In the spring of 2010, a friend turned me on to Groupon and I've been having fun from Seattle, Washington to Washington D.C., well thereabouts including Canada, since then. Here are my stories and ways you can get in on the fun too. Life's too short to pay a lot to enjoy it.
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| Orion River Expeditions Wenatchee River rafting excursion Cashmere/Leavenworth,WA |
My first Groupon adventure was white water rafting. Though I'd been white water rafting before, it was nothing like this trip. The Wenatchee river was tons of fun, still freezing, yet pleasant since it was a perfect 90 degree plus day. The tour guides for our groups were so much fun and entertained us during the infrequent smooth/quiet periods. What a great first experience with Groupon.
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Western Prince Whale & Wildlife Tour Friday Harbor, San Juan Is, WA |
For my birthday in May I treated myself to a whale watching cruise in the San Juan Islands. Though we didn't see any whales we saw seals people don't normally get to see and an island covered with bald eagles. I think it's so funny to see birds walking instead of flying.
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| Deception Pass Jet-Boat Tour Whidbey Island, WA |
Turns out the summer of 2010 was the summer of cruises for me,
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| Queen of Seattle Paddle Wheel Cruise Lake Union, Seattle, WA |
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| DC Harbor Cruises Twilight Cruise Potomac River, Washington DC |
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| Capitol River Cruises Potomac River, Washington DC |
When I found I was being sent to Washington D.C. for work, I signed up for deals over there. One of the best deals I came across was for the Gaylord Resort - was cheaper than my room at the Marriott in DC. Alas, I wanted to get out and explore the sites and would feel guilty not spending every waking moment in that sweet. I found two cruises along the Potomac River. One I took during the day. The other was a sunset cruise which turned into a firework viewing cruise at National Harbor. The captain treated us to a longer cruise so we could watch the show. Great to experience a fireworks show in the nation's capital even after the 4th. They had to pause the show every now and then since the fireworks exploded right in the flight path to National Airport. Can you imagine being a passenger and seeing fireworks going off outside your plane window??
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| Fairmont Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC |
After returning from DC I decided to sign up for other cities around Seattle in the Pacific Northwest: Spokane/Couer D'Alene, Portland, Salem, Eugene, Boise, and Vancouver/Victoria B.C. And it paid off. Seattle was offering a deal on the Clipper then I found a special, a rare special I believe, for the famous Fairmont Empress Hotel. So after a day of visiting the Butchart Gardens with friends I got to treat myself to a lovely pedicure, part of the deal, before retiring to my room. The room, by the way, was upgraded from a standard to a deluxe - completely unexpected since the room was already half off - and off summer rates at that.
That encouraged me to sign up for deals in other cities along the west coast and a bit beyond (see below). I'm always on the look out for hotel deals - a cool or fancy place to stay. Basically just want an excuse to take a road trip on the motorcycle.
More to come!
