Thanks for all the encouragement on the Breakfast Room plans! I’m excited to tackle the manageable list, and hope the final touches really pull the rooms together. Fingers crossed! Today’s Trip Report is the final leg of our Canadian Adventure…and I’m so sad to say good-bye to beautiful British Columbia! After a night in Victoria, three in Tofino and another in Vancouver, we headed north to Whistler.
I was really looking forward to driving the famed Sea-to-Sky Highway, but rain and fog kept much of it hidden along the way. Even still, it’s gorgeous and stunning countryside.
Mr. Sugarplum has a thing for waterfalls, and pointed at every trickle one we passed. So when I spotted Shannon Falls, this beastly 1,000 footer, I loved watching his jaw drop when I pointed it out to him. We stopped to check it out further, and the Spring thaw had the water rushing so hard we were soaked by it’s spray.
Since we always book deeply-discounted hotels, I’m usually anxious about what we’ll find upon arrival. Obviously we were thrilled when we pulled up to the Pan Pacific Whistler Village Center, right at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains.
Even more thrilled with our two-room suite with a fireplace and a beautiful view of the slopes.
Whistler is an outdoors-man’s dream with sports for all seasons, and a completely pedestrian-friendly town center. The village walk is lined with shops, restaurants and hotels, and all of it was mere steps from our room.
It’s such a perfect mountain town, that it almost feels like a movie set.
I was crazy for the huge rings, commemorating the 2010 Winter Olympics which were held here.
Our hotel’s sister property, a short five-minute walk, had ski rentals and valet lockers, and was perched at the base of the gondola…ridiculously easy. What wasn’t easy was paying the steep rental rates and lift tickets. Let’s just say they are dang proud of this mountain! Whistler Mountain was closed, but Blackcomb Mountain remains open for skiing until the end of June! Crazy, right?
We had some pretty dense fog, which made for disoriented skiing at times, but when the sun did burst through, it was glorious. I don’t have very many pictures, since our camera suffered it’s second injury of the trip here….me face-planting in a powdery puff with it strapped around my neck. Oops.
With the limited visibility, Mr. Sugarplum got to look at this goob for two days of skiing.
Because of the off-season, we were often the only people on ski runs. One of my favorite memories of the entire trip was us sitting alone in the quiet, that only snow can bring, eating sandwiches while staring down at the valley. It was very romantic, minus the frozen arse.
After three nights, it was time to say farewell to the beautiful village of Whistler, and those magical rings.
The weather was clearer on the drive back to Vancouver, so we were able to see more of the stunning Sea-to-Sky. A train track hugged the side of the cliff most of the way….wouldn’t that be an amazing experience?!
We had the absolute best time, and it was blissful to get away from life’s responsibilities and just focus on each other. Thank goodness for grandparents and air miles!
I wish I could say I’m rejuvenated with a fresh new attitude, but I’ve been sluggish about facing reality again. Isn’t that how it always is after a vacation? I’m so meant to be a lady-of-leisure, I just know it! Aren’t you???
Thanks for sticking with me for these Trip Reports (read Part 1 on Tofino here, and Part 2 on Victoria and Vancouver here….and if you want the behind-the-scenes scoop on how we travel budget-style and packing tips, check out the Q&A posts here and here.) If you have any questions about this trip or traveling in general, leave them in the comments. I think it’s been long enough, time to get some paint on my hands again!
Looks great! I'm especially intrigued by those train tracks — it feels a little old -lady, but I think train travel is so romantic!
Here's a few other places I want to ride the train: http://voyage-on.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-know-i-can-write-whole-post-on-trains.html
I too was meant to be a "Lady of Leisure". The Rocky Mountaineer train that takes the Sea-to-Ski is an awesome train trip 🙂 My hubby just happened to be working on the Rocky train that did the Vancouver to Calgary (Banff/ Jasper) run when I met him almost 20 years ago. That is an awesome trip too.
Whistler has changed so much since I hung out there, thanks for the tour.
Love it! Reading your blogs every day puts the biggest smile on my face but saddly, makes me miss you something fierce 🙂 xoxox
Whistler looks so beautiful. Wow. And those rings are pretty fantastic. So cute that you two had picnic in the snow. Such a darling couple. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos.
Such great shots – love to see you and J having so much fun and still blissfully happy together! Fell in love w BC when we first went up there over a year ago – we went in Oct and never saw a drop of rain or a cloud for 10 days – everyone told us it was a fluke. Probably the most beautiful place we've seen. XOX
Oh these pictures make me want to go back SO badly!! So happy you had such a great 'alone time' vaca!! xo
omg you are so amazing about posting all the details. Thanks! Now I've got to go back and catch up on the other posts~!
Oh I love all of these photos…it looks amazing! 🙂
I absolutely adore everyone's pics of exotic escapes and trips, but for me, this one really takes the cake! I would much rather go somewhere cool for a vacay than hot and this place is my kind of gorgeous! No wonder you are having a hard time getting back in the swing of things! I don't know that I would've ever come back…(c:
It's so great that you and your hubby take these trips. When's our girls' trip??!!
I love that you and your hubs do these trips, it's totally inspiring me to make sure we try and do something like this now that we have a kiddo.
Your Whistler photos are gorgeous. I love being the only ones on the mountain. I used to snowboard a lot, but after breaking my wrist I'm kind of a scaredy cat now, haha. I totally love that feeling of just sitting (safely) on the top of a mountain and soaking up the quiet and the view…. ahhh, I'm relaxed just thinking about it.
I definitely recognized this town from the Olympic interviews! It's so charming!
Hi Cassie, just wanted to let you know I featured your gorgeous house today! I seriously love it!!
I love these pictures too- hopefully I'll visit British Columbia some day! 🙂
http://inside-outdesign.blogspot.com/2012/05/latest-blog-crushes.html
Ah…Whistler. I agree, it's totally like a movie set there. I love all of your pictures! Especially the one of your two pairs of boots with the view. 🙂 What a great vacation! Take your time easing back into things. We're not going anywhere!
xo,
Abby
Looove Whistler and I don't even ski! Although it might have possibly been the coldest place I've ever been in the entire world. Good thing I had a lot of hot toddies to keep me warm : ) You look adorable in your ski gear!