Travelling: Renovations, TV, Chairlifts and Sea Cliffs: What’s up and where to next?

What’s up with us… and where to next?

Sometimes we get so caught up in the routine of publishing articles that we forget what this travel blog is really about – a personal journal of our travels, adventures and life experiences.

So, what’s been going on with us lately?

Well, we’ve had a pretty solid start to 2013. This year is all about finding balance between our work, family, health and travels. We’re both working full time, raising Baby B (who really isn’t a baby anymore!), renovating our new home, managing our online businesses and trying to travel at least once per month, even if just a simple weekend getaway.

Needless to say, our lives are quite full right now.

In late January, we introduced Baby B to the Caribbean Sea on Mexico’s sun drenched Mayan Riviera, one of our favourite places to visit (see photos here). It was the 6th country visited in his short life, an accomplishment we are very proud of.

Initially, when we learned Nicole was pregnant, we feared that our international travels would need to be put on hold for a few years. It was a sacrifice we were willing to make, but we’re happy to report that life does not end with children! Have you visited our other website yet?

Our two week vacation to Mexico was split between two resorts, one near Tulum (see the resort here) and one between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, the same resort we were married at 5 years ago in 2008.

We returned to Vancouver just in time to capitalize on a winter storm that dumped over 40 cm of fresh snow on the Vancouver local mountains. Perfect timing!

We went snowboarding on Cypress Mountain and lucked out with kick-ass ski conditions – clear bluebird skies with 20 cm’s of new snow! It’s hard to match the views of Howe Sound from the peak of Mount Strachan.

Our love of winter in British Columbia was featured on Travel & Escape as part of its Warm Up To Winter Series, presented by Scotiabank and Jaunt. A team from Travel & Escape visited us in North Vancouver to shoot an interview with Nicole for the web series part of the campaign. We’ll be sure to post the episode when it goes live.

We also had two articles published on Travel & Escape’s website – 5 Ways to Enjoy Winter in Vancouver and 5 Ski Resorts in BC you’ve never heard of. Give them a read and let us know what you think!

And then came the bathroom renovations.

We purchased a new home last summer that was in need of a little TLC (well, it’s new to us, but it’s actually pushing on 30 years old).

Over the past 5 months we’ve been chipping away at the work, room by room. The 2nd floor bathroom was in a terrible state, requiring us to strip it down to its bones and completely rebuild.

I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is NO.

No, we did not do the work ourselves. That’s just crazy talk!

We hired a fantastic contractor here in Vancouver and we couldn’t be happier. If you’re in Vancouver and looking to get some work done, check him out here.

February was a busy month for the business side of our travel blogs.

We’ve continued to build on our partnership with Aeroplan, Canada’s largest frequent flyer marketing program, and we’ll continue to share tips and tricks to help Canadians earn more loyalty rewards faster (find out how here).

We’re thrilled to introduce our newest travel partner, Expedia.ca. We’ve been working with Expedia.ca to share tips for family travel this March Break and have a few more travel goodies to share over the coming weeks.

Last week, in partnership with Expedia.ca, Nicole was featured on CTV News, one of British Columbia’s most watched newscasts. She did a fantastic job sharing family travel tips and top travel destinations for this year’s spring break. Perhaps she’s found her new calling?!

We have a copy of the live interview but we’re waiting on final approval from CTV News before we can post it on our websites and social networks. Stay tuned, there’s more fun stuff on the horizon with Expedia.ca. (**update – CTV News won’t allow us to post the video to our website – booooo to them!)

Where to next?

We’re excited that the good people at the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau have invited us back the lush Hawaiian Islands. In just a couple weeks we will travel to Molokai, the “most Hawaiian Island” in the tropical archipelago, to experience a different side of Hawaii.

Our itinerary is still being finalized, but it’s shaping up to be quite the adventure.

This will be our first trip without Baby B, so we’re looking forward to exploring the island without a stroller or scheduled nap time. It’s going to be weird not having him around but it will be nice to spend some time together alone (it’s been over a year since we’ve had that option!). And we can’t think of a better place to reconnect with each other.

Thanks again for following our life journey!

Cheers,

Cam, Nicole and Baby B

Renovations, TV, Chairlifts and Sea Cliffs: What’s up and where to next? is a post from: Traveling Canucks