Brie Mason - Roamancing

Travel Inspired Design

May 18, 2013 by Brie Mason 1 Comment

As I sit here at this moment, I am looking out my window at a beautiful tranquil view of sailboats, water and the earthy tones that say vacation. Well, I suppose that does depend on how you define ‘window’. I’m really looking at two beautiful paintings that look like views from some of our favorite travel destinations.

If this really was outside my window, just imagine the beautiful flowing summer dress I’d be wearing right now!

It wasn’t until today that I realized our entire living space was designed in the same colour family as the paintings. It’s like the blues and browns leak right out of the paintings and into my life! Every time we go away we feel such a change in our daily vibe and we always try to make that last as long as we can after we return back home. I believe that travel unknowingly inspired our design this time, creating a very long lasting power.

Our travel inspired colours.

I’m always thrilled when I discover I have any talents or smarts, so when I read a post on peach.ca, a Vancouver interior design company’s site, about travel inspiring interior design, I thought “Look at me! I think the same way as the pros!” Mehrzad Mehr, the company’s founder, wrote the post which was entitled The Book of Paris Design Inspirations. I think in some ways, one always leads to the other in some regards. Either you pick up something while you’re traveling because you can perfectly imagine it in one of your rooms already, or you just have to have it because it reminds you of something you love about your destination and you ultimately end up designing around it. Knowing me, I’ll soon end up with a bedroom from Paris, my living space from Spain, and a bathroom from Greece. Nothing like going on mini vacations within your own house!

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Brie Mason, Our Travelers Tagged With: design inspired travel, interior design, Mehrzad Mehr, paintings from travel destinations, Paris design inspirations, peach.ca, Vancouver interior design

Exploring Phoenix

April 29, 2013 by Brie Mason 2 Comments

This is the third post in a series of posts by Brie Mason on her mini vacation to Phoenix with her two kids. Read her first two posts on Overcoming Fears Road Tripping to Phoenix Arizona & Our Phoenix Oasis at the Marriott Canyon Villas in Desert Ridge by clicking on the links.

Now, while we loved our time relaxing at the Marriott Canyon Villas, our mini vacation would not be complete without exploring Phoenix. We only had to travel about 5 minutes from the hotel to discover what was to be one of the highlights of our trip to Phoenix – The MIM (Musical Instrument Museum). Now, my kids are not the museum going type, but when they heard about this one, they were actually excited for me to take them. I have to say, this place changed their whole opinion of museums! For starters, we were all issued headphones and a sound pack to wear as we roamed around. Pretty much every single display had a television monitor that played the music from a particular region of the world along with videos of the instruments being played, often with dancing too. As soon as you walked up to a display, the music would automatically begin to play in your headphones and when you walked away it would stop. This is a great high tech way to appeal to the youth of today, and allow everyone to really enjoy the music without having to hear all kinds of sounds going on at once. We also broke through the barriers of ‘stuffy museums’ here by busting out some of our own dance moves when the music moved us!

Amazing ancient instruments blended with a modern high tech headphone tour.

There is a whole room dedicated to the instruments of famous people. While I was blown away by John Lennon‘s piano, the kids were in awe of the Taylor Swift collection. Just imagining these artists using the instruments, made you feel so close to them!

John Lennon’s Piano!

You can totally picture Taylor Swift wearing those boots, rockin’ out to country on that guitar!

Also very impressive was an Olympic drum used in the Beijing Opening Ceremonies during the number where there appeared to be thousands of drummers all performing in sync.

There’s no way I would have noticed all the detail on this drum while watching the Opening Ceremonies on the TV.

The best part of this museum though, is the room where you are encouraged to use the instruments yourself! This is not just for kids … I got right in there! Unfortunately, the headphones don’t allow others to tune you out!

Music to ‘my’ ears.

Our stay in Phoenix was not that long, but we managed to make it into downtown as well. We enjoyed an afternoon at the Arizona Centre, which is an open area with some shopping and great dining choices. We ate a delicious lunch at the Canyon Cafe, because we wanted to enjoy some southwestern cuisine. I love the uniqueness that comes from dining out of your state! For example, even though we got the typical complimentary nachos and salsa as a pre snack, they were anything but typical! The nachos were puffed up and coated with a wicked seasoning. The winner meal of the day went to young Master Mason, who ordered a tortellini dish that was an amazing fusion of tex-mex spicy cheesy flavours!

Se what I mean? These nachos are killer!

See what I mean? These nachos are killer!

Tortellini moves beyond red sauce and butter.

The weather in Phoenix at this time of year was absolutely perfect, so just being able to eat outdoors and feel the sun kissing my cheeks was glorious. I could have just walked around all day, but later after walking around our hotel grounds some more we spotted this sign about the local wildlife.

Bobcat’s Live Here Too!

Knowing my luck with critters and creatures of all sorts, I figured we better call it a night. After all, the kids did spot a scorpion while roasting marshmallows in a fire pit the night before! I was a good strong mom though, and let them revel in amazement while I kept my panic to myself on the inside.

Our trip to Phoenix was only a few days long, but it’s unbelievable how much we were able to enjoy ourselves. We didn’t really want to leave, but knowing it’s just a road trip away gave us hope that we’d be back again. There’s still so much we would like to do. We already have things picked out for next time! We’d like to eat at Rustler’s Roost, see one of the old ghost towns like Rawhide, and perhaps take a mini side trip to Sedona.

Perhaps the greatest reason to return is that we’re leaving here with my daughter as the reigning champion of Bocce Ball AND Shuffle Board. This must be challenged!

The Courtyard at the Mariott Canyon Villas

PS. In Full Disclosure: As always, the opinions and thoughts shared here are our own and honest ones. We are bought out by no one. In the spirit of disclosure, it should be noted that Phoenix Tourism treated Brie and her kids to lunch and gave them complimentary passes to The MIM.

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Brie Mason, Kid Travel, Our Travelers, US, West Coast Tagged With: ancient instruments, Arizona Centre, Beijing Olympic Drum, Canyon Cafe, exploring Phoenix, John Lennon, Marriott Canyon Villas, music, Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, Phoenix Arizona, Taylor Swift, The MIM

Our Phoenix Oasis at the Marriott Canyon Villas in Desert Ridge

April 27, 2013 by Brie Mason 1 Comment

This is the second post in a series of posts by Brie Mason on her mini vacation to Phoenix with her two kids. Read her first post on Overcoming Fears Road Tripping to Phoenix Arizona by clicking on this link.

I felt right at home exploring in Phoenix, yet it was different enough for me to feel like it was a true vacation getaway. With the kids, of course, and I’ll admit, myself too, the first thing to explore is always the hotel! We routinely drop our luggage and run around the room, bouncing on the beds, scoping out the bathroom, checking out our view, the TV, and any other fun features that might be there. Next, the kids have to locate the ice machine and fill the bucket, even if we don’t have anything to put in it! On this particular trip, we stayed at the Marriott Canyon Villas in Desert Ridge. It’s an incredible place and I fear the kids may have been spoiled for any of our future trips!

This Marriott is really like a self-contained little resort. There are several pool areas, with one being a splash pad for young ones, another a quiet pool for adults and a main pool area that includes a waterfall, volleyball net, basketball hoop, and at least two hot tubs! We also had free access to the JW Marriott Desert Ridge, which was adjacent to us, and boasted a long lazy river.

The Marriott Canyon Villas Main Pool Waterfall

The JW Marriott’s Lazy River

To add to the resort element, there were also activities going on all day. There were the typical ping pong tournaments, and water aerobics classes, but it was some of the other listed events that had me intrigued. Imagine racing on giant blow-up alligators, for example, or joining in a real cowboy sing-a-long! The one that interested my teen son the most was making survival bracelets. He was really impressed with the idea that he could make something that he’s been seeing in the stores.

Finished product. There’s a special spot to push and all the rope will unravel giving you 7 feet of rope to use for survival purposes.

Since our return home, every time I look at the computer screen, it’s on images of paracord for sale. I think it left a lasting impression on him! From what I hear, all the kids at school are asking him to make them one. At least we know his class will be prepared if they ever end up stranded needing emergency rope that’s all compacted on their wrists!

Although we could have spent all our hours at the hotel, Phoenix with it’s beautiful desert landscape was calling! Stay tuned to more of our Phoenix adventure, as we strayed out of our hotel oasis to explore!

Until I came here, I didn’t realize a cactus could be so beautiful!

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Brie Mason, Kid Travel, Our Travelers, Road Trips, US, West Coast Tagged With: Arizona, desert oasis, Desert Ridge, family fun, JW Marriott Desert Ridge, Marriott Canyon Villas, Phoenix, survival bracelet, travel with kids

Overcoming Fears Road Tripping to Phoenix Arizona

April 21, 2013 by Brie Mason 4 Comments

The opportunity came for a short get away to Phoenix Arizona, which was to include children. Being that we currently reside in Los Angeles, the most cost beneficial way to make this trip work was to drive. Unfortunately for me, my husband ended up having to fly off elsewhere for work, leaving the vacation to me. I was excited to have special mom/kids quality adventure time, but was definitely a little worked up about the driving! I’m not someone who feels bold on the road. I am always the passenger on long road trips and have never driven more than 2 hours myself. Lately my attitude towards fear has been to pretend I’m someone who really enjoys doing it instead. There are people who love roller coasters, and flying and heights! I decided to take on this 6 hour drive with that same attitude.

Thanks to my GPS, and amazingly chill kids, I was able to be a smooth rider and conquer the trek. For a while it felt like a party on the road, because we kept passing ‘Carpoolchella’ painted cars. Droves of people were on their way to the Coachella Music Festival and they were flashing each other peace signs. I have to admit I enjoyed sneaking peaks at the hairdos and outfits! On the whole trip I only felt uneasy twice. The first was when we passed a whole field of wind turbines. I don’t know if this is true for anyone else, but I find these to be really ominous. I immediately get chills and feel like I’m in a horror movie. This little video clip was taken by young Master Mason in the back seat.

The second time I got worried was after we had been driving through a really long stretch of desert towards and through a place called Desert Center. I was watching my gas go down and down, and I could see nothing up ahead, except for more desert. My mind was formulating a plan. I saw Call Boxes every mile on the highway so I thought if I ran out of gas we might just have to walk to one of those. I pictured myself waving down a truck, because I know they can be helpful, but also saw that going very wrong. Just when I was trying to come to terms with my options, a gas station finally popped up! Everyone there was freaking out at the close call and some were expressing anger that there weren’t any signs warning you to fill up before beginning the long stretch.

Not even a mirage of a gas station in sight!

The station itself was really creepy, with quite the characters working inside and a sign for ‘Massage’ beside the restrooms. The kids got the vibe and hustled in and out extremely fast. We all busted a gut once we got back in the car, because just a mile further up the road a whole wonderful looking little town appeared. The creepy gas station would only get us this once, because if we return again, we will no longer be amateurs to this road!

At the end of the trip I drove into Phoenix feeling like some kind of great achiever. I felt empowered, and the next morning I woke up inspired, wondering where else we could drive to. The old me would have even been afraid to drive around an unknown town, but necessity forced me to change my attitude and I was greatly rewarded for it.

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Brie Mason, Kid Travel, Our Travelers, Road Trips, US, West Coast Tagged With: carpoolchella, coachella, desert center, desert road, driving from California to Phoenix, overcoming fears, Phoenix, Phoenix Arizona, road trip with kids, road tripping, road trips, wind turbines

Room With A View In Miami

December 18, 2012 by Brie Mason 3 Comments

The last time I was in Miami, it was to embark on a short cruise to visit a friend who was working on a ship as a dancer. This time, the visit was also with a friend, but to help her out with an event. Totally different experience! Last time, I only had one short afternoon to walk around South Beach. This time, I stayed right on it. Last time, I was sharing a miniature mouse size crew room. This time, I was in a glorious room with a spectacular view that played out many stories.

The View From My Room At The Westin Diplomat

I managed to capture an extremely rare moment where the hotel pool area was empty. This pool was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. During the day it was filled with families. I would sit at my window and watch the faces of parents, worn with daily stress of work and life’s challenges, soften to sweet peace as the first minutes of vacation set in. I could see children laughing and screaming, and of course, getting scolded for running on the deck. The spirit was definitely lively down there! Spontaneous games of water tag, races, and hilarious synchronized swimming routines would occur every so often as well. It’s funny how well we can get along with strangers when we’re on vacation. If only everyone could carry this same energy back home.

A little later in the afternoon, the hungover party crowd would start to emerge. It’s not hard to miss them. Pretty much anyone with a slow walk, head down because even with sunglasses it’s too bright, and looking lost and kind of angry that it’s taking so long to find an available chair to flop down, on fits the bill. I understand why they feel the way they do. At night I would see them in full force, hitting the pool after a crazy night in South Beach. The people on the lower floors definitely got a good show!

Since I was in Miami to work, my own indulgence came from soaking in the tub. I loved that there was a ‘window’ to the room and that I could still see the outside sky. I could see a plane with a long banner flying by. I wondered if it was a grand marriage proposal gesture for some lucky girl, or a sign beckoning visitors to happy hour somewhere. I have to say, I don’t enjoy tubs that are confined to tiny bathrooms. It leaves nothing to the imagination!