We had been trying to make condo reservations in Whistler, BC Canada
for four years. Our name had been on our timeshare exchange waiting list
for 6 months, when finally the call came in that we got a condo. Yeh!

In addition to the week in Whistler, we decided to take a couple of extra days to visit Renee, Jodi's sister-in-law in Mt. Vernon, Washington, about one and a half hours north of Seattle. We also wanted to spend a day and night in Victoria to see the sights there.

We left OC airport early Thursday morning, Feb. 10 and arrived in Seattle at 1:30. We rented a Ford Explorer, and drove north to Mt. Vernon, enjoying the Seattle city skyline and the countryside along the way. We arrived at Renee's about 4:00pm .

It was very good to see her again-it had been at least 2 years since we have seen her. We had a wonderful visit! She has a very nice new home in a nice neighborhood. She also has a new addition to her home-a pug puppy named Suzie. She was so cute and "puppy-hyper"! We spent the night, and up early Friday morning to catch the ferry to Victoria.

The ferry left Ana Cortes around 8 am and we set sail through the San Juan Islands for a 3 1/2 hour ferry ride. It was very peaceful and the scenery was beautiful. The ferry made 2 stops, in Friday Harbor and Orcas Island, two very quaint island towns. We arrived in Sydney, BC 11:30 am and drove south to the city of Victoria.

Our hotel, Carlton Plaza, was right in the middle of town and within walking distance of all the sights. We saw the Empress Hotel, the Parliament Building, the BC Museum, the wharf area, and the many city streets lined with unique shops, restaurants and street people. We also took a 1 1/2 hour city tour on a double decker bus. It was very informative and interesting, we saw many areas of Victoria we otherwise would not have seen. Victoria is a beautiful, clean, garden city with coastlines in every type from rocky cliffs to sandy beaches.

Saturday, we left the hotel early to visit Butchart Gardens. The day was a little drizzly and cold, but tolerable. The gardens were extremely pretty even if there weren't many flowers in season yet. Everything was so green and landscaped perfect! We practically had the whole place to ourselves, so we were able to see everything in a couple hours.

Then, we were off again driving north to Swartz Bay to catch the BC ferry from Vancouver Island to Vancouver, BC. We were not impressed at all with Vancouver, it was just another congested city with a lot of skyscrapers, traffic and people walking everywhere. We were so glad to leave and be on the Sea to Sky highway towards Whistler. The 2 hour drive was very scenic and relaxing, arriving in Whistler 7:30 pm. We stayed at the Whiski Jack Creekside condo complex, four miles from the main village. It was a 2-story condo with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a fireplace that we used everyday.

Sunday was spent relaxing and strolling the village. The village was so charming, with a European feel, filled with shops, restaurants, and accommodations. The gondolas and lifts servicing both Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb mountain began at the end of the village, with awesome views of both mountains. We stocked up on groceries and decided to ski Blackcomb tomorrow.

Monday brought a cold but clear sunny day, perfect for skiing. As we left the "ice field of a parking lot" skis and poles in hand, I slipped on the ice, and like a cartoon my legs went out from under me, landing square on my hip. OUCH! I was able to ski, but taking it easy and with apprehension. Plus from my sickness and losing so much weight, I had lost a lot of muscle in my once strong legs. At times, I felt as if I had rubber bands for legs that could not support my weight let alone skiing. Terry caught an edge and took a "snowball spill". He pulled or tore something in his right shoulder. We were "crippled" skiers! But we had fun!

Tuesday and Wednesday were once again sightseeing/resting days, taking in the beautiful scenery. We were lucky concerning the weather. There were flurries on Wednesday, and the rest of the week brought cold, but clear sunny days. The temperature never rose above 35, but the air was so crisp and clean.

My "black & blue"  hip and Terry's shoulder felt better by Thursday, so we decided to tackle Whistler Mountain. It was a much better ski day, with long gondola and chair lift rides, and equally long runs from top to bottom. The Roundhouse lodge near the top, had majestic, on-top-of-the-world views, mountains and snow for as far as the eye can see. The view was breathtaking!

We only skied 2 days, but we still had a wonderful and relaxing time, enjoying everything Whistler had to offer.

Saturday, we left early for the drive back to Seattle, enjoying the scenery along Canada's and Washington's highways.

Upon arrival at the airport, we discovered that America West was still backlogged and running way behind schedule from their computer crash 3 days before. The majority of the flights were cancelled, leaving countless people in the airport stranded since Thursday, trying to get flights out. We counted ourselves fortunate that we only had to wait 6 hours for our flight to Phoenix. But then we missed our connecting flight to OC but was able to catch a flight to Ontario. We were then shuttled to John Wayne, arriving home at 2:30 am-a long day of waiting in airports.

We loved our Whistler vacation and hope to someday return.