After our heavily caffeinated drive from Vancouver to Seattle, and after quickly taking in our room’s stunning 10th floor ocean-front view as the light change across the Pacific Northwest sky, Rebecca and I were quickly whisked downstairs to the hotel spa for some much needed rest and relaxation.
A girls getaway isn’t complete and without a decadent spa treatment and the Spa the Four Seasons Seattle definitely delivered, being truly an oasis within the oasis that is the Pacific Northwest.
Bathrobed and barefooted, Rebecca and I walked along the pristine white tiles, admired the purple orchids, and sat in an eucalyptus-scented steam room while we waited for our treatments.
I have extremely dry skin and have tried so many types of moisturizers and treatments only to have little success. Facials, for the most part, have only ended in more dryness and a rash. So when I made the appointment to get an oxygen facial and peptide eye treatment at the Spa, I was a little nervous, because, after all, what exactly is an Oxygen Facial?
My esthetician was Christine who proceeded to explain what the Oxygen Facial was developed by Intraceuticals, and Australian company, and involves a machine that sprays atomized moisturizers, antioxidants, and vitamins onto the skin by using a stream of pressurized oxygen. The treatment is suppose to hydrate skin immediately, with the oxygen pushing the treatment deep into the skin, making the face appear smoother and plumper. It’s a favourite among celebrities like Madonna, Victoria Beckham, and Kim Kardashian.
With a metal wand, Christine started with the eye and lip treatment on the right side of my face. The pressure of the oxygen stream wasn’t intense and all, even around the eye, and just felt like someone lightly blowing on me. After that was complete, she then proceeded on the same side, with the Oxygen Facial for the rest of the skin. Then Christine handed me a mirror; it looked as though I had a facelift, botox, and fillers on the treated side of my face. The lines around my eyes smoothed out, my cheekbones were higher, my lips were slightly fuller, and my skin was so hydrated it had a dewy glow.
After she completed the entire face, and after we went upstairs, and in the ensuing hours, at dinner and at a show, I couldn’t stop touching my face. It was so soft and moist. Even the next day, and the day after, my face was so hydrated.
Needless to say, it was a pretty miraculous treatment and I even purchased a product from the Intraceuticals line at the Spa (the Atoxelene Line Wand) before we drove back to Vancouver. I plan to return to Spa at Four Seasons Seattle for another treatment as soon as I can and to purchase more products, which seem to be cheaper to buy there than here in Canada, even with the exchange rate. Along with the long chats with Rebecca, catching up on life and love, the treatment at the Spa at Four Seasons Seattle was for me a highlight of the trip and definitely life-changing, for my skin at least.
The bar and nightclub industry will join together to support music therapy efforts in Canada during the 4th annual A Night Out for Music Heals, happening in over a dozen cities across Canada on March 7th. When you head out to one of over 40 participating venues, $1 from your cover will go directly to Music Heals.
Alongside Executive Director of Music Heals, I caught up with Mo Tarmohamed, owner of The Rickshaw Theatre to talk about The Rickshaw’s very special offering for A Night Out for Music Heals this year.
A Night Out for Music Heals at The Rickshaw
Located on East Hastings, just off Main Street in the Downtown Eastside, The Rickshaw seems to automatically have an edge. “One of the things that this place has been known for, and has been home to, is punk and metal shows,” Mo explained as he, Chris, and I walked past rows of theatre seating down onto the inclined floor space in front of the stage. But while metal and punk has been The Rickshaw’s “bread and butter”, its great sight lines, professional staff, lighting options, and 500+ capacity have made it an ideal venue for many acts, both local and international.
“We didn’t want to be known strictly as a niche venue so we’ve really opened it up and had quite a diversity of musical genres. Even last week, Tuesday we had Napalm Death a metal band, then on Thursday we had R&B/soul, on Friday we had punk, on Saturday we had world beat music.” With the diverse range of artists playing sold out shows for audience with a demographic with ages of 19 to 65, Mo said he often sees people act surprised that The Rickshaw existed — and that they haven’t been there before.
Crossing back through the lobby, with walls covered in posters and notices for upcoming shows, we made our way up to the balcony and Mo pointed out a few more lighting and effects features available at the venue.
“We’ve hosted bands that are on the upward trajectory, like last year we had two sold out shows for War on Drugs — Future Islands played her last year and this year they’re playing at Malkin Bowl. So we’re catching bands that are just in the process of blowing up but then we also get some of those legacy bands.” DOA, Mudhoney, Human League, Concrete Blonde, have all played The Rickshaw recently and coming up they are hosting the likes of Wishbone Ash and The Rezillos.
The Rickshaw has also become a coveted stage for local performers. “They play at places like Funky’s and The Astoria, but getting on stage at the Rickshaw is a special notch on their belt. It just makes them feel like they’ve arrived — or are arriving — and they get the full rockstar treatment.”
“Mo made a reason to come out on a night that was otherwise an empty night.”
– Chris Brandt, Music Heals
With that commitment to the local music scene, it’s no surprise that The Rickshaw has signed on for A Night Out for Music Heals. “Mo specifically created the show when I sent the first email,” Chris said as we all looked down at The Rickshaw stage from above.
“He said, ‘we don’t have anything that night, so I’ll make something that night’. That differentiates what The Rickshaw is doing. There was nothing here on the 7th and Mo went and created something.” Chris said that while all participants are appreciated, it’s harder for a live venue to throw their support behind a cause like A Night Out for Music Heals since the contribution has to come out of someone’s pocket, whether that be the promoter, the venue, or the band.
“When Mo reached out to everyone, they were all in with the full understanding that a buck from every cover was going to be going to charity. So, that’s a whole other level of emotional investment from the bands and the venue, which is amazing.”
Acts that will play The Rickshaw on March 7th for A Night Out for Music Heals are Spoon River, Sh-Shakes, Eric Campbell & The Dirt, The Wandering Halls, Random Dander. Tickets are $11 in advance, $9 at the door. No service charges on tickets bought at Red Cat, Neptoon or Dandelions. $1 from your ticket will go to Music Heals, all you need to do is purchase one.
The Music Heals Charitable Foundation helps raise awareness of the healing powers of Music and fundraises to increase access to Music Therapy for patients in children’s hospitals, senior’s homes, palliative care, AIDS & HIV programs, bereavement, and more. Music Therapy is the skillful use of music and musical elements by an accredited music therapist to promote, maintain, and restore mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Follow Music Heals on Twitter and use the tag #NightOut4MH for updates.
Don’t miss FIFA Women’s World Cup action in Vancouver this summer as Canada hosts the most important international competition in women’s soccer from June 6th to July 5th, 2015. This is the first major sporting event in Canada to be hosted from coast to coast, with matches to be played in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec and Moncton.
Tickets on Sale February 26th
Ticket passports went on sale in September, the VISA pre-sale has been happening throughout February, and as of 9:00am on Thursday, February 26, 2015 tickets will go on sale for the public.
Individual tickets for all six venues will be on sale through FIFA.com/Canada2015, on a first-come, first-served basis. All prices listed are for each full match day, with the group stage featuring 15 doubleheaders and 6 single matches. The knockout stages include the Round of 16, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, 3rd Place and Final Match and are all single matches.
This will be the first opportunity for the public to purchase individual match tickets, including tickets to the final match at BC Place. Tickets will start at $20.15 for group stage matches and fans will also have the opportunity to attend any match, competition-wide, for fifty dollars or less – including the final in Vancouver – making this an extremely affordable world-class event.
Matches
Reigning FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan will kick off its World Cup campaign with two matches in Vancouver before heading to Winnipeg for its final group stage match. FIFA top-ranked Germany will play its first two matches in Ottawa, and a third in Winnipeg. Second-ranked team USA will be launching its World Cup bid in Winnipeg, with a third match in Vancouver. Third-ranked France and sixth-ranked England are featured on the Atlantic coast in Moncton. View the full schedule online.
Follow Canada Women’s National Team soccer updates on Facebook and Twitter with tag #CANWNT.
It’s time to sign up with your team for the Scotiabank Bowl for Big Brothers Classic, the largest fundraising event of its kind in North America! Taking over bowling centres across the Lower Mainland this April, there are over 30 events to choose from and you’ll join over 2,000 participants on 200 teams to support Big Brothers’ mentoring programs for at-risk children.
Sign Up
Sign up, raise pledges, have fun, support the kids and be a superhero! When and where is up to you, choose from a variety of bowling locations (like REVS, The Zone Richmond and Commodore) and events throughout the month of April. When you raise a minimum of $60 you can bowl, eat, drink and have fun with a group of colleagues, friends or family, while giving back to a great cause.
About Big Brothers
One in four Lower Mainland children grows up without a father. By matching at-risk children with mentors, we attempt to instill resiliency to help them cope with the adversities they face. By participating in this bowling campaign, you can help us make a difference. There is no more important investment than helping our community’s children realize – and share – their full potential.
Enter to Win
In support of the Scotiabank Bowl for Big Brothers Classic, I’m giving away two 1 Month Unlimited Yoga Passes to Semperviva Yoga. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment naming your favourite superhero (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 5:00pm on Friday, February 27, 2015. Follow Big Brothers on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Update The winner is Kate!
I usually plan a weekend getaway leading up to our wedding anniversary and for #9 this year, I looked east to the Fraser Valley. We’ve always enjoyed our time in Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, Harrison, Agassiz, and beyond, where rushing streams meet pristine lakes, old growth forests cling on mountainsides, and farmers grow a bounty of delicious local goods. We’ve barely been back for 24 hours but having such a successful trip, I thought I would share what made our time in the Fraser Valley so memorable.
7 Simple Steps for Enjoying a Romantic Getaway in the Fraser Valley
1. Take the scenic route:
Branded as Scenic Highway 7, this road can take you all the way from Coquitlam to Hope, and it’s a beautiful and efficient alternative to the Trans Canada Highway. I was driving an all new, six speed Acura ILX this week which made it really fun to navigate twists and turns of this scenic route that winds past the rail line, family farms, river bends, and country stores. Taking Highway 7 as far as you can go on the north side of the river, we took a quick turn along Morris Valley Road (follow the signs to Hemlock) and arrived at Rowena’s Inn.
2. Stay somewhere awesome:
John and I first stayed at Rowena’s Inn on the River back in 2011 and it has since become one of our favourite local getaway destinations. This 160 acre family estate has a golf course, luxurious inn, and cabins along the Harrison River where the bald eagles soar, salmon run in the creek, and classic elegance meets the beauty of the valley.
We love that we can drive just 90 minutes outside of Downtown Vancouver to reach the peace and tranquility of this river side setting. The fact that the cabins have fireplaces, fridges for your bottles of bubbly, and in-floor heating next to the jacuzzi tubs in the bathroom doesn’t hurt either. You can go for a walk along the river’s edge or stay inside all day by the fire, reading a book or enjoying each other’s company.
New this season, the breakfast basket delivery to the cabins was discontinued but meals are being served in the drawing room of the main estate house, which was lovely with another roaring fire and jazz tunes softly setting the mood. The estate also now has complimentary guest WiFi.
3. Go for a walk:
It’s safe to say that our favourite activity, whether it be in the city or out in the valley, is going for a walk in one of our regions many parks. From Rowena’s we hopped in the car and drove over to Sasquatch Provincial Park just outside Harrison Hot Springs. The drive was 30 minutes, with about 10 minutes of gravel roads in once we entered the park and visited both Deer Lake and Hicks Lake (each 6km away from the park entrance).
It was a bright, warm, and sunny February morning when we visited and the parking lot had about a dozen cars in it already. Families were out fishing, walking the dog, and setting up picnics at the many tables and sandy beaches along the Hicks Lake.
We found a few paths that took us to lookouts, additional picnic areas, and viewpoints along the lake where a group of Canada Geese discovered us and began tracking our movements from the water.
Down one road and up another, we then walked hand-in-hand around Deer Lake, which has a boardwalk area off the parking lot where a beaver had obviously been busy creating waterfalls and flooding the flat lands around its lodge. Without the overgrown greenery of summer, a water pistol and a lone flip flop lay in the mud near the skunk cabbage showing that this is obviously a very popular recreational area during the warmer months.
Rounding a corner on a gravel path, we dropped down to the rocky beach where a strong wind caused whitecaps to stream across the emerald water, which mimicked the evergreen-covered mountains that hugged its shores. With the wind cutting through my jacket it was the perfect time for a hug from my sweetheart to warm me up.
4. Have a hearty lunch:
After working up an appetite, and being a bit chilled from the lake wind, we drove back down to Harrison Hot Springs to have lunch at Chuck & Kitty’s Country Cafe. The tiny space just off the main beach road was packed at 1:30pm on a Saturday with guests ordering the soup of the day, giant slices of cheesecake, and late breakfasts consisting of pancakes smothered in strawberries. John ordered the tuna melt with the Thai chicken soup, and I had a BLT and a cup of split pea and ham. Service was prompt, friendly, and the hearty meal was just what we needed.
5. Do some shopping:
Inspired by our tasty lunch, we retraced our path from a Circle Farm Tour we did a few years ago on bikes. During that tour we were introduced to a handful of local farms and producers like Farm House Natural Cheese (which has the BEST cheese curds) and Canadian Hazelnut.
6. Enjoy a decadent meal with local ingredients:
Rowena’s Inn has the River’s Edge Restaurant but at this point in the season, as mentioned in Step 2, meals are being served in the manor house, which is a 2 minute walk from the cabins across a stream, past the outdoor pool and hot tub.
We ordered the table d’hôte for $40 which included a starter, entreé, and dessert of chocolate mouse that sat on top of a sweet cream cheese-filled chocolate cup. I paired the house wine (from Domain de Chaberton in Langley) with my prime rib and John ordered the Gray Monk Pinot Gris (one of our BC favourites) with his salmon wellington. We split the dessert, although our spoons clashed on more than one occasion.
7. Light a fire and unwind from all the amazing adventures you had earlier in the day:
The walk back to our cabin was lit by the moon and once we traded our coats for robes, the fire was lit, a VQA cork was popped, and we busted out the Scrabble board that was sitting on the mantel.
With our bellies full, faces flush from the windy walk by the lakes, and toes warmed by the crackling fire, we toasted to another year of marriage and another year of making the very best of a winter weekend, whether it be in the city or in the valley.
Other activities that are outstanding in the Fraser Valley include a river jet boat tour, golfing, fly fishing, sturgeon fishing, events like the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival or Tulips of the Valley, or soaking in the Harrison Hot Springs mineral pools. Whatever your taste, there’s an adventure your pace awaiting in the Fraser Valley!
