Chris Robinson is the host of The Chris Robinson Travel Show - broadcast on Newstalk 1010 every Saturday at 10am and on CJAD 800 Montreal at 11am. www.ChrisRobinsonTravelShow.ca
I was fortunate enough to stay in three wonderful yet very different hotels in Scottsdale. The Hermosa Inn is a small but gracious boutique hotel of just 35 rooms that blooms in the desert and features artwork of Lon Megargee, the well-known cowboy artist.
The Hotel Valley Ho is in Scottsdale’s historic district, within easy walk of downtown. It’s 1950’s architectural detail is complimented by great amenities and a rooftop terrace with the best views of Scottsdale.
The Phoenician is an iconic hotel on the slopes of Camelback Mountain with every luxury you could imagine. I experienced the Shea Butter Wrap with Honey Avocado Foot Therapy at their centre for Well-Being and afterward floated to a sumptuous dinner at Il Terrazo Restaurant.
Dining is another of Scottsdale’s civilized pleasures and I can personally recommend FnB with entertaining gourmand Pavle Milic, Trader Vic’s with sensational Mai Tai’s and the lovely Lon’s Patio at The Hermosa Inn
My grateful thanks to the Scottsdale CVB team who organized my trip and the radio broadcasts, particularly Laura McMurchie, Tatum Luoma and Christy Naughton. Also to my hotel hosts: Denise Seomin at The Phoenician, Nicole Plehn at The Hermosa Inn and the team at Valley Ho. Laura and Denise were also my warm and eloquent guests on my radio shows.
I am in Orlando Florida at Walt Disney World to participate in the inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend…and to broadcast my radio shows live from Disney’s Hollywood Studios of course! And it is a very full and fun weekend, with much of the activities centred here at the amazing ESPN Wide World of Sports, close by Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Here I watched the Kids’ Races on Friday afternoon and toured the runners’ Expo. On Saturday morning I participated in Mickey’s Halloween Family Fun Run 5K race and in the evening I ran the new Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. A magical weekend of running as only Disney can conjure up!
It’s early Saturday morning and there are Disney characters everywhere, both on the sidelines and also running in this 5km romp through the Magic Kingdom Park. Mickey and Minnie set us off and, as dawn broke on a cloudless day, we ran up Main Street, USA toward Cinderella Castle and through all parts of the Magic Kingdom to the finish line. Great fun for all the families taking part!
And there were many families at yesterdays’ Kids’ Races too - which were at times unbearably cute. Children under nine ran in races from the infant “Diaper dash” to 400m at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, ensuring that no one was left out of the weekend.
After the 5K run, it was off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to interview renowned Olympic athlete and prolific marathon writer and coach, Jeff Galloway. Jeff gave me some valuable tips for this evening’s race, the inaugural Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon.
Starting at 10pm with 10,000 other runners, we ran through Disney’s Animal Kingdom (avoiding the lion enclosure – we’d be too much like fleeing prey!), in and around Disney’s Hollywood Studios (which were lit up like Tinsel Town), to the finish line at Epcot which most reached around midnight.
And there, after a quick recovery, we were able to indulge in a true Midnight Feast as we participated in the Finish Line Party and the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. A mouth-watering array of dishes and drinks from around the world were available to 3am – the perfect, if exhausting end to a memorable Disney weekend!
Robert Service, the Bard of the Yukon, conveys the allure of the Yukon in my favourite poem of his:
The summer - no sweeter was ever; The sunshiny woods all athrill; The grayling aleap in the river, The bighorn asleep on the hill. The strong life that never knows harness; The wilds where the caribou call; The freshness, the freedom, the farness - O God! how I'm stuck on it all.
I am in the Yukon this week for a future radio show and to interview some Yukoners along the way. But most of all I’m here to experience the enchantment of that Yukon spell.
Capital city of the Yukon Territory and thriving hub of the Canadian North, this place is still rooted tangibly in its spectacular landscape and storied history. The 27,000 people who live here are a heady mix of First Nation, Gold Rush descendants and more recent arrivals who fallen in love with the Yukon. They all have stories to tell, as I am finding out easily: Yukoners are as open and loquacious as Maritimers! Getting here is easy: after an early flight from Toronto to Vancouver and a perfect connection, I was in Whitehorse by early afternoon.
The Beringia Centre is a perfect first stop to get an overview on how the Yukon came to be so central to the peopling of the Americas. I was able to try my hand at the atlatl, an ancient throwing spear used for hunting – there need be no concern for Yukon wildlife on my account!
Next stop: the MacBride Museum, which uses a fun and folksy approach to telling the history of the Yukon, both natural and human. The Yukon River runs centrally through the history of the Territory as it does through downtown Whitehorse – a magnificent and swiftly flowing river, steps from the shops and hotels. Riverboats used to churn the waters of this river and the S.S. Klondike is a well-preserved example and national Historic Site of Canada. My guided tour was effective in helping me visualize the days not so long ago when the wharf in Whitehorse was festooned with riverboats large and small en route to the goldfields.
The city is lively again with visitors in this last week of summer. One-of-a-kind local craft shops offer good shopping; hotels are full ( I am staying at the Westmark – recommended); and there are many surprisingly good restaurants – I have enjoyed excellent meals at several fine restaurants.
But my most marvelous Whitehorse moment so far has been an early morning jog along the trail beside the Yukon River as the sun rose above the eastern mountains. Steam was rising from the river and mixing with early morning mist rolling up the valley. The mountains and forests floated above the broiling river, the scent of pine was in the air, a beaver swam through the shimmering waters and a bald eagle caught the first sun’s rays in the top branch of a fir. What a start to a day - this is some city!
