Year: 2022

Banff National Park – You May Want to Wait Until June to Hike

My original intent when visiting Banff National Park was to spend most of the trip hiking and taking massive quantities of photos.

In the end, I completed the latter two. The hiking, however, was not to my liking, and could definitely have been avoided. This was not because of a lack of trails or bad views. On the contrary, there are dozens of awesome trails with some stellar views of the park no matter where you stay. The trails were not to my liking for one reason and one reason only: I couldn’t do any!

Read more

ToroVerde and El Monstruo Zipline in Puerto Rico Are a Must

ToroVerde Adventure Park in Puerto Rico claims to be the largest in the Caribbean, and it isn’t until you arrive that you truly grasp what that means. The park really is huge!

Not only does this one have a traditional zipline course, but they have other unique aerial activities like the Toro Bike (riding a suspended bicycle across ziplines), a children friendly Toro Roller (ropes course and climbing tower), and an extremely long, Superman-style zipline aptly named The Monster.

During my visit for a conference tour, I was able to check out the traditional zipline course as well as The Monster. You don’t want to miss these when in Puerto Rico!

Read more

Which Sheraton in Old San Juan is Best? 2 Sheraton San Juan Reviews

When it comes to booking a hotel in Old San Juan, if you are a Marriott loyalist, you have two great options- both from the Sheraton brand.

One is the Sheraton Old San Juan and the second is the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino. While the former is what we would call the only true branded hotel in Old San Juan proper, those who are visiting the San Juan region may want to take a hard look at both before committing to a property.

Thankfully, I was fortunate to stay at both of the Sheraton hotels in San Juan on a recent visit and thought I’d share a review of each with side-by-side comparisons to help you plan your stay!

Read more

Who Invented the Pina Colada? Barrachina vs Caribe Hilton

If there is any cocktail that immediately evokes thoughts of a palm tree-lined beach, it is the Pina Colada.

This cocktail, made of rum, coconut, and pineapple, is the quintessential beach drink and is one we have come to love simply through our frequent visits to its birthplace- San Juan, Puerto Rico.

But the origin story of this classic is, shall we say, heavily debated. Two iconic establishments lay claim to creating this refreshing beverage, and we did what any enterprising cocktail lover should do in order to get to the bottom of the debate- we went to both.

Enter the Barrachina, which claims to have invented the Pina Colada in 1963, and the Caribe Hilton, which claims to have invented this classic in 1954. So who really made it first and, more importantly, which is better? We had to find out.

Read more