Category Archives: √√√

Good bet – worth the money, worth the travel, worth the time.

Pickering, Ontario – More than just a Nuclear Power Plant


Don’t knock Pickering – sure it’s got a Nuclear Power Plant – but it also has the “I love Roti”. Even better – right near by is a Cold Stone Creamery. It’s a win-win for hungry travelers.

I’ve actually ate at the “I Love Roti” before – many years ago when a conference required me to drive from Montreal to Toronto – and I ended up hungry about mid-way. This time was no different –

“I Love Roti” is hardly your white-table cloth restaurant. Located in a mall that offers little else besides a Tim Horton and a Cold Stone Creamery, it’s long, thin, and basic. The menu consists of just a few very traditional foods – chicken with or without bones, in Roti or on rice; beef without bones, and a chicken curry. But what they do – they do right. I got the chicken with bones wrapped in a Roti and served with a delicious home-made curry sauce – and it completely and totally hit the spot. Such a nice option if you don’t feel like American Fast-Food.

After lunch – we strolled over to the Cold Stone Creamery for Ice Cream. Oh my – that was delicious. For those of you who don’t know what Cold Stone is about (and I admit – I didn’t) – the idea is simple. You pick your ice cream flavor, pick your size, and then – this is the cool part – you pick your garnish. There were at least 2 dozen options – from Reese’s Pieces to Toasted Almonds. They put your ice cream on the cold stone (hence the name), and then they chop and dice it to mix up it up for you. It’s delicious.

And a perfect way to break up a long drive.

I Love Roti on Urbanspoon

6 Basic Rules for picking the Perfect Vacation Rental!


How do you pick a B&B or a hostel? With places like VRBO, HostelWorld, Booking.com and AirBnB competing for your Reservation dollars – finding the best place to spend your holiday bucks is getting more and more complicated.

My solution – 6 basic rules!

These rules may seem simple, obvious even – but I’ve traveled around the world on them – in places were I don’t speak the language, don’t have a tour guide, don’t know a soul. And have had great success in picking places to stay that worked out perfectly – my one oops – I forgot my rule #2. Serves me right I think. So read and remember.

Rule #1 – Location. No matter how good the B&B is – if it isn’t where you want to be, it’s useless. I loved the Agit in Seoul, South Korea – but if you need to stay in Prescott, Ontario – the Agit is not going to do it.

Rule #2 – Reviews matter. Seriously. It is really important to check the reviews – you’ll get some bad ones – it happens, but if there are lots of reviews, and they are mostly positive, it’s a good sign. Actually – it’s a great sign. I’ve never been disappointed in a place with great reviews – nope, it’s the ones with NO reviews that tend to scare me away.

Rule #3 – Know what is important to you. If the review says – great place to party – and you don’t party – stay away. It will be noisy – and you’ll be disappointed. On the other hand – if you are looking to met people, a place that is quiet and calm is probably not going to work out.

Rule #4 – Check prices. B&Bs, hostels, and hotels will list on lots of different web sites – booking.com, expedia.com, tripadvisor.com, hostelworld.com – the list goes on and on. So if you find one that seems right – take a minute to check other sites. The websites would rather you didn’t do that – and they try to rush you (5 people looking at this B&B right now) – but take your time. I’ve avoided some really bad decisions by just being a little slow.

Rule #5 – Know your price range. I travel ‘cheap’, I travel ‘upscale’ – and it’s really critical to remember what you can and cannot afford. I’ve never been happy with a choice when I forget to be sure it’s a price I’m comfortable paying. Forget this – and you too will be sorry!

Rule #6 – Correspond directly with your host. Ask a simple question (Do they have cats, is the bed King-sized, how do I get to you from the airport) – getting an answer will tell you two very important things – a) They can figure out how to communicate in English – even if it means getting help from their grand-kids, and b) They are real. Never underestimate the importance of real. When you get where you are going – you are going to want to figure out where to eat, how to get from here to there, how to get fresh towels. If there’s a host – and they respond by email, odds are they will respond to you face to face even better.

So them’s the rules – simple right?. But they work for me – and I’ll bet they will work for you!

Boat Names – Boatyard Eatery – Good food in Midland, Ontario – Who Knew?


On the shores of the Georgian Bay, hard by Ste Marie among the Huron’s – you will find the town of Midland. We cruised Main Street on our way to the harbor and our destination – the Boatyard Eatery. We got distracted briefly by the Crow’s Nest – a wonderful bric-brac store with a collection of collectibles – ranging from junk, to vintage jewelry, silver plate, and the occasional true treasure. We bought 12 silver napkin rings for $10, a silver plate Ewer with a strangely curvy shape, and then moved on.

The Boatyard reminds me that it’s location, location, location. And the location is superb. The large wooden deck with its tables, umbrellas, and dappled shade overlooks the harbor with its working boats like tugs, and it’s pleasure boats – primarily cabin cruisers of the 32 to 50 foot range.

The food isn’t bad either! We order draft beer and onion rings while we peruse the menu. Most in our group opt to try the Pickerel – a fish my hosts tell me is native to this area of Ontario, while Anais orders pork ribs with absolutely yummy Sweet Potato Fries. I remove the ‘fried’ skin, and just pick at the delicious white flaky fish. The rice it’s served with is good, but I definitely should have gone for the Sweet Potato Fries. For dessert, Anais gets ‘fried’ cheesecake, which given the speed with which it disappears, must be truly delicious.

After our yummy meal, we relax and just enjoy the good company and the great view, until Anais and I decide it’s time for a closer look at the boats.

We start to play the name game – trying to pick out the best. Not all boats have names, a puzzle we find odd. Why would an owner not name their boat? It’s a question we cannot answer – but we do find all the names a lot of fun – and this list we share with you!

Knot Mov’n
Knotty Bouys
Dealing with the Devil
Knot a Dream
Island Time
The Bottom Line
Night Moves
Naudi Impulse
Naudi Moves
Naudi Dreams
Naudi Girl
Windancer
The Honey Bee
The Office
Sea n’Dubble

Picked your favorite yet? We decided on Naudi Dreams!

Signing off – The Soup Lady

The Boathouse Eatery on Urbanspoon

Posana Restaurant – Ashville, N.C.


Yes – I know – I’m bouncing around in location – I actually ate at the Posana on June 15, 2013 – and only got around to reviewing it today – because missing this one was not an option!

Located right opposite the downtown city park, the Posana is a beautiful restaurant owned and operated by Peter Pollay, a graduate of the CIA (culinary Institute of America). Since this is my daughter’s alma-mater – I’m always intrigued to see what other graduates are up to – and this seemed a great opportunity – prices weren’t crazy, the restaurant looked lovely – and the ‘100% Gluten Free’ advertising slogan said – modern cuisine to me.

Without reservations – on a Saturday night – we were going to have to wait – but just 10 minutes. Hardly a problem. The hostess suggested we sit at the bar – so we decided to see if the bartender could make a Caipirinha – the Brazilian National cocktail that my sister is enamoured of. Yes – he could – and he had no problems giving me a glass of 1/2 white wine, 1/2 soda water. Great. We add lettuce wraps as an appetizer – and sit down to wait. Curiously – our table is ready before our appetizer – and the hostess requests that we settle with the bar before she escorts us to our table.

I’m a bit surprised by this request – I don’t think there are more than a dozen tables – how can they not figure out how to move a bill from the bar to the table. But never mind, we pay up – go to the table – and only once there get our appetizer of lettuce cups with chicken and veggies. Not quite as good as PF Chang’s version and definitely a lot less food – but good just the same.

This slows down the ordering process a bit – with the net effect that getting our dinner gets delayed – and we will end up taking over 2.5 hours to eat. Why is this a problem? We’re an hour away from ‘home’, and that means a long drive in the dark with deer. Oh well – Be Calm and Carry On I suppose.

I order fish, which eventually is served as a tiny, but yummy portion. My sister gets a chicken dish – also consumed with delight. The Posana advertises itself as 100% Gluten free and Organic – I guess that explains the size of the portions.

Two points of critique – I had ordered soda water at the bar, after asking the price and being told it was free since they were ‘making’ it themselves. I repeat the order at the table, and when the bill arrives – am disappointed that they charged $2 for it. Hey – $2 for a 1/2 of a glass of soda water? Sorry – I’m not impressed. To the waiter’s credit – when I question it, it is removed from the bill. Nice response, but just a little late.

My other complaint – and I’ve made this before – the chef comes out of the kitchen and is chatting with the people at the table right next to us. Would it be too much to ask for him to at least turn around and smile in our direction? Guess so. Moral – Chefs – if you walk into the dining room – say hi to every table – regardless of how difficult it feels. Your guests will appreciate it more than you can imagine. And yes – we do notice if you ignore us!

Bottom line on the Posana – beautiful restaurant, delightful if tiny portions, and great location. B+ from this reviewer.

Posana on Urbanspoon

Posana Cafe on Foodio54

Fringe at it’s Best – Alex Cross and his Rise to Fame


Going to Fringe is always a bit of a risk – particularly because the shows at the Montreal Fringe are not picked by a jury – they are pulled out of hats. So many out of the hat for Canadian productions, so many from the hat for English Productions, so many from the hat for French Productions, so many from the hat for Foreign Productions – you get the idea.

So how does a Fringe goer with limited time pick and choose from over 90 productions? There are tons of different methods. Some people go to a specific production because they know someone in the piece. Some people go because they read a review. Some people go because they heard good things from other Fringe goers. But I go because I like the location – and it fits my time slots!

Not perhaps the most scientific of methods, and I will admit to occasionally going based on Fringe goer reviewers, but I’ve rarely been disappointed. The Intrepid Traveler thinks that perhaps I’m too easy to please – but I think I just pick well!

In any case – I do like Mainline – it’s got lots of room for the performers – less room for the audience, and lousy toilets. But the sound quality is good, and the chairs are quite comfy. So – after being tossed out of 2 for Tea (so they were sold out – surely 3 ladies could have squeezed in) – I said – hey – Alex Cross – it’s at my favorite Theatre. So we hiked over, bought tickets and settled in.

The story of Alex Cross summarized in the play-bill – “A talentless loser’s drive for fame leads him to making a deal with the devil for his soul. Join Alex’s journey during his rise to fame until he learns the truth from a conspiracy theorist who attempts to expose the hidden satanic agenda behind the music industry.”

What they don’t tell you is how well the story is going to be told. There are 11 performers on stage – in addition to Alex, the Devil, and Gavin, the Conspiracy Theorist, there’s dancers that perform when Alex is on stage as back-up, there are women who act as the Devil’s handmaidens – dressed in extremely revealing fashion of course, there’s the ultimate bad guy Baphomet – and there’s a narrator. So lots to watch and see and enjoy.

The acting was good by Fringe standards – and ranged to excellent in the surprising cases of the Devil (straight-faced business man with an evil streak) and the Conspiracy Theorist. He’s so good that when he does his excellent speel to Alex on how the Devil is taking over the music industry – the audience applauded. So he bows – and then comments shamefaced to Alex – I often pretend that there is applause right there.

Too funny, too well done, and great Entertainment.

And they end the story in 3 different ways! I have no idea what endings 2 and 3 are – because we saw ending 1.

Biltmore Day 2 – Better than Day 1 – how cool is that?


Today is Saturday – Father’s Day – and we’ve been warned. The one lane road that goes from the ticket booth to the Biltmore (about 5 miles long) – can take up to 45 minutes – it gets that crowded. So show up early – or else.

So early it will be. We manage to get up, get breakfast, take 2 mile ‘fast walk’, shower, do laundry, and still leave the condo by 9:05. Not bad – our target had been 9:00. So congrats sister team!

Naturally – we are there so early – it’s no problem to do the drive (lovely – a different vista with every snake-like turn of the road – a stream here, a pond there, a bamboo forest here, a hardwood forest there. Ormsted (landscaper of Biltmore, Central Park – and Mount Royal in Montreal) was no fool. This is awesome landscaping. We hazard a guess as to the number of gardeners – naturally – we’re off – it’s actually 55. Which honestly – feels low given the size of the gardens and the year-round nature of their care. Guess they have a tight scheduled. Today the Rose Garden, tomorrow the Azalea, then we mow some lawn.

Our specialized tour today is the Architecture tour – but first we check out the indoor pool, the pictures of the construction (George V knew this was going to be amazing – so he has before and after pictures – hard to believe it was that barren before. Such vision), the kitchen (again), and the laundry rooms. So cool.

20130620-133426.jpg

20130620-134352.jpg

For the architecture tour – our lovely hostess starts with a down and dirty history – this is where we learn that Cornelia actually deserted her family when times got tough, leaving her husband and kids (and grand kids) to maintain the house. Then we walk up 250 stairs to the roof – and visit the attic, pat some of the gargoyles, and take pictures of what our hostess refers to as fantasies (and Wikipedia calls ‘grotesques’). The difference? Gargoyles – gargle. When the water goes thru them, they make a noise – hence the name. Fantasies don’t allow the water thru – they are just for fun. Check out the pictures (bit X rated – sorry)

20130620-133403.jpg

On this tour – it’s not so much what we see as what we hear that is cool. Our hostess shares tons of tidbits – and that makes it really fun.

Lunch today is shared sandwiches from the bakery. I have to say that the food options are outstanding – they really do a good job. Later I learn from my daughter – a graduate of Culinary Institute of America – that lots of the interns come here – and the ability shines thru. They have their ‘food’ act together!

Finally – we are hitting the gardens. And they are spectacular. It’s hard to explain why acres and acres of grounds should be so special – but it’s the variety and the twists and turns that makes this place so cool. You literally never know what will be around the next corner. Could be a stone wall, a fountain, the Italian gardens with their highly structured layout, the huge glassed in Conservatories, the Bass Pond for boating, or the Spring Garden – a riotously joyful explosion of flower and plant. We spend way too long, and way too much money in the garden shop. In my defense – it was probably the best garden shop I’ve ever been in, and finally drag ourselves back to the car. We still plan to visit Ashville!

But before Ashville – we must stop at Antler Hill Village and Winery. This is the home of the Inn at Biltmore – a monster of a ‘Hotel’ that towers above the ‘village’ with it’s collection of shops, an exhibit on the Vanderbilt’s, a maze, a kid’s Land Rover Course (you know you want to drive a midget Land Rover over rock bridges and obstacles don’t you), the farm, the barn, the kitchen garden, and the miniature winery. We’re not impressed with the winery – they don’t even grow their own grapes – but the rest is cute if way over priced. Maybe we’d feel differently if we’d had kids – but the off-key singing of the musician on stage was extremely off-putting.

So now it’s on to Ashville. Cute town, cute shops, great little ‘art’ market, and my favorite – the Mast General Store. Dinner, drive home (avoiding all deer), and bed time. Tomorrow is check out and leave. So much fun, so quickly done.

Larkin’s on the Lake – Lake Lure, N.C. – completely perfect in every way


Larkins on the Lake is so perfect – it’s scary!

Ok – I hate to say this – but I liked Larkins on the Lake so much – I ate there 2 times in a row. I mean – how embarrassing is that for a high-end foodie? I’m completely guilty of what I complain about other people doing – staying with the safe and certain.

Reviewing note – I officially might have been at the Bayfront (what they call the part of Larkin’s that closer to the dock) – because we sat outside to enjoy the breezes – but I was assured that the menu was the same. But you might ask when you go.

In my defense – Larkin’s on the Lake is awesome. First off – the location. It hangs over Lake Lure – facing almost due West to catch the last rays of sunshine, a glorious sunset – and then you can admire the mountains in the distance. I mean – what’s wrong with that? And it was close (under 10 minutes) from our home base – so getting home after dinner – in the dark – was slow, but at least short. Given the number of deer we spotted either bounding up the sides of the road way – or standing still giving us the beady eye – going fast was not an option!

20130617-213221.jpg

And the food – what’s a restaurant with out good food? At Larkins, it was a mixture of traditional popular dishes (great prime rib, a Spinach Artichoke Dip, or Baby Back Ribs) with more modern classics like Sesame crusted Tuna Tataki. And best of all – they had my favorite dessert – in their case it was called Hubba Bubba Brownie – but basically it’s a brownie, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Oh man – I could diet forever to have one of those!

I had the prime rib one night – rare, perfectly cooked, super tender – and the 2nd night I opted for just an appetizer of the Tuna Tataki – nice size portion, Tuna was perfectly rare on the inside and nicely seaseme’d on the outside. Yummy.

And the service was warm, friendly, and personable. The second night, our waitress from the first night totally remembered us – and told our wait person exactly how to get us what we wanted. I haven’t had that kind of service in – well – ever!

And prices were quite reasonable for a tourist locale – from just $17 to $30 dollars per person – in a setting you will never forget.

My kind of perfect place.

Larkin's on the Lake on Urbanspoon

Larkin's on the Lake on Foodio54

Ashville, N.C. – Cute as the proverbial Button


What makes travel fun for me is the element of surprise – will this hotel/guesthouse/resort live up to expectations, will I find a yummy restaurant (or two), will the museum be worth visiting, will there be fun stores to shop at, is the location going to be beautiful, will it rain?

So many variables – so many chances for things to wrong – or to go right.

Good news – Lake Lure and Ashville, N.C. exceeded even my high expectations. After a rough start – check out my ‘why, oh why’ blog on travel – I finally arrived in the rolling hills and startlingly jagged stone cliffs of Western North Carolina. And how about this for a ‘I didn’t know that’ – The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games were filmed right here!

But I wasn’t here to see movie sets – I was here for a ‘sister’s’ retreat. Our idea – spend time getting to know each other – without the distractions of husbands, kids, jobs. My middle sister picked me up at the Ashville Airport (tiny – truly tiny. You know it’s small when it cost $5 to park for over 2 hours), and headed out to our home for the weekend, and RCI resort called Wyndham Resort at Fairfield Mountains.

On the map – the resort is just 30 miles from Ashville – but the GPS said our ETA was an hour and a half. We soon found out why as we wound our way passed glorious scenery on a 2 lane winding road that changed elevation often enough to have us clearing our ears and allowed for a max speed of 20 mph. We drove past Chimney Rock State Park – with its gloriously huge waterfall cascading down from a rock face hundreds of feet above us. This Park is the setting for the movie – “Last of the Mohicans” – and to honor that – they were showing the film on Saturday night. For free. Got to love the price point.

Eventually we arrived at our destination – good job iphone and Telenav to discover that you needed a code for the lock box. Yikes. Good thing the guest arriving right behind us had that code – or we would have definitely been stranded. RCI – you have to give resorts the email of incoming guests. And resorts – if you don’t have the email for a guest – make an effort to get it! The good news – when we reported the ‘almost’ problem the next morning, the extremely pleasant receptionist apologized profusely – and reported the problem to her team. Nice handling of that – Wyndham people.

But all turned out OK (It wouldn’t be an adventure if nothing went wrong). We got our key, found a map explaining where our unit could be found in this huge resort, and made our way to our palace for the weekend. It was a palace at the mid-of-the road level – but the king sized bed was super comfy, and the view of the mountains from our window was awe-inspiring. My sister who loves to walk found lots of places to get exercise, and for me – hey, the coffee was great.

Dinner that night was at Larkins on the Lake – We loved it – but if you want to know why – you’ll have to check out my detailed review.

We’d decided that despite all the really neat stuff to do around Lake Lure and the Resort – including kayaking, a beach, a swimming pool, bike paths, hiking paths, etc, what we really wanted to do was to check out the Biltmore Estate – the home of George, Edith, and Cornelia Vanderbilt. (Again – want more details – that’s in another blog!)

GPS to the rescue again as we navigate our way back to Ashville by a different, and much less windy route past Bat Cave (didn’t spot Batman though).

20130616-232546.jpg

On Saturday – we opt to return to the Biltmore – that place is huge, and we felt we needed to see more stuff! But that afternoon – we finally manage to make it into Ashville. What a completely cute town. The shops were adorable, they had a wonderful arts and crafts market with lots of beautiful things to touch (I love the feel of wood), and my favorite – the Mast General Store.

If you are in Western North Carolina – and I’m not exactly sure why you would go there unless you were visiting the Biltmore Estate – you must go to this store. I loved it! They had everything. It was hard to decide what I just had to buy – and thus I wound up with a cast iron Bacon press in the form of a pig.

20130616-233137.jpg

Trust me – going thru security leaving Ashville was a hoot with that in my luggage. After they looked at it – everyone wanted to know if I even knew what to do with it. Hey – it’s my husband’s Father’s Day Present – he loves to press the Bacon!

Bottom line – Ashville has tons of stuff to do and see – lots of neat restaurants, including the Posana, the general store, cute art shops, and a young vibe that totally took us by surprise.

Go and have fun. But don’t forget the reason for your visit – in our case – the Biltmore and getting some much-needed Sister time.

Missions accomplished I’d say

Signing off – The soup lady.

Glee and Flash Mobs in Korea – Why Not?


You never know what you’ll see just wandering around a city like Seoul, and I guess seeing the Korean version of Glee is a perfect example of what makes Seoul such an outstanding place to visit!

We were just walking into the King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sunshin Exhibits when I spotted a sign on a stage saying – I’m guessing actually – tonight 6:30 – 7:20. I didn’t know exactly what they’d be doing – but hey – it was a nice night – we were going to be there at the right time – why not.

So when we finished seeing the outstanding exhibit on Admiral Yi Sunshin, we walked out into the setting sun and seated ourselves on the stone benches to wait for the ‘event’ to start. Almost as soon as we’d sat down, a young man runs up to us with seat cushions – oops – missed those when we walked in!

The crowd was decidedly young – I’m talking from 15 to maybe 30 – so to say we stood out would be too obvious. But hey – not the first time I’ve stood out in the last few weeks. No problems.

A few minutes later – the show begins! On stage are 2 electric pianos, a guitar, and a drum set – and the performers are from the Seoul Arts College. I’m guessing this is an end of the year production showcasing their accomplishments – from dancing (hip-hop or grunge or traditional) to singing. From the all Korean brochure they handed out – I’m guessing at least 2 have been featured on TV shows, and they sure all looked adorable.

The instruments were on stage for 3 numbers, then they were removed to allow more space for dancing. Sometimes the teams rushed on stage from the sides, but at one point the kids, who had been sitting as members of the audience – jumped up and run onto the stage right past us. At another point – a lovely group of young ladies in traditional clothes glided onto the stage and performed a very beautiful fan dance.

20130607-072154.jpg

20130607-072212.jpg

Music – good, dancing – wonderful, enthusiasm – catching! Final grade – A+

As the show ended, two young ladies (22 years old it turns out) approached us to ask if they could interview us for their class. They are studying English translation at a nearby college, and had been asked to practice their interviewing skills. Both of us agreed of course – and gladly answered their questions – yes we enjoyed the show, yes we liked traveling around Korea, yes we’re from Canada, yes Korea is a great place. My interviewer was Lee Woo-I – and she gladly posed for a picture.

20130607-071635.jpg

20130607-071653.jpg

We were just finishing up when the flash mob happened – it was on the square directly in front of us – and featured about 200 young people – who gathered – did a line dance (everyone does the same steps – in unison) to music from a speaker system – and then just as quickly disappeared.

Nice ending to a nice day, eh?

Signing off – the Soup Lady and the Intrepid Traveler.

Children’s Grand Park in Seoul – Go with the kids for a splashing good time!


Sometimes the best things are Free!

On Monday – the museums are closed in Seoul. So we ended up going to the Children’s Grand Park. This is reputed to be the largest of its kind – at least in Korea, and I must admit that it was huge.

As I’ve mentioned previously – Korean’s know how to do big public spaces – and this is another wonderful example. They thrown in a bit of everything – and most of it is free. The highlight of our visit, for the younger crowd (age 5 in our case), was the adorable water playground.

20130604-113926.jpg

It had fountains, it had mini-waterfalls, it had rocks, and bridges, and lots and lots of kids. Including an adorable pair of toddlers who proved why man invented ‘swmmies’ – diapers designed for swimming. They weren’t wearing them – and quickly were clothed in incredible soggy messes! Off with the diapers!

20130604-113939.jpg

There was also a Zoo – a tad tired around the edges, but it did have tigers, and leopards, and a Puma. I’d never seen a Puma before. The best exhibits were hidden away in separate buildings – I loved the bonsai tree garden, and found the kiddie zoo section quite cute.

One Koreanism that struck me as very funny was the Polar Bear exhibit. Yes they had a Polar Bear – for whom I felt very sad. But they had also created a photo moment of an Inuit with an Igloo. I couldn’t resist taking a picture – and got 2 willing Korean volunteers to pose for me. Based on this zoo’s image of Canada – Inuit are small – and vaguely resemble Santa Claus. Doesn’t it make you wonder what we have wrong in our Zoo’s?

20130604-115036.jpg

There is a sculpture garden made out of bits and pieces of everything (including ET) – quite fun to examine. And there are bridges to cross, animal shows that charge $, and 2 amusement parts – one for little kids, and one for bigger kids (More $), and the predictable junk to buy.

But really – it’s about the water playground if you are with kids – and that is well worth seeing.

Signing off – completely exhausted – the Soup Lady and the Intrepid Traveler.