Wine and Spirits Travel

Our cruise on the Royal Princess was coming near the end, but we still had one stop left and it was one of my favorite cities—Victoria, Canada. I had been three times prior and looked forward to this trip. When I first found out we were doing this cruise I immediately thought about Afternoon Tea at the Fairmont Empress hotel. It was something I had never gotten around to doing in Victoria. Unfortunately, the ship wasn’t getting into the British Columbia city until nighttime so that wasn’t going to work. I was intrigued when the public relations rep for The Empress told me, since there were so many cruise ships coming in later, the hotel had added a Sunset Sips program for those who had wanted Afternoon Tea. I agreed that we would come try it. We had many hours to go before our scheduled 9:00 pm arrival in Victoria. I wanted to take it easy, so I didn’t overdo it during the day. The International Café became the standard for our breakfast, and we didn’t change that on this last sea

After a good night’s sleep in our spacious suite at the Superior Place in Sault Ste. Marie, Brittany, Jamie, and I got ready for our morning breakfast meeting. We were getting together with Linda Hoath, Executive Director of the Sault Area Convention and Visitors Bureau . She had graciously put together this trip for us last minute after one in a nearby area did not work out. We met Linda at the Lock View Restaurant downtown. It was right across the street from the Soo Locks and you could see both the American and Canadian sides from the building. Everything on the menu looked great, but our host recommended the pancakes and I went for the chocolate chip ones. They were as good as she said. The other ladies had eggs and we were all quite full as we learned more about the area and the plans about other activities on our list. After we finished eating, we walked around town and looked through some more shops. Linda pointed out the Michigan Made sto

It took us all day to drive up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but Brittany, Jamie, and I were excited about the trip ahead of us over the Mackinac Bridge. The trip to Sault Ste Marie was a first for all of us. This city on the Lake (Superior) is filled with history and fun and we were ready to experience it. The Sault Ste Marie tourism board arranged for a large suite for us at Superior Place . It is in a good location and quite comfortable, with a pool and gym for use at the Best Western across the parking lot. We got an early start in the morning and headed downtown to find someplace for breakfast. Oh, Crepe immediately caught our eyes and we decided to go in. They have a menu with a little something for everyone. I went for the sweet ( Nutella and banana), while the girls did more savory crepes, with bacon, sausage, and eggs. This year celebrates the 350 th anniversary of Sault Ste Marie , the oldest city in the state of Michigan. Sault Ste

It had been an exciting trip to Nova Scotia , a place I hadn’t visited in many years.  My daughter, Sam, and I would be heading back to the States, but first we had a lot to see and do with our group at Fox Harb’r Resort . We packed up our things and said goodbye to our one-bedroom suite. The view would definitely be missed. The group convened in the Cape Cliff dining room for another delicious breakfast. After we ate, Executive Chef and Food & Beverage Director Shane Robilliard met with us to talk more about the cuisine of Fox Harb’r. Chef Robilliard talked about how much he loves the opportunity at Fox Harb'r to work with the ingredients available to him, including the greenhouse, where nearly all his fruits, vegetables, and herbs come from. He’s also proud that the resort uses sustainably harvested seafoods and local meats. Our group then divided up for our last two activities at the resort. The first for us was fly fishing. Sam always l