elizabethu

... and great prices.

We went here for a weekend to celebrate our anniversary. For some reason, we expected it to be in a semi-remote waterfront location (maybe because they call their rooms “OceanSuites”). Actually, it’s a nice hotel in the suburbs of Victoria, BC, near Butchart Gardens. Our room was great – hot tub inside and out. We had an amazing dinner at the restaurant. And we enjoyed paddling around in kayaks, available for rent from the onsite marina.

Good pizza, but pricey.

Brielle itself is nothing in particular—just a town near Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach. But if you’re near the Jersey shore, and you want to buy a bicycle, go to Brielle Cyclery

Great selection of bikes, and the service is unbeatable. They’ll spend an extra 20-30 minutes to give you a thorough bike fitting, taking several measurements to make sure everything’s aligned properly, for efficiency and comfort. I don’t think I ever had a bike that fit quite right ‘til I went here.

We were visiting from out of state and not even buying a bike, and the staff still gave us great service!

Nice, quiet campground with sunny sites next to the beach, the Seattle skyline and Mt. Rainier in the distance, campfires allowed, and a restroom with showers. Campsites are first-come, first-served. If you come by private boat on a weekend day, you may have a hard time finding a place at the marina to moor, but you can unload your stuff then moor at a buoy offshore. We wanted to take a hike around the island, but it was about to be high tide. We’ll have to do that next time.

We haven’t tried the Tillicum Village show and salmon dinner, but that is also on the island.

One more note—make sure to bring a hard-sided raccoon-proof container for food!

Try the local smoked cheese for sale at street stalls. Delicious nalesniki (crepes) here too.

Is this place as great as it sounds? Mainly interested in the family camp.

You can stay at the lighthouse at the end of Dungeness Spit, if you pay a fee and agree to serve as a lighthouse keeper for a week. Sounds interesting. Has anyone tried it?

Cool day trip from Rome. Garden with big 16th century monster statues.

Great ice cream on Île Saint-Louis, within walking distance of Notre Dame. Tried several flavors – all were delicious!