The Last Day and final entry for our BC trip blog

Sunday, our last full day before flying home, was a leisurely morning followed by a not so leisurely walk through the Lynn Valley. It's one of the many beautiful nature trails found throughtout the North and West Vancouver area.

Truth be known, the only reason we took on this energetic endeavor was that Josh's Cub troup was doing the hike to earn 3 new badges and we weren't going to be outdone by the kids.

The trail we hiked was part of the Baden-Powell trail system which certainly had rugged and icy sections and led us here... 

I had escaped the Capilano suspension bridge but couldn't dodge this one.
After about 6 of 6.5 kilometers, I wasn't about to turn around.

Oh well, it was a great hike and the kids were rewarded with these...

Deck the Halls

Saturday is a day at home hanging lights and getting into the festive spirit.

Nephew Sitting

Mom and Dad are off to a company Christmas celebration.

The Night Before

Aunt Lil & Uncle Bar look after the boys... 

Building a ginger bread village and a Christmas movie pass the night for all.... 

The Day After... 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Olympic Memories 

 
Oma and Ben

 

Fitzsimmons Creek Whistler BC

No Weather Complaints

The Kids 

Flyin' High

Thursday Already

Time flies when you're having fun. It's Thursday already and Lil and I are off to Burnaby to do some more, yup, shopping.
Followed that up with a drive to Horseshoe Bay and a great bowl of chowder and a pizza at The Boathouse. A scenic drive from there along Marine Drive brings us to Park Royal and you guessed it.... more shopping.

The outdoor mall at Park Royal is a series of shops along a lane-way with anchor stores at either end. Pedestrians always have the right of way, so walking from store to store is not unreasonable. The green building in the centre of the shot is the Home Depot.












The evening was spent at the German Christmas market in downtown Vancouver. A special treat for the boys that goes with their heritage on moms side. Your favorite German sausages on a bun loaded with sauerkraut, onions and hot mustard was a tasty treat for supper.

 A carousel ride at the market for the boys. 

 















A beautiful example of hand crafted German Christmas decorations. The colourful on in the centre could be yours for only $400.

Wednesday at Capilano

The girls and Ben spent the evening at the Capilano suspension bridge. Bill was flying home from a St. Louis business trip while I had the pleasure of staying home and trying to explain quadrilaterals, right angles, trapezoids, parallelograms and rhombuses to Josh.

Hmmm...  Maybe I should have gone for the suspension bridge after all.

The First Few Days

Well there is finally time to figure out this blog thing, so here goes.

Our flight Friday was uneventful and on time. Had just enough time to pick up our rental car, shop for Whistler groceries and enjoy a wonderful dinner at home with the `Left Coast` family. Given we were up at 6AM EST, we were both dragging our backsides by 9:30 Pacific time.

Saturday... 

The big Polar Express train ride, from Squamish. Cookies, hot chocolate, Christmas carols and wonderful scenery.

Sunday... 

A 10k walk for Lil and I while the boys choose tobogganing with dad.

Clear skies, pleasant temps and photo ops everywhere make for a great way to spend an afternoon.

 While on the trail I look to the top of Blackcomb Mountain and notice someone para-sailing at the summit. I swear it wasn't 90 seconds later I turn around and see the guy has flown a couple of kilometers and is landing right beside us. Turns out he's a chef from Australia and lives across the road from the park he uses as a landing strip. Unbelievable!

An observation...  based on all the folks we've encountered, it almost seems you have to be from Australia or New Zealand to be employed at Whistler.






Monday...

More hiking and the last walk is into the village to see the Olympic rings and Christmas lights. On the path to the village and about 30 yards in front of us, we encounter one of the locals. A BIG Black Bear. No time for a photo as he wanted nothing to do with us. The feeling was mutual.

Tuesday.... An uneventful but beautiful drive back from Whistler followed by Christmas shopping.

Wednesday...  More shopping. No photos required as we've all seen a shopping mall. That said, West Vancouver has a far better handle on beautiful and pedestrian friendly outdoor malls than those in our area. ie. The Centre Mall.
Lil and the gang are off to the Capilano suspension bridge to see the Christmas lights. Hopefully they will provide photos. I've done it once before. It's high above the river. It also sways back and forth. Once is enough.