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.