Travel Beauty Month :: Alterna Giveaway

August is Travel Beauty Month at Trip Styler. Since we already know you're beautiful on the inside, we'll feature posts devoted to helping you maintain and enhance your outer allure---which can *sometimes* show hints of travel's time-zone hopping and lack of H2O. All month we'll be doing travel beauty-themed giveaways for products we love that take the edge off of jet-setting.

Our first beauty post will focus on hair and how to add mileage to your coif while away!

Friday August 6th Contest Details 1) One lucky winner will score an Alterna Dry Shampoo, plus a travel-sized shampoo, conditioner and hairspray all from their super lux Caviar Anti-Aging line! 2) How to win: subscibe to Trip Styler by email or RSS and we'll choose a winner at random Wednesday, Aug. 11th. *If you subscribe by RSS, indicate you've done so by commenting on this post, so I know how to contact you. Existing email subscribers will be automatically entered and existing RSS subscribers kindly comment below to ensure entry. 3) Contest is open to residents of Canada and the US. 4) The contest closes Wednesday, Aug 11 at 4pm Pacific Time.  The winner will be announced and contacted at that time.

Good luck! I'm already jealous of the winner. Don't forget to tell your friends.

Winner Many thanks to everyone who participated. Using random.org, "nomadic" was selected as the winner!

Healthy on the Road :: Nordic Walking

[trip style = active]

Have Poles Will Travel Nope, we're not talking about traveling to the Sweden or Norway to walk 'till you drop, but rather packing collapsible poles in your suitcase for an efficient and effective travel workout! The term “Urban Poling” has caught on as the practice of Nordic Walking in urban centres. But walking poles aren’t confined to urban use---whether your travels take you on city streets, seawalls, or a hike through the Himalayas, a pair of poles can go with you.

The Reputation is on the Rise Nordic Walking is an activity that has been practiced in Scandinavia for years and is true to the Scandinavian reputation for commonsense and healthy living. The good news is that the trend is quickly catching on in North America and participation is on the rise. Without walking any harder or faster, people report feeling more energetic when walking with poles---not too shabby for a full-body workout that doesn’t leave you sweating profusely or short of breath.

Benefits of Urban Poling

• Easy to pack: Collapsible, telescoping poles can conveniently be tossed into your suitcase.
• Convenient: You need to walk every day, so why not pack your poles and add the additional benefits of upper body strengthening.
• Easy to learn: Urban Poling is simple and suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels.
• Efficient: Nordic walking increases caloric energy expenditure by approx. 20%.
• Core strengthening:  The selling feature for many! Poling engages your core and improves strength and posture.
• Easier on your joints: Urban Poling reduces stress on your joints, especially your knees.
• Readiness: Hit-up the cross-country ski season already in shape---now you're fully channelling the Scandinavian ideal!

Note: For those with mobility challenges, recovering from an injury, or dealing with a chronic condition such as arthritis, Urban Poles can provide you with the additional stability and support you need. If you fit into any of these categories it is recommended you consult with a physical or occupational therapist before commencing a poling program.

If you would like more info, assistance in ordering and purchasing, or a 1:1 consult before travelling, please contact Leah Munday at OTfit. Learn more about Nordic Walking and purchasing a pair of poles at Urban Poling.

[Healthy on the Road posts are published on the first Thursday of every month.]

Alaska Air to Fly from BLI to HNL

[trip style = sun + beach]

Not that I need convincing to go to Hawaii, but........

Normally I don't do two posts in one day, but this news is way too exciting to wait and share!  It was just announced that Alaska Airlines will fly out of Bellingham Airport to Honolulu with service starting January 7th.

What about Allegiant? Originally I suspected that Allegiant would make this annoucement first, but Alaska's seen the light and knows that people from both Vancouver and Seattle will travel to my fave border town in search of lower fares and sunnier horizons!  I was almost certain the Bellingham airport was undertaking MAJOR renovations to the terminal and runway for Allegiant's planned service to Honolulu, but we'll have to wait and see if this low-cost carrier decides to launch their service out of Bellingham or elsewhere.

Tickets Ticket prices will be announced tomorrow. According to a Vancouver Sun article, Alaska's VP Marketing notes "I can tell you the fares will be very, very attractive. It will be among the lowest fares you can find to get from the West Coast to Hawaii. We'll have some terrific prices."

OK Wine Tasting

[trip style = wine tasting]

This past weekend, en route to Kelowna, my husband I got to do something we've wanted to do for a long time: taste wine in the Okanagan---the OK for short. Wine touring in Canada's second largest wine producing region wasn't just ok, it was fantastic, relaxing and picturesque. 

After downloading 3 BC-related wine tasting apps, we hit the road at 8.15am with Tim Horton's coffee and carbs in-hand, and my sister's mix-CD blaring in the background. Five hours later we were lunching al fresco before sipping the region's best varietals.

We didn't have much time, so we selected 4 wineries in the Naramata Bench: Hillside Estate (where we lunched at their bistro and sipped in their tasting room),  Therapy (my fave winery), Laughing Stock or LFNG (good wines, cool vibe) and Mission Hill (check out the Reserve Concert Series). All the wines we tasted were great, which made me wonder if my palate was failing me, yet when visiting one of the region's bigger wineries at the end of the weekend, none of the wines appealed to me. Problem solved. The Naramata wineries were that good.

Pictures {Hillside Estate Winery}

{Area just beside Hillside's outdoor bistro}

{Guesthouse entrance at Therapy Vineyards}

{Inside the tasting room at Therapy}

{Mission Hill's outdoor dining terrace}

{The reserve tasting salon at Mission Hill}

Trip Styler Tip: skip the vast and busy tasting bars and opt for a vertical of the reserve wines in the salon

{Stunning grounds at Mission Hill}

Related Content
Wine Touring 101
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Travel Apps :: Wine Touring in BC

Travel Apps :: Wine Touring in BC

During the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, Tourism BC launched a new app: Near Me BC.  I profiled the app at the time, but other than frequent visits to Whistler and a weekend in Vernon at Sparkling Hill Resort, I haven't needed to use the app much until this past weekend.  Prior to lounging in Kelowna for the long weekend, my husband and I spent Friday doing something that's been on our travel to do list for a long time: wine touring in BC! After Ontario, BC is Canada's second largest wine region, so we're attempting to chip away at wineries slowly---similar to how you'd drink an aged red:) With this in mind, we chose to start in the Naramata Bench near Penticton.

Since I'm a little travel app obsessed, here are some of tools to help navigate BC's wineries:

Near Me BC
Type: iPhone/iTouch/iPad app
Description: Use this app to plan your wine tour by selecting the area > attractions for a list of wineries.
Cost: Free

Wine Tripper BC
Type: iPhone/iTouch/iPad app
Description: Find wineries in the region you want to tour, view hours, make notes, mark favourites and more.
Cost: $2.99

Nat Decants
Type: iPhone/iTouch/iPad app, Blackberry, Android, Nokia
Description: The maven of wine has an app for that.  Search by country and area to view wineries, pairings, reviews and more.
Cost: Free

Google Maps
Type: website
Description: Here's a tip on how to use Google maps for wine touring: Enter in your location, then enter "wineries" and the map will show wineries in the region you initially searched.
Cost: Free

Other Travel Apps we’ve Reviewed

• Air Canada
• BC Ferries Tracker
• 6 Free Camping Apps
• Epicurious
• BorderWait
• OpenWays
• TripIt
• Trip Advisor
• StayHIP
• Trip Journal
• Bug Spray
• CameraBag
• Convert Everything
• GateGuru
• Kindle for iPhone
• Packing Pro
• Skype
• World Fact Book
• AAA/CAA Savings
• Royal Caribbean
• Medical Concierge
• Near Me BC
• Postman Postcard
• 2010 Guide
• Nat’l Geo World Atlas
• hostelworld.com
• kayak first class
• flight control