The BC Travel Tuesday series has returned this summer as I partner up once again with Backyard BC to highlight properties and destinations around the province. We’re almost through our six week campaign with six different getaway packages for BC hotels this summer.
Featuring a variety of hotels and resorts located throughout the province, Backyard BC provides residents of British Columbia with free access to exclusive discounts on accommodation. If you live and travel in BC, we’ll make sure you pay less than the lowest rates available to anyone else. Travel local. Save big. Visit Backyard BC online, on Twitter, or Facebook and see more of BC!
The winner of the fourth giveaway of the 2012 BC Travel Tuesday campaign is Christian Johannssen/@FootSolutionsBC! If you haven’t already, you can still enter to win the grand prize which includes stays at every property we’re showcasing over the full six weeks.
The fifth giveaway of the series is back on Vancouver Island, tucked amongst twisting arbutus trees along sandy shores of the island’s eastern coast with both sunrise and sunset views.
Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Backyard BC listing
Location: 1155 Resort Drive, Parksville
About: “Set in 22 acres of arbutus and fir forest nestled beside the ocean; our location offers direct access to three kilometers of sandy Rathtrevor Beach and the warmest ocean swimming in Canada. Our focus is to ensure that you have a unique and memorable Vancouver Island stay. The Grotto Spa at Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort is the #1 Spa in Western Canada, offering signature treatments and services. Featuring 18 treatment rooms, a nail room featuring European Pedicure Thrones and a full service hair salon.”
Prize: Two nights accommodation & Sunday brunch for two
Value: $500
To enter to win the weekly contest:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Weekly winners will be announced every Tuesday on the latest BC Travel Tuesday contest post until the six weeks are up. Gift certificates for hotel and resort stays will be sent directly to each weekly winner so they can arrange their visit personally with the property. Some restrictions apply, based on availability.
View all posts in the series by following or subscribing to my BCTravelTuesday tag. Open to residents of BC. Backyard BC’s grand prize draw for stays at all 6 properties will take place September 4, 2012.
Our fortunate geography lends itself to interesting adventures in dining, from open fields in Pemberton to picnics in the middle of Robson Street. Chefs Across the Water fits right in as top chefs from around the province gather on Salt Spring Island to prepare multi-course dinners at the Hastings House Dinning Room, perched above Ganges Harbour.
Only two Chefs Across the Water events remain this season with Chef Lee Parsons of The Wedgewood Hotel on September 17th and Chef Terry Pichor from Sonora Resort on October 16th. Each will prepare a five course dinner ($100) with wine pairings (+$45).
The meal will incorporate “the best of Salt Spring Island seafood and livestock and Hastings House Country House’s own garden’s freshest fruits and vegetables, carefully paired with wines and cocktails to perfectly compliment their courses, selected in cooperation of our Chefs and Milly Sinclair, Hastings House Dining Room Manager and Sommelier.”
John and I have had the pleasure of dining and staying at Hastings House — with Salt Spring Island being one of our truly happy places. We were enchanted by the island since we first visited together 4 years ago, in fact the title of my blog post about the trip was “Head Over Heels for Salt Spring“.
Salt Spring Island is a food-lover’s paradise, blessed with a mild Mediterranean-like climate and devoted growers and producers renowned for their organic fruits and vegetables, meats, and cheeses. Fresh-caught, wild seafood rounds out nature’s local pantry. In recent years, island wineries have further added to the diversity of the local harvest. Diners can look forward to amazing experiences as the celebrated guest chefs each put their own personal spin on Salt Spring Island flavours. [Chefs Across the Water]
Dinner guests for Chefs Across the Water can book a Salt Spring Air flight right into the harbour or take an early autumn sail over on a BC Ferry to Long Harbour.
A few years ago, after a mind-melting culinary experience, John and I began to keep an unwritten list of some of our favourite and most memorable dining adventures. Unfortunately he’s never joined me at Tulalip Bay Restaurant but it quickly snuck its way onto my list.
Tucked away at inside the resort casino off the I-5 in Washington State, I have been fortunate enough to enjoy multi-course meals in the private dining room of Tulalip Bay under an impressive Dale Chijuly chandelier. Along with other media, my most recent meal at Tulalip Bay was back in April and it was paired specifically with Pacific Northwest wines thanks to Sommelier and Wine Buyer Tommy Thompson.
Appetizer:
Volcano seared Ahi Tuna with tempura vegetables, wasabi cilantro fusion
Wine pairing: 2010 Long Shadows Poets Leap Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington
Salad:
Dungeness crab and avocado with fresh mango, Asian wasabi horseradish vinaigrette
Wine pairing: 2008 Tranche Cellars Roussanne-Viognier, Columbia Valley, Washington
I have learned that when you’re on the coast in Washington State and you’re offered crab, you take it — and you won’t be disappointed.
Entree:
Crab crusted Alaskan Halibut with wok vegetables, wasabi mash, Sriracha chili butter sauce
Wine pairing: 2008 Tenor Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington
Dessert:
White chocolate buttermilk shortcake with lime macerated strawberries and sweet cream
Wine pairing: 2005 Chateau St Michel Late Harvest White Riesling, Columbia Valley, Washington
Our feast was indulgent and loaded with fresh local ingredients, the catch of the day, and wines from the region. In both of my experiences at Tulalip Bay there has been an emphasis on celebrating Washington, the coast, its wineries, and providing a spin on everyday classics.
Tulalip Bay is located within the impressive Tulalip Resort and Casino — beautifully decorated, loaded with comforts and technology, and filled with artwork and tributes to the heritage and culture of the Tulalip Tribe.
You don’t need to be a hotel guest (although I would recommend them as an overnight stop any day) or a casino player to enjoy the restaurant. You can stop in on your way to and from the premium outlets which are just next door, while you’re at Tulalip for a show, or on your way to Seattle. They also have a “dinner and a show” package available if you’re heading down for acts like Kenny Rogers, Patton Oswalt, or Smokey Robinson.
Tulalip Bay is the fine dining option at Tulalip Resort and Casino but it’s definitely worth treating yourself (and your date) to its opulent flavours and abundant regional wine selection. Take Exit 202 from the I-5 and look for the resort on the West side of the highway. It’s right between Wal-Mart and the Premium Outlets. Follow @TulalipResort on Twitter for more information.
Nordica Photography, friends of Miss604.com, have just announced that they are hosting a wedding photography workshop in November called “Get Real Vancouver“. With only 20 seats available, this exclusive event has a very high value for those serious about improving their photography and their business through discussions about motivation and creativity. They’ll also cover everything about running a wedding photography business, from editing to websites and SEO.
John & Me. Photo by Nordica Photography
The two-day immersive workshop will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm on November 6th and 7th, 2012 at the Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver with guest speakers Fer Juaristi and Nirav Patel, along with hosts Cole and Jakob of Nordica Photography.
Why host an event for wedding photographers in a competitive market like Vancouver? Cole and Jakob told me that by making the industry stronger, everyone will benefit. “There are no shortcuts in photography. That’s for sure, and no workshop on earth is going to give you what you need to turnaround your business overnight.”
“We learned early with Nordica that artistic entrepreneurs will move their business forward much faster if they focus on cooperation rather than competition, which is why hosting an event like this makes total sense to us. We’re thinking big though with Get Real, and this is the first of many we have planned in other parts of the world.”
Tickets are currently available for Get Real Vancouver and you can follow @NordicaPhoto on Twitter for more information. Browse the Nordica Photography blog and stories page as well to check out their dreamy portfolio.
Browsing the Vancouver Public Library Archives and the Vancouver Archives as much as I do, I often come across material from the same handful of photographers. Thanks to their work, we have a glimpse at what Vancouver life was like over many decades, building up from the tents at Granville Townsite. Today I have decided to feature the photography of Walter Edwin Frost:
1930s BCER Street Car. Archives item# CVA 447-1580 & 1955 CNR diesel. Archives item# CVA 447-1197.
1930s – Vancouver Harbour Commissioners Terminal Railway Steam Engine #202.
Archives item # CVA 447-734
Walter E. Frost was born in Vancouver in 1898. After World War I he bought a Kodak roll film camera and began to photograph his city and the ships and trains that carry its life-blood. He was an avid amateur photographer interested in ships, trains, and the city of Vancouver. He stopped taking photographs in the mid 1970s. He died in 1988. [Source: MemoryBC]
1973 – Europe Hotel. Archives item# CVA 447-95
& 1972 – Flack Block, Hastings & Cambie. Archives item# CVA 447-380.
1951 – Granville Bridge at 4th. Archives item# CVA 447-135.
1949 – Hastings & Burrard. Archives item# CVA 447-389 & 1959 – Granville & Cordova. Archives item# CVA 447-325.
Frost directly donated his collection over over 10,000 articles to the Vancouver Archives in 1985. The fonds consists of family photographs and Frost’s photographs of Vancouver city scenes; steam and diesel locomotives and other railway scenes; and ships in Vancouver harbours and docked at various Vancouver piers and wharves.
1953 – Nine o’clock gun in Stanley Park. Archives item# CVA 447-26 &
1927 – Orpheum Theatre being constructed. Archives item# CVA 447-397.
1930 – CPR Railway tracks & Carrall Street. Archives item# CVA 447-285.
Previously profiled photographers: Philip Timms, Bailey Bros., Don Coltman, Fred Herzog, Leonard Frank.
