About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Whistler Weekend

Whistler has something for everyone. It’s a pedestrian-only village with more than 200 stores for shopping, spa therapies, and luxurious hotels and accommodations providing all the comforts of home. Whistler is a safe and very tourist-friendly destination. It’s only two hours from Vancouver along the scenic Sea to Sky Highway - Highway 99, which can be twisty in parts. Be prepared with ginger ale, anti-nausea medication, and paper towels. The new highway is being built in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in Whistler and Greater Vancouver. Once it's finished, the drive should be much straighter and not so vomit-inducing.
There are several landmarks worth pointing out such as the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, Shannon Falls, the BC Museum of mining (where Scooby Doo and the X-Files were filmed), canyon gorges, massive hydro electric dams, freight trains, ferries and cruise ships in Howe Sound, Aboriginal craft stores, the Stawamus Chief granite monolith (one of only two in the world), and finally - the welcome to Whistler sign.
We had a leisurely drive along Marine Drive through West Vancouver so we could admire the scenic vistas over Burrard Inlet all the way to Horseshoe Bay. We stopped for lunch at the famous Troll’s Restaurant and some photo ops. Then we carried on to Shannon Falls and finally arrived at our destination a bit after 3:00 pm. After checking into our B & B, we strolled the village shops until dinner at Earl’s with dessert at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Yum!

I highly recommend Alpine Chalet Bed & Breakfast. The owner is a chef and he served us the most scrumptious breakfast – fresh fruit plate followed by an apple strudel and French-pressed coffee. All this was finished up with a cinnamon-sprinkled French crepe with jam and syrup. We didn’t need anything else to eat until an early dinner back in West Vancouver’s Milestone’s Restaurant. Here are just a few shots of our memorable weekend in Whistler. Click on the photos to enlarge and be sure to click on the highlighted websites to see even more spectacular photos than I could ever take.


First stop was Whytecliff Park just before Horseshoe Bay where you can watch all kinds of boats, from small sailboats to giant cruise ships heading up to Alaska.


This is the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal.






This is the famous Shannon Falls.

Here I am with a rather cute black bear. This one was tame, but I don't recommend getting near any real ones up there.







This is called The Storyteller's Chair, designed by a sculptor by the name of Carlos Basanta, who is famous for his Public Art. Winner of the Whistler competition for Village Park West, this sculpture brings the spectator (and perhaps the storyteller) to a time where storytelling was of vital importance for the individual and for society. The Chair is “covered” by a “blanket” on which the sentence “Once upon a time…” is engraved in 32 languages. The color and “look” of the chair integrate with the surrounding forest, while the multiple languages appearing on the blanket relate to Whistler international nature.


Finally, for a bit of fun, I sat in an actual Olympic bobsled and tried to pretend I was surrounded by snow waiting for takeoff.

16 comments:

Janice Thomson said...

Great Photos Leslie. Whistler is such a beautiful spot. We really do have it all, here out west. Thanks for some of the memories this brought back!

Leslie: said...

Hi Janice, yes we sure do have it all out here! It was so good to get away and unwind. Strolling the village, sitting on an outdoor patio sipping coffee, and people watching is great for the blood pressure. The spectacular scenery simply tops it off.

Jo said...

Leslie, those are beautiful photographs. That's a great one of you and the bear.

Was it warm up there? I was up there last year - we took the Whistler Mountaineer, and it was fabulous.

meggie said...

It sounds fabulous! It is my dream to one day visit Canada. Every time I see it on TV I want to be there!
I love your new photo!

Leslie: said...

Welcome, Meggie! Another Aussie (or as I see on your site you're from New Zealand) but living in Oz. Come on over - all the gang over here (Canajun Quarks) would show you a good time. Bring GOM, too. :D

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Thanks for sharing. Looks beautiful and a lot of fun.

Smalltown RN said...

Oh it looks and sounds like you had scads of fun...that is a beautiful drive up to Whistler isn't it....it's been a year since I was last up there....I have never seen that "storyteller chair" I will have to be on the look out for it next time....thank you for sharing your trip with us...cheers!

JR's Thumbprints said...

This last picture is priceless. I'm willing to bet you could beat the Jamaican Bobsled Team.

Ruth L.~ said...

I always love your photos. Such beauty. I scrolled down and saw the picture of the suspension bridge, and my hands began to sweat. No way could I manage getting across that unless I crawled on my belly!

You look so happy! I love your new blog photo.

.Tom Kapanka said...

What a beautiful place. If I ever go visit my nephew in Seattle, I'm going to cross the border and check it out.

Anonymous said...

Don't know if anyone remembers me since I haven't blogged for eons. I'm one of the ones who started on the SB site. I'm sure some of you remember Dr.Oma (Ellen)who blogged much more frequently than I. And I think she kept in touch via e-mail with a few of the other original SB bloggers. So I wanted to get this sad news out to any of you who might have been keeping in touch with her. Ellen passed away yesterday morning after suffering from a burst aortic artery about 3 weeks ago. Itchyfeet (remember her?)and I are devastated to have lost our good friend; the three of us had kept in close touch with each other for such a long time, and now Ellen is gone.

Leslie: said...

Omigosh, Sandy!!! I am so sorry. I did receive an email from Franny telling me about her being in the hospital and what was wrong. Please accept my condolences as I know you were good friends. I will also let others know tragic news.

LZ Blogger said...

The Chalet sounds wonderful! ~ jb///

heiresschild said...

beautiful pics and a great desciption of whistler weekend leslie.

isn't that so sad about ellen? i didn't get to sleep until 5am this morning because i couldn't stop thinking about her death.

jmb said...

Leslie, you and I are single handedly improving the tourist industry in this part of the world.
Great post and great photos.
regards
jmb

Leslie: said...

Well, now jmb, where shall I tempt people to go now??? ;D

Yes, Sylvia, it's so sad about Ellen. Ada called today and said she was going to phone you, too. Hope she caught you.

lz - yes, it was wonderful and I'd highly recommend it.