Category: Travel

Travel

The Selkirk Loop-Ainsworth B.C

Post author By WhollyCupcake
Post date July 8, 2017
No Comments on The Selkirk Loop-Ainsworth B.C

Three and a half hours from the Norther Idaho border is the quaint village of Ainsworth in British Columbia, Canada. It sits on Kootenay Lake and it is a popular destination during summer and winter alike. What is so popular about Ainsworth is it’s natural hot springs resort.

We spent three days at the Ainsworth Hot Springs Inn. The outside pool has natural hot spring water that has to be cooled down as it comes from the underground spring. It’s such a relaxing feeling to soak in the warm waters and take in the beautiful surroundings of Kootenay Lake and mountains. If you prefer a hotter experience, you can head to the caves which are next to the pool. It’s exactly that, a walk through cave with mineral water which comes from the hot springs, it feels like a natural sauna inside. The Native Americans would come after battle and soak in these waters which they believed had healing properties. When you’ve had enough of the caves take a cold dip in the plunge pool which is filled with natural spring water continuously flowing through a spigot from the mountain. Let me tell you, it’s chilly taking a dip in there!

The resort has its own restaurant, the Ktunaxa Grill. We had lunch and dinner here and were pleasantly surprised. With items on the menu such as bison burgers, venison rack, and fish and chips, there is something for everyone. All the food is fresh and local, and most importantly very tasty.

We didn’t get a chance to visit Cody Caves, which is a very popular destination here as well. I was afraid my car wouldn’t make it up the 10 km steep and bumpy drive. I was already nervous about doing this 3 week close to 3000 mile road trip, I didn’t want to push my luck. I’ve heard the caves are an amazing experience…maybe next time!

Tags Ainsworth, Canada, hot springs, relaxation, road trip, summer, Travel, vacation

Travel

Selkirk Loop-Montana

On our way to British Columbia we took a side trip to Ross Creek Cedars in Butte, Montana. It’s a beautiful either 1/2 mile or 1 mile walk through groves of red cedars. Fresh water streams sprinkled throughout, we even spotted a deer drinking from one. My husband lost his sunglasses in a fast moving stream and tried to retrieve them only to have his feet go numb from the cold water. Goodbye sunglasses.

His place truly feels like a magical forest. Amazing looking cedars, some with their trunks entertwined like the one below. To me it looked like people resting.

Above picture is of a bed of river rocks which have been arranged by passers on their way down the trail. We didn’t leave empty handed from this magical place of course, we took with us many mosquito bites. Warm weather and water….

Tags adventure, fun, Montana, Ross creek cedar, Selkirk Loop, Travel

Travel

Coeur d’ Alene

This summer we decided on doing the Selkirk Loop because I’ve heard such wonderful things about the scenery and picture opportunities. The Selkirk Loop is a scenic loop from Northern Idaho through Montana, up into British Columbia and down to Washington and back to Idaho. We stopped in Coeur d’ Alene for three nights which included The 4 th of July.

Coeur d’ Alene is a town situated next to Lake Coeur d’ Alene and is a very touristy town especially in the summertime. Many people flock to this area for the water activities and small town summertime feel. I must say it’s a very charming place.

On our list of fun things to do, zip lining and kayaking.

Timberline Adventures is the company we went zip lining with. I can’t say enough about them, the zip lining was so much fun. I have to be honest I was scared because of the fact that we were literally up in the trees very high off the ground, but as soon as I went zipping down that first line all my fears disappeared. It was awesome!!!
On the 4th of July we spend the day kayaking with row adventures. It was such a relaxing and fun way to see the lake and surroundings.

By nightfall we were ready for the fireworks.

All in all Coeur d’ Alene was a great choice for three days of adventure and relaxation! Check it out if you ever get a chance and let me know what you think.

Tags adventure, Coeur d Alene, fireworks, Idaho, kayaking, lake, summer, Travel, travel tips, zip lining

Tips Travel

Portland eats- Forktown Food Tour

Post author By WhollyCupcake
Post date July 4, 2017
No Comments on Portland eats- Forktown Food Tour

If you’ve ever done a food tour you know they can be pretty tasty and informative. If you’ve never done one let me explain what it is. A food tour is a walking tour around a part of a certain city where different restaurants or food venues are incorporated into it, along with some type of history about the town, all this led by a guide. While in Portland, we went on a food tour called Forktown Tours. We stopped by a few different restaurants and the farmers market, where we sampled a mix of cheese, charcuterie, cherries, and Oregon hazelnuts.

The first restaurant we sampled at was called Nel Centro. Here we had a beautiful beet salad, local grown beets, arugula and hazelnuts of course, with house made ricotta cheese. Very fresh and beautiful.

Next, we made our way to a local food truck called Wolf and Bears which serves up Middle Eastern food and it’s special is falafel.

Portland has many food carts that specialize in every cuisine imaginable. Grilled Cheese Grill is a popular one that serves up grilled cheese sandwiches, some with hamburger patty inside called ” The Cheesus.”

Grassa was next on our tour. This restaurant serves up homemade pasta which they continuously make behind a counter (fun to watch) serves up with tasty sauces. I’m not a big fan of pasta but this was pretty good.

We had two sweet stops along the way. First up was Cacao and as you can guess it offers chocolate made from cacao beans from different parts of the world. They also offer different drinking chocolates which tasted heavenly, we ended up buying a bottle of it.

Last but not least was Saint Cupcake, an adorable,sweet smelling shop that serves cupcakes of course. With mini and regular sizes, they have a flavor to please everyone.

Tags cacao, chocolate, cupcakes, food, food tours, oregon, pasta, portland, Travel

Travel

The Donut War- Voodoo Vs. Blue Star Donuts

Post author By WhollyCupcake
Post date July 3, 2017
2 Comments on The Donut War- Voodoo Vs. Blue Star Donuts

I’m personally not a fan of American donuts. The fried smell and aftertaste, the soft dough with super sweet glaze. No thanks. That is why the last time I was in Portland I didn’t want to wait in a long line to try the ever so popular Voodoo Doughnuts.

Well this year the kids had to try them, and the line wasn’t so long and went pretty fast. It’s a quirky rock punk doughnut shop with doughnut names like”cock n balls” and “triple chocolate penetration.” Even counter guy couldn’t stifle a giggle when I ordered it. They are loaded with sugary glaze, different cereals and differed powdered sugars.

You can even gift your loved one a coffin filled with these fried dough wonders for $130.

Now, of course I had to compare these to another very popular doughnut shop in Portland called Blue Star Donuts. Apparently there’s a doughnut war happening between these two and each has their die hard fans. Blue Star is an upscale donut shop with flavors like Blueberry Burbon Basil and Cointreau Creme Brûlée amongst others. Blue Star has a few more locations in places like Los Angeles, Tokyo and of course Portland.

Having tried them both onto the judgement part. Voodoo’s doughnuts is the taste you would expect from your everyday doughnut shop. Very sweet and doughnuts were not the freshest tasting, slightly dried out. Blue Star were truly more upscale. The doughnuts were fresh and moist, they make them from brioche dough. They use very good chocolate like Valrhona, ingredients like vanilla bean, pure raspberry purée and herbs like basil and rosemary. Sounds strange for a doughnut, but they taste really nice, not overpowering at all. My favorite were the Lemon Poppyseed and the Valrhona Chocolate Crunch. I can say that in my opinion Blue Star Donuts are far more superior in taste and appearance than Voodoo Doughnuts. Have you tried the two? Let me know your opinion!

Tags blue star dounuts, doughnuts, food, Travel, voodoo doughnuts

Travel

New Exhibit, Pterosaurs

My youngest daughter is very interested in dinosaurs, in fact she wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up. So exciting to travel and dig up dinosaur fossils 🙂 California Academy of Sciences is a very interesting and educational place that we have visited quite a few times. It is located in Golden Gate Park in beautiful San Francisco, Ca. If you have never been and are in the area I highly recommend it.

They have a new exhibit called “Flight of the Pterosaurs” which features just that, Pterosaurs. They have on display many fossil replicas, and a very popular display which is a pterosaur flight simulator where you can fly like a pterosaur and try and catch fish from the ocean.

Besides dino fossils, they have many other interesting things such as a live albino alligator, a rainforest exhibit complete with butterflies and plants from the area, an AWSOME planetarium, aquarium, and earthquake simulator just to name a few things.

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Tags california academy of sciences, dinosaurs, fun trip for kids, museums, san francisco, summer travel, things to do cali, Travel, weekend trip

Travel

Sonoma Birthday Trip

Hubby and I share the same Birthday month of May. We usually go to Napa Valley because it’s a short trip away and it’s sooooo relaxing. It’s not called Wine Country for nothing. There are so many vineyards to go wine taste at , you can easily end up drinking enough to forget you were supposed to be at work two days ago.

This year we stayed at The Fairmont Mission Inn in lovely Sonoma. What I love about this place is the spa on the premises called Willow Stream Spa which sits on top of an ancient mineral spring used by the Native Americans for it’s healing powers. This spa offers many services such as your typical facial, wax, massage, and mani pedi. The best part is the thermal spring mineral baths they have. There is a bathing ritual which includes, exfoliation shower, warm mineral pool, eucalyptus steam sauna, whirlpool, and dry sauna. You can enjoy unlimited lemon water in between, and hot tea and fresh fruit after the ” bathing ritual.” When you feel you’ve detoxified enough at the spa, you can head outside and relax by one of their pools and enjoy a drink or lunch.

For dinner you can either have the driver from the Inn drive you to downtown Sonoma in the company car ( no fee, but you have to take taxi back to hotel) and try one of the many restaurants there, or you can stay on the premises and enjoy a dining experience at the Inn’s restaurant called Sante. We chose the latter, and we’re so glad we did. The staff at Sante is so knowledgeable and attentive about each item on the menu, and every ingredient that goes into that menu and how they all come together to create such a delicious and visually pleasing dining experience. They have two options when it comes to the menu. The Chef’s Tasting Menu, which includes nine courses for $149, or you can choose which ever courses you want from their regular dinner menu. We didn’t do the Tasting Menu, but a group of four next to our table did and let me tell you that I haven’t heard God’s name being called out so often in quite a while, especially when they were tasting the Chef’s Cheese Selection!

For starters we had the Salad of California Delta Asparagus and the Chilled Ahi Tuna Tartare and both were equally delicious. The asparagus was perfectly steamed and seasoned, and the tuna melted in your mouth. When they place each course in front of you they explain in detail what is on your plate that you will be eating, and where it’s been sourced from. There are about five different kinds of organic breads that you can choose from ( try them all, they are delicious), served with samples of a hand churned butter from France, a local salted butter, and a side serving of salt flakes. I want to personally thank that Frenchman, or woman, sitting somewhere churning butter by hand. It’s so worth it.

For the entrée I had the Slow Braised Lamb Shank and my husband had the Pan Seared Diver Scallops and neither one disappointed.

For desert we shared the Valrhona Hazelnut Chocolate Torte, so rich and decadent. Perfect with an after dinner coffee or digestif.

Cafe Sante serves breakfast/brunch, which we tried the following morning. You get a nice sized coffee carafe for $5 and many delicious menu choices from Dungeness Crab Benedict to Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, and everything in between.

From the cafe we headed out to St.Helena and stopped at one of our favorite wineries, V. Sattui. Here, you can wine taste for $15 up to 5 different wines. If you decide to buy a case of 12 bottles( which we did) the wine tasting is free.

The wonderful part about V. Sattui, besides their wine and beautiful grounds, is that they have a deli where you can cheese taste( I highly recommend the Ewephoria), purchase sandwiches and other homemade salads and items, and have a picnic at their picnic area. On the weekends they have outdoor BBQ oysters, shrimp, and pizza as well.