Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Balanced, fair and fun: TheseBoots aims to blog with integrity

I recently received a snarky tweet from someone who asked outright if I had paid for the delicious New Year’s meal I recently enjoyed at the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino.
Indeed I had–and offered to provide the VISA bill to prove it.
But it raised the age-old question (well, age-old for those of us who started our [...]

From Tofino, BC, a New Year’s lesson in gratitude

From the downy comfort of my king-size bed at Tofino’s Wickaninnish Inn, I’m watching die-hard surfers brave the frigid Pacific and being reminded of some of life’s great lessons: take risks; trust; share what you know–and get back on the board when you fall down.
The view from my picture window over Chesterman Beach on the [...]

Top 5 reasons to hate the 2010 Winter Olympics

[This post originally appeared on Sept. 24/09, but since we're just a month out from the start of the 2010 Winter Games, I've brought it back...]
Just back from Whistler where a small group of international travel writers were this week treated to an impressive dog-and-pony about British Columbia’s upcoming Winter Olympics.
Let it be said that [...]

Vancouver International Airport now active on Twitter: @YVRAirport

Just posted this news over at InsideVancouver.ca, but short story shorter: if you’re travelling through YVR (and it’s not pretty at the moment), the new Twitter stream from @YVRAirport might be a helpful resource for news and updates.
Are there other Canadian airports on Twitter? If you know, can you please add the ID in the [...]

A rose by any other name: BC’s Queen Charlotte Islands officially renamed Haida Gwaii

Until I visited Haida Gwaii in the summer of 2007, I felt awkward and frankly a little pretentious using the aboriginal name for the remote archipelago off British Columbia’s northern coast.
I was more comfortable saying “Queen Charlotte Islands”–the name that had been printed on every grade school map I’d ever studied.
But last week, the Globe [...]

If ya gotta live abroad, ya wanna live in Canada

If ya gotta live abroad, ya wanna live in Canada.
The don of social media, Guy Kawasaki, just tweeted a Holy Kaw blog post about the HSBC Expat Experience Survey that names Canada as the best place in the world to be an expat:
“Expats in Canada reported the highest overall increase in their quality of life [...]

Coastal Link Ferries expands service to West Vancouver starting Nov. 17

Once upon a time a ferry boat was the only way to get to West Vancouver from Vancouver, BC. Now it’s an option again thanks to Coastal Link Ferries which is expanding its Bowen Island commuter run to include West Vancouver.
Starting Tuesday, Nov. 17 (and not Nov. 2 as previously reported), Captain Ihab Shaker will [...]

Rain warning? Get a discount on a chic Cheeky Umbrella

You live in Vancouver as long as I have, you get to know two things:
1. Rain happens. Get over it.
2. Don’t buy cheap umbrellas.
When I blogged a while back about how to face rain like a local, I mentioned my affection for my Cheeky Umbrella–a strong-but-pretty parasol designed by local girl Jen Zurowski who’d had [...]

Is Long Beach Lodge Resort a lesson for other small tourism operators?

I want to go to Tofino, BC for Christmas this year, so I recently started trolling the web sites of my favourite West Coast inns to see if there were any specials in the works.
What I found at Long Beach Lodge got me thinking about how on-line marketing might be the salvation of many a [...]

Brewster’s “Banff Squirrel” caption contest offers great Rocky Mountain prizes

Wish I’d thought of this one: Alberta-based tour operator Brewster Inc. is running a caption contest for a National Geographic photo of an intrusive squirrel that went viral a few weeks back.
There are three great prizes, all in and around the Rocky Mountain area where the little ham made his big appearance.
To enter, go to Brewster’s [...]