Our family took life by storm and headed for the hills this weekend. It was just overnight; all we could take away from our busy lives & families, but worth the drive.
We decided to visit Whistler. It's been a favourite vacation place of ours for years, despite the fact that none of us ski or board.
We were a bit disappointed during the drive up. The chronic rain of the Wet Coast was all around us, and that rain hadn't switched to snow when we hit the half-way point of Squamish.
Somehow, ten minutes outside of Whistler, the rain puddles turned to snowbanks, and wouldn't you know it? We pulled into a winter wonderland! Little Man had fallen asleep in Vancouver, and somehow didn't stir until we were parked in Whistler Village.
I turned around to watch him rub his eyes in astonishment. "S....s....SNOW MOMMY!" He beamed from the backseat. "Yook at all da snow!!!"
A snowplough passed by soon after. "Mommy! Yook at da zamboni!!!" (Yes, we know a zamboni is meant for clearing hockey rinks... but you can't correct something that cute!)
We saw a LOT of zambonis up in Whistler this weekend.
Little Man is, well, little. So it didn't matter that the big piles of snow only existed thanks to the zambonis (oops, I mean snowploughs) that had smooshed them together. The mountains themselves got an awesome dumping the night we stayed over, but the walkways through Whistler village were more than manageable despite the white stuff that was coming down.
We typically visit Whistler during the summer months. We love the lakes nearby, enjoy the hiking trails and the shops. (Well, some of us enjoy the shops more than others!) This winter trip to Whistler was made with a few trepidations, first and foremost regarding just how much Olympic insanity had taken over the ski town.
Thankfully, it wasn't too overwhelming. Yes, the Olympics were plastered everywhere, but for those that aren't particularly fanatical about the games, it was nice to see that you could STILL enjoy the mountain without feeling like the mascots were trying to share the gondola with you.
We stopped inside the Olympic store, because Little Man insisted on meeting the "BIG STUFFIES" that he'd witnessed. I personally fear the mascots and wonder who on earth designed them, but little man thinks they are cute. He also identifies them as "fluffy dog" "nice cat" "cute rat" and "blue bjdies" which I THINK is the little critter no one can really identify.
And before we went home, we took a ride in the bobsled. Which, to our two year old, is ALMOST as cool as the zamboni.
