Not all trips have to be off to far away or exotic places……so many great adventures on our own doorsteps!
We get together at least a couple times a year for fun getaways. We’ve known each other for decades, some of us since we were 4 and we are now celebrating birthdays that begin with a “7”!! Six of us….three on the mainland and three on the island…. so we try to alternate getaway locations. Three or four days of food, wine and other beverages and lots of catching up…..good times!
Whistler is a great place to head for a few days even in the off season. Some amazing galleries and museums, a good variety of restaurants, pubs and cafes and gorgeous scenery and trails to explore.
I don’t usually journal these getaways as other than the location we don’t always have a set plan in place…….
Sept 15
What a beautiful day! Got to Horseshoe Bay just after 11 so lots of time to see J and P’s ferry arriving from Nanaimo.
A quick rendezvous in Squamish with L, who picked up E from her ferry ride over and K in North Vanc. We stopped in Brackendale for lunch at The Watershed Grill, also known as Jack’s Bar from the show Virgin River.
The bar is kind of a hokey place but the food was good and the views were just lovely. Weather was terrific so we found a big table outside and enjoyed our lunch beside the Squamish River. Brackendale (and Squamish) is a big bald eagle viewing area from October – January each year.
Took our time as the drive from there to Whistler is only an hour or so.
Arrived just after 3. Stayed at the Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside hotel. Great deals to be had off season here. We had two, two bedroom suites side by side, which was handy. Got the rooms for just over $300CDN per night for each one.
Rooms were perfect for us, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a good little kitchen with table and chairs. One room looked out on the mountainside and the other over the pool and Whistler village. Got settled in and off to explore a bit before it got dark.
The plan had been to take the PEAK 2 PEAK gondola at some point over the next couple days but that was not to be as it was shut down until November when ski season starts again…..ah well, lots of other things to do and see here.
Went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and to have our celebratory Crantini’s…..the traditional getaway starter beverages! We often have to improvise on how they’re served depending on what’s available where we’re staying. This place has a great little kitchen but no pitchers in sight so a coffee pot worked just as well!
Had made a dinner reservation at Quattro, a highly recommended Italian place in the village. Food was all very good and the portions were a great size. Kim and I shared a caesar salad and the halibut main course……they very nicely split it up for us. Not as expensive as I thought it might be…..including my share of a couple bottles of wine mine came to just over $100.
Wandered around a bit after dinner checking out a couple of pubs…..all were rocking!! Don’t know where all those people were earlier because not many out and about when we got here.
Just went back to the hotel, cracked open a couple more bottles of wine (thank goodness for full size fridges!!) and got caught up on what everyone had been doing. This was our first get together since last year due to COVID!!
Sept 16
Slept great! I got the sofa bed but it was nice and comfortable. We just had coffee and muffins and other treats in our room before getting ready and heading out to explore.
Some great trails all around here for walking, hiking and biking. Walked over to Blackcomb and one of the trails along the river. There were a number of trails closed though due to grizzly bears roaming…..hmmmm. Did worry me a bit as all the trails seem to be connected one way or another and how would the forest rangers know the bears wouldn’t wander over to the open trails???? Luckily lots of people around so hopefully that was enough to keep them away. Was just a beautiful morning…..very pleasant temps if you stayed in the sun.
Checked out the menu at a couple of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler restaurants but decided it was a little pricey so wandered back to the village and had brunch/lunch at La Brasserie. Prices were better and the food was OK…..we all left full so I guess that’s good.
The Whistler Museum was fun to visit……tells how it all started and how it became the resort it is today. Lots of great artifacts and pictures. Admission is “free” but they request a $5 donation, which is worth it.
The Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre is excellent and definitely worth a visit….could have spent another hour there. Beautiful gift store and cafe that would have been a great spot for our lunch/brunch had we thought about it!
A quick stop at the Brewhouse for a beverage break and back to the hotel to check out the hot tub before going to dinner.
Terrific dinner at Indian Masala Bistro. The food was all delicious and there was a lot of it !! Kingfisher beers to wash it all down.
Great morning and afternoon being a tourist!
Lots of fun this evening…..laughing so much my cheeks hurt!
Sept 17
Very cold overnight. Woke up to a mix of rain and snow and lots of snow up on the mountain. Should have saved all our indoor museums for today!
Breakfast at a funky little place called Gone Village Eatery (sadly it is permanently closed now). You go in through a bookstore. Order your food at the counter and take your table marker to your table. A great menu with a good variety of regular (bacon!!), vegetarian and vegan options. Food was excellent.
Did a bit of shopping and browsing around the village then went to the Audain Art Museum. What an amazing place it is!! Even the building is a piece of artwork! There are many painting by BC and other Canadian artists, including Emily Carr, as well as beautiful indigenous art and crafts. There was a bit of an odd, to me, exhibition happening, lots of weird things and stuff (?) with no explanation that I could find……about 30 Tim Horton’s coffee cups on a large piece of material on the floor for example and a few other sculpture type things for lack of a better description. Was interesting just wandering around the building itself…..the rain pouring off the specially designed roof to catch and store it.
Still raining, and quite chilly, when we left so back to the rooms for snacks and beverages and another visit to the hot tub for some of us! They supply you with very soft, fluffy robes and flip flop type slippers which was nice. Lots of towels down by the pool.
No one was really up to a big dinner after all the snacks so just went to the hotel pub for shared finger foods and a really good bowl of clam chowder! Lively place, lots of fun and a live band too! I think we got back to the rooms close to midnight and then had more wine and snacks and sat around yakking until almost 2AM!
Great day, weather and all!
Sept 18
Packed up and checked out around 9. Back through Squamish for a breakfast stop at Chef Big D’s Restaurant. Kind of a greasy spoon type place but good food, lots of it too, and good coffee.
Dropped the Nanaimo girls off at the ferry, said bye to the others and headed home. Alway so much fun with these guys. Good food, good wine and good company!
My Travel Journals 