Updates – Expedition of Hope March 23, 2013

For those of you that are not on our Facebook page, but rather use my blog to follow the information regarding the Expedition of Hope… I posted some great updates and information on there today!

Here’s the post that was shared:

Since first posting on here I have confirmed a lot more details about the climb itself, and wanted to share them with all of you 🙂

We will be flying into Tanzania on September 21st, 2013, arriving at the Kilimanjaro International Airport. We are still working on flight details with our travel agent, getting ourselves booked on a flight with as few layovers as possible (some of the flights have quite a few)!

We will be staying at Springlands Hotel in Moshi. For those interested in checking out our accomodations, here’s the link to the hotel’s website: http://www.springlandshotel.com/

September 22nd, 2013 is a rest day. This is a chance to just enjoy being in Moshi and prepare for the climb itself. This also happens to be our first anniversary!

September 23rd we will begin the actual climb itself. We will be climbing the Rongai route. I have included a map of the route itself so that anyone interested can follow what I’m about to describe. There is also a group that will be taking the Marangu route, which is an easier climb. On the day that we summit (September 27th) we will all be meeting up together.

Here’s the breakdown of the climb itself:

• Mon. Sept. 23 (Day 1): Moshi to Nale Muru to Simba Camp
• Tues. Sept. 24 (Day 2): Simba Camp to Second Cave
• Wed. Sept. 25 (Day 3): Second Cave to Third Cave
• Thurs. Sept. 26  (Day 4): Third Cave to Kibo Huts
• Fri. Sept. 27 (Day 5): Summit Day! Kibo Huts to Uhuru Peak, reach summit after sunrise
• Sat. Sept. 28 (Day 6): Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate

If you are not yet following our Facebook page but are interested in doing so, it can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/JanoBrittExpeditionOfHope2013

Ice Wine Festival – Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada January 27, 2013

Its been awhile since I got my butt on here to post for all of you, sorry for the holdup! Between computers breaking down and things getting CRAZY busy I haven’t been able to get anything done!

One thing we did do during that time was attend the Ice Wine Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The weather this year was STELLER! Usually this is a festival that’s held in the ice and snow, all bundled up… instead we dressed in layers not sure what to expect and were even stripping off our coats on a couple occasions!

We picked up enough passes to visit 8 different wineries. Each winery offers one of their ice wines to taste (sometimes 2) as well as some sort of food to compliment it. There was everything under the sun for foods from chocolate fountains and roasted marshmallows to pulled pork sandwiches and seafood chowder.

Just a few pictures of my husband Jano and I enjoying this year’s wine fest with our friends Jenn and John:

We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel which I HIGHLY recommend. The breakfast buffet there was steller, the best I have had in all the travelling I have done. The staff were very friendly, and we were upgraded to a jacuzzi room free of charge. The room was clean and well kept. The package deal we got also included a dinner voucher for either of their associated restaurants (The Keg or T.G.I.Friday’s) as well as 2 passes for the shuttle that goes to the casinos.

The nice part about where we stayed was that we were also walking distance from the falls themselves as well as the local attractions along what they call ‘Little Las Vegas’ on Clifton Hill. We were able to the wineries on Sat afternoon, take a short nap then head out and enjoy the local attractions that evening and Sunday before leaving.

(Excuse my hair in the last one, we were as you see right by the falls, the wind there is a little crazy… but I thought I should atleast put up one photo showing my husband did go with me lol)

All in all it was a GREAT mini vacation and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a weekend getaway! For more information on the Ice Wine Festival itself, and to purchase passes, visit their website: http://www.niagarawinefestival.com/

Cheers!