Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Hello From British Columbia

We arrived at the Trendwest/Worldmark resort at Whistler about 5pm Tuesday. We actually made pretty good time. We left the house at 8:30am, stopped in Everett (north of Seattle) for breakfast, stopped at a couple Rest Area's for potty breaks and crossed into Canada about 1 o'clock in the afternoon. It's about 78 miles from the Vancouver area to Whistler. And Vancouver is about 70-80 miles north of the border. We did run unto falling snow in Seattle and north of there, but nothing drastic. Once we got into Canada the snow stopped.

The road up here to Whistler is not real good. The rock cliffs along the highway are sort of scary. You can see areas where previous slides have occurred. There are places where the pavement is good & there is two lanes in each direction. Other places it's very rough and single lane in each direction. They are working on the highway, however, getting ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics. They are really fighting a battle at this time. It's cold and it's obvious that there's been lots of snow this winter. In some places the snow is piled along the highway higher than the cars.

We stopped at a Walmart about 30 minutes south of the resort. I'd forgot to pack some grated cheese for the one breakfast meal that Bob likes. I was horrified when I saw the price of a 16 ounce package of a grated cheese blend~just under $7.00. I can get the same package for just under $3.00 at home. I'm glad we brought milk with us....I hate to think how much that might be. We topped off the gas tank in Washington....the gas here is about 99 cents a liter which I guess is around $4.00 a gallon. I filled up Monday for $1.86 gallon and we got it in Bellingham, WA for $1.96 a gallon.

Anyway, the resort here is quite lovely. We got that car unpacked, brought all our stuff up and put it away. Then went down & took the shuttle bus into the village. It was very cold (and I wasn't dressed right) so we didn't stay long. But it was so beautiful at night, with the snow & all the lights..oh my! If you looked way up in this one area, you could see the grooming machines on the mountain. There was a gondola running but we both decided we didn't want to ride it up and back down the mountain when it was pitch dark.

Bob left about 10am in his ski gear, ready to hit the slopes. So once I get off here and get ready, I'm going to go down & get on the shuttle and head into Whistler Village and check it out in the daylight.

I understand there was a lot of snow at home yesterday. They get Seattle TV stations up here, so I was watching the news and saw that there's lots of schools closed or running late today, due to icy road conditions.

My heart goes out to those folks in Australia where the wild fires continue. Also to those in Oklahoma where there was lots of damage due to tornado's.

Until next time......Linda coming to you from beautiful British Columbia, Canada

8 comments:

Monica said...

You make me want to return to Whistler! I remember the roads and I thought they would be complete by now.

We took the gondola up and ate at the restaurant up there and I got altitude sickness. You would've thought I had been drinking heavily and I had nothing but water! When you get a chance do go up ... with CAMERA as the views are not to be missed.

Monica

sober white women said...

I think we are headed for more rain! We need the rain, but I am so sick of it.
I can't believe how expensive food is up there. WOW!
Kelli

ADB said...

Good to hear you made it safe and sound, Linda. Enjoy your stay.

Beth said...

Glad you made it safely...enjoy!

Julie said...

I am glad you made it there safe and sound. Have a blast and I hope your taking pictures.

Gerry said...

Glad you made it. I am very impressed with people who go to a lot of trouble to ski! I hope you will be able to take photos. Maybe it is worse in the states right now than where you are!

Trees said...

Happy to see you made it to Whistler safely Linda. Food here is very expensive and cheese yes especially. Milk here is about $3.97 for 3 litres which is just under a gallon. Gas here is 85 cents a litre yesterday which is about $3.60 or so. Cars here cost double in the states. I was surprised to see how little time it took you to get to B.C. I thought it would be much longer. I hope to get to Oregon in the fall maybe we will try and drive up to B.C. I have not been to Vancouver except the airport. Looking forward to seeing pics. Take care, God bless.

Ally Lifewithally said...

Linda sounds like your trip is going well ~ glad to hear of your safe arrival ~ don't forget to take some pictures ~ looking forward to seeing them ~ Ally x