folding chairs and picnics to enjoy the show.

 I saw a sweetly romantic As You Like It, with a charming Rosalind (Morgan Chard), a dashing Orlando (Patrick Cameron) and a witty Celia (Anne Roaldi). The admission is free, the experience priceless.

One of the best architectural tours of a city I've ever had comes with The Whirlwind Tour from a company called Open-Air Autobus of Buffalo (716-854-3749; www.OpenAirBuffalo.org). On an intimate bus open to the sun and sky, you get a two hour tour of the city from real experts. Our guide was Paul McDonnell, the architect for the Buffalo School System, and he made the city's past and present come to vibrant life.

Tickets are $20 and well worth it. Meet at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Bidwell Parkway; 6 p.m. Fridays, 10 a.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m. Sundays.

The Burchfield Penney Art Center  (1300 Elmwood Ave., 716-878-6011; www.BurchfieldPenney.org) is a brand new facility dedicated to local work and cutting-edge creations. Their current special exhibition (through Sept. 25) is by an Icelandic multi-media artist named Steina and her series of seven installations called "Involving People Into This Magic" is absolutely fascinating. Her work takes place involving multiple screens spread out against a giant canvas and the viewer sits and lets it all happen to them. We stayed for an hour; we could have stayed more.  Excellent free tours included in the $10 admission. Check for times.

Frank Lloyd Wright has a substantial presence in Buffalo and Adrian will write about his stunning Darwin Martin House downtown, but I also had the most amazing afternoon at Graycliff Estate (6472 Old Lake Shore Rd.; 716-947-9217; www.GraycliffEstate.org). This was the summer home  20 minutes drive from downtown that Wright created for the Martins.  But until 1997, it was almost forgotten, turned into a  seminary and children's home by Eastern European priests.

Then, to prevent it from being destroyed and turned into condos, a group of concerned local citizens raised the money and undertook a massive restoration. Now, a decade later, it's been restored to most of its former glory. One of Wright's most striking works, you'll marvel not just at its relationship to Lake Erie, but at the way all of nature has been taken into consideration in its design.  It's a unique experience: the dual triumph of architectural genius and local conservation efforts. A standard tour costs $15, but there are also special options including twilight tours, details available on the website.  A great spot to visit.

Buffalo definitely has more than wings and malls to offer. Save this list and check out Adrian's article on Saturday.

A GREAT HOTEL DEAL IN BEAUTIFUL HAWAII

One of my favourite hotels, located on my favourite island on the planet, has a great sale on. The Ka'anapali Beach Hotel on Maui, which has a very strong Hawaiian presence and is smack dab in the middle of one of the world's great beaches, is offering rooms for as little as $143 U.S. this fall. A            $159 room rate is available now until August 19, and there's a $143 rate valid Aug. 20 to Dec. 21.

It might seem like we don't need a summer getaway, but pretty soon it'll be fall, folks, and we'll be scrambling to restore the heat.

In addition to low room rates,  Ka’anapali Beach Hotel helps guests get the most out of their vacation by providing complimentary Hawaiian activities. The variety of classes gives guests an opportunity to play and learn more about the culture, meet travelers and become Ohana (family) at Maui’s Most Hawaiian Hotel. Highlights of the complimentary events include language classes, lei-making, hula and ukelele lessons (I had a great ukelele lesson there last year). In addition, kids five and younger eat free with a paying adult at hotel restaurants,  and there's a complimentary welcome breakfast to explain the offerings of both the hotel and Maui as a whole. They have a free hula show and music performance every night and parting guests receive a farewell lei.

It's truly one of the great family hotels I've seen, and it's highly recommended.

 

 

This just in - Canada and Mexico separate themselves from North America

Nothing like getting yourself worked up about a website on a Monday morning after a blissful weekend in Muskoka.

A quick scan of some major travel websites this morning revealed an interesting item on cnn.com about "secret" beaches of North America. Forgetting the fact that there isn't a "secret" beach anywhere on the planet, there are a couple of noteworthy items, including Caladesi Island near Dunedin, Florida. It's a great little spot you mostly reach by boat from Honeymoon Island, just north and west of downtown Dunedin. You also can walk there from Clearwater Beach at high tide.

It's a lovely island with nature trails outlining the eco-system and small mangrove swamps and higher ground dotted with towering pine trees. And a beach that stretches on forever.

That's fine, as are entries for Pfeiffer Beach in northern California and Queen's Pond on Kauai, up the deserted west coast near Polihale. But, my goodness, isn't it amazing that an American website would list nine such "secret" beaches and fail to mention anything in Mexico or Canada? Sadly, it isn't.

I get lists and lists and more lists sent to me on a regular basis, and almost none of them acknowledge anything beyond the U.S. borders. It's fine for USA Today to be American-centric, I guess, but what excuse does a world-wide operation like CNN have for blithely ignoring the U.S.A's NAFTA trading partners?

It drives me batty. No mention of Sandbanks or Nova Scotia's endless coastline or Sauble Beach or Wasaga or Tofino in B.C. Not to mention no Cancun or Mazatlan or any of the glorious beaches in Baja California in Mexico, such as Loreto or Cabo San Lucas.

Nope. Once again, we in Canada and the poor souls in Mexico are reminded that the world begins and ends with the U.S.

Anyway, it was a glorious weekend in Muskoka once more. Had a chance to play (not well, but there you go) South Muskoka golf club in Bracebridge. It's truly one of those tucked-away sort of places that don't get the attention they deserve. Several holes have that classic Muskoka rock that sticks out above the grass, while almost all are nicely shaped in a true parklands-style layout. I could've used easier pin placements and faster greens, but it's a fun, not too long course that's about $60 on the weekends; much less than the big boys in the region.

Highly recommended.

 

Toronto hotel goes all-inclusive...Grand Hyatt NYC reno (and a bare butt story)

Good story by Tony Wong in Star business today, outlining how the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Toronto is taking advantage of Ontario's new liquor laws  with a new, all-inclusive policy.

Before I get into that, I have to say I really like Premier Dalton McGuinty's new liquor laws, which allow alcohol to be included in all-inclusive deals and also allow folks to, wait for it, drink beer at a festival OUTSIDE OF THE BEER TENT. I really, really, REALLY like the motto behind the chages: ONTARIO: Even more free with liquor than Saudi Arabia. It's quite catchy, Dalton.

But I digress. I mostly wanted to point out the story to those who didn't spot it and to suggest I'm surprised hotels up in Muskoka haven't tried. It seems like a natural for Taboo or some such. The Hilton deal Tony wrote about costs $159 per person and gets you a night at the hotel, a buffet breakfast,a  packed lunch, a buffet dinner, unlimited drinks with your meals and at the bar, plus valet parking for one car, which is worth $35. They have free wi-fi, as well as a pool and a gym.

For two people, the all-inclusive deal would cost $320. The parking brings it down to $285, in essence. Then consider the breakfast, lunch and dinner worth at least $120 and you're at $165. A room alone in downtown Toronto is going to cost you $150 most nights, I'd say, so then you're looking at $15 for unlimited drinks. Hell, given prices in Ontario (see above note on Dalton), that's barely a beer per person at dinner.

I checked the website for current prices, and a room for Saturday, Aug. 20 was listed at $239, including breakfast. Which makes the rest of the all-inclusive package seem that much better, as you'd get the packed lunch, the valet parking, the buffet dinner AND all the drinks you want for $80 LESS if you're on your own or for just $80 more for two people. The item I saw on Travelzoo.com said the savings were $180 compared to booking things separately, although how you price someone's alcohol consumption I don't quite know.

Assuming the food's halfway decent at dinner (anyone can make breakfast), it's an attractive deal that should spark others to follow suit. How about unlimited martinis on the patio at The Drake as part of a package?????

GRAND HYATT NYC...AND A FUNNY BLUE JAYS STORY

Got a note to say the Grand Hyatt New York is "ushering in a new era" with a $130 million renovation, slated for completion in October. There will be re-designed guestrooms, a new restaurant called New York Central (the hotel is adjacent to Grand Central Terminal; a superb location), a "refreshed" lobby and mezzanine level and more.

They say the New York Central restaurant is the only such facility in town that is located over a sidewalk and that "several coveted tables appear to float above 42nd Street."

Sounds pretty cool. I wasn't crazy about the hotel back in the mid-1990s, when I stayed there quite a lot as a member of the Star's sports department charged with covering the Blue Jays. The rooms were so-so, I thought, and the place was just too busy. But most visiting baseball teams in those days stayed at the Grand Hyatt, and the Jays would book us rooms at the same time, so it was convenient. We also got to fly on their team charter in those days, which was REALLY terrific as we didn't have the hassle of commercial airlines. And there was no security in those days, and when we landed we simply handed our custom cards to a guy who came up the stairs and onto the plane.

Anyway, the Jays had a bus that would leave from right in front of the hotel at 2:30 p.m. or so for the drive to Yankee Stadium for night games. I remember one time there were some rookies on the bus for the team's first trip to New York City of the year, and the veteran players called them over as the bus was filling up. They knew what was coming, but the rookies didn't.

"Come over to this side, you gotta see this," the veterans told. The kids, of course, did as they were told. Sure enough, out from a men's store came a big, sweaty fat guy. He proceeded to turn his back to the bus and, yes indeed ladies and gentlemen, drop his pants. He then gave the rookies a rather hairy moon shot, whacked himself on the behind and shouted out, "Good luck tonight, boys!"

It was hilarious. Apparently the guy did this on a regular basis.

Only in New York....

 

 

 

Port of call: Detroit...Hotels look better on web than in person: no kidding!

Spotted a story the other day from the Guest Editor of the USA Today Cruise Log, talking about Detroit is spending $21.5 million on its port to try to get small cruise ships to stop.

This,of course, made ME stop. Cruise ships? Detroit? Um, I don't know, but personally when I think of cruise ships I think of the Caribbean or the Greek Islands.

Of course, most folks can't afford such luxuries. And, in truth, there are some great day cruises you can take all over the world. Plying the waters of Lake Muskoka on the Segwun is one of the great treats in Ontario, and my Dad and Mom used to do some wonderful river cruises on the Mississippi.

I read a story in a Canadian magazine the other day about the re-birth of small ship cruising in eastern Lake Ontario, down around Kingston and up to Montreal and Ottawa, I believe. So I guess it's not surprising to hear about cruise ships on Lake Erie.

There's talk of a Detroit-Windsor ferry, and I think that's not a bad idea, either. Travelling on a boat, even if it's just a short jaunt to the Toronto Islands, is a great way to get around that somehow makes you feel free.

The USA Today story said one of the first arrivals in Detroit's port will be Blount Small Ship Adventure's Grande Mariner, a 96-passenger ship that's slated to call in Detroit on a nine-night, roundtrip cruise from Toronto. (see photo at right, courtesy of Travel Week).

I should be embarrassed, but I have never heard of this cruise line. I did a little googling and found that Blount has a nine-day cruise this summer out of Toronto that goes down the Welland Canal, through Lake Erie, then past Detroit and Sarnia and up into Lake Huron. The cruise stops in Goderich, Ontario and folks also can disembark in Detroit to see the marvellous Henry Ford Museum.

The trip finishes in Midland and folks get transported back to Toronto. It's not cheap - $3,189 was the price I saw. But it sounds like a fun way to see our neck of the woods.

IDIOTS ARE EVERYWHERE

Spotted another USA Today item this morning about how some folks were upset that hotel websites make their properties look better than they really are.

Wow. What a breaking news story that is? I mean, who would've thunk it? Next thing you know, we'll find out that newspaper columnists don't look as good as their picture.

I mean, honestly, people. Haven't you ever looked at these web sites? Geez, if you find a night when there's a perfect full moon and you sweep up the trash and hire a good photographer you probably could make a dump on Kingston Road in Scarborough look like the Ritz. Well, maybe not the Ritz, but at least decent.

It's called buyer beware, folks. Do some research. And, hey, if the website suggests it's $50 for a four-star hotel in San Francisco, maybe there's something fishy.

 

 

 

Star's Heather Mallick in London; desperate for milk!...Oregon, Niagara news

Here's a London post from the Star's Heather Mallick, who's covering the Royal Wedding on Friday but is having trouble adjusting to holiday hours and the lack of North American-style milk.

Here’s a tip. Never travel to London without checking first for approaching Bank Holidays.

This would be obvious, normally, but you wouldn’t think a city devoted to entertainment and commerce would be so, well, shut down for Good Friday and Easter Monday. Worse, London closes in a Parisian sense, which means that it’s seriously closed and expects you to know that. It doesn’t update websites about approaching closures and it sneers at capitalism in the sense that even chain stores decide not to be at all approachable.

 Thank god it doesn’t shut down in French style by telling you to f--- off for even wanting to see your huge giant important museum exhibit. On Friday, a London guard apologized to me for the British Library not having announced its Good Friday closure on the website. Amazing. What a nice man.

  The Wellcome Collection show didn’t explain that  it wouldn’t open until noon on Good Friday. It’s weird waiting in Bloomsbury, an area much bombed during the war and coffee-shop-free, to see an art show called DIRT: The Filthy Reality of Everyday Life, about how dirt can be used as a material for art, and how revolting cities have always been, and continue to be. It was wonderful and creative, but very odd to hang around waiting to be deliciously repelled. Kind London passers-by explained the Wellcome always opens late on Bank Holidays.

 The courtesy of Londoners is extraordinary. I apologize 10 times a day and each time a good-humoured Londoner brushes it off. In Toronto, people ignore my apologies, leaving me grimly reluctant to offer them ever again. Until the next hopeful apology.

 I suppose they don’t think the Wellcome’s bricks made of hair, skin flakes and toenail clippings collected from around London call out much to the tourist trade. (Really, the show was brilliant, fodder for unusual thoughts.)

Even at St. Pancras, the huge train station that sees everyone off on Eurostar to Paris and the great capitals of Europe, a third of the shops shut down because they bloody well feel like it. I know this because my hotel sits on top of the station. I can watch from my room as tourists melt down when they can’t buy a cake or an egg or a notepad or a red purse.

That was me only hours before. Le Pain Quotidien is always open, and at all times, I can order a soft-boiled egg. Never before have I found a restaurant that will boil an egg for me. Now I seek a European restaurant—or any restaurant anywhere—that will give me a huge glass of skim milk. You can't get milk in restaurants, it's too naff.

I love milk, I drink a gallon a day. The trick of travel is to replicate the conditions of home. If anyone knows where I can get a glass of skim milk in London, please email me at hmallick@thestar.ca.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog from Jim Byers.

OREGON HAPPENINGS

Managed a drink with some nice folks from Oregon Tourism at the always fun Park Hyatt rooftop lounge Monday night.  I haven't spent a ton of time in Oregon, but I've been a couple times, mostly to Portland (see photo), and quite enjoyed it.

I think Canadians feel a certain affinity for folks with a West Coast liberal attitude. Well, some of us do, anyway. Oregon is big on environmental sustainability and celebrates the outdoors like true Canadians; windsurfing on the Columbia River, playing golf at world-renowned courses like Bandon Dunes on the lovely coast, mountain biking, climbing Mt. Hood (apparently doable quite easily in a day) and, even better, quaffing lovely, Oregon-grown Pinot Noir or heartier reds from the eastern part of the state.

Folks in Ontario may not realize it, but Oregon's geography is quite varied. Just like B.C., it's rainy and green on the coast (although not in summer or fall so much), then there are some lovely valleys and mountains. The eastern edge, kind of like the Okanagan Valley, is much more dry and desert-like, with sagebrush and rolling hills and wide-open spaces.

Bend, Oregon, is a favourite spot of my dad's in central Oregon, although I haven't had the pleasure. Canadian cross-country skier Beckie Scott was living in Bend at one point, and I remember interviews in which she raved about the place.

Portland, of course, is a dynamic city with great cafes and shopping and terrific local food. They also love their Portland WinterHawks hockey team, I was told by an Oregon tourism official whose husband adores Tie Domi and has a quote from Domi on the family refrigerator, and how many people other than Don Cherry can say that?

There's also a great Shakespeare festival in Ashland and a hugely popular Pinot Noir festival and a big western rodeo (as opposed to the eastern kind) in Pendleton, home of Pendleton shirts. This year's Pendleton Round-up goes Sept. 14-17.

Good stuff. But if there's anything that's gonna lure your Toronto Star Golf magazine editor out to Oregon, it's likely Bandon Dunes. They have four courses and consistenly get rated as the top or very close to it golf experience in North America. One of the folks involved in Bandon Dunes is helping build the new Cabot Links course in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, which we wrote about in this year's golf magazine.

MAID OF THE MIST ABOUT TO RETURN IN NIAGARA

I got this press release on Tuesday morning, another sign of spring (at last).

"After a particularly long winter the historic Maid of the Mist returns to the water, three and a half weeks later than last year.  Maid of the Mist will welcome visitors on both the Canadian and American landings on May 4, 2011.  As Niagara Falls’ top tourist attraction, the popular boats have graced the Niagara waters for more than a century.

"To kick off the upcoming season, readers of the Niagara Falls Review have voted the Maid of the Mist the number one tourist attraction for the 17^th consecutive year. Trip Advisor, a trusted travel review site, has also consistently placed Maid of the Mist as the number one activity in Niagara Falls. With high reviews and a rising economy, the Maid of the Mist organization expects promising results this year."

I always thought it would be cheesy but I took a ride on the Maid of the Mist last year and thought it was awesome. Just spectacular, to be honest. Definitely a must-see in Niagara.

 

My Fair Lady at the Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake: What a show!

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE – I’d go again in a heartbeat.

Well, maybe not a heartbeat. But soon. And with a smile on my face and a tune on my tongue.

I had a friend in university who was in love with My Fair Lady and we listened to the soundtrack (on vinyl) over and over in 1974-75. You’d have to be tone deaf not to appreciate the music, but somehow I’d never seen the play.

That oversight was corrected on Thursday, thanks to a preview at the Shaw Festival down in Niagara-on-the-Lake (which is, by the way, already beginning to show its daffodils and banks of tulips – just in time for the peek-a-boo spring we’ve been having). It was simply outstanding.

Deborah Hay belts out a tune and does a great job with Eliza Doolittle, while Ben Campbell is absolutely first-rate as Henry Higgins, dripping with English upper class sarcasm and pretense. He’s also an excellent singer, which is why this production brings in Lerner and Loewe tunes that Rex Harrison didn’t want to sing in the movie, him being Rex Harrison and all.

They do some other updates as well, such as giving some of the London street folks a 1970’s punk rock look and letting Colonel Pickering, expertly played by Patrick Galligan, stir up a bit of an interest in Higgins’ delightful mother. Doolittle’s father is a true ham in the best sense of the word and is marvelously played by Neil Barclay.

The music, of course, speaks for itself.

Galligan met with several travel media types after the performance and talked about the production and Shaw and the Rolling Stones and acting in general. He said this is his first musical, and he doesn’t do badly as Pickering in the pipes department. He’s no Campbell (whom he lists as one of his best friends) but he doesn’t have to be.

Galligan said he enjoys playing new parts but also gets a charge out of putting his own spin on tried-and-true characters such as Pickering.

“We all play a part some time that someone else has made iconic,” he said. “You can’t be intimidated or you’d run out of interesting things to do.”

Galligan, a dashing sort, has turned Pickering into something more like a hip and caring 50-year-old, versus a stuffy man of 70 or more. And it’s a nice touch.

As for the Stones, he said he found out last year that Mick Jagger is a George Bernard Shaw fan when the Shaw Festival asked him if they could use “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in one of their plays. He said “yes” quickly and the music was used in Doctor’s Dilemma.

I didn’t know the public can get tours of the Shaw Theatre complex, but we got a sample of what the public can get for a measly five bucks, and it was a huge treat. We got to see folks making some of the incredible costumes they use in various plays, including some over-the-top, multi-coloured outfits  for the Ascot race scene – one of the highlights of My Fair Lady, which runs from May 25 to Oct. 30. We also watched a couple of other workers weaving human hair into fitted wigs that actors will use.

Sherry Naismith-Jones (see photo) is a licensed hairdresser who has been at the Shaw for 33 years and says it takes her 30 to 40 hours to weave four or five colours of human hair into a realistic, fitted wig. It takes a lot of patience, but she seems to enjoy it, and it’s always a kick to chat with someone about something they love. (Mind you, the ONLY thing I didn't really like in My Fair Lady was Eliza's hair, which looked too much like something from the 1920's for my liking, but there you go).

My suggestion is that you do yourself a favour this spring or summer and head down to Niagara for the Shaw. Catch My Fair Lady or one of the other shows (they have three Shaw offerings this year as they celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the festival: Candida, Heartbreak House and On the Rocks, plus such notables as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and My Fair Lady, which is of course based on Shaw’s Pygmalion). Stay in one of the Vintage Hotels such as Prince of Wales or the Pillar and Post or Queen’s Landing, which has a great patio overlooking the Niagara River, and try some of the local restaurants and pubs. I had a fab calamari and pizza dinner Thursday night at the Old Winery on Niagara Stone Rd. before heading back to T.O., and I’d recommend it to anyone.

 

 

 

Great dinner at Escabeche at Prince of Wales Hotel, Niagara-on-the-Lake

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE - With all the talk of royal weddings and all, it was a good day to check out the Prince of Wales Hotel.

I don’t get down to Niagara as often as I’d like to, mostly because of the infernal QEW, but it’s always nice to get out of the city and check out this small, green, manicured corner of southern Ontario. The excuse this time was a visit to the Prince of Wales and a preview of My Fair Lady at the Shaw Festival later Thursday.

A group of us were treated to some Wednesday afternoon sparkling wine and then I got my first-ever “wrap” treatment at a spa. I’ll write about it more soon in the pages of Star Travel but suffice to say it was a citrus and tea procedure that left my skin soft as a proverbial baby’s bottom.

I had a chance to stroll around the town for a bit afterward (word of warning; a lot of shops close very early down here, as in 5 p.m. on a weekday in April) and then we were treated to a fabulous dinner by chef Robin Little, with help from the wonderful sommelier, the highly engaging Fred Gamula, who gave us a brief tour of the 8,000 bottle wine cellar.

Gamula said it’s hard to keep up with folks who want him to stock their wines.

“Everybody and his brother is coming in to the hotel with local wines” they want us to stock, he said. “I took one rep down to the cellar the other day to show him and said, ‘Great, but where would you want me to put it?’”

Gamula says Ontario wines, especially the reds, don’t get enough credit. The reds can be tricky on their own, some of them, but generally are great with good, he said.

We had a marveoulous 2009 Coyote’s Run Pinot Blanc with a butternut squash soup with truffle ravioli (see photo) at Escabeche, the Prince of Wales restaurant. There also was  aCave Springs 2009 Riesling with roasted beet salad, balsamic and goat cheese foam (I’m a little tired of the foam thing myself),

The third course had Henry of Pelham Baco Noir reserve with lovely pheasant on a bed of sautéed red cabbage with bacon powder, then a chocolate tart with port or a yogurt panna cotta with fruit for dessert.

Definitely a meal to remember, topped off by a half pint at the Irish Harp (great Irish pub down the street from the hotel) and a nice night at the lovely Prince of Wales Hotel and a morning café latte across the street at Balzac’s, which isn’t as atmospheric as the one in the Distillery District of Toronto but still features awesome coffee.

 

 

Scan-proof underwear? Sign me up!...New York visitors up...King Eddy deal T.O.

HIlarious piece in USA Today this morning on some guy who claims he's designed special underwear that will prevent would-be perverts at airports around the world from checking out your junk when you go through a full body scan.

A guy named Marcus Carey, based in Kentucky, sells clothing with, wait for it, "strategically placed patriotic emblems (American-style of course)" that are made out of a special ink that he claims will blur out a person's private parts.

The photo, attached here, shows a woman with strategically placed twin stars on each breast, flanking an American eagle. You can buy it on his website, www.scannershirts.com, for $14.99. He also has a t-shirt with a happy face at crotch level and sells briefs and boxers.

The website saysthat airport security screenings "now include the use of x-ray machines called “body scanners”. These are highly sophisticated devices which can see through your clothing. They are capable of creating a “nude” image of your private body parts, in revealing detail.

At ScannerShirts.com we are sensitive to your desire to maintain your personal dignity consistent with safe air travel. As such we have designed the products below as privacy wear for family travel.

Our garments have been imprinted with a special ink which tests have shown will create an opaque blur to help keep the details of your private body parts, private.

These items are intended to be worn beneath your normal outer clothing as comfortable undergarments of high quality at a reasonable price.

We are an American Company. All of our products are 100% American made, and we sincerely appreciate your business."

If nothing else, you have to admire the guy's sense of entrepeneurship. I have no idea if these things work, of course, but I'd love to get one. Too bad we just had Christmas.

As a word of warning, USA Today talked with someone from the Transportation Security Administration in the U.S. and was told that anything unusual detected by airport scanners could cause a hassle for travelers, so it may or may not be worth the $15.

Carey insists all his customers who wore his special gear went through airports over the holidays without any problems.

BIG APPLE GETS BIGGER

New York City folks say they attracted 48.7 million visitors in 2010, putting them closer to their goal of 50 million visits by 2012.

It's a pretty impressive number for sure, and it could be one more sign that things are picking up in the U.S. from an economic standpoint. That would be good news for everyone, not just folks in the travel industry.

New York's great in spring, summer and fall. But winter can be a blast, too, as you can see in the photo at right of snow-lovers frolick in Central Park. There's also a terrific deal on these days with New York City restaurants offering great, prix fixe deals. For more information, go to http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

KING EDDY DEAL IN TORONTO

le Meridien King Edward Hotel in Toronto has a heckuva winter sale on. Rooms start at just $119 per night for several days in the next few months, a typically slow time for tourism in the Great White North (not all that cold or wintry, actually, if anyone is reading in the sunny south).

It's a great hotel with a lovely bar and very nice rooms, right downtown. It's also a historic spot where the Beatles once stayed, as well as many members of royalty, etc..., etc...

For more information, click here.

CARIBBEAN CRUISE DEALS?

Haven't had a chance to check it out, but USA Today also is quoting a Wall Street analyst, Matthew Jacob, who says the recent launch of the giant Allure of the Seas is taking away business from the still pretty new Oasis of the Seas, which means good deals for the Oasis ship.

"Jacob's data shows that the newest ships are driving what appears to be a cruise pricing recovery," the paper said, "but that the older vessels are struggling to even get the pricing they managed last year."

If that's the case, it's probably a great time to check out a cruise on a four or five year old ship. Hey, it's not like they haven't changed the sheets or anything. They probably have food and rooms and amenities almost as good as the newer ships, and they probably make the same stops in the Caribbean that other ships make. I suspect the sunsets are about equal, too.