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Your invitation to the San Juan Island Lavender Festival

June 21, 2011 in Festivals & Events, Guest Writers by admin | No comments

We’re Hosting a Lavender Party and You’re Invited!
Guest Blog by, Pelindaba Lavender

San Juan Island LavenderAt Pelindaba Lavender, just outside of Friday Harbor, WA, we host the annual San Juan Island Lavender Festival at our 20 acre organic lavender Farm. For the past 10 years we have spent two days each summer when the lavender fields are at their “peak of purpleness” hosting a party for thousands of our friends from all around the world.

For the lavender connoisseur we have it all. For those not quite there yet, they usually leave enthusiasts! Tours and exhibits survey the entire process – from field to finished product. The Gatehouse Farm Store is open for visitors to browse and sample many of the over 250 different lavender products we handcraft. Workshops and demonstrations cover topics from lavender cultivation, harvesting and essential oil distillation to history and uses as well as cooking with lavender (bring your appetite!). Kids and adults can make beautiful wands, wreaths, crowns and more at the craft tent. Visitors can harvest their own bouquets of certified organic lavender from the many varieties in bloom in the Cutting Field, and the Production Fields are open for strolling, relaxing and breathtaking photo ops. Read the rest of this entry »

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Snoqualmie Middle School Concert Choir Takes on Portland

June 6, 2011 in Group Trip Tips by admin | No comments

Dean Snavely, the Director of Music at Snoqualmie Middle School, tells us about their class trip to Portland, Oregon.

We are a group of 31, thirteen and fourteen year old boys and girls and 6 adult chaperons. We traveled to the University of Portland for the Best of the NW choral festival. This is a competitive choir festival judged by some of the most qualified adjudicators on the west coast. This was our first time to the festival and we found it to be a fantastic choral opportunity for the kids.

Our group traveled via Amtrak to Portland the morning of our festival. The travel was simple and well organized; the staff at the train station and onboard was spectacular! The rail staff put all of our group on one train car which not only made supervision easy, but also spared the “other” riders 30+ middle schooler’s antics!

Upon arrival, we rode the Portland lightrail system to our hotel and changed into our performance attire. The hotel staff at the Red Lion was helpful and well prepared for our group. Once changed, we took the lightrail and then boarded a bus for the University of Portland. The campus is in a fairly “tough” part of town and the bus ride was a bit of an adventure for some of the kids, safe, but colorful to say the least. The kids performed quite well and then boarded a bus back to the hotel. After some time to change and relax, the kids boarded the lightrail to downtown Portland to shop and eat at Pioneer Place. They returned to the hotel and were down for the night.

The next day we went on “Mr. Snavely’s super green, public transportation tour of Portland”. This included: NW 23rd, Union Station, Pioneer Square, Riverfront, the Portland Skytram and concluded with a couple hours at Powell’s Bookstore. We returned to Union Station to board our northbound train and (with a small broken train issue) were picked up by our bus at the Tacoma station to return to the parents before 11pm.

It was a spectacular trip and the planning by the Victoria Clipper staff made it so incredibly simple.

If you have a big group trip to plan look no further than Clipper Vacations for your group travel plans.

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Summer Travel at Spring Prices

May 12, 2011 in Uncategorized by admin | 2 comments

Repeat after me. Soon sun will shine shimmering off my sandy sunglasses. Now say it ten times really fast!

The sun IS coming. The question is, when it arrives do you have something fun to do? Why not a little staycation? That is the buzz word for a vacation where you stay close to home. The beauty of traveling to Vancouver Island is that you get to travel abroad and experience cultural diversity and it only takes about three hours to get there on the Victoria Clipper.

Introducing the Premiere Summer Sale Event, Price from $99/ppdo
Overnight packages are available from only $99pp/dbl and include accommodations at the historic James Bay Inn, round trip travel from downtown Seattle on the Victoria Clipper and all taxes. Four other hotel package options include the Royal Scot Suite Hotel at $110pp/dbl, Harbour Towers at $125pp/dbl, Hotel Grand Pacific at $154pp/dbl and The Fairmont Empress at $156 pp/dbl, all including round trip travel on the Victoria Clipper and all taxes. In addition, children under 12 are free (1 child per adult).

By, Manfred Waddey

Fun things to do for the whole family

Discover the adventurous side of Victoria, BC with a ziplining getaway including round trip Victoria Clipper cruise from Seattle to Victoria, a stay at your choice of Victoria, BC hotels and a zipline tour from Adrena LINE Zipline Adventure Tours. On your Victoria ziplining adventure, seek new thrills as your soar between the treetops of a stunning West coast forest and then return to Victoria to explore a city steeped in British charm.

The Royal BC Museum is a place of discovery. Through unique galleries, the Museum showcases the human and natural history of British Columbia and temporary exhibits from other countries and cultures. Authentic artifacts and specimens are displayed in highly realistic settings, giving visitors the experience of another time and place. Its permanent exhibits include the First People’s, Modern History and Natural History Gallery. FREE Entry on May 17th 2011.

Five Star Whale Watching in Victoria, BC
Picture yourself setting sail from Victoria’s Inner Harbour and heading out into the surf for a whale of an adventure. Your boat speeds off into the waters of Vancouver Island where over 90 Orcas, or “Killer Whales,” make their home. During the three-hour trip, you’ll search for these friendly giants, taking with you memories that will last a lifetime. Sound like a dream? It doesn’t have to be. You can book a Five Star Whale Watching adventure right now!

A Thank You Note from The Royal Wedding Essay Contest Winner

May 3, 2011 in Clipper News by admin | No comments

Dear Victoria Clipper Staff,

My husband and I want to thank you for putting on the Essay contest and picking us to go on an amazing Royal Wedding Victoria trip! Brian and I had so much fun and want to share with you some of our highlights…Our waiter and new friends we met on the Clipper were a hoot, Victoria was arrayed with colorful tulips and blossoms, our room at the Empress was huge, tour of Royal BC Museum was fabulous, seafood dinner was delicious, Empress hot tub was just what the Dr. ordered, bed was heavenly soft, 2:00am breakfast and Royal Wedding in the Empress Tea Room was a once in a lifetime experience, back to bed for 4 hours with late checkout gave us a boost of energy, toured the Parliament Building just as the Cheney High School choir was singing inside the dome area with goosebump acoustics, found Starbucks, bought a fiction/history book about Victoria, Everett and Seattle from a local author and started reading at a quaint recommended café, read some more inside Empress Hotel as we soaked up the warm sun through the window and then on the way home we sat with our 2 lady friends we met on the way there and were entertained once again by the choir! Ahhh, now that’s what I call an extraordinary 2-day trip!!!

Meeting Kate & Will!

Royal Breakfast in Pajama's

Tulips at the Empress Hotel

Carriage at the Parliament Building

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TGIF Poll! What Cereal do you want?

December 10, 2010 in Uncategorized by admin | No comments

How do you like your hoodie?

November 17, 2010 in Uncategorized by admin | No comments

What would you rather wear?