Every year my folks have a time share at Whistler BC between Christmas and New Year's. My husband and I have taken advantage of this many times over the years. We don't ski, but we've enjoyed snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and just generally soaking up the snowy ambiance. This was Hazel's 2nd trip up, and the weather was amazing. The snow was old, so that was too bad for snowball fights, but it was packed down and slick for sledding and just the most gorgeous we've ever seen it.
We stopped at Home Depot before the resort and picked up a new friend for $10.
Hazel always wore him out by the end of the day.
I questioned Gramma sending along 16(!) battery tea lights for Hazel to play with, but little did I know the fire chief had declared the fireplaces dangerous and unusable. We were glad to at least have the pretty flickering light of a fire.
The convention center in the village always has entertainment set up for the kids, and this is what Hazel remembered from last year. Bounce houses, mini-golf, foosball, etc. Hazel spent most of her time bouncing around these toddler blowups - just walls, no ceiling. Bounce, bounce, bounce...
I'm surprised she posed for that last picture, as most of my photos look like the next one. Always in motion...
Trying out the new sled at night, when it was far too cold to go outside. She thought it was great fun to ride down the hallway, but afterwards I realized that static electricity meant I had to clean lots of carpet dirt from the sled. Yuck!
We pack lots of toys, games, etc but always pick up something new at the local hardware store while we're here. Puzzles to color...
Here's Hazel heading up to ride the Peak-2-Peak gondola - longest suspension span in the world. She was patient but very quiet during the whole trip. It probably took us 3 hours to go up, over, back and down, and it was face freezing cold. I can't believe I forgot her scarf.
Like I said before, absolutely gorgeous every day we were there.
Can I just emphasize the beauty again? It's really a shame we don't ski.
A few of the gondolas have windows in the floor... Hazel took a peek and crawled back up on my lap.
Yes, Hilary, we're all wearing our down jackets!
After a wobbly lap around the skating rink in hockey skates (when I thought I wouldn't be able to stand up to escort Hazel around), management finally found figure skates in my size, and Hazel and I took several turns on the ice. Needless to say, it was quite a bit more difficult than she thought it would be. So nice of them to provide these nifty "walkers" so she could just hang on for dear life while I took her for a ride. They also provide helmets and strap-on double bladed skates for free, so we didn't have to pay a mint for our twenty minutes or so on the ice.
We did take one very long lap around while she tried desperately to stay on her feet on her own, meaning I pretty much dragged her around while she hung on my arm. She still had fun though.
One more day of gorgeous and time to find a sledding hill before the sun goes down.
A bit of a walk but well worth it.
Too bad I can't post the video of our spill here. It was fun sledding, but it was so cold we could only stay out maybe twenty minutes and Hazel started complaining about being cold. While she has terrific long underwear, good boots, and a great snowsuit, I think we made a mistake somehow with how to keep her feet warm. Next year we'll remember the neat ski boot warmers that stick inside your boots. Someone lent us a pair during the gondola ride but we didn't see any to buy before leaving.
We left Whistler terrifically late to head home, but in doing so, we saw an amazing sunset in Vancouver. It turned out we had no wait at the border, stopped at my folks' for dinner and then made it within 30 minutes of home when Hazel declared her tummy hurt and then threw up several times in the car. One very cold stop on the side of the freeway to clean everything and everyone up, and twenty minutes later we were back in the car on the way home. Just had to make it that much more memorable I guess.
Hazel and Daddy created their own version of Whistler. Here's the village...
...and here's Creekside, where we stay. We stay in the building in the middle with the peaked red roof. Looks cozy, doesn't it? That's a ski hill on the left. If you're been there, maybe you'll recognize the Japanese restaurant and the bridge from the newer building over to the shops and grocery store.
We stopped at Home Depot before the resort and picked up a new friend for $10.
Hazel always wore him out by the end of the day.
I questioned Gramma sending along 16(!) battery tea lights for Hazel to play with, but little did I know the fire chief had declared the fireplaces dangerous and unusable. We were glad to at least have the pretty flickering light of a fire.
The convention center in the village always has entertainment set up for the kids, and this is what Hazel remembered from last year. Bounce houses, mini-golf, foosball, etc. Hazel spent most of her time bouncing around these toddler blowups - just walls, no ceiling. Bounce, bounce, bounce...
I'm surprised she posed for that last picture, as most of my photos look like the next one. Always in motion...
Trying out the new sled at night, when it was far too cold to go outside. She thought it was great fun to ride down the hallway, but afterwards I realized that static electricity meant I had to clean lots of carpet dirt from the sled. Yuck!
We pack lots of toys, games, etc but always pick up something new at the local hardware store while we're here. Puzzles to color...
Here's Hazel heading up to ride the Peak-2-Peak gondola - longest suspension span in the world. She was patient but very quiet during the whole trip. It probably took us 3 hours to go up, over, back and down, and it was face freezing cold. I can't believe I forgot her scarf.
Like I said before, absolutely gorgeous every day we were there.
Can I just emphasize the beauty again? It's really a shame we don't ski.
A few of the gondolas have windows in the floor... Hazel took a peek and crawled back up on my lap.
Yes, Hilary, we're all wearing our down jackets!
After a wobbly lap around the skating rink in hockey skates (when I thought I wouldn't be able to stand up to escort Hazel around), management finally found figure skates in my size, and Hazel and I took several turns on the ice. Needless to say, it was quite a bit more difficult than she thought it would be. So nice of them to provide these nifty "walkers" so she could just hang on for dear life while I took her for a ride. They also provide helmets and strap-on double bladed skates for free, so we didn't have to pay a mint for our twenty minutes or so on the ice.
We did take one very long lap around while she tried desperately to stay on her feet on her own, meaning I pretty much dragged her around while she hung on my arm. She still had fun though.
One more day of gorgeous and time to find a sledding hill before the sun goes down.
A bit of a walk but well worth it.
Too bad I can't post the video of our spill here. It was fun sledding, but it was so cold we could only stay out maybe twenty minutes and Hazel started complaining about being cold. While she has terrific long underwear, good boots, and a great snowsuit, I think we made a mistake somehow with how to keep her feet warm. Next year we'll remember the neat ski boot warmers that stick inside your boots. Someone lent us a pair during the gondola ride but we didn't see any to buy before leaving.
We left Whistler terrifically late to head home, but in doing so, we saw an amazing sunset in Vancouver. It turned out we had no wait at the border, stopped at my folks' for dinner and then made it within 30 minutes of home when Hazel declared her tummy hurt and then threw up several times in the car. One very cold stop on the side of the freeway to clean everything and everyone up, and twenty minutes later we were back in the car on the way home. Just had to make it that much more memorable I guess.
Hazel and Daddy created their own version of Whistler. Here's the village...
...and here's Creekside, where we stay. We stay in the building in the middle with the peaked red roof. Looks cozy, doesn't it? That's a ski hill on the left. If you're been there, maybe you'll recognize the Japanese restaurant and the bridge from the newer building over to the shops and grocery store.
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4 comments:
Loved it all over again! ~mom.
I feel like I was there! Great pics and explanations of everything. Gorgeous photos.
What fun!!!
Great pictures & narrative! Especially love the sunset pic! Poor Hazel :( - You'll definitely remember that carride home:)
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