The Bacara Resort and Spa is located on the coast just a little north of Santa Barbara. Relaxed appeal of a true classic California resort. Much of what makes Bacara such a magical place is its unique location between the Pacfic Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains. Activities include golf, tennis, hiking, and a full-service spa.

The resort offers 360 guest rooms and suites with Spanish tile floors, balconies, some with fireplaces. They included all the amenities that one would expect from a high-end luxury resort.

The spa offers a variety of treatments to help you relax and feel refreshed. Thai massage, Reiki, and reflexology, guests to Bacara will find it easy to reunite their bodies, minds and spirits. There  fitness center which offers personal trainers and fitness instructors, as well as classes in yoga, Pilates, group meditation and Tai Chi.

Bacara has 3 pools one is dedicated to the Spa, the other larger public pools are situated at the base of the resort near the ocean.

The Bistro Restaurant has ocean view patio dining serving everything from breakfast to a late night snack.

Located high in the spectacular coastal mountains of Vancouver Island, next to the farms and vineyards of the Cowichan Valley and close to Victoria rests The Aerie Resort. Surrounded by 85 acres of meticulously kept grounds and gardens, the breath-taking view from The Aerie is worth the trip alone.

There are 3 different buildings for your stay, each with its own special charm and incredible views.Villa Cielo is on the highest point and offers unsurpassed privacy and elegance. The Residence Building offers seven rooms and suites, while the Main Building is the original Aerie construction, and now offers 22 elegant rooms and suites.

The rooms have all the amenities, fireplace, couch, huge tub – in the sitting room – large bed and great view off the balcony.

Amenities: Massage, Meeting Facilities, Broadband Access, Restaurant in Hotel, Fireplace, Hot Tub, Air Conditioning, Television, more..

The Aerie Spa and Wellness Centre will leave you rejuvenated and inspired!

Activities: Swimming Pool, Golf, Tennis, Fitness, Mud bath, mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, sailing, water-skiing, diving, kayaking, rafting, culinary tours, float plane tours, yoga.

Aerie Resort and Spa is a haven for those who enjoy fine wines and gourmet cuisine.

Chefs create food that is fresh and delicious, using classic French techniques but much inspired by Pacific Northwest flavours and style.

In the Pacific Ocean, in British Columbia, the Queen Charlotte Islands are peaks of a submerged mountain chain. The seven largest islands of the 1,884 islands and islets in the archipelago are Langara, Graham, Moresby, Louise, Lyell, Burnaby and Kunghit. Just 2 km into the sea, the continental shelf falls away dramatically to the immense depths of the ocean, and this is Canada’s most active earthquake area. Photo by: marc_guitard

Naikoon Provincial Park, in the north-east of Graham Island, covers a range of diverse environments including sandy beaches and dunes, sphagnum bogs, ancient forests and rivers. The landscape was formed during the last Ice Age out of the deposits left by retreating glaciers. The main attraction here are the endless stretches of broad sandy beaches. On the north beach is Tow Hill, a 100 m outcrop of basalt columns which make a dramatic landmark. Also worth seeing is Rose Spit, an ecological reserve, where you can spot migrating birds travelling over the Pacific. Photo by: g d gustafsson

The Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site is in the south of the archipelago. The wilderness area of 138 islands stretching 90 km from north to south is only accessible by boat or charted aircraft. Mountains rise steeply to the west, and the coastline is dotted with stunning inlets, coves, bays and islands. This is great place to observe whales, bald eagles, nesting seabirds, black bears, river otters and sea lions. Photo by: Sam Beebe / Ecotrust

Rainforest and upland bog, salmon steams, estuaries and kelp beds sustain a rich diversity of life there.
When to go: April to November. Population: 4,935. Getting there: Fly to Vancouver or Prince Rupert to Sandspit, or take a ferry from Prince Rupert. You should know: This is a tranquil area with little development, so do not expect busy resort hotels with all the tourist comforts. Photo by: Yonn Yeth-Lachance

Photo by: Stef Olcen

Set just off the Ontario coast in Lake Huron, Manitoulin Island is the largest freshwater island in the world (2,800 sq km). A wonderful place of petit villages, rolling pasture, forests and lakes, its edges are fringed with long beaches and white cliffs.

The first nations Oijbwa people, the island’s original inhabitants believed that when the Great Spirit, Gitchi Manitou, created the Earth he kept the best bits and made Manitoulin his home. In 1648 a group of French Jesuits became the first Europeans to settle on Manitoulin Island, which they named Isle de Ste. Marie.

Unfortunately they brought with them new disease that rapidly devastated the Ojibwa population. Marauding Iroquois bands, then drove out those who remained, leaving the island uninhabited for over a hundred years. During the 19th century, the island’s beauty attract the attention of white settlers who, after first giving Manitoulin to other native bands, then revoked all treaties and claimed for themselves.

Nowadays Manitoulin and the waters around it serve as Ontario’s summer playground with boats and all kinds of weaving in and out of its many bays and filing its large inland lakes. Hiking is popular and the island has a well signposted system of trails. Every August the Ojibwa Band holds one of Canada’s biggest powwows, a celebration of life through dance, storytelling and displays of arts and crafts.

Of the hundreds of churches on the island of Montreal, Notre-Dame’s interior is the most stunning with a exquisite detail. This 19th Century Basilica is in the historic district of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. Basilica was opened in 1829, making it the largest religious edifice in North America at the time. It is a very beautiful, interesting and cultural attraction!
According to records, it took two years to erect the walls of the basilica and the facade up to the base of the towers. Much of the interior is carved from rare woods – which are gilded or painted and large rose windows. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. The eastern tower of the Notre- Dame Montreal holds a ten-bell carillon, while the western tower, named Temperance, holds a single bell, the Jean-Baptiste bell. This ten ton bell is only rung on special occasions and can be heard 25km away. There’s also a chapel in the back which is just as amazing.
The original church, designed by Father François Dollier de Casson sufficed for the first 150 years. Then a New York architect named James O’Donnell was brought to Montreal to build a new church.
This striking interior is the work of architect Victor Bourgeau, who transformed the originally stern interior into the current design between 1874 and 1880. The great organ is a Casavant and the recitals held in the church throughout the year are very popular. The basilica offers musical programming of choral and organ performances.

Grass is a lovely spot to sip a colorful, tropical bottle surrounded by dense flora in Miami. Grass is 2 in 1 – lounge and restaurant, relax and eat, accompanied with quality chill music. A variety of substantial flower buds and plant specimens float in lit jars behind the bar, and the open air setting’s breezes rustle palm fronds overhead.

A variety of substantial flower buds and plant specimens float in lit jars behind the bar, and the open air setting’s breezes rustle palm fronds overhead. As well as favouring break beat and Michael Jackson, DJs have been known to fill its dance floor. The late-night party continues at their adjoining club, The King is Dead.

Grass Restaurant & Lounge is located on 28NE 40 Street, Miami Florida!

The Olympic Stadium in Quebec, Canada was originally constructed as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics. It subsequently became the home of Montreal’s professional baseball and Canadian football teams. Also it hosted both cycling and judo events. If your family likes sports, you can go on the 30-minute guided tour, which takes visitors through the Sports Center and the Olympic Stadium. The area features numerous stands featuring a wide variety of food, though most of it is supplied by chain restaurants such as McDonalds.

The Smithsonian Museum in Washington is the largest museum in the world with a huge variety of exhibits. It hosts 19 museums and galleries such as the National Museum of American History, National museum of African art, National Zoological Park, Anacostia Community Museum and etc. The exhibits rang from insects and meteorites to locomotives and spacecraft. You can not see everything in one visit – the museum’ collections offer more than 137 million objects, works of art and 9 research centers with special programs. There truly is something for everyone.

The collections include 30 million insects carefully pinned into tiny boxes; 4½ million plants pressed onto sheets of paper in the Museum’s herbarium; 7 million fish in liquid-filled jars; and 2 million cultural artifacts, including 400,000 photographs housed in the National Anthropological Archives. The National Museum of Natural History is dedicated to inspiring curiosity, discovery, and learning about the natural world through its unparalleled research, collections, exhibitions, and education outreach programs.

Admission to all of the Smithsonian museums is free and they are open from 10:00am-5:30pm every day.

Showing remarkable advanced sensitivity to global warming, the inhabitants of Mackinac Island banned motorized vehicles in 1898 – a prohibition that exists to this day with limited exception for emergency and service vehicles. But there are still plenty of eco-friendly horse-drawn carriages to be seen. Photo by: strizich

The island covers 9.8 sq km and belongs to the US state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron’s Straits of Mackinac, commanding the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Much of the original character remains gives such a good effect that the entire island is now a National Historic Landmark, with 80 per cent also conserved as the Mackinac Island State Park. Most of the tourists are people form Michigan. They are drawn by the island’s natural beauty and powerful old-fashioned charm, with little or no building in intrusive modern styles. Photo by: jfsl3

The island is a home of several galleries and many cultural events, featuring an annual show of 19th century American art from the Masco Collection. The Mackinac Arts Council organizes an outstanding programme each summer. Photo by: Tomcio77

When to go: June to August sees a huge visitor influx, so why not be completely different and make a winter visit across the frozen lake by snowmobile. Population: 523. How to get there: High-speed ferry from Mavkinaw City or St Ignace, private boat or light aircraft. You should know: No visit is complete without sampling the nationally famous Mackinac Island Fudge, so popular that visitors are nicknamed ‘fudgies’. Photo by: Juan Silva

La Purificadora Boutique Hotel is located in the oldest part of the historic center of Puebla, Mexico.  Designed by Legorreta + Legorreta, the hotel occupies the remains of 1844 stone-walled factory and successfully blends 19th century architecture with modern design. The Boutique Hotel has colonial heritage and is registered as historical patrimony, which must be respected as part of the new design project.

The rooftop terrace bar has become the latest hotspot in Puebla and buzzes till the early hours with a young, stylish crowd. The open-to-the-sky lobby area with a sweeping staircase offers spectacular views of the city. Other highlights include a 30-meter elevated glass-walled swimming pool and a restaurant with an outdoor patio.
 

The 26 rooms, identified by letters of the alphabet, are not huge but the expansive floor-to-ceiling window or balcony door and transparent closets lend a feeling of light and space. The minimalist design blends glass, dark stone and heavy wood features, adding splashes of purple for a more playful feel.

The materials used are: stone from the original construction, old wood that contrast with the contemporary materials such as glass and steel incorporated in to the new design, as well as specially designed floor tiles for the bedrooms floors and onyx in the restrooms. Bottles and glass fragments are also integrated in the hotel’s graphic design.

The Walt Disney Family Museum opens very soon in the Presidio in San Francisco. Only here and there veering into uncharted terrain, and children will quickly pass by many sections that will fascinate their elders, there are more than enough thrills for everyone. Who needs Fantasyland, Caribbean pirates, when the story being told touches the experience of anyone who had contact with the 20th century.

The museum will leads you through 19,000 square feet of galleries in this new museum complex, a $110 million transformation of an Army barracks and two neighboring buildings, devoted to telling the story of Disney’s life and work.

“The motivation behind the museum did not seem to promise much more excitement. As the decades passed since Disney’s death in 1966, his daughter Diane Disney Miller discovered that fewer and fewer children had any idea that her father was more than a corporate logo.”

Jars of paint used in Disney cartoons. The museum also includes materials and a two-story-high “multiplane” animation camera that was used to create three-dimensional effects for “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia.” A 114-seat theater at the museum will host concerts and screen Disney films.

At first, the museum (Page & Turnbull are the architects) seems to be precisely what it promises to be: a family institution designed to undo anything negative and celebrate the man. But secondly the family attic on display is resisted, and as overseen by the founding executive director, Richard Benefield, the Disney Museum is far from being an air-brushed portrait.

Photos by: Noah Berger

Trilogy Golf Club at La Quinta is located at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains in La Quinta, California. Trilogy has a beautiful clubhouse, fitness center and tennis facility and offers low cost golf.

Trilogy Golf Club, opened in 2002 in La Quinta and, is designed by Gary Panks. The awesome 18 hole Golf Course established with the state of art facilities. 6,883 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72 . The course rating is 72.7 and it has a slope rating of 127 on Bermuda grass. This medium-length layout features 5 sets of tee-boxes for the enjoyment of golfers of all skill levels.

The Club has a large pool, gym, restaurant and several other resort amenities members to enjoy.

Surrounded by natural desert vistas and complimented by crystal lakes and flowing greens, the Trilogy is championship design that was created for the fun and challenge.

Located in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, the hotel offers first class access to the finest local cultural and entertainment venues. The Keating Hotel is comprised of a group of real estate and business accommodations with full-service luxury boutique brand. Offers a chic retreat from the urban metropolis, it is poised to set the new standard for true highly stylized boutique lifestyle living throughout the world.

The Keating was designed by Paolo Pininfarina, renowned for his designs of Maserati and Ferrari sports cars. The hotel promotes Italian design while incorporating premium amenities, including Bang and Olufsen Vision electronics in guestrooms, hand-selected wine list in the lounge and custom-designed furniture from Bali in all areas of the hotel.

The 35 rooms seem very urban in their lofty aspect. Standard amenities include 37″ wall-mounted plasma televisions, CD and DVD players and high-speed Internet access. LavAzza espresso machines are featured in each room. The hotel provides wireless high-speed Internet access in public areas.

Rates: from 150€ to 860€ per night.

Green canyons, red cliffs, blue skies: Zion’s colors can stop in your tracks. Water enables greens rare amidst otherwise desert landscape. Visible or not, water forcefully shapes these stalwart walls. Trickling falls summon emerald growth in nooks and crannies. Sculpted evidence testifies to the carving of red slot canyons. Winter’s icy-blue snow-melt feeds anew the rushing, scouring river torrents of spring.  Almost 12,000 years ago Zion’s first peoples, who are now almost invisible, tracked mammoths, giant sloth, and camel across southern Utah. Due the climate change and overhunting these animals died out about 8,000 years ago. In 1860s, just after settlement by Mormon pioneers, John Wesley Powell visited Zion of the first scientific exploration of southern Utah.

Everything in Zion takes life from the Virgin River’s scarce desert waters. Water flows, and solid rock melts into cliffs and towers. The Vermilion, White, and pink cliffs are part of the Grand Staircase, the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau.  Landscape changes as canyon deepen to create forested highlands and lowland deserts. A ribbon of green marks the river’s course as diverse plants and animals take shelter and thrive in this canyon oasis. From the beginning people sought this place, this sanctuary in the desert’s dry reaches. The very name Zion, a Hebrew word for refuge, evokes its significance.

Zion’s nature multiplies with each slope, aspect, and soil type, with each minute change in precipitation or temperature. Add to these influences species from nearby ecosystems, Zion becomes an assemblage of plants, and thus of animals, found nowhere else exactly like this. This unlikely desert harbors a mosaic of environments, each fine-tuned to place. Zion is alive with movement, a river of life always here and always changing.

Park elevations range from 3,600 to 8,700 feet and provide vastly different environments. Fir pine and aspen prefer snowy high-country winters, while pinon, cliffrose, and mesquite flourish in the desert’s heat. This national park is beautiful but not pristine. Research shows that 150 years of farming, grazing, and recreation changed Zion’s environment. Exotic species like tamarisk and cheat grass replace native willow and native grasses. It is the mission of the National Park Service to provide sanctuary for and reinvigorate Zion’s remaining diversity. Although most park species are not unusual and much has changed, these unique assemblages create and sustain the relevance and sanctity of this wondrous place called Zion.

Be prepared and plan well
• Plan your trip. Choose trails that are without your ability.
• Falls cause most injuries and deaths at Zion.
• Carry and drink 2l of water per person per day.
• Wear a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.
• Know the weather before you go. Distant storms can cause flash floods. When in doubt, stay out!
• Cell phones don’t work in most areas and don’t make you invincible.
• Your safety is your responsibility.

Atlantis Submarine offers an underwater experience unique to Hawaii – carrying guests to depths well beyond 100 feet – to place where schools of brightly colored fish frolic, where green sea turtles flourish, and beautiful coral grows. An Atlantis Submarine tour is an ideal way to gain first-hand insight into the value and importance of reefs and to observe how mankind can contribute to the development of reefs and associated ecosystems. In the comfort and security of one of the world’s most technologically advanced passenger submarines, you will view remarkable reefs of this unique underwater tour through areas pulsating with marine life. Each of the three Atlantis Hawaii tour locations (Waikiki, Kona, and Maui) feature distinct characteristics enabling to explore their unique underwater habitats. It’s a world unseen by anyone except scuba divers and fish.

Waikiki
Atlantis Submarines’ initiatives have helped reenergize the marine environment off the coast of Waikiki with the introduction of seven man-made reef developments that have increased the biomass of fish, coral and other marine life. During the past 100 years, the natural reefs off the coast of Waikiki have been disappearing. Atlantis has helped reserve this situation through its innovative reef initiatives. The Waikiki dive site is Atlantis’ largest artificial reef. The site consist of two sunken ships: the USA Navy vessel, the YO-257, and a 111 foot Korean fishing vessel, the St. Pedro, along with four reef structures designed in Japan, a series of concrete “pyramids” built in collaboration with The University Of Hawaii Sea Grant program, and remnants of two sunken airliners. The Atlantis artificial reefs provide a rare opportunity to study Hawaii’s undersea ecology.

Maui
The Lahaina, Maui tour highlights to guests the ongoing partnership between Mother Nature and Atlantis Submarines. As a means of improving the marine environment and enhancing its tour experience, Atlantis created an artificial reef in December 2005 by placing the Carthaginian, a 19th – century replica whaling brig, at the bottom of the ocean where it is attracting fish and other marine life. This intriguing ship was in poor condition and due to be scuttled. After thoroughly cleansing the ship in preparation for its new home on the ocean floor, the Carthaginian was carefully positioned for optimal artificial reef development and incredible viewing by submarine tour guests. Atlantis helps scientists understand the undersea during submarine excursions.

Kona
In 1988, Atlantis Submarines opened its first Hawaii location in Kona, and the tour has been delighting guests ever since. Tour participants explore a 25-acre natural coral reef formed 18,000 years ago on lava that had flowed into sea. The reef is also a popular spot for scuba divers because of hundreds of species of tropical fish and other sea life inhabiting the area. The Atlantis Kona site has been enhanced to include opportunities to observe two sunken ships located near the coral reef. After close to a decade underwater, nature has transformed the two vessels into artificial reef habitats that are now teeming with marine activity.

Color Absorption
As you submerged, the sea water filters each color of the sunlight. Red is the first color to break down. The color orange is the next to break down as you move into deeper water and beings to look yellow. At 60 feet, the color yellow begins to break down and appears green. The color red has disappeared. At 90 feet, the color green breaks down and begins to look blue. The color of blue is more vibrant.