These are weird and hard times for the tourism and service industries. It’s more important than ever to get out there and support our local businesses. Go for a drive, shop and eat at little mom and pop shops; who would have thought that eating and shopping in 2020 would be considered an act of love and support? But that is currently the case.
Here are a few activities that will be a win/win, for you and local businesses…you’re welcome!
Cool places are less peoply
Here’s what’s in it for you, besides feeling good about helping to support local businesses, our region has amazing things to do and see!! And since our region is less populated than other regions of Canada and their are no outside tourists, this is a great opportunity, and hopefully the only time, that we’ll have our beautiful region all to ourselves.
This became crystal clear to me last weekend when I visited Peggy’s Cove, just outside of Halifax. We basically had it all to ourselves. Ok, there were other people there, but there were no buses with loads of tourists; full disclosure it’s after Labor Day, so not prime time, but it was still oddly eerily void of crowds.
We got to explore the tiny village peacefully and look, no people in our shots. Hopefully this will be the last season without outside tourists, so go! This may be a once in a lifetime chance?
Ok all you instagramers out there, look at how amazing these pics are!! And while you’re out there getting the perfect shot, have lunch at the restaurant beside the lighthouse and spend some money; we had the fish n chips and they were delish!
We also visited Lunenburg and Mahone Bay, what a beautiful region!!!! Get in your car and drive!! Drive to Saint Andrews, Saint John, Moncton, the Acadian Cost, Charlottetown, Cavendish, Souris, Cape Breton, Halifax…. and if you had a European trip planned that got canceled, go to Newfoundland and pretend you’re in Ireland or Scotland, they accent will be a little different, but just go with it.
Love, love, love all the colourful houses of Mahone Bay and Lunenburg!
Hotels need heads in beds
The fall is typically conference season, hotels are usually fully booked with business travelers attending trade shows and meetings. Sadly corporate travel has been halted, this means that a lot of hotels are empty. The lack of business travelers means that some local hotels are offering great deals!
We stayed at a brand new hotel in Halifax, Sutton Place, and in addition to getting a great rate, we were upgraded to a room with a view. When checking in tell them where you are from and be nice and you may get upgraded?
I’ve come to terms that being in fancy hotels is my natural habitat. This hotel had the BEST pillows!
The Sutton Place is attached to the convention center in downtown Halifax, this is the typical kind of hotel that I would book for my company during trade show season (I plan events for a large company); the rate we got was certainly not the a regular fall rate. Once life gets back to normal, the rate for this hotel in September/October will be double. So look up that fancy hotel that you’ve always wanted to try, call the front desk directly and tell that you are booking a mini staycation.
Do fun weird stuff!
Go on Pinterest and search fun things to do in your region, then do them! People always ask me how I find things to do, my big secret is I look up fun things to do, lol, it’s just that simple. Lately though, people have started to send me suggestions, which I love!
Here’s a fun thing, go visit some llamas!! This past summer I walked llamas and alpacas at Llamazing Adventures in Shediac; it was cool, but my cousins and I have made friends with Janet from Petitmore Alpacas and her gang of alpacas. Look them up on Facebook, you’ll need to make an appointment to visit. They’ll be open for a bit until the weather gets too wintery.
We were greeted by these crazy teenagers!!
What we love about visiting Janet is that after we are done feeding apples to the alpacas, which is awesome, we get to shop!! She makes beautiful hats, mittens, scarves….
Two of my cousins, Brigitte & Tania, we’d like to visit with our other cousins; Jen, Sasha, Sonya, Maneau and Katelyn, but they would freak out the llamas and Janet may never let us come back!! (They’re kinda loud and by kinda, I mean they are freaking loud!)
I bought a few things, some will be Christmas gifts! Speaking of Christmas, because of Covid a lot of Christmas markets and craft shows will be canceled. So please get out there and find then buy products from local artisans.
Want to find llamas in your area? Google, llamas in my area!! Lol
Here’s another fun thing to do, find a local potter, get a few friends together and visit their studio, I’m certain that they would love to have you visit!
Tania on the right, Brigitte on the left, I think the llamas could sense that B wanted to kidnap them so they were a bit afraid of her, lol.
Thank you for reading, take advantage of this lull in tourists to explore our bubble, book a hotel night, eat out, shop, just be a tourist in your own area; whether you’re lucky enough to be in the Atlantic bubble or not.
Floating Sound Meditation with Singing Bowls…say what??
For this post I am back in the Bouctouche area; let me start by saying that I had no idea there were so many things to do in and around Bouctouche. I did a Day Tripping in Bouctouche post, then I was told to check out the lavender farm, Lavender by Ocean Breeze Farm; visited it, loved it!! Then I was told by Line, one my readers, that I needed to go back for a third time and visit Thaly Holistic- Boutik.
I love getting recommendations from you guys, so keep them coming. I just booked a hammock or a swing, not sure what the proper name is?
I am going with long time family friend and avid blog supporter and sharer, Michelle. She messaged me to say she had been meaning to try this and would be game to join me. So we are going!
My blog and life philosophy is to try new things and I hope that my adventures inspire you to say oui, to new experiences too.
I usually research things before I do them, but going into this a bit uninformed on purpose. This is way out of my normal thing. I don’t meditate, but I am looking forward to seeing what this is all about.
My first challenge is figuring out what one wears to float with singing bowls?? Lol. I am thinking yoga gear will be appropriate, who would have guessed that yoga gear would be our 2020 outfit of choice??
So I just got back from my visit and it was amazing! I don’t really know how to explain the feelings and experience, but I’ll try.
As soon as we arrived we could smell the scent of lavender, their boutik and studio are beautiful with natural wood throughout.
We were greeted by the owner, Nathalie, and since both Michelle and I had never been before, she walked us to the studio and got us settled and comfy in our hammocks, they are hammocks, not swings.
Since we were a bit early we were able to pick our hammocks, I gravitated to the green one right away and Michelle crawled into the red. Afterwards Michelle thought our choices were very fitting, since green symbolizes healing and red energy. She’s aware that I am still healing from my dad death and she had been running around a lot and needed to replenish her energy.
My first impression was that my hammock was amazingly comfortable! You bend your knees and touch your feet together, like a frog pose, which was super comfortable.
It truly felt like I was floating, my hammock keep swinging and I could feel myself relax and sink into my little green cocoon.
Nathalie’s son Marc led our session, before we started he asked if I wanted a spritz of essential oil; I said, yes please and held out my hands.
After a few minutes of deep belly breathing he started the sound therapy. I closed my eyes and let the sound of rain, I thought it sounded like rain, wash over me. I started to visualize being in the rain forest.
As I mentioned I don’t meditate; I do know that you’re supposed to silence your mind. I did my best to silence all outside thoughts and worries. Out of nowhere I started repeating a self loving phrase that I think I needed a reminder of?
As the rain sounds faded and the metal bowls started, it felt like I could visualize and feel waves of sound. I could feel the waves and each wave was a different colour. I have never felt colour before and it sounds weird, but that’s the best way I can think to describe it.
At one point I could really hear and feel my heart pounding, which was a bit startling for a minute, but then I re-focused on the sounds of the waves. My hammock was still gently moving. I started to feel a little cold so I covered myself with my blanket, you bring your own blanket and a small neck pillow, if you have one.
To be completely honesty, when we started I wondered if I was going to get bored at some point, since the session is a full hour. But that didn’t happen, I don’t think I feel asleep, but I for sure zoned out. Because all of a sudden the metal bowl noises started to slow down with moments of silence in between. That sort of brought me back to reality and as the rainfall sounds began again, I opened my eyes and my hammock was completely still. The hour flew by and was over.
Marc told us to stretch out and to start moving our bodies a bit, a few moments later we were ready to leave our colourful cocoons.
During the session we were told to turn off our phones, I had asked Nathalie for permission to take a few photos afterwards for this blog post.
This is my zen selfie, I just felt relaxed and at peace, I look a little funny.
We got to chat with Nathalie a bit afterwards, I asked her how long she had been in business; she told us it’s been four years. She shared that this had always been her dream of hers and that when she turned fifty, she left her job at Canada Post, where she had worked for twenty years plus years.
She had a five year planned mapped out and achieved those goals after just five months! They built the boutik and studio and had plans to for a sleeping area, as a sort of holistic hostel, before Covid hit. Those plans are now on hold, but they are back open for business. They’ve adjusted the number of hammocks per class in order to have everyone properly distanced.
I love that this was her dream and that at fifty she decided to go for it! It’s inspiring and I think it speaks to the power of women and the people and families that help support them…us.
I highly recommend you try this! Even if you think it’s not really your thing, I thought the same thing and now I want to return with a few of my friends, who just between you and I need to chill out! Lol
Follow Thaly Holistic-Boutik on Facebook, they have a list of upcoming classes. You need to confirm your attendance in order to reserve your hammock. I just confirmed interested, so I was lucky that there was one hammock left for me. They are located on 5220 Route 115, in the Bouctouche area, not certain if they are withing the limits or just outside?
Tell them you heard about them from my little blog! And let me know about your experience.
If you aren’t in and around this region, look up something similar or even try something that is out of comfort zone, you just may like it??
Thanks for reading! Check me out on Insta at: oui-liette.
muah!
Liette
Behind the Scenes
I wasn’t kidding when I said that Michelle was an old family friend. Our parents have been friends forever, here she is at my first birthday. Man, I am happy I grew into my cheeks!!!
After posting my Bouctouche edition of Day Tripping in NB, my friend Lisa, who now lives in Montreal, told me about a lavender farm in Bouctouche that I needed to visit.
It just so happens that the following day I had a beach day planned at the Dunes in Bouctouche with my friend Alie. I asked her if we could make a stop before heading to the beach and she was onboard.
She had never heard of Lavender at Ocean Breeze Farm and she’s originally from Bouctouche, so we looked them up and we were off!
As we approached the parking area, we could see rows and rows of beautiful purple lavender fields. As we got out of the car, I could feel myself getting more and more excited; if you don’t feel happy walking in fields of lavender, there is something seriously wrong with you..like seriously, you need to get that checked, lol.
These fields are an Instagramers dream and we did see a few photo shoots while we were there; the owners, Carly and her husband Paul, welcome anyone who want to visit and walk their fields, sniff their lavender and take a few pics.
I asked Carly what inspired her and her husband to start a lavender farm here in Bouctouche of all places? Carly has a British accent so it was very apparent that she isn’t from the region, she’s from Whales, but Paul is from the region.
They met 26 years ago when they were both working on a cruise ship, Carly still works on ships as a Cruise Director. She explained that they had all of this land and decided to plant an acre of lavender and see how it would grow? Well it grew so they planted another acre and then another; they now have 4 acres in total; and having traveled the world they wanted to bring a bit of the French countryside to New Brunswick.
Meet Carly
They are in the process of restoring their barn, it’s already beautiful, I can’t wait to see it when it’s fully completed. They’ve already booked two weddings!!
Look at all of this natural wood!! It’s so impressive when you walk in and look up.
They also have a shop in the barn where you can buy their lavender products. I bought their facial scrub and body lotion and I need to go back for some lavender oil.
They sell these beautiful lavender soaps, they are perfect for wedding favors.
I also bought a bunch of fresh lavender and should have bought more, it’s the prettiest darkest shade of purple that I’ve ever seen, it’s my new fav colour.
Lavender at Ocean Breeze Farm is the first agrotourism lavender farm in the province; Carly explained that because of our winter’s their fields will never be perfect or look exactly like the ones in Europe, but being able to visit a lavender farm, then cross the street to a beautiful beach, Les Dunes, followed by a fresh lobster roll, at Pirate des mers, on your way home seems pretty close to perfect to me!
I asked Carly about their future plans for their lavender farm, their venue lends itself perfectly to weddings and events, so they will be hosting more events in the future, as the word gets out. Their lavender product lines will grow, as will the size of their fields, but her ultimate goal is for people to come visit the farm and to just breathe, she wants us to relax and to “take a breathe”.
I love that sentiment and you really feel that vibe when you’re on the farm. Some will never get the opportunity to walk the lavender fields in the countryside of France or England, but you can walk the lavender fields of Bouctouche!! Ok technically they are in Saint Edouard, but tomato, tomato…did you just read that with two different pronunciations?? Ah!! Of course you did! Lol
Thank you so much for reading!! I am going to share a few more amazingly pretty pics and here is a link for my two last Day Tripping in NB posts. And finally, I have a cool give away coming up so go like my Instagram page: oui-liette for details on how to enter to win my Sassy Summer Basket!! Launching my contest this Friday.
Oh and be sure to like and follow Lavender at Ocean Breeze Farm on Facebook and Instagram, they are currently only open for visits on weekends, see their sites for details and updates.
They grow two different kinds of lavender.
Harvest, drying time
Fun fact, Carly told Paul she wanted a pony and he bought her this, technically it is a pony, check the name on the tractor, lol.
Here are Carly and Paul, clearly not in the French countryside.
As a native New Brunswicker, I don’t think so, but I have to admit that there are some freaky things going on here.
We have a hill that pulls your car uphill; we have a river that changes direction every 8 hours. And we have tides so low that you can walk on the ocean’s floor; if those things aren’t weird, than I don’t know what is?
Here are a few wonderfully weird things to do and see in New Brunswick! Because let’s face it, normal is boring!!
#1 Super Oddball Cool thing to do in New Brunswick – Sleep in a castle!
Growing up I’ve always wanted to live in a castle; to be honest I still do.
How many Canadian cities can brag about having a giant castle in the center of their city? And how many of those can you spend the night in?? Soooo…I don’t know the answer to either of those questions; these are rhetorical questions, obviously! My point is, that there probably aren’t that many?!
I do know of a castle that you can sleep in and it’s right here in New Brunswick! Castle Manor, in Moncton, rents out rooms via Airbnb. Sleeping in a castle is our first awesomely weird thing to do in NB.
Fun fact; when I was a little girl I believed that the Friendly Giant and Rusty lived in Castle Manor. I suspect one of my older cousins told me that fun fake fact and I whole heartily believed them…for a long time.
If you don’t know who the Friendly Giant is? I feel bad for you; it was just the best children’s television program ever! It ran in Canada from 1958 to 1985; think Mr Rogers, but as a giant with a giraffe and a rooster as his side kicks; oh and he played the recorder…oh and every episode ended with a cow jumping over the moon; why? Why not! Look up, waaaay up and google it! Ok, I digress…back to sleeping in castles.
I am not going to lie, after decades of driving past Castle Manor, I was soooo excited to have the opportunity to go in and check it out.
It’s been completely renovated and it’s beautiful!! They have 13 units that you can rent; each comes with a full kitchen, washer, dryer; everything you will need while traveling and more! Each unit has it’s own unique layout and they have done their best to incorporate and keep historic structural pieces.
I wish I had realized that these were available to rent when I was traveling back from Las Vegas on a regular basis last year. These are perfect for business travelers or families on vacation.
The penthouse suite is gorgeous!!! I could see myself living here; with my crown of course!
Many of the units have exposed stone walls; they have kept the original staircases and stain glass; no expense was spared!
Please note that the rooms don’t come with crowns, so you’ll need to bring your own.
Now can you spend the night in a Castle without a crown? Yes, of course you can; don’t be silly. But should you? My answer is no; my mother always told me to go big or stay home. And if wearing a crown isn’t appropriate in a castle then where can one wear a crown?? And honestly if you’re going to do oddball fabulous things, then be a fabulous oddball while doing them, for goodness sake.
Now did I go a bit too far with my crown pics? Yes, of course I did; that’s just how I roll! 👸
#2 Super Oddball Cool thing to do in New Brunswick – Chill out with a gang of alpacas
Have you tried goat yoga? FYI don’t wear your best Lululemons, the goats will poop all over them! Goats are so 2019; Alpacas are way cooler!
Seriously alpacas are having a moment at the moment, which is great timing because hanging with a gang of alpacas is our second awesomely fabulous thing to do in NB.
I recruited two of my cousins to help me with this visit. They are crazy…I mean they are crazy animal lovers; so I thought they would love being up close and personal with a gang of alpacas and I was right!
We visited Petitmore Alpacas in Harcourt, NB and you really need to visit them too! I must say that the hour we spent with the owners, Janet, Bart and their family of alpacas filled our hearts with joy; and I am not even being dramatic!! We had smiles on our faces the whole time.
We fell in love with Charlie and Ruthy, two of their females with big personalities. We got to feed them lots of apples and it turns out alpacas love taking selfies! Who knew??
Above, Charlie and I discovering that we go to the same hairdresser for our highlights, lol!!
As if spending the afternoon with a farm full of alpacas wasn’t fun enough; guess what else you can do there? Shop!!! They have the softest and the most amazing, hand made, hats, socks and more! This is your opportunity to shop local!!!
Here we are showing off our new tuques! We also placed an order for matching ones; you can buy off the rack or place a custom order. To be honest, it was an excuse to go back in the spring! Crazy cousins, from left to right; Brigitte, Liette and Tantan, aka Tania.
Please follow Petitmore Alpacas on Facebook @Petitmorealpacas and check out their hours of operation. During the winter months they are only open by appointment; but will be opening with all the bells and whistles in late spring ish. And if the rumors are true, there maybe as many of 6 new baby alpacas come this spring! #3 Super Oddball Cool thing to do in New Brunswick – Ice Caves
Do you struggle to find fun activities to do with your kids or your posse during the winter? You could go for a regular walk in the woods; or you could explore Midland’s ice caves.
The caves are actual waterfalls that have completely frozen up. Someone breaks two holes in the ice to make an entrance and and exit and voilà, ice caves! You can walk behind the frozen falls, making it feel like a cave.
This outing includes:
– A bit of cardio: That first 30 min or so are uphill; I liked that the uphill part was right at the beginning. It’s mostly a slow incline so it’s not so bad. I was feeling the burn by the time I made it to the top though.
– A relaxing, breathtaking and beautiful walk in the woods: The walk through the woods was so relaxing and the smell of fresh air was so invigorating! Man I love NB!!
Here’s a tip; dress in layers. The uphill portion was a bit windy and cold, but once you get in the woods you’re sheltered from the wind so it gets hot!!
– An adrenaline rush for all the adrenaline junkies out there: Depending on the weather, the hill leading down to the caves can be slick and icy?
Remember that once you get down, you need to eventually get back up! There are ropes that you can use to pull yourself back up.
As soon as I got down, I started contemplating how the hell I was going to get back up; and by contemplating, I mean worrying. I ended up going with the bear technique; which is climbing on your hands and knees. I followed a family; the mother kept saying; stay low and crawl like a bear. I figured if those directives were good enough for her kids, they were good enough for me!! I just feel in line with them; ok, I butted in the line between her kids and the dad. Making it back up the hill was enough adrenaline for me.
Metal spikes on your boots wouldn’t be a horrible ideas… just saying.
In order to get into the caves, you need to crawl up to the entrance; most ended up sliding in on their bellies or getting pulled in; neither were graceful in case you were wondering.
And to get out you needed to slide down a solid ice slide. A fresh layer of snow would have made the conditions less icy and less dangerous.
The odd look on my face in the pic below is me making the decision that I wasn’t crawling in there!! This is my; “yeah, no!” face.
The line to get into the cave was a bit long; it was very entertaining to watch people figure out what their cave entrance strategy was going to be? Everyone waiting in line were very supportive and encouraging of each other. What I love about Canadians is that we can respectfully make fun of perfect strangers in such a way that no one gets offended; so waiting in line was my favorite part…well it was fun once I decided I wouldn’t be going in. I just pictured myself falling on my face in front of everyone; but it turns out my brother didn’t get the scardy cat gene, so he was ready and psyched to check it out.
While I was people watching the only two people who made it in and out with a bit of dignity and grace were some 5 or 6 year old boy, who was obviously high on sugar or hyper active? And my brother, who turns out is very graceful and gazelle like.
– The perfect backdrop for next year’s family Christmas cards: It didn’t matter where you stood, the backdrop was beautiful! And the lighting in the woods in the afternoon is magical, no filters in the pic below.
– It’s also a dog lover’s paradise; which is similar to a Gangsters Paradise. Not sure how many of my readers will get that reference? Lol.
Our journey back was a bit longer than it needed to be due to the fact that we needed to stop and pet every dog we encountered on our way down the hill.
#4 Super Oddball Cool thing to do in NB – Learn a new language!
As if being the only officially bilingual province in Canada wasn’t cool enough; we’ve invented a third; it’s called Chiac.
It’s a combo of English words mixed in with a French base. It’s pretty easy to master once you get the hang of it; example: chu right fatigué. Translation; I am so tired. You can pretty much replace the French word, tellement, which means very, with the English word, right and you’re half way there. You can also replace “I”, which is “je” in French with “ej” or “chu”; and congratulations! You’re speaking Chiac!
Now I’ll get you to the intermediated level; ready? OMG y’était right tannant au party hier soir! Le party était right lame, anyways, on la ditché. Translation; he was such a pain in the ass at the party last night that we ditched him.
I love these Chiac t-shirts, they are from @dowdstreetstudio, check them out on Insta.
Two words that Acadians love to use are; tannant, which means pain in the ass and picasse, which means cranky. So if you are in the region and someone calls you tannant or face picasse, it’s not a compliment.
Your last lesson will get you through the most important part of your day; ordering your coffee at Tim’s. Here we go; ej prendra un large double double svp.
So is New Brunswick weird?? Maybe so? But only in the most amazingly fabulous way!! Find yourself a few like minded weirdos and get out there and explore!!
Hey, do you know of any fun, weird things to do in NB?? If so, please let me know.
Thank you for reading and please share!!!
muah!
Liette (your favorite NB weirdo)
Bonus funny facts and outtakes
The picture below looked like a lovely shot of the frozen falls and the people waiting for their turns. Until I noticed something a bit disturbing; check out the arrow; it looks like the legs of a dead woman. She was actually not dead, but being pulled into the cave, lol. See I wasn’t lying when I said that there was no graceful way in!!
Brigitte and I considered getting these at Petitmore Alpaca Farm, but decided on something a little less….extra.
Another, behind the scenes secret; turns out alpacas can be a bit skittish, so it’s good to use your inside, quiet, voice. I kept having to remind Brigitte of this, but the alpacas were just too cute and she had a hard time controlling her excitement. She also wanted to take one home with her; and by one, I mean like 5!
I’ve been in Tulsa Oklahoma for the week; I figured Las Vegas in July wasn’t hot enough, I should come to Oklahoma, lol.
Just kidding, I am here for work; when you travel for work a lot, it’s easy to get get a bit jaded. I really try to take advantage of the opportunities given to me and I try to find something fun to do or see in each city I get to visit.
One of my coworkers mentioned that Tulsa was the center of the universe!! So how could I come to Tulsa and not make the effort to find the center of the universe landmark?? Seriously, it would be pretty dumb not to, right? BTW, I was with a few locals today and none of them had been, are they being dumb?? Frankly, yes, lol.
Now before I get comments about how the universe is infinite and how do they know that Tulsa is the center of it? Shhh!! Let’s just have a bit of fun and check it out.
It was a little hard to find; I would have thought that the center of the universe would merit some signage or a plaque? But there was nothing, just a brick circle in between West Archer St and North Boston Ave.
When we found it, we briefly thought we had been had; was this it?!
The location was a bit anticlimactic; but the freaky thing is not what it looks like, but what happens when you are there.
This spot is the site of an acoustic anomaly; what does that mean? It means that if you stand in the middle your voice sounds amplified to you, but muted to those standing outside the circle. And I swear to god, it true, it worked!! We took turns in the center and it was pretty freaky.
This odd sound abnormally has been studied with no clear consensus of what or how it works.
We stood in the middle and took videos to see if we could capture this freaky effect; above is my friend trying it out. In my video below, my voice does sound amplified.
Ok maybe you had to be there?? But it was freaky; we had a few laughs trying to figure out what the trick was, but we weren’t able to solve the mystery. And I am glad we didn’t, half the fun not knowing what the secret is?
Right beside this freak of nature is another Tulsa landmark, the Artificial Cloud, so look up.
Ok, I may have been a little too excited by this excursion? But man, we were inside all day and will be for the next few days; it was great to get some fresh air…ok it was more hot and humid than fresh! 😎
If anyone has anything else that we should see while here, please let me know. I am hoping to find some more free time to roam!
If you wonder why some of you see my feature picture twice, I post it twice so that those who subscribe and read from their emails can see it too.
In this post I will share a few tips on how to prepare for your first hot air balloon ride. I consider myself an expert now that I have been up in one exactly one time! Lol
Ok so I am not an expert, but I can share a few tips, here we go!
We were driven to the desert where we watched the balloons being set up and filled with air, they were way bigger than I thought they would be.
This photo was taken by my friend Sean Miller, he brought his big camera, I just use my iPhone.
Photo by Sean Miller.
Hot Air Balloon Fashion
The perfect way to ruin your ballooning experience is to show up dresses improperly. Chances are you’ll have to be onsite before dawn; make certain you’re warm enough to get you through till sunrise. We had a few in our group who were cold and cranky before we even got off the ground. I was happy we didn’t end up in their balloon.
The trick is to dress in layers, I had a t-shirt, my trusty black turtle neck and a light fleece like zip jacket. I threw a pair of light gloves in my cross body purse before leaving the house and I actually wore them before lift off. It gets cold in the desert before sunrise.
You also need sneakers; sandals and flip flops are a no, no. And make sure you are wearing socks. When you are in the air, your bottom half can get cold, while your top half gets hot; the big burners that heat the balloon air give off a lot of heat.
You also have to climb into the balloon basket, like literally climb, straddle the side and get yourself inside, so make sure your pants will accommodate this movement. I wore jeans with stretch.
If you have long hair tie it up or wear a hat, you don’t want your hair getting caught up in the burners.
What Should You Bring With You?
The views are absolutely spectacular, so make certain your phone is charged, you’ll want to take a lot of pics. My friend brought his camera and small case; I had a cross body purse that I use when I travel. There isn’t much room in the balloon basket so just bring a small bag.
The air is cool the higher you go, so I packed tissues and my sunglasses in my bag. They provided us with a bottle of water.
Safety First
You will have to sign a waiver, we had to sign two. The captain will go over the safety rules and will make you practice a rough landing position, aka a crash landing. I obviously knew there isn’t landing gear on these things, but I never really put much thought into how they landed. They can hit pretty hard, bounce and drag before they come to a full stop…oh and the basket can tip over…with you in it.
We had a smooth landing, but I was ready! My knees were slightly bent and I was facing in the direction that the captain had instructed us to face. I took these rules very seriously; I may or may not have “bossed” other passengers to turn around and face the other way??? I can’t really recall for sure in all the excitement, but that could have happened?? Lol
What I found a bit surprising is that the balloon basket is sub divided into sections. So there isn’t a lot of room to move around. This is so you don’t bounce around in the event of a rough landing.
I am not really scared of heights, but I am scared of falling to my death. The basket sides are high, I am 5’7, the side of the basket was mid boob height on me, lol. This made me feel secure; you aren’t dangling over the edge, you are pretty contained.
You can see the basket dividers in this pic. There is another divider between me and the lady beside me. You can fit 2 people per section.
Enjoy the Ride!
It was such a cool feeling to float, we reached a maximum speed of 12 miles per hour. It was very peaceful and serene. I would highly recommend a balloon ride to anyone visiting, who is feeling adventurous; and to locals who want to see Vegas from above. It was $140, tax included, so not crazy expensive.
This pic was taken by moi, not too shabby!
The colorful balloons against the blue sky were so pretty it almost looked fake.
Vegas Hot Air, Sin City Balloon Rides, is the company we went with; they had three balloons in the air that morning. There were a few other balloons from different companies in the air when we ventured out. They look deceivingly small in the air.
We flew over this balloon, the view and colors were awesome!
We got a great view of the strip in the distance, but the view of the mountains that surround Vegas was spectacular. I am fairly certain most tourist that stay on the strip aren’t even aware that Las Vegas is in a valley. You don’t see the mountains when on the strip.
Photo by Sean Miller
What Goes Up, Must Come Down.
I think we were in the air for over an hour ish? Time flew bye, pun intended.
It’s a balloon tradition to have champagne after each ride. Captain Mike was awesome, all the staff were friendly and made it fun. Side note, captain Mike had the nicest teeth, lol. I felt, I needed to add that completely irrelevant detail… you are welcome!! 😜
I highly recommend Vegas Hot Air Sin City Balloon Rides, tell them Liette sent you. They will have absolutely no idea who the heck I am, lol.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any ballooning questions!
More fun things to do in and around Las Vegas, while sober…or tipsy! Lol
This next activity, is my second fav thing after kayaking. You probably shouldn’t do it while drinking though, lol.
When you think of coming to Vegas, I bet a Camel Safari isn’t exactly top of mind? I am a list girl, those who know me will be shocked by this statement I am sure…not! I often make mini bucket lists, just to keep things interesting. I try to pick 4 or 5 new things a quarter. New on my list was going on a Camel Safari.
This was my camel, I forget his name, he had a big personality!
Since Las Vegas is in the desert, I thought it would be plausible that there would be camel safaris available somewhere…right? I mean, come on, anything is possible, it’s Las Vegas!
I was right! I did a quick Pinterest search and there it was! The company is called: Camel Safari…ok, they may not get points for originality, but hey, they do Camel Safaris, so it fits. My nephew Jack was coming to visit, so I booked us a Camel Safari! I really need to give my nephew a shout out, like camels, teenagers can be, at times difficult, but he is and has always been game and receptive to all my cockamamie ideas…and there have been many!! You rock Jack!
Jack wanted to take this little guy home.
Camel Safari, the company, is located in Bunkerville, which is a little over one hour’s drive from Las Vegas. So not that far.
I found them on Pinterest, check them out!
There are different tours available; you can feed the animals, they have more than just camels; they do bachelor and bachelorette parties, where you can party under the stars. Side note, the night before we went on our safari, they filmed an episode of the Bachelor there! And of course they do Camel Safaris, please check them out online: http://www.camelsafari.com
Now I am no camel expert, but everyone that I spoke to about my upcoming adventure warned me that camels are basically assholes. My experience was the exact opposite, these camels were very well behaved. Mine had a funny, quirky personality, we bounded over the fact that he seemed to love getting his picture taken, just like me.
My camel and I hamming it up, his selfie game was strong! lol
Again, I am no animal expert, but I attribute their well-mannered behavior to the fact that they are so well cared for by their keepers. They are not locked in cages, they get to roam on the estate; where they hang out with their camel friends and a rescued zebra, who the camels have accepted as one of their own.
The staff seem to be there because of a genuine love of animals, it was great to see! And a fun experience, I highly recommend!
Camel Safari…checked of my list!!
NEXT! Let’s do a speed round of my go to places; this is where I take my visitors who come to visit me.
Seven Magic Mountains
Seven Magic Mountains is 15 minutes off the strip (all of these places, I found on Pinterest, it’s my fav search engine.)
Here with one of my many beautiful cousins. Our dads were not fans, they stayed in the car, lol.
Seven Magic Mountains is a temporary art exhibit in the desert, I guess you can drink there, as long as you are not the driver. You can take great pics and it’s free!
Liberty Bell Arch
Liberty Bell Arch is part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, it’s on the Arizona side. It’s a geological masterpiece! The arches were formed over 300 million years. It is less than an hours drive from the strip. It is a moderate hike, bring lots of water! Sorry, this is a non-alcoholic activity, but it is free!
Modeling my new Roots Nice hat!
You can’t see the Arch from the highway, so when it finally does come into view it’s amazing! Please be careful, the rocks at the base of the Arch are lose and sharp. I didn’t venture all the way up to the base; but my friend Sean did, he did a lot of slipping and sliding on the rocks while I was safe a distance away taking pictures.
Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire is approx 50min from the strip, you really, really need to go! It is breathtaking and there is a spiritual zen vibe to it. The hikes are amazing, the park is over 40,000 acres of bright red Aztec sandstone outcrops, as per their site, please go to: http://www.parks.nv.gov for more info…oh and they have cool petroglyphs.
Save your drinking for when you get back to the strip, you need to be on your A game for this one. There is a fee to get into the park, but well worth it.
My dad and uncle ventured out of the car for this one, lol. He is 80, I hope I am as active when I am his age.
Ghost Towns
Nevada has lots of Ghost Towns, if you have a bit more time or are touring the state and see them from the highway, you should stop! As long as you aren’t driving, I don’t see any issues with an adult beverage or two, hey you may even see more ghosts after a few?
So many ghost towns, so little time. This one was in Rhyolite
This one is in Nelson, they do a lot of cool photo shoots here, loved the old cars.
Welcome to Vegas Sign
What people may not realize is that Las Vegas has a very sophisticate side, we have world class entertainment, top chefs and the worlds most impressive NHL hockey team…GO KNIGHTS!
But there is also a fun and cheesy side; everyone who visits me needs to get their picture taken at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. I think it’s the most fabulous touristy thing you can do!
Although this is a free activity, there is always a guy there who offers to take your picture, I recommend you let him. He is a pro! He will help you find your inner cheese! Don’t forget to slide him a $5 afterwards! $10 if you are a larger group.
As long as you aren’t driving, please do drink during this activity!
My brother wins for best jump, the worst jumper is Gilles, bottom left. Gilles you really let us down, you should be embarrassed, lol. My dad and uncle were living their best thug life, trust me you would not have wanted to be on the ice, with these two hockey guys in their hay day!
What is your best Vegas hot spot? Have you tried any of the activities listed here? Please share!
As always, thank you for reading, this one was long, but I needed to jam pack lots of content. If you enjoyed please click on like, feel free to share on social media and subscribe to make sure you don’t miss anything.
