Whistler
My husband John has a bucket list. (My list is way too long to fit into a bucket – so we will save that topic for another day.) Ever since he turned 60 years old last summer, I have felt it my duty to start checking some of those things off his list.
Now you might wonder why I am crossing things off my husband’s bucket list. Several reasons come to mind;
- John actually lets me cross things off his list – yeah, I know!
- John is a procrastinator – need I say more?
- Although his bucket list items aren’t tops on my list – they still sound like fun.
But in all honesty it really comes down to the fact that John has worked really hard these past few years making my dreams come true, so I felt he deserved a shot at a few of his own dreams, too.
So that is why I jumped at the chance for us to do some spring skiing at Whistler/Blackcomb – the location for the 2010 winter Olympics – just north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. John and I actually first started dating on a Rutgers Ski Club trip to Killington VT, and the rest is history. Most years throughout our marriage have included some sort of ski vacation, especially when our daughters were growing up. Skiing makes for a wonderful family vacation!
I must mention here that my husband, John, is a natural athlete. While John easily cruises down any trail with the grace of a gazelle, I have to work at it – hard! Even from our first date John knew that I needed a little work on my skiing technique, but he’s a great teacher, no matter what the sport, so I have steadily improved. And if truth be told, I am slightly competitive, so far be it for me to let him beat me down the mountain – even if it’s not pretty.
Since we have spent most of our time skiing the east coast, the mountains of Whistler seemed daunting to me. But after all they say if you have “skied the east coast you can ski anywhere!” So I figured it was worth a try - and John has ALWAYS talked about wanting to go. So I traded some timeshare points and off we went. If you have never been – make sure to allow a few days in Vancouver – as it’s a cool city (I was there in the summer for a national American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) convention in 2008.) But our main focus was to get up into the mountains – the drive up 99 is incredible and worth the trip by itself.
We were able to stay right in the Olympic Village, which although crowded and a little rowdy – (don’t plan on sleeping in) had some great energy – especially APRES SKI! The bars and restaurants are wonderful and offer a wide range of food for every price range AND palette. My favorites included Mongolie Grill (I’m a sucker for choosing my own stir fry ingredients) and La Bocca (loved the funky interiors).
And of course any trip – anywhere – means that I have to check out the local art galleries. And I must say normally they are a strange mix. But I was pleasantly surprise with the Whistler Contemporary Gallery https://whistlerart.com/ I LOVED EVERY PIECE! An although out of my personal price range – the work was exquisite!
But Mother Nature had the best work going – sure to amaze! The scenery was so incredible that I braved the conditions and brought my camera to the top – and I mean the TOP OF THE WORLD! It was an amazing ski and sightseeing adventure! So perhaps I will be back – when we get to my bucket list! The beauty of the Canadian northwest is worth the trip, even if you don’t ski at all.