Phoenix, Arizona Marriott's Canyon Villas

This is a picture heavy post.Canyon Villas (Marriott Time Shares) in Phoenix is a fabulous place to stay while vacationing in the Phoenix area. Inside and out the resort is wonderful. Yes, I did say timeshare; but they are also available to rent as you would a hotel room or condo. The first photo is the view from the dining room looking into the kitchen. If you rent the full villa (2bedroom), or the full 1 bedroom side you get the use of the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Quite spacious. The 2nd picture is one of the play area's at the resort, so you can tell this is a family friendly vacation spot.


This darling little kitchen area is the small side. If you rent what I call an efficiency you get dishes, bar size sink, microwave, campus size fridge, coffee pot etc. I really thought this cabinet was very pretty. The picture with bed is again the small side ... look at how much room you have. The small side has the kitchen area, sleeper sofa right lower corner of the picture, bathroom is to the right of the kitchen area, all have patio or balcony.

The grounds are very pretty with fabulous flowers everywhere, even among the desert rocks.


Waterfalls as you walk the grounds, as well as the large one in the pool area are both pretty and peaceful. Long shadows show you I photographed as dusk began to fall over the desert area. There's much to see and do in and around The Phoenix area. I've posted about many of them.

There's fine dining at The JW Marriott Resort nearby, if you don't want to cook all your meals in, as well as host of dining options at a nearby shopping area. Outdoor grills are also available for those who like us, like to grill out.

Luggage, LUGGAGE, Luggage

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Baltimore (Inner Harbor), Maryland

Mother and Daughter Quacking while touring on Ride the Duck in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. This photo was from 3 years ago when we went to Baltimore for the first time. The Duck is an amphibious vehicle, from World War II; updated for tourism in cities around the country. You get a nice over view of the area on land and on sea. The Captain gives you history and points out areas of interest. After your tour on The Duck, you can decide what you'd like to go back and see in more detail. The tour began on Light Street in The Inner Harbor, went through Fells Point, and Little Italy then entered the water. Everyone gets a quacker to wear and blow calling attention to the tour as you meander through the downtown streets.

The second photo is us entering the water. The 3rd photo is Seven Foot Knoll Light. This historic lighthouse has a long and interesting history from the early 1800's. You can tour the lighthouse and learn all about the families that lived and worked there, the live saving mission, and how it was moved to it's current location. The lighthouse is now owned and operated by The Baltimore Maritime Museum located on Pier 5.

We passed a very historic graveyard (where Poe is buried), the first Washington Memorial and many other interesting areas. The Duck Tour in Baltimore has since closed down. I'm not sure why or when. However, one can still use the water taxi's to see the sights from the water, and there are still Duck tours in other cities (San Francisco, Newport, Branson, and Philadelphia) you might enjoy. So, while you can't enjoy this specific tour; I do highly recommend this as a good family, all age appropriate adventure. You can order your tickets on line, or call ahead.

Quack Quack

Packing Tips for Travelers

Ski trips present quite a packing challenge. This photo was taken 14 years ago, when the fam and I were all a bit younger, and a few pounds lighter. Geessssssss, it was even before gray hair. sigh

Packing a necessary evil of any and all trips. What to take, how much to take, how much does it weigh, will it wrinkle. First thing to consider is are you driving, or flying. If you're flying that bumps up the difficulty factor. If flying you have to think about weight, how to protect items, how to keep clothes presentable and still have all you need.

Our method of packing for ski trips was a clean turtleneck a day. After skiing, showering for dinner the clean turtle neck for dinner was the one you wore to ski in the next day. 2-3 sweaters was enough for the whole week and maybe 2 pair of jeans. Remember packing your ski equipment takes space so it gets the priority. And, you're wearing your ski clothes the bulk of the time, so you whatever else you're wearing are items used for a short period of time.

Pack ski socks and long johns, which are bulky items in your ski boots, and around your skies. It saves space in your suitcase, and protects your equipment.

**Always pack lots of lip balm, and cloth handkerchiefs/bandannas. Paper tissues don't hold up well outside and can't be used to protect your face or neck.

Folding your dirty clothes for the return trip will make packing easier too. Put them in a plastic bag, but folded gives you the same space you had when you packed the first time. If you have undergarments that are on their way out, you could through them out instead of packing them for the return trip; which frees up space for items you purchased on the trip. Personally I've not used the throw away method; but know several people who have and it worked well for them. People tend to buy new things for a trip and they did just the opposite. Took old stuff, wore it, pitched it instead of packing it to bring home.