Prince Edward Island Family Holiday

Guys, we're back from holiday and you'll be relieved to know that Corey and I survived our first holiday as a family of four! 

I won't lie- we got off to a rough start. We missed our first flight (by a couple of minutes) and we had to go home for several hours before departing about 12 hours later than expected. The airport was rough (sooo much luggage for the girls as well as a stroller and two car seats) and by the time we boarded the plane, I wanted to cry. I really think that anyone who is brave enough to fly with a child or baby alone is a ninja parent. That being said, the rest of the trip was quite lovely. I'll share some highlights and photos with you if you're curious.

So this vacation almost didn't happen. We only booked it 5 or 6 days before we left because we weren't sure if we could handle a trip this soon after Maude's birth. I was terribly worried a trip would be more stress than it was worth. In the end, we decided to go and we chose Atlantic Canada because it's laid back and we know the people there are so nice so we wouldn't feel judged if both girls decided to have meltdowns during dinner... which happened once, by the way. It turned out to be the perfect choice for us! We're also eager to explore more of our own beautiful country and I really enjoyed teaching Rudy about the places we visited. We bought Rudy this atlas and before bed, we'd point out where we drove and which sights we saw. 

We actually flew into Moncton, NB and visited friends who have a hobby farm just north of there. Rudy was in heaven running through their house and "visiting" all the cats and dogs (there seemed to be a different cat in each room of their gorgeous old farmhouse) and they let her feed their chickens and pet their sheep and alpacas. After such a challenging start to the trip, it was lovely to just let Rudy roam free while our friends fed us and took care of us so we could just relax and visit. Rudy was so happy and comfortable there- I think the country life really suits her!

While in New Brunswick, we also visited the Hopewell Rocks. Rudy was so sure-footed, jumping from rock to rock over puddles. I was just proud to have completed the hike while wearing Maude.

After a couple of days in Moncton, we drove into P.E.I. via the Confederation Bridge. Rudy was excited to cross the bridge we had been pointing out in her atlas and to see her first lighthouse. We stayed in a cottage near Cavendish as our home base but we planned day trips all over the island. The scenery was just as beautiful as I had hoped.

Our trip had so many highlights. I loved collecting sea glass in Souris and visiting the Sea Glass Shanty there. It was a tiny shop but the owner was so sweet and made a necklace for Rudy with some sea glass we had found.

We also found the most charming toy store called The Toy Factory. They have the most incredible selection of toys (really well curated) and they're all out and unboxed for the kids to play with. We visited twice and spent hours there both times. Rudy got to make her own wooden car the first time and the second time, the owners (who are really lovely people) followed us out of the shop to give Rudy a little wooden toy she had been playing with. When you visit, don't forget to visit the bunnies in the front or the enchanting fairy garden behind the playground in the back.

We did some typical tourist things like visiting Cows for ice cream, visiting the Butterfly House, eating our weight in lobster and, of course, Green Gables. I probably love Anne of Green Gables more than an adult woman should admit to, so seeing some of the places described in the books nearly brought tears to my eyes.

We were about 20 minutes away from Brackley Beach and we went there several evenings because it was so serene and pretty. It's so rare for a beautiful beach to be nearly deserted and we really enjoyed the solitude. P.E.I. sunsets are even more spectacular set against the sand dunes.

Let's not forget to mention the people. The people on the island were so friendly and warm that we felt right at home. At first, we couldn't understand why they made such a fuss about Maude (strangers kept asking if we could come over or if we could turn her head so they could see her face) and it seemed a little familiar to Torontonians like us. Then we caught on to the fact that in a small population of less than 150,000 people on the entire island, newborn babies aren't as commonplace as they are in the city. People were genuinely excited about Maude because they don't see a dozen babies every day like we do. In Toronto when people stop me to comment on Maude, it's usually to suggest that we're doing something wrong "She's too cold. She needs to be covered" "She looks hot. Should you take off that hat?" "Should her neck be at that angle in her car seat?" but in P.E.I. it was more "Was she born on the island?" "How are YOU feeling?" "Good for you for being out and about!" -Now don't get me wrong, I love Toronto and Toronto people (who are mostly well-intentioned) but P.E.I. was a breath of fresh air.

But more than the sea glass, the beaches or even Green Gables, I loved giving Rudy the type of carefree holiday that reminds me of my own childhood. Rudy thrived on being off-schedule and just exploring in the outdoors and bumming around. She picked wildflowers, collected rocks and sea shells, ate junk food (We let her drink sooo much "chocky milk" at restaurants!) and jumped on the bed. We let her stay up late every night and one night we let her stay up until the sky was completely dark so we could look at the stars. Another night, we went to the beach for sunset and brought a kite to fly.

We had a lot of fun and made some of our first memories as a family of four. It was magical.

A Week in the Rockies

A couple of weeks ago, Corey and I sat down and he reminded me that it's been 14 months since our last vacation and he can't think of a single day where I haven't done at least some work.  Yikes!

Luckily, we had already planned a family trip to Alberta.  Corey and I had never seen Banff, and we thought that some fresh mountain air and lots of hiking would be the perfect remedy to Toronto's brutal summer heat.  

We set off for a week of travel from Calgary to Banff to Jasper to the Icefields and back to Calgary again.  With a toddler, we knew we'd need to plan our travel time carefully and we thought any drive more than four hours in a day would likely be pressing our luck.

Rudy turned out to be a trooper and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy our trip.  Here are some photos, if you'd like to see.

We loved seeing the stunning turquoise waters of the glacier-fed lakes.  We had a few "must see" sights such as Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Spirit Island (pictured above) but we left some flexibility in our schedules.  One helpful waiter encouraged us to visit Peyto Lake (below) which was spectacular and was shaped like a wolf's head.

The crowds at the popular lakes get crazy by mid-morning, but Rudy kept us on Toronto time (we were waking up at 5 a.m.!) so we were usually some of the first people to arrive at the lake in the morning.  It gave us some quiet time to privately enjoy the sights.

We encountered several bears on our trip and this grizzly was enjoying some berries in a parking lot one morning.  He walked right past us and we were lucky enough to observe him for a few minutes from the safety of our car.

Bears weren't the only wildlife we were lucky enough to see.  We also saw mountain goats and several elk.  It's their rut season so we were able to see the bulls antler wrestling more than once!

A major highlight for us was a visit to the Icefields.  We booked a tour that takes you up a mountain and allows you to walk on the Athabaska Glacier.  Again, we went early and were on the (nearly empty) first tour of the day.  Aside from about ten other people, we had the glacier all to ourselves.  We had bought spikes to slide over our shoes before the trip and we dressed really warmly.  It was exhilarating to walk on the glacier and fill our waterbottles with clear glacier water.  Rudy fell asleep on the ride back down the mountain.

We ended our trip in Calgary and we took advantage of our reciprocal membership at the Science Centre.

I think the highlights of the holiday for me were just being able to focus on Corey and Rudy for a full uninterrupted week.  We loved exposing Rudy to our love of wildlife and the outdoors and Rudy loved collecting rocks.

Corey and I keep saying that this was probably our favourite trip ever and we're already brainstorming ideas for next August!

Our Costa Rica Honeymoon

Warning: If you hate looking at other people's vacation photos, you're not going to like this post.

With winter storms in the recent news, it seems like a good time to take a look back (longingly) at our honeymoon in Costa Rica.   

Corey and I have sacrificed holidays over the past few years in favour of our home reno budget, but at six months in to a rough pregnancy, I knew we needed to get away.  We booked a whopping twelve days in CR (I got homesick after nine) and, with the exception of not scuba diving, we planned to do pretty much everything I would have done, had I not been pregnant.  

We left the day after our wedding, and (armed with my compression socks) we excitedly boarded the plane.  The flight was rough on me and my feet got so swollen at one point, that we thought I may need medical attention.  Luckily, it wasn't long before we landed in Costa Rica.  Here's our view in tilt shift. 

We rented a car (four wheel drive, which turned out to be very necessary) and set off for our first destination.  We were staying our first week at a very remote eco-lodge called Chachagua Rainforest Hotel.   

The drive there was treacherous... Seriously, you need to be VERY adventurous to drive to remote areas of Costa Rica.  Our GPS constantly warned us of dangerous bridges and falling rocks and I often looked out my window only to see a few inches between us and the side of a cliff.

But the scenery was spectacular. 

Sometimes we would stop the car just to take in the view.  There were so many "We'll never get to see this exact view again" moments.

At Chachagua, we had our own private bungalow and a shower with wrap-around windows so that you felt as if you were showering alone in the middle of the rainforest.  It was quiet and rustic and perfect for us.  There were so few people there that all of our tours were private.

One of the highlights there was horseback riding (I was careful to take it slow and listen to my body.) through the rainforest and a nearby village.  

Our guide (who became our friend over the course of the week) had studied biology in university and had been hired to take care of the animals at the lodge.  He loved the horses and they were well cared for.

We picked and ate guava and starfruit right from the trees!  All the fruit there tasted so good!

There was a serene pond on the property and you could catch tilapia and have the chef prepare it for dinner.

And we really enjoyed all the wildlife on site.  Corey became quite the birdwatcher on our trip and kept track of all the bird species we identified.  We saw several toucans and dozens and dozens of hummingbirds.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the scariest bug we saw...

We took a guided night walk through the rainforest one night.  We spotted several frogs and insects as well as the odd nocturnal mammal.

One thing that surprised us was the lack of mosquitoes.  Our guide had warned us to wear bug spray because they were supposed to be bad at night and yet we hardly saw any.  We told him that he'd have to bathe in insect repellent if he ever visited Ontario cottage country in the summer.

I know it's super nerdy of me, but I got really excited about the leafcutter ants.

One day, we hiked through Arenal National Park and climbed over boulders of lava at the base of the volcano for a view of Arenal Lake.

Here's the volcano.

We ended the day with a trip to the hot springs.  Unfortunately, the spa we ended up at was morel like a club.  There was loud music and it really wasn't our scene.  We made the best of it though and I enjoyed the warm water on my aching joints.

Another day, our guide asked us if we wanted to meet friends of his who ran a dairy farm in the village.  We spent the morning milking cows with them and chatting (in broken Spanish) about my baby.

Corey had a knack for milking the cows.  He must have been a country boy in another life.  I kept thinking about the breast pump that was waiting for me in a few months and cringed.

Then she made breakfast for us before her husband (who is a policeman) drove us to the edge of his property (while the dogs chased beside the car) so that we could hike down to their waterfall.  I had to force myself not to feel alarmed when he threw four machetes in the back of the car.  I hoped we wouldn't encounter poisonous snakes.  We didn't.

Again, we ate fruit and berries that grew on his property.

It was a lovely morning.

Another day, we visited a wildlife rehabilitation centre which rescues animals which had been illegally domesticated.  The fines for keeping many native wild animals and birds as pets had been recently increased and so many people had surrendered them.  Some of these animals will be able to be released into the wild one day but many will never be able to survive outside the centre.

While there, we made a donation and so they gave us a tour and allowed us to help feed the animals.  It was an incredible experience.

On one of our last days at Chachagua, we visited a wildlife sanctuary and booked a tour.  We were lucky enough to see several frogs, caimans, Jesus Christ lizards and a couple of sloths.

It was bittersweet to leave Chachagua and the rainforest, but we had booked four nights at a luxury spa in the cloudforest.  The drive there was even more perilous, but it was also more beautiful.  We felt as though we were on the set of Jurassic Park.

El Silencio was known for having a fabulous spa and an excellent chef.  Between the two, we were in heaven.  Our bungalow was one of the highest, which meant we had to walk uphill the equivalent of about eight floors to get there.  It wasn't easy at that altitude but the view was worth it.

We only took two day trips during our stay in the cloudforest because the drive down the mountain honestly made me cry and we decided not to risk it again.  One morning we got up early to head to Poas National Park to see another active volcano.  We were rewarded with the sight of a sloth by the side of the road.

... And a spectacular view of the crater.

Our other trip was to see Del Toro Waterfall.  It was one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen.

The resort chef really was excellent.  We took a private cooking class with him.  And collected the ingredients from the organic garden and farm on site.

Corey managed to convince me that rappelling would not be a good idea while pregnant.  So I read a novel while he enjoyed the ropes course one morning.

On one of our last nights, we arranged to have a private dinner cooked and served by a stream.  The path there was lit with tiki torches.  It was so lovely to have a romantic dinner in such an exotic place.

Corey had arranged for the staff to set up our jacuzzi and chill some champagne while we were eating.  It was so nice in the middle of a rough pregnancy, when my constant nausea had sucked the romance out of everything for months, to have such a perfect evening.

It was really such an unforgettable honeymoon.  We vowed on that trip that we would start going away (even for a short trip) every year.  We're planning on holding ourselves to that promise... This summer we hope to take Rudy to see more of Canada.