The Whistler tradition continues. This time we had Sara and snow. Amir couldn’t join us, but we added Brad and Amber and became addicted to Katamari.
Sara and I drove up during the day with J&C in their new Volvo. We stopped in Vancouver to lunch at Murchies and stretch our legs.
Sara enjoyed pain au chocolate while I enjoyed chili (more like steak stew) and tea.
Wayne drove up later. We got our wish for snow. Jon and Claire were so excited about the place last year when it was dry; they were exaltant this year. Wayne read that it was the week of the most snow while weather has been recorded at Whistler.
Friday, after all the adults left to ski/snowboard, Sara and I decided to have an adventure. I forced her to wear all the gear we had bought her (snowbib and boots). I drove out of our condo in the Upper Village into the snow. I parked at Lost Lakes nordic trails. I rented a pulk sled (this attached to me with a harness and 8 feet of pole. Sara snuggled down quickly. I got on the trail with snowshoes by 11am and expected to be out an hour.
2 hrs later, Sara was snoozing, snow was falling, and my “nature loop” wasn’t ending. Finally from a ridge, I called with my cell phone to the ticket hut. They informed me the map was miss printed and I was actually on a larger loop. I got back about 30 minutes later, but dragged into the condo after the boarders and looked more bedraggled. The pulk sled idea worked fairly well, but when the trail got deeper, it tended to tip over, upsetting Sara and making trekking hard. We ate tofu peanut soup a la J&C (another continuing Whistler tradition).
Saturday was spa day. I dropped Sara off at daycare at Blackhomb Hotel (more difficult than it sounds) near Whistler Village. I ended up parking far away (where I knew there was available parking) and carried Sara over a mile on my shoulders over icy sidewalks and snow. Huge snowdrifts made my stroller unusable. I was ready for the massage I had scheduled next door by the time I got there. Thoroughly enjoyable. I lunched at the Dublin Pub (not alot is open for lunch in the Village-everyone is supposed to be on the slopes); ok fare. I caught Glory Road at the cinema (very good) before I picked up Sara. She had a wonderful time, playing in the snow most of the day. That evening, we ate dinner at the Brewhouse. Sara was angelic. Good BBQ pizza.
Wayne said the snowboarding was sublime. I hogged the camera, so no pics from that part of the trip. Here’s what he did the rest of the time. The hit came was Katamari, a funky Japanese video game about a prince rolling up all the objects of the world into a ball. Sara and the rest of us were fascinated.
We also brought her “choo choos” for playing.
Sunday was supposed to be family fun day, sledding or more snowshoeing. Wayne felt sick, so we hung out on Sunday. We accompanied Brad and Amber for a brunch at Crepes Montagne (great place, open for lunch) on their way back to Seattle. I cooked chili and cornbread for dinner.
We drove back on Monday. We stopped at the Szechuan Congqing Seafood Restaurant at 1668 W. Broadway (S. of Granville Is.) for excellent dim sum. I’d been craving that for awhile. It was a nice ending to a winter adventure.
