Jamaica Jamaica

The following is a summary of my trip to Negril, Jamaica. The first picture is Thea and myself enjoy a beer after a VERY LONG flight! 

This is the view from our room:

This is my favourite spot to sit:

This is basically a high school reunion with my 2 best friends (we look responsible):

Uncle Jeff and Kevin would sing to us on the beach, daily! I even bought a CD but it was made out “To Heater” which is my friend, Heather…..

We woke up early to chase the “sun” which wasn’t always out. It’s okay, we had 24 cheesecake and booze:

After drinking all day at Margaritaville we went to Ricks Cafe! Our friends even jumped off the cliff…..CRAZY PEOPLE! 

Lauren, the Bride, arranged for Manny to hang out with us for the week and take pictures. He is a very, very talents photographer! Here is me, looking like I can jump high. That was the first full day that everyone was there and it was SO MUCH FUN! 

Lauren and Brian had a beautiful wedding!!! I didn’t take many pictures because I was too busy crying and MCing. Yes, that is right, I was the Master of Ceremonies. Manny will have pictures up on his website (I think) and I’m sure a video of me rapping will surface. You heard right, I rapped. I may post Jamaica round 2, but for now, this is what you get! Have you ever been there?

 

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A Photo A Day

Once a year I like to do an Instagram/Twitter photo challenge (this being year 2). I chose to do one put on by YYOGA because it just seemed like they had fun words, the Fall time is a pretty season to capture life and when I lived in Vancouver I LOVED practicing yoga there. Why should you hop on the photo challenge train?

*Each day there is a new word that inspires you to capture a moment of your day and share it with your network.

*It makes you think about what you see and experience differently.

*It allows you to connect with others who are participating in the challenge.

*You can exhibit a side of your personally that may be suppressed.

*You can be as creative as you want.

*If you commit, it allows you to hold yourself accountable.

*You can include words with your images and this may inspire you to be passionate, creative and witty.

*It’s free.

*It’s fun.

*Sometimes, there is a prize.

Click on the below image to see what inspires me each day (note: this links to YYOGA’s Facebook page because I couldn’t find this on their website:

So, if you are on the photo challenge bandwagon with me, give me a follow: @blairfromblairland (Instagram) or @BlairKaplanPR (Twitter) and let’s share pictures and ideas.

Why I’m In Love With My Birthday!

August 8th. My birthday.

This is a day that I love. Most people don’t “love” their birthdays or even celebrate them.

During elementary school Mrs. Maltz (our principal) would announce everyones birthday, daily. Being a summer baby, I never got this luxury and it always hurt my feelings. Growing up I got to celebrate my birthday at the most magical place on Earth: BB Camp. I was surrounded by close friends and nature. It was magical.

So, my birthday parties were usually in June or September, when everyone was back in school. This wasn’t my real  birthday so I wasn’t super stoked.

As I got older, my birthday was an excuse for everyone to get together, catchup and have a good time (in the summer). It allows for celebration and an annual catchup.  August 8th isn’t a day to celebrate my birth but a reason to have a good time.  Oh, I also love presents.

Today, I am 28. 365 days until my next birthday!

Good job Sharon and Leonard.

How do you celebrate your birthday?

Summer is here and I’m learning to bike (better), fish and other Pemberton activities. Follow me on my journey. Check back every Wednesday (ish) to see what I have been up to.

Cooling Off

The Summer in Pemberton is hot hot HOT and so the best and laziest way to cool down is with a float on something inflatable.

Here are the spots that I have been to (and want to go to):

One Mile Lake:

 

Mosquito Lake:

 

 

Miller Creek:

 

I have also found a few other ways to cool down:

• Run through the sprinkler
• Drink cold beer
• Sit in the air-conditioned living room
• Drink cold caesars
• Sit on the patio of Big Sky (near the misters)
• Get naked
• Have a cold shower
• Have a margarita
• Stand infront of the open freezer

So, I hope you are having a great summer. Mine is awesome. How do you like to cool down?

Summer is here and I’m learning to bike (better), fish and other Pemberton activities. Follow me on my journey. Check back every Wednesday (ish) to see what I have been up to.

Caesar Trail

My favourite bike ride is up and down Caesar Trail. You start at Highway 99 on the dike beside the creek and begin to ride.

You follow gentle winds on a wide path, past a field which is often full of grazing cows and end up on a road. The road has very little traffic and runs along side the river. You have the option of going to either The Black Squirrel (at The Meadows) or Big Sky.

They both have spectacular views. Round trip is about 6 km and always ends with a Caesar.

 

Summer is here and I’m learning to bike (better), fish and other Pemberton activities. Follow me on my journey. Check back every Wednesday (ish) to see what I have been up to.

Gone Fishin’

Well, I’m at a point in year where I can choose to participate in summer activities or winter activities. This weekends dilemma was “Do I ski?” or “Do I go fishing?”

You see, I like skiing, I do. To me, it is a winter activity and should be done in the winter. Fishing is a summer activity and I am a sun goddess who soaks in every drop of D she can.

With that being said, Sunday was not sunny but we went fishing anyways! Shayne and I packed up the truck, loaded the canoe and away we went.

We arrive at Echo Lake after a bumpy dirt road adventure. Echo Lake is at higher elevation so there was still snow on the road.

Shayne and I loaded up with our gear and trekked down to the lake. Shayne carried the canoe and I carried everything else! We spent a few hours on the lake….paddling in the wind. It was fun but it was cold.

Nothing was caught but a lot of beef jerky was eaten.  Soon I shall try out my new rod. I’m going to try and ski a few more times this season (even though I’d rather be sunbathing).

I’d show you where Echo Lake is, but I can’t find it on the map. Maybe it is a secret lake?

Echo Lake in Pemberton BC

 

Monster Mash-Jam

When living in a small town you should do as the locals do.  When Shayne found out that Monster Jam was coming to Vancouver we knew that a date-night was in order. Shayne was in charge of buying the tickets and I got us a hotel room at The Georgian Court. We were excited for our 2^nd Monster Jam experienced for a 2^nd year in a row. Yes, we went last year….

The Georgian Court was really nice and gave us a welcome treat and tuend our bed down at bedtime. However, they got my gender confused:

Mister Blair?

Well, after we were all checked in we decided to head out for dinner to Abigail’s Party. Due to not living in Vancouver anymore, I was unaware that is it Dine Out Vancouver and at 5:30pm the whole restaurant was reserved and we were unable to use our $100 gift card. So, we sauntered over to Hapa Izakaya  in Kits for Hapa Hour. This is recommended to all. Affordable and yummy Japanese cuisine.

We finished our meal and taxied to Monster Jam. Our tickets, purchased from Ticketmaster, were in the  “Club Seating” area. The seats here are in the middle of the arena, cushioned and have a bar/lounge area. Due to Ticketmaster’s failure at sending us the right tickets, Shayne and I did NOT have seats together. Date night fail. Luckliy there was the lounge and we watched the show from bar. Too bad these were “expensive” tickets.

Seat Fail. Ticketmaster Fail.

The trucks were loud and the coolers were expensive.  I’m talking $8.50 per cooler expensive….we had 3 each which came to $1000!  After watching crashing and speeding and crashing and wheelie popping, the show came to an end with Grave Digger winning.

Here is 5 minutes of Grave Digger:

So, Monster Jam is now a tradition and I suggest everyone go. It’s cheap family fun, minus the booze and always double check your seats, even if you have a responsible partner.

To follow my skiing journey, check back every Wednesday (or sometimes Thursday) and read about my learning adventure. It is okay  to learn to ski at any age. If I can do it, so can you! Please share your skiing tips and comments below. Cheers!