Travelling Starfish

One of my favourite places in the world is the state of California.  By creating this archive feature every month, I’m really excited to spend time talking about this state of amazing landscapes.

For about a year I was travelling back and forth from Toronto to various parts of California.  I grew to really love almost every part of the area – so much so my company nearly moved me there.  I now realize that for someone so early in their career, this was a great experience and one I’ll never forget.  I really feel in my heart that it was a turning point where I learned to realize how adventurous I was and how much I loved to see and experience new things.

Funny enough, shortly after I moved on from the role that was taking me to California so much, I moved into another position that required me to go to a conference in an area of California I’d never been to – Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe, CA

Lake Tahoe actually borders both the state of California and Nevada.  To get to Tahoe I flew from Toronto to Denver and then from there to Reno-Tahoe airport. This was the first time I’d ever seen the Rocky Mountains.  Flying into Denver, Colorado, we got to see the American Rockies and I luckily had a window seat.

The airport is technically in Nevada and is close to the casino town (a mini-Vegas of sorts) Reno.  The resorts in Lake Tahoe are a big draw to the area (in winter/summer) so there are a number of shuttles to take you to Tahoe, which is about 45 mins from the airport.

We stayed at the Squaw Valley Resort which was host to the 1960 Winter Olympics.  It is a truly amazing place. We were there in the winter so skiing and winter sports fun were all on the menu.

I arrived on a Sunday afternoon, which didn’t leave much time for exploring or play – our meetings started Sunday evening.  However, as I’ve always managed to do, I snuck out for a bit of a nose.

Squaw Valley Resort

First things first – I checked out my digs.  The actual resort at Squaw is lovely.  It has a really warm and cosy feel – just what you want in the winter and in the surroundings of the gorgeous mountains.  There was a full-service gym, a lovely restaurant area, fantastic bar (of course!) and plenty of other recreational activities.

The second night we were there, some of the girls and I took a cable car up 2000 vertical feet to an elevation of 8200 feet to the High Camp Bath and Tennis Club. There is a bar up there too (of course!) with amazing views over the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe.  It is really incredible!

I can imagine that a visit there in the summer would be just as beautiful – a golfer and hikers dream.

Squaw prides itself on having a lovely village for people to wander around shops.  It has been nicknamed “Squallywood” due to its semi-posh surroundings.  In the middle of January I’m not too fussed about shopping in the village.  I’d rather be sitting by the fire with a nice glass of red wine:).

While staying at a place like Squaw Valley, you’ve got to take a trip into Reno for a bit of gambling fun.  I’ve been to Vegas 4 times (yes I’m not joking!).  Reno isn’t the same as Vegas at all but its simplicity and small-scale actually make it quite fun.  For a team event, we all got a chance to roll the dice and see which team could win!  Needless to say, mine didn’t but I love a good game of black jack so I wasn’t complaining.

Winter beauty

The area in Lake Tahoe has a really great vibe – a small town feel in an amazing scenery.  Through researching this post, I actually just found out that Lake Tahoe is actually bidding again for the Winter Olympics in 2022.  They have my support, that’s for sure.

I’d love to go back – hopefully a trip to California will happen in the next couple of years as it has a special place in my heart.  Also visiting Lake Tahoe really offers you something different and truly shows what a diverse state California is.  Forget about the hot & steamy beaches, go to the mountains!

Welcome to the first edition of the Travelling Starfish archives!

When I decided to start looking back at my travel adventures pre-Starfish days I knew that I had to spotlight one of the best trips I’ve ever taken – Australia.  At the end of 2004, I managed to convince my boss at the time to let me have nearly 6 weeks off to head down under.  Since I literally planned this trip a year in advance, he obliged and after a 24 hour journey I landed in this massive island.

I travelled across the eastern side of Australia as south as Melbourne and as north as Cairns.  Through these archives, I’ll be highlighting most of my journey but for the inaugural archives post I thought I’d highlight my time in Fraser Island, which I look back on with fond memories.

Fishing on Fraser

For those of you who don’t know, Fraser Island is in the mid-upper part of Australia’s east coast in the state of Queensland.  It is approximately 300 km north of Brisbane and was declared a World Heritage site in 1992.  The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km².  I can say that, for me, it was a real highlight of my trip.

When I went to Oz I did the backpacking thing – I stayed in hostels, took the Oz Experience (hop on, hop off bus) – and I totally recommend it.  Even though you are roughing it, you really get a chance to meet people and have some fun.  I wouldn’t have done it any other way.

When you start backpacking in Oz on the East Coast you typically hear of 2 trips – sailing the Whitsundays and taking a 4WD around Fraser Island.  Due to the fact that I only had a month & a half and had some places I needed to be by certain times in my trip I had to choose between the 2.  In the end, I decided to do Fraser as I thought it would be a bit of adventure and a lot of fun – boy, was I right!

Maheno Shipwreck

There are 2 types of trips you can book – both are 3/4 nights on the island. You can elect to do a self-tour or guided. The self-tour option is what most backpackers sign up for.  Basically you agree to spend 3/4 nights in a Jeep and bring all your own food in a cooler.  You camp out under the stars in wherever you want to on the island (but special camping areas are recommended).  The other tour, guided, is what I went on.  Essentially you stay in a cabin with a few others, have meals included and you get a tour guide who tells you about the island.  It’s a bit more expensive but I felt it was worth the money.

Both types of tours often start out at Hervey Bay.  Hervey Bay is a small town where you will need to stay at a night before you go to Fraser and the night you return.  There isn’t too much going on there but there are lots of backpackers to mix & mingle with.  From memory, we arrived early in the morning on Fraser Island and it was all systems go from the beginning.  There are no roads throughout the island so it’s quite an adventure to spend 4 days off-roading – so much fun!

Over the next 4 days we saw all the different areas of the island, hiked up the sand dunes, walked through rainforests, swam in the beautiful naturally occuring lakes (ah, heaven) and walked our butts off!  It was honestly one of the best times I’ve ever had.  We also had the good fortune to celebrate New Years in this incredible place.  Most people who come to Oz at this time of year start making their way to Sydney for New Year.  Don’t get me wrong, Sydney is an amazing city and I’m sure it’s lovely ringing in the New Year in style on the harbour.  However, I still look back at that New Years with warm thoughts – it was just such a different experience being somewhere so quiet and remote and partying into 2005!  I honestly can’t believe that was over 5 years ago!  It seems crazy, really.

Lake McKenzie

The biggest thing I remember about Fraser (outside of the beautiful scenery and glorious sand) is all the warnings of dingos.  Dingos are an ancient, free roaming, primitive canine or wild dog unique to Australia.  There is special concern in Fraser Island because of the high degree of tourism and the majority of reported incidents have originated there.  As the island is protected, so are its animals, including the dingo.  I just remember our guide telling us to be calm if we encountered a dingo – we should always be careful at night as that was when they came out.  The way, he said, we’d notice them is by their glowing eyes.  Stay calm, indeed.

I actually had a bit of a face-to-face with a dingo New Year’s eve.  I came back from the party and honestly think I saw some glowing eyes in the bushes.  I didn’t think much of it at the time as I was pretty intoxicated but maybe that made me less freaked out by it.  When I woke up in the morning and remembered, I got a fright so maybe a few glasses of wine isn’t such a bad thing after all sometimes!:)

Despite the dingos, I can’t say enough good things about this place – the beauty of the 7 mile beach and the gorgeous swim in Lake McKenzie (you will never see a more crystal clear body of water in your life) and the shipwreck on the beach all provide something for everyone.

Thinking about it makes me want to go back and I fear from this post that as I reminisce I’ll be having to put more money away for some more holidays.  It’s a tough life being a Travelling Starfish.

Until next month,

Travelling Starfish Archives

Since I started Travelling Starfish earlier this year, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to share all of my past travelling experiences.  I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to a lot of places around the world and I think it’s a shame if these adventures didn’t come out in this mini-expose of my travelling life.

My first big trip was in 1997 but I really started getting my travel on in 2002.  So most of the journeys I’ll share will be from 2002 until the present.

Kuredu, The Maldives, Indian Ocean (Sept '08)

Some of these travel hotspot moments include:

• Touring the East coast of Australia – from Melbourne to Cairns
• Driving up the Highway 1 coast road in the beauty that is California
• Visiting the fun city of Cleveland, Ohio – some people call this place the “mistake on the lake” but I beg to differ
• Chilling out in quiet villages and towns in France – St Malo, Dinan and the Loire Valley
• Taking it all in at picturesque ski resorts like Banff, Sun Peaks and Whistler in Canada
• Getting my groove on in party island Ibiza, Spain
• …and much more

Lake Tahoe, California, USA (Jan '04)

So, starting this month – I know there is only a week left – I’ve decided to add 2 features to my Travelling Starfish blog – please contain your excitement…lol.

Every month, I’m now planning on running two blogs that will highlight some of my adventures from the past – they are:

1) “One or Two Years Ago on This Day” – As I’m sure you can tell by the name, I’ll pick a day out of the month and reflect back a year or two on where I was in the world and what I was up to.  Luckily over the past couple of years I’ve been flying on a lot of planes, meeting lots of interesting people and seeing some amazing places.  I’m hoping you’ll find reminiscing about them as lovely as I always do.

Three Sisters, Blue Mountains, Oz (Jan '05)

2) “Travelling Starfish Archives” – In this monthly blog post, I’ll be randomly selecting an adventure I’ve had over the past decade and telling you all about what made it such a fabulous memory.  I’m expecting this to be quite the emotional experience, stirring up memories of fun, friends and random excitement.  Should be a blast!

View over The Danube, Budapest, Hungary (May '09)

Don’t you worry…all of my current adventures in Israel and elsewhere will still be flowing throughout the month.  These 2 posts will just bring some of the old in with the new.  I’m really looking forward to casting my memory back to some of my old adventures.  You never know, it may make me want to go back for more.  Just one word of caution for all my readers: take no notice of my photos.  This Travelling Starfish has changed over the years!  But haven’t we all.

So, watch this space…

I’ll be posting my first back to the past Travelling Starfish blog this Thursday (26th August) so stay tuned!