My Escorted Tours

Time of year: MAY

My husband Matt and I have a habit of trying to fit in as much as we can in just a few days when visiting a new city.

This time, we travelled with my mom and sisters.

Day 1 - Drive to Philadelphia

• Approx 6-8 hours depending on how many times you stop!
• Dinner at Mac's Tavern (Owned by Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

Day 2

• Betsy Ross House
• United States Mint
• Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour
• The Liberty Bell
• Town Hall
• Lots of walking around the city!
• Ate a Philly Cheese Steak

Day 3

• Climbed the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
• Museum of the American Revolution (George Washington's Tent is here!)
• Reading Market
• Elfreth's Alley
• Carpenter's Hall
• Went to Macy's to listen to the Wanamaker Organ
• Love Park
• Baseball! Philadelphia Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays at Citizen Bank Park

Day 4 - Drive home

• Early lunch at McGillin's Olde Ale House (established in 1860, this is the oldest continually operating pub in Philadelphia!)
• On our way home, we stopped in Scranton, PA for obligatory Krispy Kreme donuts!!

Travel tip:

Almost everything we did was included in our Go City Philadelphia Visitor Pass! (Ask me about this!)

Time of year: MARCH

Day 1 - Leaving from Galveston, Texas

• Flew Air Canada from Toronto to Houston
• Arrived a day earlier as a precaution so we spent the night in Houston
• Took an Uber from our Houston hotel to the Galveston cruise terminal (approx. US$80)

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - At Sea

Day 4 - Roatan, Honduras

• Took the ski-lift to the beach
• Excursion to Gumbalimba Park where we learned a bit about the native plants and species, and met a few macaws and very cuddly monkeys
• Travel tip: Next time I'm in Roatan, I will try snorkeling as Roatan boasts some stunning and pristine reefs.

Day 5 - Costa Maya, Mexico

• Spent the day on an all-inclusive beach and learned the hard way that Canadian sunscreen is no match for the Mexican Sun!

Day 6 - Cozumel, Mexico

• I was sure going into this cruise that Roatan would be my favourite port, but Cozumel really knocked it out of the park.
• Guided tour of the Mayan Ruins, learning about the Mayan culture and history, and how the Mayan calendar and Math work.
• Ate traditional street tacos at a gorgeous lookout
• Mayan Cacao Company, got to try some traditional Mayan food and learned about the history of cocoa in Mayan culture

Day 7 - At Sea

Day 8 - Early morning arrival in Galveston, Texas

• Purchased our return airport transfer from Princess Cruises
• Flew Air Canada from Houston to Toronto

Time of year: LATE OCTOBER

Day 1 - Calgary, Banff, Canmore

• Flying Porter from Ottawa to Calgary, we started our trip right away with a scenic drive to Banff.
• Took the gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain and hiked the last little bit to the weather station observation deck
• Visited Fairmont Banff Springs
• Stopped for some ice cream at Cow's Creamery.
• Had dinner at the 1883 Tavern in Canmore.
• Spent the night in Canmore at an AirBnB.

Day 2 - Lake Louise, Athabasca Glacier

• Drove the scenic Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise.
• Toured the stunning Icefields Parkway.
• Stopped for a hike to the Athabasca Glacier (off season at the end of October so we were the only ones there!! Though very cold, it was such an amazing experience)

Day 3 - Jasper

• Explored the beautiful sights along the Yellowhead Highway
• Stopped for a walk in Jasper. (The destruction caused by the wildfires is devastating, but it was encouraging to see business reopening and welcoming visitors once again!)

Day 4 & 5 - Edmonton

• Most of this time we spent visiting family.
• West Edmonton Mall
• Visited the first Booster Juice location in Sherwood Park! (975 Broadmoor Blvd, Unit #72)
• Flying Porter from Edmonton back to Ottawa

Time of year: NOVEMBER

My husband Matt and I were in the area because one of my best friends was getting married in Dulles.

Since it's also around our anniversary time, we decided to make a whole trip out of it, wanting to see as much of DC and surrounding area as we could in just a few days.

Day 1 - Drive to DC

• Took the scenic route through Pennsylvania and stopped at Cousin Basils Restaurant for lunch in Clarington, PA.
• Stopped in Punxsutawney, PA to visit Phil the groundhog and his wife, Phyllis! (iykyk!)
• Flight 93 National Memorial
• Checked into our hotel, the Best Western Dulles Airport, we stayed here for our entire trip.

Day 2 - Washington, DC

• Smithsonian American History Museum
• Saw the Declaration of Independance at the National Archives Building
• Big Bus Tour
• Went up the Washington Monument (we had a fantastic view of DC and even got to see President Biden's motorcade from up here!)
• Lincoln Memorial
• Played swanky mini golf at Puttery (Fun fact: An episode of Netflix's Love is Blind was being filmed while we were there!!)

Day 3 - Washington, DC

• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
• Walked through the National Botanic Gardens
• Saw the Library of Congress and The Supreme Court
• Guided tour of the Capitol Building
• Rented e-bikes and rode around the Mall and the White House

Day 4 - Dulles, VA

• Second location of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum near the Dulles Airport, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (we got to see THE Space Shuttle Discovery, Concorde, an SR-71 Blackbird, and the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first nuclear bomb)

Day 5 - Mount Vernon, VA

• Visited George Washington's home at Mount Vernon
• Toured the mansion, explored the grounds, visited the Slave Memorial, and saw Washington's tomb
• Played glow-in-the-dark mini golf at Monster Mini Golf in Gaithersburg, MD

Day 6 - Wedding Day

• Ceremony took place at the Diyanet Center of America in Lanham, MD (this mosque is incredible!)
• Dinner and celebrations were at the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport Hotel

Day 7 - Scranton, PA

• Before leaving, we stopped at the Arlington National Cemetery, the resting place of Presidents Taft and Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and happened to witness a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• Stopped in Hershey, PA for a few rides and some road snacks
• Too tired to keep driving, we stopped in Scranton, PA for the night. I'm a big fan of The Office so we visited some landmarks, ate at Cooper's Seafood House, saw President Joe Biden's childhood home, and of course stopped at Krispy Kreme to grab a few boxes of donuts to bring home with us.

Day 8 - Driving Home

Time of year: JULY

As part of our goal to see the Blue Jays play in as many different stadiums as we can, Matt and I travelled with his grandparents on their wedding anniversary to Windsor/Detroit to watch a match against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

Our hotel was in Windsor so we travelled via tunnel to Detroit and spent the day touring the city before the game.

On our way home, we stopped in London, ON to visit the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Museum.

Time of year: JANUARY

Matt and I travelled with our good friends, Michael and Catherine!

They are very busy opening and operating their coffee shop, Coffin Creek Coffee Co. (previously known as Deadly Grounds) in Carelton Place, ON, so this trip was pretty relaxed as they needed the break!

We did do one excursion together to Monkeyland in La Romana but spent most of our vacation lounging in pools, eating, and tanning on the beach.

Travel tip:

We went at the end of January which was a very mild time in terms of crowds! I consider this the calm before the February/Spring Break storm!

Time of year: NOVEMBER

We went in November which is mating season, so you are prohibited from feeding the males as they can get aggressive. However, it's also off-season, so there are fewer people here than there would be in the middle of summer. It's a tad bit chillier outside but you are spending most of your time in your car anyway (except for designated areas where you are allowed to get out and walk around) so you can have your heater on blast while your windows are rolled down!

Travel tip:

Buy lots (read that again...LOTS!) of carrots ahead of time and bring them with you! How ever many bags you think you need...double it!

When we were there last, a bag of carrots in the Parc Omega shop was approximately $4/bag. We brought 3 bags with us that we purchased at Walmart for less than $2/bag and still ended up buying more at the shops because we ran out so quickly! It's hard to say no to those cute faces especially when they are sticking their entire heads through your car window lol.

Time of year: MAY

Again, just a quick trip, Matt and I packed in as much as we could in just a few days.

Flew roundtrip from Toronto with United Airlines.

Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino:

• Conveniently located in the middle of The Strip, making walking around very easy
• Opened by Bugsy Siegel in 1946!
• Recently renovated and is a non-smoking property

Things we did in Las Vegas:

• Piff the Magic Dragon show
• KA by Cirque du Soleil
• Fremont St
• The Mob Museum
• The Big Apple Rollercoaster (at New York-New York hotel)
• High Roller Observation Wheel (at LINQ hotel)
• Madame Tussauds (at the Venetian hotel)
• Eiffel Tower Experience (at Paris hotel)
• The Tower (at STRAT hotel)
• Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tour
• Titanic Museum (at Luxor hotel)
• Welcome to Las Vegas sign
• Much, much more!

Day trip to Grand Canyon, Arizona:

• Included in our Go City Las Vegas Pass!
• Full day trip to Grand Canyon's South Rim
• Pit stop in Seligman, AZ on Historic Route 66, the inspiration for Radiator Springs in Disney's CARS and home of Angel Delgadillo's Barber Shop!

Travel tips:

• It starts to get SUPER busy the closer you get to the weekend! We arrived on a Sunday and left on a Friday which was perfect for us. Sunday through Wednesday was pretty mild in terms of crowds and line-ups, but Thursday and Friday were so busy! Depending on your flexibility (as well as your own preferences) you may want to take this into consideration while planning your visit.
• Almost everything we did was included in our Go City Las Vegas Visitor Pass! (Ask me about this!)

Time of year: NOVEMBER

Our Honeymoon!

Resort: Bahia Principe Punta Cana

Matt and I got married on November 5, 2021. Since we had a Covid wedding, there wasn't much we could do in terms of travel so we decided to play it safe and go somewhere we'd already been, so we'd know what to expect when we got there.

We got very lucky, and restrictions were briefly lifted in Ontario just in time for us to be able to have a dance floor and walk-up bar at our reception, and a quick honeymoon to the Dominican Republic. Things quickly shut down again shortly after we returned home.