Tahoe, CA #Traveljaggs

Finally, I have been wanting to do this trip for about a decade. Every single year when we plan out our travel I mention going to Tahoe and it always gets put on the back burner. Not this year!

Where we stayed: 

Black Bear Lodge Bed & Breakfast: WOW. WOW. WOW. What a treat and gem this place was and the price was unreal. Such a comfy room, fresh bagels and pastries for breakfast and lots of local coffee to pick from. The grounds are like a dream to wake up to every morning, you feel like you are on your own Tahoe island and secluded from everyone. I can't recommend this place enough! 

Where we ate:

Boathouse on the Pier- Beautiful views of the lake, food was not so great. It was average. So if you are looking for a great happy hour/sunset spot, this is your place

Base Camp Pizza-Very well known in Heavenly Ski Village, pizza was good and beer list had a lot of local taps

Cafe Fiore-Made a reservation here and it is the most charming little Italian spot (walkable from the B&B). We felt right at home and like a local. Amazing wine list

Sprouts Café-Loved this spot for our vegan fix of smoothies and breakfast

Freshies Restaurant & Bar-A must for the best fish tacos you will have in your life. We were thrilled to have a memorable meal here and sit on a roof looking out over the lake. Everything we had was very good!

Sunny Side Restaurant-Went here on our drive around the entire lake and loved it! Really good/fresh food and you sit right on the lake. Highly recommend adding this to your day trip around the lake or you can even stay at the resort

*In my humble opinion, we weren't blown away by the food in Tahoe. It wasn't amaze but it wasn't terrible. Just not really a foodie destination.*

What we did:

Logan Shoals Vista Point-Perfect little walking spot that overlooks Lake Tahoe. Get your camera ready! This is a drive up spot so all levels of fitness are welcome

Cave Rock-Get there early to get a spot to park and check out the beaches and views of Tahoe beach

Zepher Cove-I don't know that I would try and go here, it is SUPER toursity and not really my sort of vibe. Might be yours though

Heavenly Valley Ski Resort-Shops on shops and local eats

Paddle Board and Kayak rental (South Tahoe Stand-up Paddle)-Really wanted to get out on the water so we rented a double kayak from here. Great hourly price, super easy to rent, and it was a fabulous experience for my non-outdoorsy fix. Just a warning that if it is a choppy day on the water, paddle boarding is not the easiest and boaters on Lake Tahoe give me mercy

The Hangar-Bottle shop for local brews

The brewery at Lake Tahoe-We didn't make it here but get all the local tastes of Tahoe

Emerald Bay State Park-Can't recommend this enough! We spent an entire day driving around the whole lake and it was SO worth it. Emerald Bay may be one of the prettiest spots I have seen in my US exploring. Next time I would try and rent a boat to get down to the water and explore it. For sure make time to drive the whole lake and get out to enjoy the sites!

Looking back:

Tahoe's beauty was everything that I dreamed it would be. It is magic. I don't know if I would stay again in South Lake Tahoe. Next time I think we will stay in Tahoe City, seems a bit more our speed and not as toursity. Glad we experienced what we did, but want to explore more areas to find the right fit since it is so close to us. We will be back next year with our girl! 

Newport, Oregon #pdxjaggs

Newport, Oregon

What a weekend get-a-way this was. We couldn't have loved this little town more and felt like it was the secret gem of Oregon! We will be back, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Portland, perfect. 

Where we stayed:

Perfectly priced and very large AirBnB, great location, host is super friendly. This place is a steal!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/20327111?bev_ref=&eal_exp=1530331197&eal_sig=0e0ac442953f09633ab58d3d8130ecc3761cc41126359e2d9af4c5d644fcd7ee&eal_uid=6147510&euid=472b5364-95a1-3bb8-b68b-8cd7b4f66c31&photo=&s=&user_id= 

Where we ate:


Clearwater- You can make reservations online and request a table outside in the comments section. You will dine over the water with sea lions singing sweet songs to you the whole meal. It is an absolute fun time to just watch them sunbathe and fight with each other. If noise bothers you then this is not your jam, eat inside. The food is really good, all fresh and locally caught seafood. If they are offering anything Dungeness crab, for sure get that. It is all native to Newport and so good!
Rouge Brewery-Huge brewery on the water, with the actual brewpub dating back a long time. They serve food and loads of beers in the pub. Worth the trip for the scenery and beers!
Local Oceans-When making a reservation, if the counter option is available, this is actually the chef's table and such a fun way to do dinner. You can watch and smell all the action of the kitchen while cocktailing. All the food is fresh, fresh, fresh and you can see fisherman bringing in whatever they caught during the day. Highly recommend getting the fisherman stew, which is anything freshly caught that day in a killer light tomato sauce. It is huge, so maybe split it with someone. Also, whatever deviled egg they have that day get that. And also don't skip out on the best Dungeness crab cake you have had in your life. We got the appetizer just to share and it was outstanding. 
La Maison Café-If you love benedicts this is your place. Super cute french cafe that serves up the best Benedict on a homemade english muffin. I got the dungeness crab Benedict and it was out of this world (pretty sure you are seeing a pattern with the crab, if it is on the menu, get it!). Also their fresh squeezed OJ is heaven. 

What we did:

Newport's Historic Bayfront- Once you eat at Clearwater, stroll the downtown street. It is a bit touristy but worth walking around to see the cute shops and locals
Yaquina Head Lighthouse- WOW. A must. MUST. You pay $7 to get into the park and it is worth every penny. Check out the lighthouse, take some pics, see the penguins making their home on massive rocks... then walk down 137 steps to the black stone beach. We were in awe, it is amazing, truly unreal. The sound of the waves going back and forth on the rocks is a sound I have never heard. We laid on the beach for about and hour and just took it all in. You can go at low tide and see some pretty remarkable sea life too! Plan to spend 1-2 hours just wandering and enjoying and taking it all in. 

Vancouver, BC #CanadaJaggs

Visiting Vancouver has been on top of my travel list for years and have had a hard time getting there. But living on the west coast makes the trip a 55 minutes plane ride and the tickets are cheap. We didn't get nearly enough time in Vancouver so this is just the start of many trips there! We also got to visit with Jaggs' family who live off an island only accessible by ferry or sea plan. If you are going to Vancouver for a long trip, highly recommend going to Sechelt, beautiful coast line and peaceful beauty. 

Where we stayed

Executive Hotel Le Soleil- Fabulous location, big big big room, great price, friendly doormen who did just about any/everything you could have asked for. We will for sure stay here anytime we visit the city

What we did by day:

The Flying Pig Yaletown- Yaletown is a super cool street that is walkable and has amazing restaurants. The Flying Pig has great food and side dishes with a killer wine menu

Postmark Brewery- local brewery with great beers

Steamworks Brewing Co- on the water with a full beer and food menu. If you want to try a taste of Vancouver, get their massive flight. I had their raspberry coffee stout and I am still thinking about it! 

Dinner- Fanny Bay Oysters (go for happy hour menu- One of the best oysters bars in the city, at happy hour they are serving $1.50 oysters which you can't get that price anywhere. The place was packed when we got there so get in line but so worth the wait!

After dinner drinks- Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar- Didn't end up making it hear but I hear it is one of the best wine bars in the city

Café Medina- Wow, wow, wow. The food and coffee is about as good as you are going to get in the city. The atmosphere is hip, trendy, and bustling with people. Plan on a wait, but get a coffee and you won't be dissapointed

Spokes Bike Rental/Stanley Park- A highlight of the trip hands down. Rent a bike and ride around Stanley Park. The views of the city are unmatched and there are about 100 places to stop off and take pictures. We saw lighthouses, sea planes taking off, beautiful bridges, trees changing to fall color... it was magnificent. 

Granville Island Public Market- Didn't make it here, for sure will go on our next trip. I hear it is foodie heaven

Craft Beer Market- In Olympic Village if you are looking to taste all that is BC beers then this is your spot

Dinesty On Robson- The. Best. Asian. Food. Of. All. Time. Handmade everything, the noodles melt in your mouth, the broth is what dreams are made of. If we ate meat, I would have gotten their soup dumplings which are rated through the roof. This is a must for some of the best Asian in the city

Scoozi’s- We had breakfast here, didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was good enough for our morning before we hopped on the ferry

Looking back:

Going during the fall was just magical, the city lights up with fall colors and the skies are so blue. Everyone kept telling us this was the perfect time to be in the city because it is not crowded with tourist. However, summer time will have consistent good weather because I don't know if I could be in Vancouver during the winter (not a skier, more of a red wine lodge drinker). It is a walkable city so bring your comfy shoes. They do not have Uber and their cabs are hit and miss. For me that was the hardest part because I am not much of a walker, but we managed to get by. 

When you are leaving the city, you go through customs before you board your plane, so make sure you allot time for that on your departure day. The good news it that when you land in the US, you just get off the plane and don't have to wait in long lines. 

If you want details about our Sechelt portion of the trip, email me!