World Famous Sydney Opera House, Bridge Climb, Bike Tour, Blue Mountains, Qantas First Class Lounge, Kirketon Hotel, Eaudevie, James Willing at 4 Pines Brewery and Space Beer.
00:00-00:04 jon: G’day mates, welcome to Next Stop, from one of the greatest cities in the world.
00:19-00:34 JON: Sydney is consistently rated number one of the greatest cities in the world by travelers. I am one of those travelers and I definitely agree, it’s one of my favorite cities around the globe. There is heaps of wonderful things to do and see here in the land down under, so sit back and enjoy Next Stop Sydney. The fun starts now!
00:35-00:37 Next Stop logo
00:41-01:11 JON: We are in one of my favorite Sydney neighborhoods, the Rocks, for a tour with Bonza bike tours. So I’ve ridden a bike before so I know how to ride a bike, I know how to put the helmet on, but I don’t know where we are going.
KAT: Where we are going today, is we are going to start down in Circular Quay, and we go up to Observatory Hill, and you can see a whole bunch of Sydney from there. Before the bridge was built it actually had a 360 degree view there.
JON: Lovely. Are we going to get a workout?
KAT:You certainly are. It’s easy, it’s something everyone can do.
JON: Let’s do it!
01:17-01:46 KAT: So here is Circular Quay, where the tour starts. It’s also the place where Sydney started pretty much, so it’s kind of really appropriate.
JON: This is cool though! I’ve seen the ships down here in CIrcular Quay they are amazing, a different one every day. What a view man, this is awesome. This is what you guys call art here?
KAT: Well, it’s what some people call art. We’ve uh…
JON: I like it.
01:57-02:57 KAT: We’re here at a place called Walsh Bay, what we can see over here is something called Blues Point Tower, which is what some people say is the ugliest building in Sydney, but unfortunately it got heritage listed.
JON: Why would it be heritage listed?
KAT: Because it was one of the oldest ones here, so they built it, the government bought it, and it stuck around long enough.
JON: I’ve noticed Kat that Sydney is a very fit city, as the people just went by.
KAT: It takes a little bit of work to maintain the reputation, but.
JON: What’s the reputation?
KAT: We’re a good looking country.
JON: Hot. Everyone is in good shape here, I love it.
KAT: Here we are at Observatory Hill. As you can see there’s bit to observe.
JON: There is a lot to observe!
KAT: There is a lot to observe, as you can see, it’s a pretty good view. And we return!
JON: Kat thanks for the tour!
KAT: No worries, I got you back safe and sound.
JON: We love your city, man.
03:00-03:32 Next Stop logo
03:08-03:14: JON: In it’s short lifetime, the Sydney opera house has earned a reputation as a world class performing arts center. It has become a true symbol of Sydney and the Australian nation.
03:23-04:49 JON: The Sydney Opera House is a beautiful structure known throughout the world. Alex is our tour guide today. I’ve always wanted to come here.
ALEX: The Sydney Opera House, it was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the 2nd in October of 1973. And in that time the Sydney Opera House has become one of the most visited sites in Australia. The Sydney Opera House has a global recognition factor of around 4 billion people, that equates to roughly to 2 out of every 3 people on the face of the earth, they will recognize the iconic shape of the Sydney Opera House. It’s amazing, people get truly overwhelmed walking through this space.
JON: I bet, especially architects.
ALEX: Architects, I take architects around and they just want to come and sit here and go oooooh, baby!
JON: Ok, so obviously we’ve got concrete on the inside, but on the outside…it’s not.
ALEX: Well the whole roof is covered with ceramic roof tiles from Sweden. There is 1 million, 56 thousand and six individual roof tiles that cover the whole Sydney Opera House. Now, instead of climbing up and individually placing each tile, one after the other, up to a million fifty six thousand and six, they tiled each one of those panels, or lids, down on the ground and they used a big crane to pick up each individual panel section and locked it into position.
04:59-05:26 JON: What’s the message to our viewers, I mean obviously it’s a beautiful structure, but why should people come to the Sydney Opera House?
JON: I thought the Sydney Opera House was just for opera, and just for classical music, but come into the Sydney Opera House, it’s places to eat, great views all the way around and inside. But it’s not just opera that they do here, it’s rock concerts, films, talk, avant garde theater, cabaret, burlesque, rock shows, a little bit of something for everyone.
JON: We’ll you’ve been an awesome tour guide, thank you Alex, pleasure to meet you.
ALEX: Thank you.
05:34-05:38 JON: Coming up on Next Stop, we experience one of the great thrill that Sydney has to offer.
05:41-05:43 Next Stop logo
05:50-06:28 JON: One of the most thrilling things you can do here is climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Next Stop, the top.
DEAN: Welcome to the Sydney Harbor Bridge. What I would like you to do is to grab your latch, take it off the hook, we will to be attaching it to our static line, that will be on our right hand side, so are we ready for action?
DEAN: Let’s go, let’s do it. First part of the bridge here, southern approach span, roughly 300 meters long, here we are coming over George Street, it’s the oldest street in the country, actual fact.
JON: Is it really?
06:39-08:13 JON: That was quite a climb!
JON: That’s a fun little climb right there, straight up!
DEAN: Everybody gets the same thrill that you do on the Bridge, Jon-O.
JON: And you get to do it several times a day!
DEAN: We do, we get to do it up to 3 times a day, you have got to be fit and ready to go as a climb leader.
JON: You are looking fit man. So what it that little fort like thing over there?
DEAN: I’m glad you asked that Jon-O, because that is our main means of defense in Sydey. Fort Dennison, roughly 155 years of age, so the little island that that little fort sits on which is known as Pinchgut, was literally the top of the island was cored away into a shelf so they could build the fort there that we see today.
JON: I see lots of other people climbing the bridge, how many people come through this every day?
DEAN: A record breaking day we’ll see 1800 people, big numbers. It’s the thing you’ve got to do when you come to Sydney as you can see Jon-O, you’ve got views of the whole of the greater Sydney, right out to those blue mountains, right down to the southern islands, out to the Tasman Sea, out of the South Pacific.
JON: Well this was a spectacular day, I won’t forget this. You were an awesome tour guide, you didn’t disappoint, so thank you Dean.
DEAN: Thanks Jon, it’s been great to have you on board.
ALL: How good is this?
08:16-08:18 Next Stop logo
08-19-08:35 JON: There are over 400 beautiful parks and open spaces here in Sydney, and the city encourages responsible use and enjoyment of their lovely outdoors. The weather is quite moderate year round here in Sydney, so it’s almost always a perfect day to get outside and enjoy. For more information on Sydney and to plan your day at the park, go to sydney.com
08:36-08:38 Next Stop logo
08:39-11:04 JON: We are staying at one of Australia’s best boutique hotels, located in the heart of Sydney’s restaurant and bar district, the Kirketon Hotel. Let’s talk about the property here, and the different room styles available, and just the overall feel you get when you come here.
PAUL: Yeah, sure. There is 3 different rooms upstairs, the standard and premium and executive rooms. The difference really is just in size, the decor is all pretty much the same, it really is dependant on how much size you need.
JON: I love the feel you get in this, you don’t feel like you are in a big city, you feel like you are in a small town. It’s kind of a small town boutique atmosphere and the neighborhood is awesome.
PAUL: What we were trying to do here with the designers was really fit it into the Darlinghurst and create a boutique hotel that the locals really embraced.
JON: You have one of the most famous pubs in Sydney attached to the hotel.
PAUL: We do, we do , we do. Eaudevie it’s a fantastic cocktail bar and its won numerous awards, right up to umm, best hotel bar in the world, so I’d urge you guys to head down and grab a cocktail.
JON: You know, I think I might fit in there. Thanks to Paul, we are at Eaudevie, which is a…kind of a speakeasy, right?
IAIN: Yeah, roll with that. Yeah, a speakeasy, a quiet little bar.
JON: Iain, I’m told you guys make some crazy cocktails.
IAIN: We take, we do our best shot at it, that’s certainly true, yes.
IAIN: Right now we’re going to make up for you our own variation that we do on a Moscow Mule, the original drink just being a vodka based cocktail with some lime juice and a ginger beer. Just give us a good measure of citrus vodka, I’ll knock some orange juice in there right now, we cut, instead of just using straight honey, we just cut it down a little bit.
JON: That is very different and very good.
IAIN: Yeah, so that is Eaudevie Moscow Mule.
JON: You have only been open for 2 years, how is it so popular?
MAX: Ah well I think you know Sydney eventually is a big town, but the community is small and when they find something cool they all follow each other like sheep.
JON: I noticed the kitchen is right back here, this guys is just whipping it up right next to the bar, right out in the open.
MAX: Yeah, it’s very helpful and plus is we give him shots he gives us a good recipe to make some drinks, yes, so it’s a good deal, it’s a very good deal.
JON: It’s a win-win! Wll cheers to you Max.
MAX: Thank you
11:20-13:59 JON: Today we are travelling a couple hours outside of Sydney, to the mystical Blue Mountains. OK, I can see the sign, Flat Rock, but where are we Duggie?
DUGGIE: Well we are at the beginning or the middle of the Blue Mountains, and this particular is called Flat Rock, so I’ve brought you here because it has magnificent views across the whole of the Blue Mountains, 100 kilometers that way, 100 kilometers that way.
JON: Regardless of the mist. Let’s be imaginative! Let’s find the other cool stuff.
DUGGIE: Yeah, well, you know it’s the Blue Mountains, don’t need to be blue, today they might be white, if we go this way, we just might be able to see some really special stuff.
JON: You know, I feel like we are on the moon, but a lot of people have been here.
DUGGIE: Yeah, look at them all.
JON: This is great!
DUGGIE: Do you think Neil Armstrong has written something on there?
JON: I bet he has.
DUGGIE: So after the wars, there was a worldwide depression as you probably know, and so they moved out to the regions, so of them moved from the beaches and people who came to the Blue Mountains actually lived in caves, there are hundreds of thousands of caves.
JON: This is really cool, you would never know this existed here, again, many people have found it though.
DUGGIE: So next stop is Scenic World, which is one of the most visited and popular attractions in the Blue Mountains.
ELI: We’re at Scenic World today, on this skyway, a cable car that goes across the valley about 389 meters to the other side. As you can hear and see the waterfall down here.
JON: Oh, wow.
ELI: It’s about 800 feet top to bottom of the falls. Our next stop is Scenic Railway, 52 degrees.
JON: So what we’ve got here is the steepest railway in the world. So this used to haul coal up and down?
ELI: Yeah, coal up and down. Little coal cars from 1878 to 1945.
JON: Yeah, this is pretty steep, that is so cool! This is awesome. Well this is a quite a lovely way to end our day in the Blue Mountains.
DUGGIE: This is what you do with your loved ones, a bit romantic.
JON: Well we love you, you’re our new friends.
DUGGIE: Aw, shucks, thanks.
JON: Well the economy cabin, this is really nice, everybody has their own screen a their seat, they’ve got foot rest, snack bar in the back, it’s great for economy but we were able to upgrade to business class. Wow.
THOMAS: Yeah, absolutely.
JON: Flat bed, super comfortable, the food was exceptional, the service-amazing. This first class lounge is something like we’ve never seen, this is really beautiful. And designed by the same guy who designed the interior of the airbus 380, right?
THOMAS: Absolutely, yep, yep. So Marc Newson, our Creative Director designed the first lounge here, it’s a totally new build on top of the existing airport here in Sydney.
JON: The carpet has a purpose, right?
THOMAS: Yeah absolutely, and with the carpet, its again got Marc Newson’s signature design on it, about time in Hong Kong and it’s about having a design when you initially look at it, it makes you feel a bit dizzy so you don’t look at it, you look up and actually enjoy everything else that there
for you to see.
JON: This lounge is just amazing, it’s very clean, very chic, very elegant. Kind of a simple elegance I think.
THOMAS: Understated luxury is what we like to call it.
JON: And I love that noise, that board over there.
THOMAS: Yeah, you know, on land as well, we don’t want to lose the golden years of aviation, so with the flapper board, we want people to remember.
JON: Sydney airport is obviously a very busy, hustle and bustling airport.
JON: But when you walk into this lounge downstairs, you have the living wall, feel the oxygen and everything just all of a sudden tapers down.
THOMAS: We want to take away, you know, that stress and hassle downstairs, and when you come through, go into the garden there, that sense of health and well being, and bring you up into the sanctuary and relaxed space in the lounge.
JON: So not only is this relaxing, but it’s a super elegant place.
THOMAS: Oh, absolutely, and if you know, the hustle and bustle downstairs, we couldn’t unwind you enough with the living wall, we’ve thrown in a day spa as well just to make sure you are really relaxed.
JON: A day spa?
JON: No way.
THOMAS: yeah, come and have a look.
JON: Wow. OK, this is kind of like saving the best for last. Another living wall! So much oxygen in here, what a beautiful room.
THOMAS: If you are not relaxed after you’ve been in here, you never will be.
JON: You guys have thought of everything
THOMAS. that is what it is all about.
JON: And you’ve won awards, this has won the best first class lounge in the world.
THOMAS: When we first opened in 2007, the following year won the Sky Tracks best first class lounge in the world award. We are very proud.
JON: And we love Qantas, it’s great to meet you.
THOMAS: No worries Jon, well come back to Qantas first very soon I hope.
JARON: Ummm, we started just as this, brewery, bar, restaurant that we are in here tonight, and just recently we’re gone whole sales around Australia. Crack this bad boy open and you will see some pretty serious steam coming out of it. And this here is one of the absolute signatures here, cooked with a little of that pale ale here as well.
JON: So I read something about space beer. What’s space beer?
JARON: Good question. We’re actually working with a group of space engineers, the director who is a bloke from the US, he’s lived out here for about 10 or 15 years now. The space engineers that we are working with, they are locals here as well.
JON: OK, good.
JARON: And over a few beers, you do space, we do beer, let’s do space beer. It’s a cool story and the project is already pretty far evolved.
JARON: Cool. To space beer.
JON: To space beer.
19:55-20:27 JON: James, I’m digging your tunes, man.
JAMES: Thanks very much.
JON: What is your choice of beverage this evening?
JAMES: Well, I actually like to blend my beers, this is a blend of Kolsch and Hefeweizen, I call it the Kolscheweizen.
JAMES: Yeah, I got a lot of hassle for it, but I’ve been here a couple years now, so I just kind of like to dabble and mix things up.
JON: So like Jaron, you are not from Manly either?
JAMES: No, I’m actually from very very close to where Jaron was from in Perth, my brother was good friends with Jaron growing up, but a couple of years above me and I came across here, it was supposed to be for 2 weeks, but it’s been about a year and a half ago, so I haven’t left. I couldn’t leave, I just love it here.
21:10-21:22 JAMES: The goal of my music is to reach people through music. I know that sounds really corny, but I don’t actually care monetarily what I do with music, I just want to have the most people I can listen to it, and be touched by it.
Jungle Island, Miami Dolphins Game, Little Havana Food Tour, Art Basel Miami Beach, Eden Roc Renaissance, Elastic Bond
NEXT STOP MIAMI-TRANSCRIPTION
00:00-00:04 JON: Hi I’m Jon Olson, welcome to Next Stop from the cruise capital of the world.
00:05-00:18 NEXT STOP MIAMI ROLLS
00:19-00:35: JON: Miami Florida is one of the most culturally diverse cities in America, and we will celebrate that on Next Stop Miami. On this episode we will bring you Miami cuisine, local music, sports, and we will feature the number one art show in the Americas. All this and so much more on Next Stop Miami. The fun starts now!
00:36- 00:38 Next Stop logo
00:39-02:14 JON: Jungle Island is a fun and interactive theme park where you can get up close and personal with some of natures most amazing animals. This is Ryan, he’s our tour guide, what are we going to see today buddy?
RYAN: We are going to see some of the most rare, the most endangered, the most fun and the most interactive animals basically anywhere.
JON: Good, let’s do it.
RYAN: Let’s go. OK, the first stop on the VIP safari tour at Jungle Island is this room, the lemur nursery.
JON: This looks unique.
RYAN: It is very unique. This is actually the only place in the world that you can legally touch one of those red rough lemurs. What I am going to have you do is come over and take a seat on these pillows, you want to just hold your hands open whenever they come out.
JON: We’ve got lemurs!
RYAN: Alright. Now these guys here, of all the lemurs, these two are two of the most endangered.
JON: He jumped on our camera guy. Whoa! Flying lemurs!
RYAN: There you go, nice.
JON: That’s what I’m talking about!
RYAN: Here we are at the kangaroo paddock.
JON: Hey kangaroos!
RYAN: These are called the giant reds, and these are the kangaroos that can get to be about 6 feet tall, there we go.
JON: Oh wow.
JON: And the camera guy gets more love from the kangaroos too, it was the lemurs, now it’s the kangaroos for you Mike.
02:19-03:05 RYAN: OK, so these are our Aldabra tortoises, they come from off the coast of Africa, and their lifespan is truly astounding. The truth is we don’t know how long they can live.
RYAN: Yeah, because they keep outliving generation after generation of people, and the records kind of get lost. Go ahead and take seat on him, just like you would ride a horse. There you go. Most people equate slowness with weakness, but this is one of the most powerful animals you will come across.
JON: Oh, he feels strong.
JON: Thanks for the ride buddy. That is how you properly dismount a tortoise by the way, like that.
RYAN: That’s right, there is an art to it.
JON: Yeah I know. Thanks for noticing.
03:13-04:07 BREEZA: You are going to put your hands just like I have them, one behind the jaw, and one at the base of the tail, and I want you to have a nice firm grip on her, so go ahead, give it a try. Firm grip, and what’s cool about alligator teeth is they are actually hollow, so every time she looses a tooth, another one will immediately start to grow.
RYAN: So this is one of the most unique parts of the tour, this is Senor Pepe, and his white collar, the legend is that if you touch it, it brings you good luck.
JON: Oh, bring me good luck buddy, bring me good luck.
RYAN: So this is your surprise ending, this is Smokey and Lord Byron, they are two baby capuclin monkeys about 9 months old, and they are pretty cute.
JON: Now for an amazing experience on your next trip to Miami you guys, you have to check out Jungle Island, this was fantastic.
04:15-04:42 Florida is one of the few states in the country that has won championships on all 4 major sports, baseball, basketball, hockey and football. The Florida Marlins have won the World Series twice, in 2004 the Florida Panthers took home the coveted Stanley Cup, and in 2006 the Miami Heat won the NBA title. Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins have won the Superbowl, in fact in 1972 the Miami Dolphins were the only undefeated team in the history of the NFL. Coming up on Next Stop, we feature the Miami Dolphins game fan experience.
04:43-04:46 Next Stop logo
04:47-06:38 JON: We’re here at the Miami Dolphins game for a fan experience, kicking it off appropriately in the pit for some tailgating. I’m going to test your Dolphins trivia. Are you big Dolphins fans?
GIRLS: We will do our best.
JON: What year did the Dolphins come into existence?
JON: Is that your final answer?
GIRLS: That is our final answer.
GIRLS: Oh no.
JON: Bam. Nice. From a guys perspective, this is our first Dolphins game. What should we expect?
MAN: Expect a lot of drinking, a good time, and a Dolphins victory today.
JON: To a Dolphins victory, whoo hoo! That is mighty tasty iced tea! What’s tailgating without some good barbequeing going on right here, Elijah, you’ve got it going on brother. You look like a big Miami Dolphins fan.
ELIJAH: I’m always a fan, since ‘72. Since I was 5 years old I always been a Miami Dolphin fan, I love the Dolphin, in my house I got dolphin, I’ve got my kids with me and they are Dolphin fans.
JON: Good, well that’s good it should be in the family. We’ve got Fernando here, how old are you buddy?
JON: You’re 6? And you are a big Dolphins fan? So Fernando what do you want to be when you grown up?
FERNANDO: Play football.
JON: There’s a lot of cool things happening at Sunlife Stadium, the tailgating was awesome, but coming up something very special, NFL royalty get inducted into the Miami Dolphins Walk of Fame.
ANNOUNCER: Forever from this day forward, stars present, past and future will have their names inducted here in this plaza, Coach Don Shula, the winningest coach in the history of the National Football League, and a true leader within our organization.
JON: If you are a fan of football, you realize how special that ceremony just was. The pregame festivities continue in the Dolphins Grand Plaza.
06:43-07:40 JON: You just never know who you are going to run into, we’ve got Sam Madison, ex all pro quarterback for the Miami Dolphins.
SAM: I know you all travel all over the world but thank you all for coming here to Sunlight Stadium and seeing what we have in store for you guys.
SAM: It is a great opportunity to come out here and interact with the fans and, when the fans come out to have a good time I mean because when you come the game you know all the fans they talk about it, you always come out to have fun.
JON: Ladies and gentlemen, buckle down, it’s game time, here come the Miami Dolphins! Alright Coach Shula, we have the Raiders in town, what’s the game plan today? Ah, keeping it close to the vest I see. Well coach might be a man of few words, but he does have the most victories of any coach in the history of the NFL. Good luck today coach.
07:46-08:04 JON: Sunlight stadium has several venues where you can grab some food, grab some beverages, watch the game. We are in a nightclub, LIV, Sunlight stadiums own night club. So what’s going to happen at halftime?
DJLAZ: Get ready, I’m going to jump on the turntables, we’re going to turn this into the craziest daytime nightclub party in the world.
08:15-08:28 JON: Well, it looks like the Dolphins have this game wrapped up, what an amazing experience, starting with the tailgating. This stadium is incredible, the Walk of Fame induction ceremony, thank you Miami Dolphins organization for helping us make great memories on Next Stop Miami.
08:32-08:47 JON: Despite being called the sunshine state, the sunflower isn’t Florida’s state flower, it is the orange blossom. In fact, there are more orange groves in Florida than anywhere else in the world and it provides the United States with 75% of its oranges. 40% of the worlds orange juice comes from the sunshine state.
08:48-08:49 Next Stop logo
08:54-10:42 JON: Luxury meets the ocean at the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach. From the minute you walk into the lobby, this provocative flair, and this swanky feeling just overtakes you. We love this man, let’s talk about the history of this property, because it goes back in time.
DAVID: Well, as you probably already know, and many people in Miami Beach and around the country, the Eden Roc is built by the same architect that built the Fontainbleau, that’s Morris Lapidus. So you’ll see his design all throughout Miami Beach, this was his baby, this was his boutique build, and this came up in the mid 50’s.
JON: This is kind of a happening spot in this area.
DAVID: Well we renovated it for it to be a cool lifestyle space, you know, accenting what Morris did here with the floating ceiling, and to give our customers kind of that influence and that historic feeling that they are in a place that isn’t just here today and gone tomorrow.
JON: The property is absolutely beautiful, I love the fact that you are on the beach, but inside this place has a lot of variety. The rooms are really pretty cool, and also, dare I say, a little bit swanky too.
DAVID: Jon, listen, you know, what the owners of this building were very, very, very particular on how they designed our new tower.The historic tower has always been here, we redesigned a 21 story tower, the first of its kind on this beach. In all shapes, matters and form, they redesigned those rooms to look just like the historic tower ones.
JON: Let’s talk about your spa, 30,000 plus square foot spa, it is relatively new, it’s going to win awards, there is no question.
DAVID: what we walked away with was a bigger understanding on that lifestyle space where we integrate fashion and beauty and health, with the experience at a destination hotel and a spa experience.
10:46-11:45 TIMOTHY: Welcome to the first Elle spa in the world, we are the first spa that had a relationship with Elle magazine. Being the first Elle spa in the world, we offer an editorial collection of unique items that have been aquired for us that are available for sale within our retail shop. We also have signature treatments that are created by editors that’s available inside our Elle spa.
DAVID: Some of the things that we wanted to express with you were some of our secrets, her name is Paula DeSilva.
JON: Now I hear you are not much of a secret, she was on Hells Kitchen.
DAVID: Yeah, she is one of them.
PAULA: Miami is evolving a lot as you know, and there is a ton of great chefs down here in this area now, and what we did with 1500 degrees was we wanted to appease to all of the guests that we have not only in the hotel, but locally as well.
JON: Well this area is absolutely on fire and 1500 degrees fits in perfectly to the Eden Roc, branding it, very swanky, very cool, and it looks very tasty.
GRACE: Hi folks, welcome to the Little Havana food tour from Miami Culinary Tours. We’re going to try all of this different types of traditional cuban cuisine, so follow me. When you ask for a cafe cubano, it comes just in little cups, you don’t drink out of this cup. Little Carlo is the owner of El Pub restaurant, now the coffee is roasted locally. And now we are going to stop, I call it the Mister Villa place that actually has the cuban tobacco cigar factory, it’s great to watch the art of cigar rolling, you know the good cigars are made with the entire tobacco leaf, the family does the entire process themselves. Your sandwiches before they get cold, you have ham, pork, swiss cheese, you cannot come to Miami without trying these.
13:21-14:44 GRACE: I love this place because, this is a place in Miami that was dedicated to the elderly, now they have these like rooms, anybody that is below the age of 55 is not allowed to play, you can not play for money, I see things happening. You know this is where you really absorb the older cuban generation. The city of Miami invested 110,000 dollars and assigned this space for them, it brings a sense of community which is one of the things that we really love about this neighborhood. Couple things I really like about this place is that the eggs that they sell, they come from the chickens that are walking around in the neighborhood, and the fruit, they comes from the trees, you know, in the neighborhood, um, so you can’t get more organic than that.
JON: Pretty sustainable.
GRACE: Yeah, exactly. OK, everybody, thank you so much for coming to the Little Havana Food Tour I hope you enjoy the food and enjoy walking in the Little Havana and try all these traditional cuban, so thank you so much.
BOB: A group of people affiliated with the Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland came to Miami Beach and thought about launching a second fair here, and the baby sister is now 10 years old.
JON: What did the New York Times call this, because that is pretty impressive.
BOB: The olympics of the art world.
JON: This is the olympics of the art world, folks, we’re surrounded by so much talent, and we don’t even know where to start, we have an afternoon here, what do you recommend for us?
BOB: Oh, I recommend comfortable shoes.
JON: I’ve got that!
BOB: I recommend seeing as much as you can, it’s a tremendous amount or art of every type, from video art, photography, all kind of pieces, you’ll see art valued in the millions.
15:56-16:47 JON: We’ve got Europe well represented here with Mr. Greve, he has galleries in Paris
KARSTEN: Yes, Cologne, and Switzerland. For us it is beginning art fest where the place and the movement to get people interested in art and to get them into the galleries. Now it turned out the opposite, they are coming to the theater and they are not really coming to the galleries so it is an opposite movement.
JON: We’ve got Brazil in the house with Rodrigo, which that is not the proper way to say your name, right?
RODRIGO: Yeah, it’s Rodrigo, that’s ok, yeah.
RODRIGO: Our gallery is one of the most respected in Brazil, we exist in 1988, there are 16 brazillian galleries this year at the fair.
RODRIGO: So there is a lot of interesting Brazilian art, and it’s been great for us.
16:53-17:50 JON: You know what sounds good about now? Sitting in the park reading a good book, there just so happens to be a bookshelf behind me, follow me. Oh, I guess it’s just art. It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Lilian from Shanghai.
LILIAN: Yes, our gallery is the very first contemporate gallery owned by a swiss guy, he came to Shanghai 2 years ago, opened this gallery, only promoting the chinese young artist.
JON: Do you have a favorite piece in this exhibit?
LILIAN: Umm, all of them are my favorite pieces!
JON: I figured you would say that, but come on, you have one that maybe, one or two that you love.
LILLIAN: This artist Zhen Chen is from Beijing, he is born in 1918 and he did a lot of animation pieces.
JON: Well we did it, we found the most unique piece of art at Art Basel Miami, voila!
SOFY: Thank you for having me.
JON: I’m excited to see you guys perform live, because your manager sent us your music so I have been listening to it, I kind of describe it as Miami Sound Machine meets Sade.
SOFY: Definitely Sade is an influence, and I would say Diggable Planets and Funny Allstars. You know, the songs come out, some of them come out in spanish, some of them come out in english.
JON: Now Art basel is happening all around us right now, it’s happening behind us, got Dexos doing a cool painting.
SOFY: Oh Yeah.
JON: It’s a pretty cool scene for Miami, and music is part of that.
SOFY:A lot of the times we have people painting live at our shows.
JON: Vey cool.
JON: We understand we are in for a treat at the beginning of the show too. We don’t know what it is yet, but your guys said you want to roll on that.
SOFY: Yes, definitely.
19:12-19:35 SOFY: Well tonight we’re releasing our music video Frecuencia Natural as so we are, it’s from our EP, it’s our latest release right now on itunes, and so we’re performing, we are paying tribute to that, to that EP, and we have people you know, they did art, the art of the cd they brought it to life with an art installation inside, so we have that by the stage.
20:14-20:28 JON: What’s the music scene like here, I hear lots of different flavors of music in Miami, very international.
SOFY: I think it’s a great thing, I love it. You have a lot of beautiful, beautiful music definitely. People don’t know about this, but it’s here.
20:44-20:52 JON: From what my vision is of music, because we feature musicians all over the world, I really feel like your band encapsulates Miami, it really has a Miami feel to it.
21:52 Credits roll
NEXT STOP SAN DIEGO-TRANSCRIPTION
00:00-00:05 JON: Hi, I’m Jon Olson and welcome to Next Stop from a city heralding our nations best weather.
00:06-00:19 Next Stop Logo Rolls
00:20-00:41 JON: San Diego, our nation’s 8th largest city has incredible weather, with great weather you’ve got lots of happy people. In fact, that is their slogan here in San Diego, happy happens, and it is definitely happening on this episode, where we will take you to some of the top attractions. We’ll also feature a world class historical hotel. Happy people, local music and more in this episode of Next Stop from San Diego. The fun starts now!
01:01 JON: I’ve been hearing about Legoland California for a long time and I’ve never been here. So far, I’m super impressed Julie.
JULIE: I’m glad, I’m glad you are hear for one thing.
JON: Thank you.
JULIE: And I’m glad you are impressed for another. I think a lot of people expect certain things when they come here, they say Legoland, you have lego models, well we do. We have more than 22,000 lego models within this 128 acre family theme park, we have more than 57 million bricks that make those models.
01:31 JON: You have more than just the Legoland here, this is Las Vegas, you’ve got San Francisco, we have Washington DC, we have New York which is uber cool, but you also have a water park.
JULIE: World’s first Lego themed water park which we opened last year, and it’s great too because again, it is designed for the 2 to 12 year olds and there are not a lot of water parks out that are designed just for the younger set.
JON: So how do you incorporate lego’s into like a roller coaster, or into a water park? How do lego’s fit into that?
JULIE: You know, one of the coolest thing with the water park is build a raft river. This is a unique concept just designed for us, we have inner tubes with actual plates on them, and kids can build using soft lego bricks and kind of build their own rafts as they float down this lazy river.
02:15 JON: There is over 50 rides to choose from here at Legoland. Mike, my camera guy and I are on the dragon. Arrrr!
02:32 JON: Legoland is incredibly impressive, and somebody has to build this stuff. Let’s talk about Star Wars here, this is one of your new exhibits. There are so many millions of pieces, like where do you even start?
GARY: Around us, these are all scenes from all of the Star Wars films.Right behind us is actually from Star Wars Clone Wars. From start to finish, this whole area takes about a couple of years from original concept to starting to do design work, to actually figuring out the layout of where it’s going to go and how we are going to get everything animated and working.
03:13 JON: You are going to help me build something, right? What are we going to build?
GARY: Yes, we are going to build you.
JON: We’re going to build me?
GARY: Yeah, we’re going to build you.
JON: What are we going to do with me?
GARY: Well you can go travel around Legoland.
JON: Let’s do it.
GARY: OK Perfect. I will build one, and you build as well. I will just give you the pieces, so, you are doing great so far.
JON: I haven’t done anything!
03:41 JON: So the coolest thing about building the mini me that Gary actually helped me do is I get to place it anywhere I want in Legoland, San Francisco…I’m choosing Washington DC, because we are planning to do a Washington DC area show in season 2, and I know we’re going to visit the Lincoln Memorial so I’m going to place myself right on the steps and next time you see me in Washington DC I’ll be standing with Mini Me on the Lincoln Memorial.
04:07 JON: I expected a lot from Legoland California, and it far exceeded my expectations. It’s a child’s dream, and it wasn’t so bad for me, and Mini Me, either.
04:26 JON: San Diego has one of the top sailing communities in the US. Today we set sail with Dennis Connor’s America’s Cup yacht, the Stars and Stripes.
PATRICK: Alright, welcome aboard everyone, welcome. Welcome aboard Stars and Stripes. You are more than welcome to help out, this is 300 pounds and it goes 11 stories up, so we’re hoping someone wants to help out pulling. We do it the old fashioned way, heave ho. So, you are more than welcome to help out on that, we also have the grinding pedestals here, so the coffee grinders, we will get everyone involved in that. Almost there! There are three gears and you will never hear me tell you to slow down
MAN: Once we do that, it’s straight and in the center, right?
PATRICK: So we are going to pick up speed, you will feel it.
05:17 PATRICK: This is actually an IACC International America’s Cup Class, they are designed for where they race. They are designed for one race and that’s it, and then they basically throw them away, you know, they are not used again.
05:44 JON: You seem like a young captain, how long have you, did it take you to learn how to sail on this big boat?
PATRICK: I grew up sailing Lake Michigan, and just over the years of getting used to, I started as crew and then getting used to the boat just worked my way up to captain.
JON: What is the sailing community like here, it seems pretty vibrant, there is so many boats in the water.
PATRICK: It’s huge. San Diego is like a Mecca for sailing. If you look in the local marinas, it’s all masts, not too many power boats, it’s because of the great weather.
JON: Patrick, thanks for having us on board on behalf of everybody on board, it’s been a great day.
PATRICK: we’re glad to have you, thanks for coming out, we appreciate it.
06:32 Next Stop Logo
06:35 JON: Coming up on Next Stop, the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park.
06:42 next Stop Logo
06:45 JON: The San Diego Zoo is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Southern California. Lions and tigers and bears and hippo’s…oh my!
07:03 JON: So this is my long lost brother John, he’s the tiger whisperer here at the San Diego Zoo, I like that name, the tiger whisperer. Did you just actually call these tigers down for us?
JOHN: Well they are very food motivated, it’s not like I have some kind of magical power over them or anything, they come down because a lot of the time when they hear me call, they are going to get fed.
JON: This is mama and the two babies.
JOHN: Two boys 5 months old, Christopher and Connor, just tipped the scale at 50 pounds yesterday. They were about 3 pounds when they were born. This is mom’s 4th litter. Whatever moves gets torn to pieces, makes me want to put a piece of furniture in there to see if they can wreck it like my cats at home do.
07:47 JON: Ok Nate, I’ve always been intrigued by hippo’s, they seem so peaceful and docile, but they are not really that peaceful and docile, are they?
NATE: No, no, they have a pretty bad reputation, they are considered the most dangerous mammal in Africa and it’s true they kill more people annually than lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo, any of the other dangerous animals you can think of. It looks kind of like they are smiling sometimes, their lips just kind of open up and those incisors are right there and it looks like a smile. Hippo’s don’t really smile, it’s just a kind of an accident of nature.
08:28 JON: So they say hippo’s aren’t very friendly, but actually they are friendly to guys like me, they like me, they know me, I’m kind of a hippo whisperer kind of guy who can actually get up close and personal, and even give it a kiss. Nice hipp!
08:50 JON: So who doesn’t love a koala bear, they are so cute, they’re so cuddly, but they are not bears, right Jen?
JEN: They’re not bears at all, they are actually a marsupial, they do carry their joey’s in a pouch just like a kangaroo or a wombat. The males don’t have a pouch, only the females do, and they’ll actually carry their young for at least 6 months in that pouch.
JON: And this is a male, introduce us to this cute guy.
JEN: This is Burly, and Burly is very special. He has an aboriginal name, Burly, it means star. We were hoping that once he came out of the pouch at 6 months he would be our star, our little ambassador here at the San Diego Zoo, and he has really turned out to be that.
JON: Look at that face! Obviously we had a great morning at the zoo, it’s been a pleasure meeting you and Burly, but we are off to the Safari park next, what should we expect up there?
JEN: It’s a unique experience, that everyone needs to experience on a day when they are in California. There is just so many animals up there and they have them all together, actually mingling like you would see in the wild, different species together.
09:54 LEAH: Welcome to the safari caravan, welcome aboard.
JON: I’m excited, it’s going to be fun.
LEAH: Alright. Are you ready to head out to Africa?
JON: Let’s go to Africa!
LEAH: Alright, sounds good. We are going to be cruising by our elephant herd here in just a minute. The worlds oldest white rhinocerous standing in the shade of our adult male Rothschilds giraffe. Having animals like this is super important to us, we break longevity records here all the time, we estimate Atomba’s ago to be about 45 years old, we are not 100 percent for sure as she did come out of the wild.
10:38 JON: Look at all these animals living together in harmony.
LEAH: It’s absolutely amazing, watching them interact with each other, that’s what we do out here every day, you see all those great interactions with each other. Our rhino’s interact directly with all the animals in this exhibit, everyone hangs out with everyone else. Sabba is our adult male giraffe, Sabba is a very handsome gentleman, and he is looking very proud of himself because all the babies out here are his. So Sabba here, Sabba is looking for a snack.
JON: Is that what he is looking for, or is he looking to eat me, am I a snack?
LEAH: You guys wanna feed Sabba?
LEAH: Come here buddy. So, the easiest way to feed a giraffe is just like this,you can kinda hold that leaf up for him, and he is going to take that right from you. Rule of tongue for a giraffe is an inch of tongue per foot of giraffe, so Sabba is about 17 and a half feet tall, so he is going to a 17 and a half inch long tongue, and on Sabba you can really see these osicones, these horns on top of his head? Osicones is just a latin word for hair covered horns, they’re lumpy, they’re bumpy, they’re big, he’s got huge osicones. He actually has 5 of them, there is one on the middle there with 2 big ones on top of his head, and there is actually 2 more little ones behind that, and he would use those in combat with other males.
11:55 JON: One of my favorite shows that I’ve watched for years is Big Cat Diary, and my favorite animal to watch is the cheetah, so when I knew at the end of our San Diego Zoo and Safari Park day we were going to do the cheetah run, I was pretty excited.
JANET: I know, it’s pretty incredible, and we are so happy with it. Our track itself is really impressive being 100 meters long, it’s the longest dedicated cheetah track, and we are running outside of an exhibit, it’s an open environment, so people are standing right there, just a few feet from the cheetah, the world’s fastest land mammal, sprinting full speed right past them.
12:38 JANET: Never in history has a wild cheetah attacked a person, they’re always going to choose flight over fight, and I think that does make them endearing, they are that sensitive predator, they are this incredible animal to run 70 miles per hour, to be such perfect athletes, it just really does make them so unique and special.
JON: Well thank you for sharing them with us.
JANET: Well thank you.
13:11 Next Stop Logo
13:14 JON: Coming up on Next Stop, the historical and legendary Hotel Del Coronado.
13:21 Next Stop Logo
13:24 JON: San Diego has some of the best beaches around, in fact, the weather and beaches are a way of life here in San Diego. The Travel Channel just rated this beach, Coronado Beach, as one of America’s finest beaches, something locals and visitors have known for years. When you are done with your day at the beach, make sure and visit Coronado town, a quaint turn of the century town, complete with beautiful homes, parks, restaurants, shopping and so much more. For more information on Coronado and San Diego, visit alaskaair.com and book your vacation today, you will be glad you did.
13:52 Next Stop logo
13:55 JON: The legendary Hotel Del Coronado has hosted many celebrities throughout time, from royalty, to presidents, to Hollywood. Today, they host the Next Stop crew.
14:10 CHRISTINE: I am the Hotel Del’s resident historian.
CHRISTINE: And the hotel was built in 1888, and we have a lot of history here, the hotel was actually built as a destination resort way before there was such a thing.
JON: So what inspired it back then? Why would they have built such a huge beautiful resort back in the day?
CHRISTINE: Well we’re looking in the wrong direction, the reason they built it here was out that way.
JON: The ocean. Location.
CHRISTINE: Location, location., location. It’s a beautiful location. There is something about coming into the Del that is awe inspiring and people, even little children, understand that it is a very special place, and that is all still here. So much of our interior achitecture, our intertior molding, design is still the way it used to be. All our lovely verandas you can see behind us, it’s actually beautiful here.
15:05 JON: There is a wide variety of accommodations here at the Hotel Del, and this is one of the newer rooms, this room is beautiful.
CHRISTINE: This is a beautiful room, it really speaks to the glamour that was with the Del from the very beginning, and this is in our victorian building which is 123 years old, but you would never know it from this room, it looks like a fashionable room from the hollywood era.
JON: You also have some cottages?
CHRISTINE: We do, we have Beach Village, which is a resort within a resort. It’s a private enclave, it’s own pool, it’s own concierge, it’s own services. It’s very private, it’s where the Hollywood people today like to come and stay.
JON: Well let’s stay along the hollywood line, because you’ve had movies filmed here, Some Like It Hot, Marilyn Monroe.
CHRISTINE: Yes, and it’s a classic, it was voted the number 1 comedy of all time.
15:55 JON: This 28 acre resort is not only stunning on the inside, but there is a lot going on on the outside, They’ve got a great pool, there is every beachfront activity you can possibly imagine, this place is kid-topia. They ever turn this into an ice skating rink during the winter months, how cool is that? My next stop, the spa.
16:19 JON: This is the life Corey, chilling out at the Spa Del. Spa’s just aren’t for women, guys dig spa’s too.
COREY: You said that right Jon. I’ve got to tell you one of the most interesting things I have noticed is that men just don’t appreciate what a spa has to offer. What Mandy is doing right now is not only applying a nice moisturizer to your hand so it will feel real nice later on when you go to talk to your wife, your girlfriend, or any other body that you like to hold hands with, but right now she is pouring a little wax on there, and it feels a little warm, very sensual right now.
JON: It does.
COREY: But in a few minutes what you will find is that it will be coated on there just like candle wax.
JON: I like it. After I do this I gotta do something sporty. You know what I think I will do?
COREY: What do you think you are going to do?
JON: I think I will try out surfing.
COREY: You know, this is the place to do that. Look just behind us folks, fantastic out there.
17:14 JON: This is Gnarly Neal, and he’s bound to get me up on this surfboard, on those waves.
NEAL: OK, here we go, paddle, paddle, paddle. Here it comes, hang on, hands back,toes up, here you go, bring that one foot up, good, good. Let’s throw on our wetsuits and we’ll head on out.
JON: Let’s do it!
18:01 JON: San Diego’s famed Gas Lamp District is a 16 block area, equal parts stately and fun loving. The district, which gets its name from gas lit street lamps along 5th Avenue, has gone through many incarnations. Today you will find numerous restaurants ranging from burger joints to 4 star italian bistros, and much more. Numerous wine bars and night clubs brings this district to life at night and give it a vibrant pulse. If you are looking for action in San Diego, the Gas Lamp District is where it’s at.
19:14 JON: Our musical guest on Next Stop San Diego is Len Rainey and his Midnight Players.
LEN: The band has been with me now for about 20 years. The band is some of the same guys that have been with me for 20 years. We just got back from Japan, just got back from Chicago, so I’ve been on the road for about 3 weeks, I haven’t seen a bed, a real nice bed, in about 3 weeks.
JON: And this is home for you?
LEN: This is home for me, this is home.
JON: What do you love about San Diego?
LEN: San Diego, the weather.I mean id you, you have to pay for the weather here but the weather is fantastic, and when you have so many great things to see here too, I mean you’ve got the zoo, you’ve got Sea World and all the rest of the things too.
20:09 JON: How do you describe your music?
LEN: You know, it’s a mix, it a lot of original stuff, a lot of rhythm and blues, um, it comes from a lot of different angles, I’m an old rock and roll bass player, but I used to like a lot of soul and blues so, I kind of mixed it up together I used to call it jazz rock soul, folk funk is what we used to call it, so it’s a mixture of everything.
20:43 JON: Did you see Anchorman?
LEN: I’ve seen a little bit of it yeah.
JON: OK,so Ron Burgundy was the Will Farrell character, riight?
LEN: He used to be here.
JON: He signed of every newscast, every night, with a message to San Diego, I want you to sign off with that message tonight.
LEN: Stay classy, San Diego, is that it?
JON: Say this to our viewers.
LEN Stay Classy San Diego, oh, stay classy Next Stop, that’s what I will say.
JON: Look at those tail flips, I can;t tell which is the mom and which is the baby.
ALL: Cheers, wow!
02:12-03:12 JON: I love the cocktail cruise not only for the cocktails and the whales, but also because you get to meet fun people from all over the place. What are your names and where are you guys from?
MAN: I’m Jon and this is Dayle, from Vancouver Washington.
JON: I have some questions for you about Hawaii, let’s test your Hawaii knowledge. First of all, what is the capital of Hawaii?
JON: You are correct. Do you know the name of the state fish?
WOMAN: Ono? No?
MAN: You can’t pronounce it, it’s about 20 letters long.
WOMAN: This long! Look, he’s go to bring a…
JON: I’m actually bringing it out, I’m giving you a cheat sheet and I want to hear you guys pronounce it.
WOMAN: Oh, no no no.
JON: Come on, you can do it.
WOMAN: Puma noo koo na kua pu ah ki
JON: That’s pretty close, Jon, come on you’ve gotta give it a try, your wife did.
MAN: Huna huna noo koo noo koo apoo.
JON: That’s pretty good actually.
03:14-03:58 JON: We not only saw whales and had killer pupu’s and cocktails, but these guys do an awesome job. The Teralani is the way to go when you come to Maui to see anything. What do you guys do when you’re not…when the whales aren’t here?
MARIO: We snorkel, we get in the water, we go snorkeling.
AMBER: And sailing.
MARIO: And sailing.
JON: You guys do a great job, you make everyone from all over the country is here having a good time. We had a good time. Dude, I need to ask you a favor though, if I give you these hats will you wear them? Bud says yes, Bud chose the gray. For you Bud.
MARIO: Always? Of course we’ll wear them.
AMBER: I will wear it.
AMBER: I promise.
JON: Because you guys see tourists from all over the place, you need to help us promote Next Stop.
MARIO: Yeah, but they don’t all bring us hats.
JON: Nice, cheers. Thanks you guys.
AMBER: Thank you.
04:05-04:24 JON: Lahaina, located on west Maui was the first capital of the kingdom of Hawaii. In the 19th century it served as the center for the global whaling industry, Lahaina, in hawaiian, means cruel sun, related to it’s sunny dry climate. It only gets about 13 inches of rain a year, so for those of us living in a rainy wet climate, isn’t that a good reason to come to Maui? Book your trip today at alaskaair.com.
04:26-04:27 Next Stop logo
04:28-04:34 JON & ALL:Coming up on Next Stop, we get down and dirty on ATV’s in west Maui, wooo!
04:35-04:36 Next Stop logo
04:37-05:00 JON: We all have to eat on Maui and some of us just have to shop. For you shoppers the Whaler’s Village is perfect. With over 90 stores to tickle your fancy there is just about something for everybody. And when you are done shopping and you have worked up an appetite, visit one of their fantastic restaurants, I’ve tried them all and they are fabulous. My favorite thing about Whaler’s Village is the location, right on world famous Ka’aniplai beach. For more information visit whalersvillage.com
05:03-05:25 JON: For today’s Maui adventure we’re heading up country with Kahoma Ranch ATV Tours.
KEIKO: Transmission is an automatic so I mean, you don’t even have to touch them if you unless you gotta. There is only 2 gears, all the way down is reverse, if you have to, all the way back up is low. There is a high gear, but we cut the high gear off, especially for the Californians.
05:39-05:40 JON: We could have really gotten wet there!
05:48-06:38 KEIKO: So I’m gonna point out some fruits and stuff grown in Hawaii, a lot of people ask like how pineapples and bananas grow, and I’m going to show you guys a couple of native plants while we up there, yeah? So bananas, this is how it grows, first off, starting off, it starts off with a flower underneath every leaf there is seeds of bananas. Pineapples, a lot of people think it grows in trees, 9u know it doesn’t grow in trees, it grows just like this, see them? So it takes about a year and a half for a pineapple to be matured and ready to eat, same thing with the bananas, a little over a year. So, Maui Gold pineapple, the most sweetest pineapple in the world, cut then just like this inside, so you cut around the core like this, and slice.
06:46-07:13 KEIKO: This is the 9th rainiest place in the world, 600 inches a year. We’re going to yell as loud as you can just for a quick second and stop. Just not longer than a second, if you do it longer than a second you won’t be able to hear the echo. Ok, one, two, three go!
KEIKO: You guys all ready to ride again, get back on the ATV’s and ride? Alright, let’s go!
07:44-08:09 JON: Not only was it an exhilarating ATV adventure up here, but I also got a nice little spa treatment, they say mud is good for the skin, right?
JON: Now you guys do other tours, right?
KEIKO: Yeah, I mean we do a waterslide tour that you didn’t experience but, uh, the first tours are driving like how we just did and the last two tours is a waterslide tour incorporated with the tours, it’s sliding and the rest is driving.
JON: Tell us the story, walk us through the story.
NATHAN: Our story is a journey of all the polynesian islands, from start to finish. You get the costumes, the songs, the dances, a real touch of what the history is about.
08:47-08:59 JON: What is the significance of the fire knife dance within the luau?
TAVITA: The fire knife is originally from the island of Samoa, actually it started out with just the knife dance and the fire was added on later.
09:05-09:06 Next Stop logo
09:07-09:22 JON: If you are a golf enthusiast there is 14 courses to choose from on Maui. Our favorite is the Kaanapali golf courses that is located in the heart of Kaanapali. With over 45 years of tournament history, legends like Jack and Arnie have played here, and so can you. For more information visit kaanapaligolfcourse.com and play golf.
09:23-09:24 Next Stop logo
09:26-09:30 JON: Coming up on Next Stop, a cultural experience at a world class resort.
09:32-09:33 Next Stop logo
09:35-10:27 JON: There are many beautiful hotels and resorts to stay at on Maui, we chose the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas. A AAA 4 diamond resort located right on Kaanapali beach. The lobby is warm and inviting and the rooms are gorgeous. Each villa has it’s own famous Westin heavenly bed, a fully equipted kitchen, flat screen tv’s, and what I love, a whirlpool bathtub. And for those of us that don’t like to travel with a lot of bags, no worries. Each unit also has it’s own washer and dryer, so leave that excess baggage at home. The 26 acre property at the Maui Westin Villas is spectacular, they have 6 pools, one of them has a waterslide which me and my crew totally dig, one of the pools for the keikis, or children, even has it’s own pirate ship, aaargh.
And if you just want to chill out and hang out in the lazy river pool, or take a stroll along the oceanfront walking and jogging trail. But the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort is much more than your average resort, it is a cultural experience.
JON: It all starts in the morning with the conch shell blowing, what is the significance of the conch shell and the chanting?
MAKA: Thank you.
JON: I loved that. Sustainability is a big topic here today, Hawaii being the most isolated land mass in the world you need to live off the land still, tell us about that.
MAKA: Actually back in the old days of Hawaii, or pupuna, or our ancestors, that is the lessons that we have been taught because it is always, we become one with hapuhana moku with is earth mother. We believe that when we take care of earth mother she will take care of us.
JON: And there’s lots of different vegetation on property here, you have a botanical tour, correct?
MAKA: Yes, absolutely, we do have a botaniocal tour, we have one of our associates that take our owners and guests on a short, maybe about an hour tour on our property. We have what we call laoa, which is medicinal plants that we grow, and we explain what the scientific name, the common name for it, and what we use it for.
JON: Well I love to participate, and I’m thinking I need to immerse myself in hawaiian culture here on property, what would you recommend?
MAKA: I would recommend that you really immerse yourself with coconut weaving that we have every Fridays here on our property.
JON: I like it, I’ve never done it. Time to try something new.
12:22-12:47 JON: Hey kids, hey Mika, Maka tells me you are going to teach us how to weave from the coconut tree.
MIKA: Hey brother.
JON: Maka tells me you are going to teach us how to weave from the coconut tree.
MIKA: Yeah, put your left hand like this, some of you might have two left hands, but grab your left hand like this, your other left…there you go, this left. Grab the wide of the first leaf, drape it over your left hand just like this, make it so it goes across your hand.
MIKA: Good job brother!
JON: Thanks man!
SARAH: The spa really embodies all three of those. With wellness, yoga classes, fitness classes, pilates. For relaxation and rejuvenation, some massage, facial body treatments really help you relax your mind and body.
JON: Now your spa is very beautiful, you’ve got a tree house suite, tell us about that.
SARAH: The tree house suite overlooks our meditation lounge, you can here the bamboo swaying, the birds chirping, you get all those outdoor elements.
JON: Now for couples you guys have some special programs as well.
SARAH: We do, we have a couples instructional massage, so that is a therapist takes a couple up to our room, and it’s a great bonding experience, the husband is learning how to give a really good foot massage, the wife is learning how to do a really good shoulder and scalp massage.
JON: And then after they are done with all that they can chillax as I like to say, in relaxation lounge which is outdoors, but kind of private and secluded as well. Well, I’m going to do something different, I’m going to get my spa on later on but what do you suggest?
SARAH: I would say for wellness to try the paddle boarding, you can do it right outside the resort.
14:04-14:31 JON: So Sarah mentioned stand up paddle boarding as something I should do for my self relaxation rejuvenation and I think it’s a good idea because its really kind of the sport of the people, it’s really not that difficult, everybody is doing it here in Hawaii, all ages. Here’s the 101, grab your paddle, grab your board, paddle out to some smooth water, paddle out on your knees nice and easy. When you find some smooth water, stand up with your feet about shoulder length apart, and start paddling. While you are paddling, bend your knees, you get a nice core workout, it’s actually a lot of fun.
14:34-15:34 JON: We have many dining options here at the Westin Maui Villas and one of my favorites is Pulehu.
CALEB: One of the things that chef Francois has really brought to the table is, he’s all about sustainability. We take traditional italian recipes and we infuse them with local flair.
JON: tell us abut the other options for dining here, in addition to Pulehu which is fantastic.
CALEB: Well in addition to Pulehu, we also have Oceans Pool Bar & Grill and on Fridays they do a live sushi demonstration and they have live music there, And we’ve also got Paiolo, that’s Maui’s only ocean front sports bar which is great.
JON: We love that, but what are we going to be cooking tonight, because I’ actually going to get in the kitchen with chef Francois.
CALEB: Honestly I’m sure he’s got some tricks up his sleeve, you know he’s going kinda trial by fire with you.
JON: What are we going to make here?
FRANCOIS: We’re going to make clam linguini, so bring some of those nice beautiful clams, and we just let them steam just for a second.
JON: Just pour it in?
FRANCOIS: Just pour it in, nice little flame going.
JON: Merci Beaucoup!
FRANCOIS: Bon Appetit!
TUFFY: Well the new thing is for this season is the wheel of death, or the wheel of destiny, which I prefer calling it rather.
JON: I like the wheel of destiny too.
TUFFY: It’s really exciting, its about 50 feet high, or performer runs around the outside of it doing tricks, he does a flip off it, it’s really cool.
JON: So how many families are involved in the performance, because I see mothers, daughters, kids, its a big family.
TUFFY: The circus is about family, and most circus performers grew up passing it on to the next generation so, its almost all families.
17:27-17:59 JON: You surprised everybody tonight with this. I thought it was an act because you guys are performers, but it’s not an act.
JON: You guys got engaged tonight.
JON: That is awesome! Congradulations, this was a rare, I was sitting in the back row going ‘is it real, is it a joke, is it real or part of the performance’
SIMON: I’ve been thinking about it for years, and we’ve looked at rings before and I found this one and I really liked it and I just felt like it was time, I felt like it was right.
JON: Congradulations you guys, the best of luck to you and what a great show you have thanks for having us tonight.
BOTH: Thank you
18:05-18:06 Next Stop logo
18:08- 18:58 JON: For our local music segment we are in Wialea at Mulligans on the Blue for award winning music by Willie K
JON: Irish publicans Mike O’Dwyer brings Ireland to Maui here at Mulligans.
MIKE: And a full irish pub at that, with real Guiness.
JON: Is this real Guiness, straight from Dublin?
MIKE: Straight from St James’s cave.
JON: Nice! So this is going to be the real thing.
MIKE: There’s nothing like it, real irish pub with real irish people drinking real irish Guiness.
JON: What’s it like to have a guy like Willie K perform here regularly?
MIKE: To have a hawaiian man playing irish music in an irish pub…my dad came here and he said he had to travel 8,000 miles to see somebody sing Danny Boy properly, so we are honored, this is kinda his home on Maui.
19:21-19:55 JON: Music is very important in the hawaiian islands and everywhere you go, everybody knows Willie K, and for good reason, your music is awesome.
WILLIE:Thank you, Aloha.
JON: Aloha. How did you get started, how did it all begin for you?
WILLIE: Brother I been born with it. You know, parents were musicians so everybody else that was born right after that was, became great musicians.
JON: So did you sit around with the family and play growing up?
WILLIE: We still do that.
JON: That’s awesome.
WILLIE: We still do that.
JON: You have your ohana with you tonight you’ve got your cute little girl.
WILLIE: We try to make the atmosphere more family like
20:1620:29 JON: You play amazing hawaiian music but you rock out to other stuff, I’ve heard you do opera.
WILLIE: Yeah, well it’s all part of the entertaining process, you give them everything you possibly can so that they remember you and love you and tell everybody else, wherever they come from.
21:26-21:52 JON: Mahalo for tuning into Next Stop from magical Maui, we’ve barely scratched the surface of this lovely island. There is so much to see and do, so much culture to experience, we hope we have enticed you book your next trip to Maui. Thanks to our Maui show sponsors, the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, Alaska Airlines and the Alaska Airlines Visa signature card. Also thanks to our long time partners, London Influence and Latitudes. We’ll see you next time on Next Stop, where will we take you next? Make good memories everybody.
Next Stop: Puerto Vallarta (TRANSCRIPTION)
00:00-00:05 JON: Hola! Me llamo Jon Olson, bien venidos a to Next Stop from the most authentic Mexican beach destination.
00:06-00:12 Intro rolls
00:13-00:40 JON: Welcome to Puerto Vallarta, or as the locals say, Puerto Vallarta. Sure they’ve got world class beaches here, but on this episode we will bring you authentic mexican culture. We’ll attend a fiesta, we will bring you local music, and we will take you high above the city to San Sebastian, and old mining town that hasn’t changed in about 200 years. Puerto Vallarta exudes a warmth, it’s all about it’s people, the locals are wonderful. We’ll introduce you to some of those people and bring you their great stories. This a wonderful show, you are gonna love it. Gracias for tuning in, the fun starts now!
00:41-00:42 Next Stop logo
00:50-00:58 JON: Lot’s of cool activities to do in and outside of Puerto Vallarta. Today we are going to do one of my personal favorites, we’re going ziplining, whoooo!
1:02-01:35 RICARDO: Ok guys, good morning everybody, welcome, welcome, to Canopy Tours in this paradise, the best canopy in Puerto Vallarta, ok? This name is pulley, but my partner and me we changed the name. We call you Harley Davidson Mexicana because he is very fast out there. To set the strap goes on the cable behind the pulley and you other one goes on the line. When you see this signal from my partner, that signal it means break. It is very easy, when you harley is low and hard, exactly like this, side to side, back and forth.
01:42-01:59 RICARDO: When you come into Mexico, you say hasta la vista baby, you know? And this canopy we change it a little bit. We say hasta la vista maybe!
JON: Just maybe
RICARDO: See you guys, bye bye. Whooo hoo!
02:08-02:15 RICARDO: Who’s the man?
RICARDO: Everyone. Knuckle.
JON: Fist pump baby! That will get your blood pumping.
RICARDO: Oh yeah.
02:23-02:42 RICARDO: This game we call El Mirador. Mirador it means the view. Amigo, this line is the last one. It’s kind of 15 minutes long, it’s a long one.
RICARDO: Yeah, so amigo’s please, I recommend you don’t take a siesta on this one, ok? Open your eyes and look in front.
JON: Ah! Oh ho ho, woooo hooo!
03:08-03:19 JON: We have done a lot of ziplines, we’ve done several in Hawaii, this was absolutely of of our favorites though, and you know why? The ziplines were amazing but you were an awesome guide.
RICARDO: Oh yeah.
JON: And you’re fun!
RICARDO: Yeah, I’m fine.
JON: Muchas Gracias.
RICARDO: Nice to meet you.
03:26-03:27 Next Stop logo
03:36-03:42 JON: Let’s experience authentic Mexican culture with Vallarta Adventures ‘Rhythyms of the Night’.
04:12-05:38 JON: ‘Rhythyms of the Night’ is another amazing celebration of authentic Mexican culture. Oscar, what a beautiful performance!
OSCAR: As you can see this is some magic island.
JON: This this is a magic island, this is what you call the mexican fantasy island, right?
OSCAR: The mexican fantasy island.
JON: From the minute you get of the boat, it’s a nice hour and a half boat ride, some margaritas, the crew is dancing for you , having a good time. But the minute you get off the boat it all these torches and candles everywhere.
JON: It is magic!
JON: And let’s talk about your food too, because your food is incredible. From Venezuelan chef’s right?
OSCAR: yeah, yeah, yeah.
JON: You don’t expect that from the buffets, but the food, beautiful.
OSCAR: It’s like, yeah, I think one of the most important things on this tour and also for Vallarta Adventures is the quality of the service and the food. Like, all the beverage as you saw, we have our own water, we bottle our own water, so we take care of the environment so it’s like a complete experience to come to ‘Rhythyms of the Night’ and all of our tour also for Vallarta Adventures.
JON: Tell us about the story in the the performance, it’s a love story.
OSCAR: Yeah, it’s a love story. It’s a union between two ethnics and sisters dreams, and when they get together it’s uh, from two different towns of our ancestors get together, all what is involved in the celebration that we saw.
05:45-05:49 JON: When Next Stop returns, one of our crew members goes to jail.
05:53-05:54 Next Stop logo
06:01-06:37 JON: We have a special treat, we are taking a step back in time to an old silver mining village called San Sebastian, 1,400 meters above sea level. It is a gorgeous day. Gabriel is the man who knows all about this town.
GABRIEL: This is a town, a colonial town found in 1605. It is a mining town, mostly it was silver, silver mine, and a little gold. They were mining if I can just point you there, it was on a very high point there, the high of the peak.
JON: That’s very high.
GABRIEL: It is very high, it is 4,000 feet more than here.
06:40-07:43 GABRIEL: We still make the silver here in San Sebastian so now he is melting silver, then he is going to have a mold, reproduce or make like the little pieces to work with.
JON: So this is the loneliest place in town, this is the jail.
GABRIEL: Yes, this is the jail.
JON: There is nobody there?
GABRIEL: We don’t have any crime, it’s just using for when there is parties, for a, you know, a guy who has to much to drink.
JON: Too much to drink? They stick them in here?
GABRIEL: Yes, stick in here to calm down and not to give some troubles.
JON: Well last night my crew had too many cervesa’s, and one or two shot’s, maybe too much tequila. Can we put one of my crew members in jail?
GABRIEL: Sure, yes.
JON: I think we should. Which one? You pick.
GABRIEL: This guy, this guy.
JON: OK. Ben, hand your camera off, your going to jail buddy. Too many tequila’s last night. Ben had too many tequilas!
BEN: Oh Mio Dios!
JON: Ok, we’ll see you next year. Come back and get him in a year maybe?
07:44-08:04 JON: This place screams history.
JON: This is the church.
GABRIEL: It was a start building in the 17th century as a little chapel when some persons came going forth they have just been doing additions and tower, and doing some bells.
08:05-08:28 JON: So what’s next?
GABRIEL: We are going to visit Hotel del Puente, used to be one of the oldest houses in town also.
JON: This might be one of the most romantic hotel we have ever had on the show. Look at this place.
GABRIEL: It is yes. It is a house, it is about 400 years old this house. That is the original key for the doors.
JON: Let’s go check this room out.
08:31-09:04 JON: Nice! You’ve been here now for a few years, you’re not originally from here. What’s it like to move from the big city and live here in San Sebastian?
GABRIEL: It was an incredible experience. And I quit doing a lot of things in the city, people they just thought that I was pretty mad about it. They are saying ‘You used to quit all this?’ I used to have a nice life you know, but a stressed life.
JON: Quality of life is definitely good here. You’ve been an excellent tour guide.
GABRIEL: Oh thank you very much.
JON: Thank you for showing us your wonderful town.
GABRIEL: It was my pleasure.
09:10-10:21 JON: Located just a short jaunt from San Sebastian town is Hacienda San Sebastian, we’re going to learn abut tequila. Tequila is a family business for Antonio. Antonio, thanks for having us here to your hacienda, this is a cool place. But we’re going to learn about tequila. How do you make it?
ANTONIO: Oh very easy!
JON: Oh come on, it can’t be that easy!
ANTONIO: We just wait for the plants be ready 8 years. And then we’re going to cut it, we’re going to cook it, we cook it for 3 days in the oven. Then we are going to distill, when we distill we distill twice and basically of the distillation we are going to get those aromas and taste from the plant, and the alcohol. We’re going to put the tequila we want in our mouth, but as soon as we put it we’re going to close our lips, with the lips closed we are going to swallow.
JON: Ok, I’m going to watch you.
ANTONIO: Alright, good. Very good. I’m getting better.
JON: I’ve never had tequila like that.
ANTONIO: Oh, really?
JON: Usually I just shoot it back.
ANTONIO: Really fast? Oh no.
JON: But this is too good.
ANTONIO: Well the other one is to kill you, this one is tequila!
JON: I like it.
11:09-11:10 Next Stop logo
11:20-11:59 JON: We are in the heart of Puerto Vallarta, El Malecon. This is where everything really happens. I’m with Alfonzo, let’s talk about this area right here because this is where it all happens, for 40, 50 years the fisherman bring the local fish in, and they’ve been coming here for 40, 50 years, and they are still coming here. This place looks like it hasn’t changed in 40 or 50 years.
ALFONZO: And that is very interesting because they blend or they mix with tourists, local people, so still we have these places in Vallarta you know like…
JON: And not just the tourists, the pelicans! The pelican’s also hang out here.
ALFONZO: Um hmm, that’s right.
JON: And they like, they are very patient and they are good with people. I’ve never been so close to a pelican in my life.
12:04-12:20 JON: Up and down El Malecon there’s sculptures, there is art. This is the social place for the city, right?
ALFONZO: Right, and as you said El Malecon, it’s like the most, one of the nicest places, the public places where everyone comes to, El Malecon.
12:25-13:10 JON: And this sculpture happens to be one of the more famous ones.
GARY: This one is called ‘Nostagia’ by Ramiz Barquet, an artist who died in July at 90 and it relates to his romance with his wife Nelly. They tried to get married when they were teenagers, the parents separated them. 27 years later after having married other people, raising children and divorcing their spouses, they bumped into each other in a flower market in Mexico City on the day before mothers day, and rekindled the romance. Eventually it led to them sitting on a bench talking about what would have happened if they had gotten married when they were teenagers, and that inspired him to both propose and make this sculpture.
JON: Oh my God, that;s deep!
13:17-14:02 JON I talked to Gary earlier and he told us this…
NELLY: Is the story of our life. This ‘Nostalgia’ it reminds me much, much of what is part of my life.
JON: And you sat on a bench and you talked about what it might have been had you been together, and then you ended up together.
JON: Very few people get to live a love story like that and have a legacy to leave behind, this is beautiful. Thanks for having us at your restaurants, which is one of the most tradidtional restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, right?
NELLY: Right. We have kept it for 32 years.
JON: You’ve been in Sports Illustrated, you’ve been in Esquire magazine, you and your ex husband. I can’t imagine…you are so beautiful today, what you must have looked like back in those days, I probably would have fallen in love with you.
14:23-16:09 JON: The Puerto Vallarta art scene is incredibly alive and well here and unfortunately a few years ago Puerto Vallarta lost one of their favorite sons, but he wasn’t from here, right Cathy?
CATHY: No, he was from France. He starts to paint when he was 7 years old, you know, and he loved to paint and even his family was always behind him, and when he arrived I think the first really professional thing he did was in St. Tropez when he first moved there. And then after, he just wanted to see the world. I think now you can see it in his paintings, you know he went to Africa, he went to Asia. When he landed in Puerto he said that’s where he wants to live. The peace here in this house he found the peace he needed to paint and even the people, living with Mexicans is very special. And I mean it was very special to live here in Puerto Vallarta, that’s how his art grown. He could paint everything mexican, market scenes, the children’s, animals.
JON: What was the one I I like the most? What’s the title?
CATHY: The Good Life!
JON: The Good Life.
CATHY:The good life, that’s a special one.
JON: He liked the good life, I would have gotten along with him.
CATHY: Yeah, I’m sure, I’m sure you would.
JON: This is a lovely tribute.
CATHY: Yes, yes.
JON: I wanted something special for the kids, especially for the kids you know, to always try not to be, I’m going to get emotional.
JON: That’s ok.
CATHY: Yes, I don’t want them to forget their father, you know, so it was one of the way and uh, for them to always think about him.
JON: Well we are very honored that you shared this with us. I wish we could have met him but his artwork lives on and it will forever.
CATHY: Yes, he was very, very well, very loved here in Vallarta. Everybody misses him.
JON: He always will be.
21:53-21:54 next Stop logo
NEXT STOP: KELOWNA, BC (TRANSCRIPTION)
00:00-00:04 JON: Hi I’m Jon Olson. Welcome to Next Stop, from the Okanagan Valley.
00:05-00:10 Next Stop Intro rolls
00:11-00:34 JON: Kelowna British Columbia is a city full of pleasant surprises. In the past several years almost 200 wineries have sprung up, and with wineries comes fine foods and a rich culture. Less than an hour from Kelowna is BC’s second largest ski resort, Big White, a world class ski resort offering all the awesomeness that you can experience in a winter wonderland. Our featured band, Kelowna’s own Rowdy Men. The fun starts now!
00:35-00:36 Next Stop logo
00:44-01:09 JON: Some people kick their day off at the gym, we kick our day off snowshoeing with Ed from Monashee Adventures. I invited my friend Catherine along from Tourism Kelowna, she’s from these parts so she knows what she is doing, but I need a little snowshoeing 101.
ED: These are quite easy, most modern snowshoes, the idea is you wanna generally be your toe about 2 fingers from the front loops. You’re on a pivot so these have a nice pivot action to them so you have a more natural walking motion with the snowshoe.
01:14-01:45 ED: Guys, as we head off the trail, notice the signage here, a lot of the different animals we will see, fishers, squirrels, even black bears in season, they are hibernating right now so…nice fresh snow today so every track we’ve seen today is fresh and here is the first one. Here we have a squirrel. Squirrels are quite interesting how they move along, a 5 toed animal, you can actually see the 5 toes in imprint in the snow.
01:50-02:17 ED: Hey guys, we found a really unique track here, of a Least Weasel. Sort of like a ferret in size generally, they weigh about 2 or 3 ounces, quite light but right at the base of that tree well there he’s got a tunnel going down into his hollow, his sleeping area. We’ve been hiking along a pretty packed down trail from a few people this weekend, we burn about 400 calories an hour doing a packed trail, but let’s head off into some fresh powder and we can double our calorie burn.
02:24-02:38 JON: Ok, you’ve probably seen snowshoeing before, most people have seen that, burned a lot of calories, that was a lot of fun. But here’s something I can almost guarantee you’ve never seen, snow biking.
ED: In half an hour you’d swap out your back wheel, put on your disc brake on this unit.
JON: Awesome, so show us how it’s done.
ED: OK, so off we go.
02:54-03:22 ED: Alright, let’s try the skis now, see what they feel like.
JON: Let’s convert this baby!
ED: So here we’ve got the skis on there now, so this is a little different, we don’t have the rolling of the front tire so big thing is, no real quick motions, you kind of flow more.
JON: Now you have a patented close you like to do on every tour, don’’t ya? That’s what I hear.
ED: Well yeah, I’m kinda known for my ‘Monashee, Monashee!’
03:24-03:25 Next Stop logo
03:30-03:40 JON: Mission Hill Family Estate is world renowned for it’s award winning wines, it’s stunning setting and architecture, and it’s cuisine. Let’s learn about their wines and dive into one of their cooking classes.
03:44-04:58 JON: This winery, this structure, this setting, the architecture is just amazing.
JESSE: Anthony really wanted a winery that would be recognized on a global scale not just within Canada. The architect calls himself a second glance architect, being every time you come here you see something in a different light, or a different perspective, the vista’s playing off the architecture in a different way, and it’s truly world class.
JON: Something that is new for us, not new for you cuz you guys have won several awards, is your ice wine. We went out, and went into the vineyards are were actually able pick some of these grapes.
JESSE: Well that’s a great experience to do once! Ice wine I really consider Canada’s gift to the wine world. Ice wine was first established in Germany in the late 1700’s, you are really looking for a balance of sweet and sour and a lot of versatility as far as food pairing goes with, or just dessert in a glass as you’ll see in a sec here.
JON: I’ve never tasted it, without further ado! Wow, that’s really sweet. So do you guys actually have cooking classes twice a week during certain times of the year?
JESSE: Yes, the cooking class will take any sort of different theme, whether it is italian, or indian or what not and start with a specific wine and try and create a dish around it.
05:01-05:21 MATT: We offer, actually offer 2 different styles of classes. This one will be entirely demonstration and whether it be a class or in the terrace or alfresco dining environment, all of our food is actually built around our wines. That is one of the keys, because tonight we will actually use both of those 2 beautiful sort of experiences if you will, both going onto the beautiful palette.
05:23-05:35 JON: Many of you can find Mission Hill wines in your local markets, but if you can’t find them locally I know one place where you’re guaranteed to find them, right here at the world class, state of the art Mission Hill winery located in Kelowna British Columbia. It’s well worth your visit.
05:40-05:45 JON: When Next Stop returns, a Kelowna overview and Canada’s most visited winery.
05:47-05:48 Next Stop logo
05:57-07:20 JON: Charles from London Influence in Portland Oregon, th guy who takes care of my locks told me about a legend here in Okanagan Lake much similar to the Loch Ness legend, now Catherine from Tourism Kelowna is going tell us all about it.
CATHERINE: You can’t talk about Ogo Pogo without first talking about Okanagan Lake. It’s a very long, 68 miles from end to end, was formed by the glaciers and it’s very deep. From the top of the mountains around us to the bottom of the lake is actually deeper than the Grand Canyon.
CATHERINE: That gives the faint possibility that there could be something in this lake that we don’t really understand.
JON: Recently you guys had a little bit of a sighting though, right?
CATHERINE: We did. In fact we get usually about one a year, maybe a couple extra.
JON: After some of the wine from all the wineries on the hill.
CATHERINE: The more wine, the more sightings.
JON: But you actually got this on camera though, you have pictures of this.
CATHERINE: Yeah, we do. We had a resident who saw a very strange water spout in the middle of the lake for no apparent reason and she took a picture.
JON: The waterfront is beautiful. Our hotel, Manteo Resort is a first class hotel, you just wouldn’t expect that right here.
CATHERINE: Yeah it is, it’s an absolutely stunning resort hotel, and right on the lake as you can see, very central, lots of wineries. The other great thing about the Manteo is the Wild Apple Restaurant, and their chef, Berard Casavan is a BC superstar chef.
JON: And it’s right on the lake too, so it’s beautiful. Now I want to see more of Kelowna, because we just got here and we’ve never been to Kelowna.
CATHERINE: Well come on, I’ll show you.
07:29-08:27 JON: Kelowna means grizzly bear which is the significance of this right here, right? And this is relatively new.
CATHERINE: It is, we just opened this park where we are standing, Stuart Park, in, just a couple of months ago actually. We’ve got City Hall across the street, we’ve got the downtown core and the cultural district, so we are right in the middle of it all. The cultural district was at one time the heart of the fruit industry, and the packing house kind of quarter of Kelowna.
JON: And the fruit industry kind of grew into the grape industry which has grown into an explosion of wineries here.
CATHERINE: Absolutely. So it was, the soils around here are ideal for growing pretty much anything.
JON: Besides that, what is unique to Kelowna? What is different about this town than maybe say, Vancouver BC or other towns in Canada.
CATHERINE: The climate is very different, the lifestyle too, lots of outdoor activities, mountain biking, skiing, any winter sport that you can think of, snowshoeing, snow biking, whatever it happens to be, and you can do it right here.
08:32-08:51 JON: I’ve never been to Kelowna so to learn about this area I went to alaskaair.com and clicked on city guides under the destinations tab. I was surprised to learn that Kelowna was built around the fruit growing industry which explains it’s many heralded wineries. For more information on Kelowna and other Alaska Airline destinations, visit alaskaair.com today and click on destinations.
08:52-08:53 Next Stop logo
08:54-10:57 JON: We are at Canada’s busiest winery, Summerhill Pyramid winery. I’m going to go ahead and say that this is the most unique wine tasting we’ve ever done, and we’ve done lots of wineries. Ezra, thanks for having us.
EZRA: It’s my pleasure.
JON: Take us back to the 1980’s when you moved out here, you were 6 years old you moved out here and your father had a vision. What was happening?
EZRA: He did. At the time his vision was to retire and become an organic farmer but it evolved as we settled here and started growing grapes and realized the potential this region had for producing world class wines
JON: So what you guys do at your…your philosophy is a little bit different than what other people do.
EZRA: Well this place is based on passion an nothing else.
JON: Why a pyramid?
EZRA: It’s just an extension of the same philosophy, you know, wine is alive and everything we do you know, vibrates and affects the whole world around us, the natural ratios of Pi and Fi are integrated into this building, it’s actually aligned to the stars, true north.
JON: Do you think that affects the wine?
EZRA: I absolutely do. yeah. I totally think it does, and we have done years of taste testing.
JON: And you actually won a huge award with this one that we are going to taste, tell us about that, that’s pretty amazing.
EZRA: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, this is Cipes Gabriel, it’s 100% chardonnay grown right here in our Kelowna Vineyard right where we are standing. So I don’t want to lead you and give you tasty notes before you try it, so just put your nose in there.
JON: It’s nice. It’s different. What am I tasting that is different in this?
EZRA: Well this wine had extended surly aging, note of sort of brioche and biscuit.
JON: Yeah, yeah, much more full.
EZRA: But the fruit really comes through and that is what’s so amazing about the Okanagan Valley.
JON: Well this was definitely one of our more unique tastings, and thank you for putting this together for us, it was awesome.
EZRA: My pleasure
JON: Congratulations on all your success. I think you guys made the right choice moving from New York to Kelowna.
EZRA: Oh yeah, I like it here.
JON: Yeah, it’s beautiful.
11:08-12:36 JON: Less than an hour away from Kelowna and voila, here we are at the Big White ski resort. Katie, I hear you have like a great itinerary planned for us, starting out with this awesome party! For us?
KATIE: Welcome to the crown jewel of the Okanagan Jon! We heard you guys were coming so we threw together 30 of the Okanagan’s finest wineries and we’re going to release the reds tonight.
JON: Ok, this isn’t for us. What is this actually?
KATIE: It’s actually, we call it the 3rd annual big reds at the Big White. So all the Okanagan wineries, we select 30 of the finest and they come up and they are releasing their reds tonight and we also are going to have many of the restaurants doing more intimate wine pairings with some great dinners.
JON: Well we had a good time at the wineries in Kelowna, its amazing. But we’re here to enjoy your winter wonderland.
KATIE: A lot of people don’t know we are actually Canada’s largest fully ski in, ski out resort. We can accommodate 17,000 people on the mountain. So, if you are the avid skier and just want a clean bed to lay in at night, you know, a small room, we’ve got your full service hotel rooms, self contained condominiums.
JON: What does Big White have that maybe other ski resorts don’t have, what makes it number one in North America?
KATIE: We have an outdoor skating rinks, we have an outdoor tubing park that we are going to let loos on tomorrow night.people think its just for the kids but its for the adults as well. We do horse drawn sleigh rides, dog sledding we actually let you stand behind and mush a dog sled. We have a signature drink Jon that is only served at Big White anywhere in the world. All I’m going to tell you is head upstairs, Snowshoe Sams, and check it out. I’m going to meet you downstairs and we’ve got one heck of a night in store for us.
JON: I’m game, cheers.
12:42-12:54 BARTENDER: Little marnier, little flame, little shotgun
12:58-13:329 JON: Ok so you guys know how to roll out the red carpet. First, you’ve got the wine reception, then the most amazing coffee drink I’ve maybe ever had and then this crazy white party inside here, you guys know how to do it right. Tomorrow what are we going to do, we’re going to ski, what else are we going to do?
KATIE: We’re going to hit the slopes all day tomorrow, just when you think your body is going to give out, we’re going to go climb the brand new 60 foot ice climbing tower. Once the sun goes down we’re going to pretend we are kids and we’re going to hit the tubing park.
JON: Oh, I love it, sounds great. I suggest we go back in and play with the kids though.
KATIE: Sounds good, let’s head in and see where the night takes us.
14:08-14:09 Next Stop logo
14:10-14:53 JON: Today on Big White we are kicking it off with downhill skiing, and some snowboarding. Josh here is the director of snow sports, and before we get kicking off with a lesson for me because I need some pointers, it’s called Big White for a reason. How big is it?
JOSH: Well there is about 3,000 skiable acres.
JON: How high are we up here, are we at the top right now?
JOSH: We are pretty close to the top, the top of the mountain is about 7800 feet, and the top of the top lift is 7600 feet. Do you see this stuff behind us here? These are what we call snow ghosts, that is one of the things that we are famous for.
JON: Those are way cool, how are these formed? Are these…what’s underneath these things, trees, what?
JOSH: Yeah,they are super old trees actually, some of these trees will be 2, 3 hundred years old, they are like concrete.
JON: I’ve skied for a while but I’m sure I have some bad habits, and just we’ll come back up and meet at the same place and tell me what I’m doing wrong.
JOSH: Sure, I’ll do my best, let’s go.
15:03-15:22 JON: Alright Josh, I’m a big boy, I can take it.
JOSH: I think it’s pretty good skiing you know but it was a little bit old school, so you know what we’re going to do, we’re going to adjust your stance a little bit. Pick up one of your legs, it’ll go right? But it’s not real easy. Now drop your shoulders, now pick up one of your legs, you see how much easier that is?
JON: Yeah I do.
JOSH: Right, so that’s going to give you some mobility, so that’s what we’re going to do down here.
15:34-15:43 JOSH: That’s good, that’s looking good Jon. Just keep those shoulders down over your knees and that’s going to help your legs move a little bit easier and you can take advantage of those awesome skis you are on.
JON: Thanks buddy, that definitely worked.
15:45-15:58 JON: Ok, you guys all know Ben our camera guy. Ben, meet my new friend from Australia, Olivia. She’s going to give you some pointers on your snowboarding.
OLIVIA: I haven’t seen you ride before, so maybe we’ll ride down this little section down here and I’ll watch you and when we get down there I’ll give you some pointers.
BEN: Alright, sounds like a plan.
16:07-16:35 OLIVIA: Umm, do you feel maybe a little shaky on the one side?
BEN: Yeah. a little rusty when I carve on the toe side.
OLIVIA: On your toe side. So when you are coming across the slope, kind of get down, open your knees and sink into your board.
JON: Josh, Olivia, thank you very much. Ben, did you learn?
BEN: I learned!
JOSH: Well I’m glad you guys had a lot of fun but you know whats really fun, you should head down to the bottom of the gondola at Happy Valley and check out the 60 foot ice climbing tower.
16:37-16:38: Next Stop logo
16:43-17:36 JON: Hey Jim, I’m Jon.
JIM: Hey Jon.
JON: I gotta admit, I’ve never done this before and I’m a little bit nervous but at least I look the part, Tony got me dialed in, how do I look?
JIM: I think you’re looking good, we’ll check that just before your climb.
JIM: The object is, hit these things on top of ledges whenever possible rather than if you hit it here, it will bounce off, if you hit it on top of a ledge it will stay. The way these ice tools work is you put your hand in the wrist loop, right on your wrist because you want most of the weight on the wrist, not squeezing. You do one turn and grab the bottom of the shaft, And I’ve shown you how to whack it in, use those front points, have fun.
JIM: Now right foot also over on that ledge, there ya go, that’s it. That’s even better.
17:48-17:52 JON: This is as far as I can take it. Let’s let a pro show us how to really do it.
18:06-18:25 JON: OK, so we know Big White has awesome skiing and snowboarding, but it is the number one family resort in North America meaning there is lots to do for kids, and let’s face it, I’m just a big kid. And away we go, woo hoo!
18:52-19:08 JON: I don’t know who has more fun, the adults or the kids, I’m guessing the adults. What a fantastic day on Big White, skiing, snowboarding, climbing the ice wall, tubing, and experiencing their culture. It definitely lives up to the billing of the number one ski resort in North America, you guys gotta check this out.
19:21-19:22 Next Stop logo
19:55-20:12 JON: We are with Kelowna’s own Rowdy Men. What’s the music scene like here in Kelowna?
ARCH: Oh its absolutely diverse. Diverse. Country and western, you have all different genre’s of music. And that was a word, genre, You notice that? I slipped that in as if I know what I was talking about.
JON: You guys sound smart right now.
20:41-21:08 JON: What do you love most about Kelowna, this is a beautiful city, we love it.
LEO: Anything you want to do, anything you want to do be it music or sports, indoor, outdoors, Kelowna has it. It’s one of the few places where you can go on the water.
ARCH: Tell him Leo, tell him!
LEO: You can go on the water, you can go golfing, and you go skiing in the same day.
ARCH! In the same outfit!
JON: You know what, you earned your name, and I have got last thing to say, Slainte!