Everything You Need to Know About Wine
Summer Wine Tourism In The Penticton Lake Area
In the heart of British Columbia, the Penticton Lake area offers some of the most spectacular wine tourism around. This part of Canada offers you as much sun as Hawaii or southern California, which is why it is home to acres of fruit orchards—especially vinyards. The Penticton Lake area is part of the “Napa Valley of Canada,” so spending some of your summer sunshine time here sampling hand-crafted wines is a sure bet.
Planning Your Trip
To start out and plan your trip, visit the Penticton and Wine Country Visitor Centre. There you'll find listings for more than 40 wineries in the immediate area—none more than a 20 minute drive from central Penticton. You can also take advantage of the Vintners Quality Alliance boutique which offers wine-tasting tutorials.
Another great tool for planning is the British Columbia tourism board, which calls the Penticton area “the heart” of the Canadian wine scene. The board lists almost 50 different wine tours in the area.Read more
7 Travel Apps For Your Best Vacation Ever
You’ve just booked your first vacation in years. You know who you’re going with and for how long. You know you can expect beautiful weather, spectacular culture and unreal memories. But as you pull your dusty suitcase out from your closet, your vision blurred with the dozens of destination photos you scanned earlier on Google, you suddenly realize: Where the heck do I even begin in organizing this trip?
No need to fret, avid-traveler. All too familiar with the stress that can arise from planning and executing an unforgettable vacation, I’ve put together a list of the best travel apps to use to guarantee a smooth trip. Oh yeah, and all these travel apps are 100% free.
What You Need To Know About Travel Insurance
Chances are great that you've been faced with the issue of whether or not to buy travel insurance before. If you're like most people you probably didn't buy it, and that may have been a wise choice. However, it's important to understand what you need to know about travel insurance if you want to make a smart decision about whether or not to use it.
The Basics
There are four kinds of travel insurance generally, along with several add-ons and variations. The big four are: Trip Cancellation, Lost Personal Effects and Baggage, Emergency Medical, and Accidental Death. Variations and add-ons include 24 Hour Traveler Assistance, Dental, Emergency Evacuation, Rental Car Collision/Damage, and Travel Delay. How much travel insurance costs depends on your age, what kind of coverage you're getting, and the total cost of the trip. According to the Insurance Information Institute, typical policies run about 5 to 7 percent of the cost of the trip. The majority of policies are sold by travel industry professionals who also earn commissions on sales.Read more
Pros and Cons of Using a Travel Agent
Traveling is so different than it once was; to book much of anything you really needed to use a travel agent. However, now that almost everything is online, you probably book a lot of travel yourself. So is there are reason to use a travel agent anymore? In reality, there are the pros and cons of using a travel agent—and also to booking online on your own:
Advice and Insight into the Industry
Pro: Agents often know the best days and times to travel, how early you should book to save the most, and which attractions and resorts are the most inviting. They are also more adept with warning you about advisories and risks, not to mention obscure must-sees that you otherwise might miss.
Con: Travel websites put most of their resources into accessing many different deals and travel options. For this reason you may be able to find all kinds of choices yourself just by searching effectively.Read more
Great Ways to Stay Cool With Your Kids
Already planning on ways to beat the heat this summer? There are so many awesome things you can do with your kids to stay busy and keep cool. Check out these fun ideas:
Join the Club
Check for kids' clubs at your local library, community center, or college. You'll be surprised at how many opportunities are out there, especially in urban and suburban areas. Why not stay cool with your kids while getting into fun new hobbies?
Get Away
If the summer equivalent of “cabin fever” has you down, improve your outlook and your kids' dispositions by taking a quick weekend trip. You don't have to break the bank or take time off of work to have a really special weekend together. Head out to camp for a night or two or take in the local culture in another town, exploring just for fun as you stay cool with your kids.Read more
Why You Need To Travel Solo At Least Once In Your Life
Traveling is wonderful no matter how you do it, but there's something really special about traveling solo. The first time I did it I was much younger, and although I was excited I was nervous, too. I didn't need to be, and you don't either; in fact, I can assure you without reservation that everyone needs to travel alone, regularly if possible, but at least once. Here's why.
It's All About You
We should all be ourselves all of the time, but most of us fail at this at least some of the time when surrounded by other people who want or need things from us. Traveling solo, especially far from home, you can be yourself, and you don't care who knows it. Being able to act, eat, dress, and say whatever you feel like replenishes your reserves.Read more
The Hidden Gem of Winter, Apex Mountain Resort Speaks to Snow-Seekers, From 1 to 92...
As with many things in the world, the greatest treasures are often those found off the beaten path - paragons in the white space of the remarkable and unfrequented, to which there remains a quiet refinement. Apex Mountain Resort is one such treasure. Nestled in the heart of the Okanagan Valley, a short 30 minute drive from Penticton, Apex is not difficult to seek out and is indeed, anything but usual. Apex Resort has personality. Its quaint, rustic, home-spun appeal, invokes a personal experience that inspires a savoring belonging. Unlike the larger, commercialized, corporate ski resorts, Apex speaks to a more intimate sensibility, emphasizing family, friends and the timeless magic of the season, without the burden of long queues and heavy crowds. The perfect blend of world-class terrain and accessibility, the peak sits at an impressive 7,200 feet, delivering 2000 feet of vertical in just six and a half minutes, with 1,112 ski-able acres, and a total uphill capacity of 6,700 riders per hour, ensuring quick and easy navigation. An ideal climate makes for the most incredible champagne powder among the widest variety of trails; from the extensive glades of the Wild Side, to the elliptical south bowls, from the steep chutes along the north face, to sprawling wide open terrain and gently rolling slopes, Apex Mountain Resort captures the indefinite imagination of any snow-seeking enthusiast. It`s no wonder the mountain has been awarded so many distinctions over the years, including, Canada’s Best Small Destination Resort, Best Weather, Best Lift/Run Ratio, Best Steeps, Best Grooming, and B.C. Alpine Resort of the Year, (to name but a few). Moreover, Apex is now recognized as the National Training Center for Freestyle Aerials and Moguls, where one can catch Olympic and world-class athletes from around the globe, training for upcoming events and competitions. Hosting a plethora of activities that cater to everyone, from the tube park, to the Fairview hockey rink and adventure skate loop, from night skiing to snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing at the Nickel Plate Nordic Center, Apex has it all. The resort is a diamond in the ruff, a place of engaging innocence and enduring character that encourages the funky and poignant, the seasoned and savvy as well as the green and inexperienced, in a transcendence of age and ability. This year, The Penticton Lakeside Resort wants to let you in on the best-kept secret in the world of winter recreation. We are now offering ski packages for two, that feature two nights stay in one of our deluxe lakeview guestrooms, inclusive of two full day lift passes at Apex Mountain Resort, starting at only $280.00 + taxes, and our All Inclusive Ski Inclusive features an additional hot toddies for two at the Hooded Merganser Bar & Grill, and dinner for two at the Bufflehead Pasta & Tapas Room, starting at only $365.00 + taxes, both of which are available until April, 2012. Call for details and bookings at: 250-493-8221 or toll free at: 1 800-663-9400. Experience one of the world’s greatest hidden treasures today!
-Elizabeth Cucnik
Remembering The Meaning Of Remembrance
Remembrance Day is about remembrance. But what exactly are we remembering? Officially, November 11th is a Canadian public holiday, commemorated by the Commonwealth countries in remembrance of all those who have lost their lives in the line of duty since the Great War. World War II, Korea, Vietnam, The Gulf War, Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, the Invasion of Iraq in 2003 and most recently, the Libyan Uprising, are all included in a collective acknowledgement. War is a central theme to the institution of Remembrance Day, but Remembrance Day is not just about remembering a timeline of war, nor its distinctions and details. It also reminds us of the seed of war, surging in the hot and dense state of our early universe, before it spontaneously burst across the heavens in a thunderous rage of fury and might - creating, destroying, building and beating. It reminds us of our own peaceful and war-ravaged creation and the very germ from which we sprung.
Remembrance Day is a motion that emphasizes the human in humanity. An unyielding reminder of mankind’s universality, Remembrance Day creates history just as much as it pulls the rug out from under it. It stands as an annual indication of our pressing mortality, slinking sneakily in the shadows of Man’s epic struggle and loneliness. Like leaves which fall to the ground with the changing of seasons to cover the earth with a blanket of decay, the years of mankind’s collective history is the mulch of our future. Remembrance Day, is simply a walk through the leaves; history is its compost. And so we remember…
Independent of epoch or culture, we remember the human condition – constant, universal, innate - it subjugates any linear timeline of sociocultural evolution, bringing into question the relevance of history among the backdrop of Flanders Fields. Emblems of the common humanity, poppies symbolize the dreams of our unconscious by their opiate properties, and our life, death and resurrection by their blood-red colour. White poppies, born in peaceful protest by the pacifist hand of the hopeless romantic, in dissent and denial, they undermine the human condition by disassociating themselves from the militaristic aspects of Remembrance Day with the meaning of a hope to end all wars. This dichotomy of red and white tears at the very heart of our civilization, as humankind remains both full of the red fire that creates and destroys, and the white wash of peace that wants for nothing.
And so, Remembrance Day is more than, O Valiant Hearts, the sounding of The Rouse and the wearing of red and white poppies. It is a beacon within the dark abyss of human evolution, a marker in no man’s land, speaking of an experience within which we can dream, fail, and continue to survive. And when we stand in salute for the Royal Anthem of Canada, we sing, “God Save Mankind from Man” while the Queen disappears into history before the veterans march past. Like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we are nameless, faceless, everyone and everything, echoing its inscription within the context of our own convictions, “The Lord Knoweth them that are his, Unknown and yet well known, dying and behold we live.” Yes. We remember.
-Elizabeth Cucnik
What Does A True Summer Make?
What does summer mean in a society full of deadlines, due dates, timelines and schedules? In all our angst, have we forgotten the true meaning of Summer? Summertime is nature's parody of contentment and love, a reminder to return to the simple pleasures that bring forth great joy; it is a sigh of relief for those winter-born or winter-bound souls... summer is a relaxed idea without shape or form, a term without definition, a dear friend and a secret worth sharing. Summertime is like a fuzzy vision of sedation, the blurriness one experiences before great clarity to which the spirit rejoices, the mind succumbs and the body rejuvenates. Of course summer would not be summer without beaches, warmth, bodies of water, food and drink! Yes, this is summertime folks - a season that transcends age, gender, occupancy, line of work, lifestyle, social standing - plucking us from our orbits to strip us bare from our titles, roles and responsibilities so we can simply enjoy ourselves as we are. So if you want to truly experience true summer, there is nowhere else more true in the South Okanagan, than right here at the Penticton Lakeside Resort. Our new private beach, adjacent to the Barking Parrot, offers sensational views of Lake Okanagan, while relaxing on our private loungers and chairs, sipping on one of our many refreshing blended or chilled alcoholic and nonalcoholic bevies and savouring each mouthful of full-flavored summer favourites off our beach menu. This place is a hidden gem - the vertex point where summertime fuzziness meets clarity, and simple pleasures resurface an inner peace. Let's face it, summer just wouldn't be summer without an exclusive beach-side experience to serenade the sedentary essence of the sunny season, nor would summer be summer without the affection of an Okanagan sun to warm the chill of a lingering spring on the spirit. Yes indeed, summer is truly summer here - the only place to experience the truth of what it means to truly let go and enjoy - without charade or invention. So come and take a load off - forget the deadlines, the due dates, the timelines and the schedules. Dare to leave your cell phone, your ipod, your ipad, your laptop, your "life" at home, in the car or the hotel room, and let us let go for you, if just for an afternoon!
-Elizabeth Cucnik