We made the 400km trek to Revelstoke and stayed with some friends on Friday night after work and thanked our lucky stars for their hospitality. Not sure if either one of us had it in us to continue driving to Vancouver that night... especially since I wasn't letting anyone but me drive.
After a couple hours sleep and some pancakes in the morning, we brushed the snow off the car (all 30cms of it) and began our 7 hour trek to Delta to see my grandparents. It was a long long loonngg drive, one that ended in an incredible amount of pain for my patient co-pilot. Who knew that sitting in a car for 7 hours would create some stress on your back?!
After dinner with Nanie and Alex, slumber in a warm cozy bed, and a quick morning shower, we were back on the road to Horseshoe Bay to pick up Simon. Whistler here we come.
A latte and 2 hours later, we were driving through the not so quaint mountain town of Whistler. In fact, we drove right through it. I blame the guys for not helping me out with figuring out the signage. They might argue that and blame it on me. After a few pictures, we turned around and found some, erm, cheap quasi-underground parking in the village and began our Whistler sightseeing.
Simon was eager to ski, I was meh as was Ian. So - with that in mind - we dropped Simon off at the lift, waved good bye and we shopped the village. Well, actually, we window shopped more than anything... except for me. Couldn't leave the village without something, right? Had to purchase these which actually came in handy a little later...
A couple drinks and a pair of wool socks later, we met Simon and were back in the car heading to Squamish to our little Inn on the Sound. On the outside it was cute, quaint and everything in between. On the inside was a totally different story: no whirlpool, cake bakery, or ocean side view. One queen and a bay window with a "mattress" in it wasn't going to work. We booked the bigger room for the next night.
After horrible service from the pub, we enjoyed a couple zzzz's... and were back off to the ski hill for a full day of carving up the mountain. Ok, so maybe some of us were a little more ambitious than others. A painful $150 later, I had an incredibly comfortable pair of rental boots, snowboard and lift ticket and was making my way to the Excalibur Gondola which would take me up Blackcomb. A beauty of a day, not a cloud in the sky.
It was my first time boarding in a year or so, so naturally I would be a little rusty. After one exceptionally short run, I was left in the powder with the words "see you at 3:30..." trailing down the hill. Ok, so maybe I'm not the Olympic snowboarder I aspire to be... at least I didn't break anything.
3:30 came and we were on our way back to Squamish after an epic day shredding up Blackcomb. Dinner and drinks at the Shady Tree Pub and then over to the local theatre to see the 85 minute movie, Cloverfield with the locals. Well damn, as if that night wasn't one for the books. And uh, Mike? I blame that movie on you.
Tuesday morning we woke up with almost 30cms of snow again on the roof of the car. This should make for an interesting drive back down to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry. Wicked awesome sweet. After a wrong turn, or, lack of turn at all, we got to Starbucks for our morning caffeine fix. An hour later, the car was parked in the lineup: destination Naniamo.
A chillaxing trip, and a couple errands later, we were unpacked and ready to eat with the family. The boys couldn't help but bust out the Davidoff's.
Early the next morning, we threw our snow gear on and we were back en route to ski again. This time, Mount Washington. It was gorgeous at the bottom until you hit the top where it was white-out conditions. Didn't mind the powder, it made the falling not as painful. Only half a day this time, but even that was enough. I was still sore from Blackcomb.
Back into town, another dinner, and some more zzzz's. I had my heart set on Tofino. Now, how to convince the boys of that...
Simon agreed to venture west with me to the picturesque town of Tofino and we were soon on our way. Roads were great on the way there, a little cloudy, little rainy - but nothing my car couldn't handle. Only 2 hours and we were standing on the beach.
After a tshirt purchase from Storm, a sausage roll and some coffee from a cafe, we were heading back over to Chesterman Beach to take in some more of the ocean. This time however, we got a little more wet than we bargained for. Who knew it was suppose to rain?
Back in the car, we were suddenly caught in an epic snowfall which blanketed the highway in a couple of minutes. Our 2 hour drive suddenly turned into 3 and a bit. Worth it though...
Last night in Parksville. After a good sleep, we were back on the road en route to Vernon to ski another day - this time at Silver Star. Roads sucked, my trusty co-pilot was given the keys as I sat in the fetal-position the whole 2 hours. What can I say? I'm a nervous passenger.
After a phone call from the people who were suppose to spend the night with, we were to find a hotel instead in Kelowna and got cozy. Dinner at the Keg and another movie, Michael Clayton, we were snoring before we knew it. Next day, we packed our bags and were back on the road this time home. Unfortunately Vernon didn't work out, but I think we were getting anxious to get home.
Couldn't not stop in Revelstoke though. Had to check out the house and all the snow.
Instead, we stopped off at Juniper in Banff and spent our last night in a kushy hotel. Dinner in town, a couple drinks and we were back in the room - again, snoring before we knew it. Who knew driving took so much out of you?
After a short shopping trip and one purchase later, we were home sweet home, left to unpack our stinky ski clothes and get back to reality.
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