Top Customer Picks for Valentine’s Day Gifts
I know, I know. The 2011 holidays have just ended. We're all finally getting adjusted to writing 2012 at the end of our dates and most of us have whittled our list of resolutions down to 1 or 2 that we might keep up for another couple of weeks. It almost feels like there might be some time to take a deep breath and relax for a few minutes. Until you look at the calendar and realize that Valentine's Day is less that 4 weeks away!
Lucky for you (and yours), we've got you covered with a roundup of our most popular Valentine's Day Gifts. Whether you're looking for a gift that will give them a memorable experience or something that the two of you can do together, we have something that fits the bill:
New Food and Wine Experiences for the Holidays
Just before the holidays, Cloud 9 Living introduces a bundle of new Food and Wine Experiences, perfect for the foodies in your life. Whether they're in Austin or San Diego, Chicago or Boston, there's a little something new for everyone.
For the wine connoisseurs (or those who'd like to be), take a look at the Host a Wine Tasting Party in Chicago, where you and up to fourteen friends can gather in your own home to be wined and dined by a professional sommelier. The Sunset Wine Tasting Cruise in Los Angeles whisks guests to the Long Beach peninsula on a fully restored vintage sailboat, with appetizers paired to complement the four wine tastings. For a thorough introduction to the sommelier's world, check out Wine 101 in St. Louis, Portland or Denver, or get outdoors to the Private Hill Country Wine Tour in Austin's rolling, tree-dappled hills.
The Great Outdoors Series: Greater Chicago
Step off the pavement and onto this lakefront dinner cruise.
Denizens of and visitors to the Windy City are forgiven for forgetting that the city boasts more than its urban delights. With one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes on one side, and Midwestern fields rolling along the others, Greater Chicago holds more than funky food tours and cultural jaunts.
These five Cloud 9 adventures lead you off the beaten path and into the lesser-acknowledged nature of Chi-town.
1. Sunset Paddle on the Chicago River. Without wandering too far from the urban jungle, get a glimpse of nature’s best with this leisurely paddle down the Chicago River. Revel in ochre-hued sights of the city and river alike on fire, as sunset casts an orange glow on the glassy surfaces of the river and cityscape.
2. Intro to Sea Kayaking on Lake Michigan. No matter that the nearest ocean’s, oh, a good thousand miles away. With Lake Michigan lapping at the city’s coastline, you’ll have all the roomy blue you need to learn the basics of kayaking in open water.
3. Alaskan Sportfishing. Alright, so not technically in the Greater Chicago area, but if visions of one of the world’s wildest wildernesses keeps gnawing at you, take advantage of this Chicago departing point and set off for sights unseen. A grand adventure by anyone’s standards (and the Christmas gift for men of a lifetime), this sportfishing excursion lands you in first class lodging off the Kenai Peninsula, with guides leading the way into Trophy King Salmon and Halibut waters, panoramic views, and an open bar to boot.
Smooth as silk: Learn the art of sea kayaking.
4. Tandem Skydiving in Chicago. At a height of over fourteen-thousand feet, the world seems, indeed, your oyster. Take in views of the city skyline and surrounding terrain (imagine whole landscapes alight with fall color) all while testing your meddle as you step out of a perfectly good airplane—strapped to a seasoned instructor.
5. Chicago Dinner Cruise. For those who prefer a cocktail with their nature, this indulgent lakefront cruise combines the magic of open water with the dazzle of the nighttime cityscape. Dine by candlelight, marvel at the contrast of stars in the sky and city lights twinkling in the dark, and after that champagne’s had time to work, grab your date and mosey on out to the dance floor for a little romance.
Beat the Heat – Top Summer Experience Gifts
Kite boarding is a great way to get outside and do something new and fun
It’s summer! The sun is out! It all makes me want to—hole up in my apartment with the AC cranked reading Arctic Dreams and sipping iced coffee.
If you are one of the millions of Americans withering under the national heat wave, the idea of getting out and about in this stroke-inducing heat sounds about as appetizing as glacial sunbathing in winter Alaska. But, of course, Cloud 9 Living swoops into the rescue once again, with a few heat-resistant experiences to help you beat, or retreat, from the heat.
The Beach: As I mentioned previously, I’ve recently located down south, by some fluke within thirty minutes of the Atlantic coast. With temperatures here regularly inching toward one-oh-five, I escape to the beach at every opportunity—free afternoons, weekends, evenings after work. There, settled on the flat white sand with beach-goers cruising past on bicycles, the surf chiming, the pier bustling just down the way, even though the temperature decrease is minimal, the sensation is relief; a mini vacation.
Experience Gifts Aren’t Just For the Boys! Experiential Birthday Gifts for Her
We hope you’ve been exposed by now to the variety of birthday experience gifts we offer. Not merely confined to dune-buggy rides in Vegas and SoCal Sport-fishing trips, Cloud 9 brings you everything from spa pedicures to niche food tours to romantic hot-air balloon rides.
Which is to say, experience gifts aren’t just for the boys.
For Mom, there are food tours and hot air balloon rides to whisk her up and/or away, if only for a few hours at a time, both available across the country. Hot air balloon rides buoy her up for an awe-inspiring change of perspective, revealing the countryside in a distinctly different light—often with a champagne toast upon landing. For foodies and culture enthusiasts, local food tours lace the always-gratifying food couture tastings with snippets of local culture and history. Check out niches like New York’s NoLIta Ethnic Food Tour or San Fran’s Gourmet on Hays tour.
New Experience Gifts for July 2011
Taste the best food truck food in Philly on our newest tour
Foodies, Rejoice!
July brings ten, count them, ten! new food and wine experience gifts. From Philly to San Francisco, from Chinatowns to Little Italy’s across the country, culinary satiation is at hand for all.
On the East Coast, check out food tours like Washington D.C.’s U Street Corridor, Georgetown, and D.C. Food Trucks, where nibbling on Cuban sandwiches and Korean tacos, you’ll be introduced to the city’s burgeoning food truck scene. Bostonians and visitors alike welcome a new wine tour in Boston, exploring the North or South Ends, Harvard Square, or Backbay restaurants and wine bars, sampling various wines while getting a little history and culture to boot.
Sniff, Swirl, and Sip: Wine Tasting Experiences
Welcome to Wine Country.
Have you been on the road lately? Have you seen how many new wineries have popped up over the last decade, offering wine tastings and vineyard tours via roadside billboards in such unlikely locales as southwestern Michigan and southern Missouri? Well, I have. And after writing about vineyard packages and wine tastings over the last few months, I thought it was about time I climbed the hill and experienced first hand what this is all about.
Featured Provider – Food Tour Guide Becky Creighton
Colorado Food Tour Guide Becky Creighton
The Featured Experience Provider segment is a chance for us and our customers to get to know more about the incredible individuals that provide our experiences. They are the true masters of their craft, having years of experience providing customers an opportunity to check something off their bucket list. They are entrepreneurs who, in many cases, left steady jobs at large corporations to pursue the American Dream, creating thousands of unforgettable memories for many along the way.
Today we talk with one of our favorite Food Tour Guides, Becky Creighton, about her passion for food, why she started doing food tours for a living, and some of her favorite things about making a living giving food tours.
When & why did you start your company?
I started my company November 15, 2008 after realizing that technology sales no longer held my interest. I wanted to be excited about what I did when I woke up in the morning and was looking for that next opportunity. I started looking at what I was passionate about the most., which was food and wine. It has been for me for 15 years so I decided to create a business that introduced people to the culinary talent we have in Colorado...
New Experience Gifts – April 2011
Porsches, Paddling, and Private Vineyards, Oh, My!
Now that's a celebration.
With the world outside our windows growing greener every day, it’s time to get out and revel in the springtime sunshine. This month Cloud 9 Living introduces fifteen brand new experience gifts to get you and yours out the door.
Go, baby, go!
For the adrenaline junkies, Cloud 9 presents three new thrillers. Slip into the passenger seat of a 450-horse power GT3-RS Porsche for a few heart-racing laps around the track in the Porsche Thrill Ride in Las Vegas, or ditch the passenger seat for the driver’s seat in a San Francisco Formula Car racing experience. For the big kids still fascinated by heavy machinery, kick the CAT bulldozer into gear and start moving earth around with the Las Vegas Dig This! experience.
Take a Stroll
New Experience Gifts – March 2011
Brewery Tour Guide in Action
Cloud 9’s Got a Brand New Bag
This month, Cloud 9 Living adds eight new experience gifts to the goodie bag. From coast to coast, for foodies and fisherpeople alike, these experiences take you cruising through the locks of Seattle and the streets of New York in search of yet another unique adventure for the record books. Bon voyage!
Three Cheers for Beers!
Introducing three new beer tours: the New York Craft Beer Tour, the Brewery Tour in Brooklyn, and the Seattle Brewery Tour. In Seattle, combine the best of sightseeing in the Emerald City with the best of microbrews under the professional guidance of a National Geographic-featured tour guide. For East-Coasters, the New York and Brooklyn tours prove pizza isn’t Brooklyn’s only master craft. 19th century Old Brewers Row attests to
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