Bears, Beautiful, BC

Meeting new people is one of my favourite things about travel. And when I get to meet up with those people again, even better! A couple weeks ago, the cruise ship I had been on, the MS Volendam, docked in Vancouver after making the trip all the way from Japan. I knew quite a few people that were still on the ship, so it was fun to see some of them! The first day, I picked up one couple and drove them to the ferry terminal, and then the next day, I met up with my friends, Paul and Vicki and was lucky to be able to show them a bit of my beloved BC...


I have lived in BC all my life, but still am in awe every time I look at the stunning, majestic mountains with their snow-capped peaks. Every time I glance at the ocean and the greenery. I loved that Paul and Vicki had never been here, so it was fun to see it through their fresh eyes anew. We did the drive up to Whistler, with a stop at Shannon Falls along the way.


It was an absolutely fantastic day! Perfectly blue skies and nice warm sun. The people watching in Whistler was quite fun as you had everything from guys with no shirts on to people in their full winter gear carrying around snowboards.


At the beginning of the day, Vicki had said "I'd love to see a bear today". And bears we saw indeed. I think in the end, Vicki spotted three different bears and we decided she was the pro bear spotter. One was even on the edge of a side road, so we got to stop right next to it and snap some shots.

All in all, a delightful day! So great to reconnect with friends I have met along the way. And hopefully I will see them in Quebec whenever they pass through there!

As I drove home from Whistler, I took in all the incredibly beautiful sites and was a bit sad that I would be leaving them. But, I was reminded to soak it in and enjoy it for the moment. So enjoy it and soak it in I did. Looking forward to more exploring of BC in the next month and a half!

Limo, Ladies, Laughs

Last weekend was spent in Whistler celebrating Desiree's upcoming wedding! Crazy that the wedding date is just around the corner!

Desiree got a nice outfit to wear. haha

Our first stop was Domaine de Chaberton, a winery in Langley. We got a tour of the winery and a tasting and it was great. It's always interesting to see how different wineries function. And to try their wine as well. I really enjoyed one of the whites we tried.
{Listening intently on the tour}
The wine vats.

Joelle told me if you drink out of the glass sideways, you can taste it better. I asked her to model it for me.

We drove up to Whistler in a limo which was pretty fun. I've never been in a limo before so it was fun to drive a few hours there and a few hours back in it!






Once we arrived in Whistler, we hung out at our hotel for a while. Then we went to Bearfoot Bistro for dinner.



The restaurant was really cool. Lots of cool features. We even went into the basement cellar where you can sabre off a champagne bottle with a sword.

They also had a cold vodka room where all the bottles are directly in solid chunks of ice. Apparently it's minus 24 degrees in there. All evening we would see people going in with their parkas.

The downstairs cellar



After dinner, everyone went out on the town. I didn't stay out too late as it's not really my scene, but it was fun hanging out with everyone. And the few of us that went back to the hotel earlier had a great evening and a good chat, followed by a wonderful breakfast in the morning before catching our limo back.
All in all a fun weekend, and great to celebrate with Desiree. And the drive there and back is always so incredibly beautiful! Only 2 more weeks until her wedding! I am now off to my dress fitting, so hopefully it fits! :)

"Weekend", Whistler, Wacky

Quite a few weeks ago, actually the week after I quit my job, two friends that I met at work, Lori and Karen were going to Whistler for a night, so seeing that I had the days off suddenly, I decided to join them. It was a quick trip but was fun to get away and just chill! We almost saw some bears too! We chased them but no luck.

Trying on my favorite KnitWit hats!

The fall colors were absolutely stunning! (and so were we...)

The good ol' hat shop. I've decided that I have the potential of being a hat person. I should look into that! :)

Lori and Karen posing with the cow.. not quite sure what they're doing!

We stopped at Shannon Falls on the way back. I love waterfalls so whenever I have the chance to go back to some of my favorite ones, I take it! :)

And so ends our two day stint in Whistler. I know these pictures are all back dated but I figure I have catch up to do on blogging, so I figure I will post the pictures now. Sorry if my sudden posting madness is too much!

Whistler, Wine, Winter

Lindie came out to visit on Sunday and we started the visit off with a trip to Red Robin's which we do every time as Lindie loves it. Then we headed to Vancouver where we bought caramel apples and then went to the Canucks game. They ended up losing, but it was still fun!
On Monday, we decided that after classes, we would head up to Whistler for a few days which was last minute but really great. It was so great to put "reality" on the back burner for a while and was a well needed break. We stayed at the Sun Dial Boutique Hotel and enjoyed having a full suite with full kitchen and everything.

Sandy joined us for the first night and took the bus back. We laughed a lot and it was great!


Sandy rolling on the floor laughing as a matter of fact...

Trying on hats.. haha

Lindie pretty sad that she lost to me..

Lindie and I went for a walk/hike in the interpretive forest and we were especially anamored with the suspension bridge. :)

Hahaha.. I love this picture because Lindie does not look happy to be here but i am uber excited! haha

Cartwheels on the suspension Bridge. Of course. Doesn't everyone do that?

LIndie and I enjoying Indian Food for dinner



View from the rooftop hot tub where we spent a lot of our time!! Beautiful views!! We saw the first snowfall in the village. it was beautiful although it didn't stick


And now back to reality!! Sigh! Well, actually only two more classes and then reading break!! YAY for four days off! :)