Category Archives: Travel

My daughter’s bucket list: exotic travel, animals and Disneyland

Posted on May 2, 2012 | 4 comments

When we were in Ixtapa, Mexico over spring break my husband got to check off an item from his bucket list: parasailing. This got our daughter asking, “What’s a bucket list?” We explained it’s a list of things you want to do or try or see before you die.

Avery got pretty excited and started writing her own bucket list, with pink magic marker:

Kids can have bucket lists too. And they dream of doing a lot more than just eating Cap'n Crunch with Crunchberries for every meal and moving to Hawaii.

I know it’s hard to read and the spelling is somewhat appalling (she is only in Grade 1 … still, maybe we should switch to a private school?) but here are some highlights (it continued on the back of the page):

Hot air balloon
Visit Antarctica
Get a dog
Visit a castle
Raft through the Grand Canyon with my family
Go to Mexico and dance on the table
Visit a jungle in South America
Ride a camel
Get my ears pierced
Go to China and eat dim sum
Go to Disneyland
Go to Africa
Drive a car
Climb a mountain (the highest one)

I am pleased there are so many travel-related items on her list, though I have to wonder how much was influenced by Blake, who kept suggesting ideas as he sipped on Coronitas. One of them (No. 6) was something he did back in university, which resulted in stitches at a Mazatlan clinic after he fell off the table and cut open his head (Avery loves this story). And I’m not sure when Avery decided to climb Mount Everest, but I guess it shows she has ambition and a love of the mountains.

When I was six I’m pretty sure I would have written down things like, “Lose a tooth and see the Tooth Fairy,” or, “Invite Elizabeth over to play.” It goes to show how today’s youth are being shaped by their parents’ tastes and TV preferences (exotic travel and The Amazing Race).

A recent “bucket list” story in the Globe and Mail listed 50 things a kid should do before they turn 12. Many of the items were simple things like “Climb a tree,” “Camp out in the wild,” “Bury someone in the sand” and “Climb a huge hill” — activities that should, arguably, be a part of childhood without having to legislate them onto a bucket list. But the point of the story is that many kids aren’t getting enough back-to-nature time. They’re stuck behind screens playing Angry Birds instead of feeding a real bird seeds from the palm of their hand.

Avery checks off No. 18 from the story's list: "Balance on a fallen tree."

So, even though Avery’s bucket list items are quite a bit more complicated than those in the Globe, I take comfort in the fact that she’s likely to climb a tree (in the South American jungle), camp out in the wild (in Africa), bury her brother in the sand (in Ixtapa — cross that off the list) and climb a huge hill (does Mount Everest count?). The only trick will be accomplishing these feats before she turns 12.

Do you — or your kids — have a bucket list? What’s on it?

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Posted in Potpourri, Travel

Tagged Bucket list for kids, family travel

Why I love spring skiing

Posted on April 11, 2012 | Leave a comment

By April, most people have given up on skiing. With longer days and chirping robins, outdoor enthusiasts turn their attention to warmer-weather pursuits such as tennis, mountain biking and hiking. That, however, is folly. Given our climate and its wicked penchant for snowstorms in May, you might as well embrace the snow — and skiing — until the gondola halts to a stop at Sunshine Village on Victoria Day.

Besides, spring is arguably the best time to go skiing. I just spent an incredible weekend at Fernie Alpine Resort, where I floated atop powder and carved turns through corn snow, got a tan and drank beer on a patio while sweating from the heat. When was the last time you did all that in the same day?

Still not convinced? Here are four reasons to give spring skiing it a try:

1. Bluebird days

Come April, the powder-producing blizzards don’t hit as frequently, which means blue skies and sunshine. Bluebird days were a rarity in Fernie this winter, so I rather enjoyed this one, and the stellar views from everywhere on the mountain.

It snows so much at Fernie, you easily forget the amazing views until a sunny day blows you away.

2. Tons of snow

I have always wondered why the hordes drive out to Lake Louise on opening weekend, when there’s no base to speak of and the only run open is Wiwaxy, but the resort looks like a ghost town in April and May when the base is over 200 cm and the entire mountain is open. It makes no sense. There was so much snow at Fernie this past weekend (427 cm base), the Currie Bowl sign was in danger of being engulfed. Also, you can still ski powder at the top of the mountain and slushie corn snow at the bottom. Get a late start to avoid the morning ice.

There's so much snow, the Currie Bowl sign is slowly getting buried.

3. Warm temperatures

Forget icy toes and hot chocolate breaks every hour. In the spring you can ski in far fewer layers and never get cold.

4. Outdoor apres ski

Need I say more? Sit on an outdoor patio and sip a cold beer or a cocktail, like this Griz Bar Caesar.

What's better than apres ski? Outdoor apres ski.

Family fun in Ixtapa

Posted on April 9, 2012 | 5 comments

After a week in Ixtapa, Mexico with kids and nary a bandito sighting, I have come to appreciate the real dangers of travel south of the U.S. border: the sun, stinging water fauna and the ocean. Runners up include the weirdly hard mattresses and elevator doors that close speedy-quick.

All of our encounters with danger occured within 48 hours of our arrival, and may have had something to do with our margarita- and cerveza-clouded parenting judement. But no matter. Here’s what went down:

Our son got a sunburn on his shoulders on Day 1, as for some reason I dressed him in a wife-beater tank-top that day and forgot to apply sunscreen to his shoulders. On Day 2 he got stung by a jellyfish, the pain of which eased when a local “healer” rubbed sand on it (good thing too, as my husband declared he’d been about to pee on Bennett’s arm!). A couple hours later Bennett was knocked off his feet by a huge wave and I had to recall my high school lifeguard training and rescue him by sacrificing my back on the offshore rocks. And finally, he ran into our hotel elevator and the doors closed behind him before we could get on. The elevator then went up to the 21st floor, Bennett got off — totally non-plussed (I was freaking out!) — and some random senora delivered him back to us. Ay yi yi!

But when we weren’t being radiated by the sun, dodging jellies, fleeing from rogue waves and playing elevator hide-and-seek, we discovered the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo area has a ton of activities and excursions to occupy a young family. Here are the top five:

1. Isla Ixtapa

It’s a short taxi ride to Playa Linda and then a five-minute boat ride to Isla Ixtapa. The island’s beaches are more protected than the main beach in Ixtapa, so the waves aren’t as crazy and the snorkeling is supposed to be good when it’s calm. You can walk between the beaches and take shelter at one of many restaurants for cervezas and snacks. Our kids liked collecting snails and sea glass, swimming and digging in the sand.

2. Croc watching

There’s a crocodile farm at Playa Linda where you can spot crocs sunning or swimming, and see iguanas and tropical birds. There are also crocodiles at the south end of Ixtapa beach where the river empties into the ocean.

I love this photo -- the kids are oblivious as to the "peligro" that lurks below.

3. Parasailing

One of the items on my husband’s bucket list was parasailing. When he found out it was $40 for a tandem parasail — there are parasail guys spaced regularly along the beach — he quickly amended his list to include parasailing with Avery. She loved it (though I have to admit, this mommy was a wee bit nervous watching them float high above the waves).

Getting ready for a parasail.

4. The beach

Our kids couldn’t get enough of the beach. The sand, running from the monster waves, all of it. I think they would have been happy to play out there all day, every day.

Avery buries Bennett. Finally, his fists and kicky feet can do her no harm!

5. Zihuatanejo

Zihuatanejo was once a sleepy fishing village, but I think its starring role in The Shawshank Redemption — as the place Andy Dufresne ran off to after he escaped the prison — helped turn it into an uber-trendy little town, complete with tony shops and taquerias. It’s definitely worth a visit. Located on a lovely bay, the waves are quite gentle. And the souvenir shopping is great, too. Gracias Ixtapa-Zihua! Hasta luego.