Thanksgiving in Whistler

With no family out here in B.C., Thanksgiving weekend didn't hold much promise of being anything special. The weather forecast looked even less promising - rain all weekend. And cold. Nevertheless, we decided, last minute, to take our chances and go to Whistler for two nights. We found a great deal at the Whistler Village Inn & Suites online. Here's the view from our suite on the third floor:

We arrived in Whistler well after lunchtime, and hadn't stopped along the way for a bite, so we were all very hungry. We found the Village Stroll just behind our hotel and went searching for the perfect restaurant for lunch. That lasted for about 2 minutes and then we just wanted to find something fast. We found a pizza joint that looked quick and "cheap" . . . Fat Tony's Pizza. Of course nothing's cheap in Whistler, but it was damn good pizza! We were too hungry to take pictures once the food came, but here's a picture of me trying to keep Sasha's mind off her stomach (and me off mine) by playing rock-paper-scissors.

After lunch we were all much happier:

Whistler was of course host to many Olympic events, so there was evidence of this legacy:

The first day was cloudy, but only really rained in the evening for a few hours. We went to a restaurant called Caramba for supper, which our friend Craig Vidal used to manage. After supper, we had a bit of a mishap on the way back to the hotel. It was very dark already and pouring rain. A few shops were still open for business. Karla and I wanted to go into a little hat shop on the way back to the hotel - don't worry Luke, we didn't buy anything - and Hannah was following behind. Well . . . we thought she was right behind us. We went into the hat shop and were in there for a couple of minutes before we realized that Hannah was not in the store yet. We went outside to find her but she was nowhere to be found. We knew she had wanted to go into Cows, an ice-cream parlour, which was a few stores back, so I rushed in there to find her and give her a tongue-lashing - that she should stay with us. Except, no Hannah. Where is that girl?! I go outside again and have another look in the street. Can't see her anywhere. Okay, now I'm starting to get a bit worried. Karla's standing in the rain in the middle of the Village Stroll starting to freak. Sasha's crying. I go into FootLocker and tell the salesperson I've lost my kid and ask who I should call or talk to for help. She tells me to find the Info booth down the stroll. We've been there - they called Caramba for us to reserve a table - great! I know where that is. I'm striding quickly down the Stroll to find the Info Booth, dragging poor Sasha by her hand as she's bawling her eyes out. Before I'm 50 feet down the street, who do I see wandering around looking completely frantic? Hannah. Whew! "Hannah!! Hannah!!" She looks around. Doesn't see me. Starts walking AWAY from me. "Hannah!!!!!!" She turns around and sees me. Starts running towards me, pure relief on her face - almost pure relief - some worry, probably worried about how mad I'm going to be. Except, I'm not mad. Only glad she's safe. Hugs. "I'm sorry Daddy".

After that excitement, we ended the night with some relaxing in the hot-tub and the girls actually swam in the pool, in the rain.

The next morning it actually looked pretty nice out. Sunny almost. So, we decided we'd better take advantage of the good weather while it lasts and go for a walk. Autumn is a great time to visit Whistler - the colours are stunning.

While on our walk, it started drizzling a bit, and we were getting hungry, so we headed back towards the town to find a bite to eat. And this time, we wanted something a little more healthy. No pizza. Soup and sandwich was on the mind. And we found a gem of a place - The Little Eatery.

Ellie and Hannah had waffles with banana and chocolate and whipped cream - it was Karla and I who wanted healthy, not the girls - and Sasha had a grilled cheese sandwich and potato chips.

And now, introducing the best part of the Whistler trip. Really. No kidding. The soup at this Little Eatery was the best Karla and I have ever had. Ever. Anywhere. It was called "Wicked Chicken Thai Soup". My mouth is watering 3 weeks later just blogging about it. Soooo good.

We were going to go back there for lunch on Monday, and told the server that, but we were informed that they were closed for Thanksgiving Monday. Dang it! We almost bought some to go so we could put it in the fridge in our hotel room. Still the biggest regret of the trip that we didn't.

By the time we left the restaurant, it was sunny again, so we explored the Village a bit.

In fact, we were getting so warm, we finally got that ice-cream that Hannah wanted so bad.

The girls wanted to go back to the hotel and swim. So, that's what we did. Well, they did. It was sunny and "warm", but c'mon man! 14 degrees is not swimming outside weather. Unless you're a kid I guess.

After swimming, it was still nice (where was all that rain we were supposed to get?) so we decided to go for a real hike. We cut through the Village Stroll to get to the trail head for Lost Lake Trail. Here are some pics from the hike:

45 minutes later, we arrived at Lost Lake. Stunning.

That evening Karla and I went to the Keg, which was attached to our hotel, while the girls enjoyed more carbs and cheese in the hotel room (Avalanche Pizza to go).

On Monday morning we picked up cinnamon buns from a nearby bakery for breakfast and hunkered down for a rousing game of Uno, since the weather was finally living up to the forecast. After several rounds with various winners, we decided the last round would decide the ultimate winner - winner-take-all.

Most Dads let their kids win. Not me. Nope. I wanna win. Not just win. I want to crush them. And did I crush them!

I am the Uno Champion!

After the girls finished crying, we packed up and left for home, around noon. This time we were a bit smarter about lunch - stopping at a quaint little restaurant in Squamish called The Sunflower Cafe.

And that was our wonderful Thanksgiving in Whistler. We'll be back. For the soup.