Whistler and Seattle - another bus two weeks in North America

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Whistler and Seattle - another bus two weeks in North America

So the other weekend I went to Whistler on another one of the Moose tours and had an absolutely awesome time - Canada just keeps getting better and better!!!

A popular ski resort in winter (in the top 5 in the world apparently) but still hugely popular in the summer months with some limited skiing and boarding opportunities, amazing hiking trails and, for the more adventurous, some hardcore mountain bike trails.

Whistler will also be the home to a lot of the sledding and skiing events for the 2010 Winter Olympics and well if things keep going good in Canada I could very easily arrange it so I'm still here by then - now that would be cool!

On the way up (the drive takes about two hours but longer with all our stops) we stopped by to have a look at the lovely Shannon Falls and then a quick lunch at Britannia Beach.

One benefit of going to Whistler in the off season is that our tour spent the night at a chalet that in winter is home to families and the slightly more well off type of traveller - certainly not your typical hostel accommodation and the view from the patio over the water and looking up at the mountains was just superb.

Earlier that day a group of us pooled our resources and decided on a group dinner of pasta and salad. It fell to Scott the Scot and myself (with help from Lucy and others) to make the pasta for the group and if I do say so myself, the boys did a wicked job cooking.

Whistler is also a big party town (and home to what amounts to an infestation of aussie and kiwi holiday workers) but it is pretty expensive so instead of heading into the town centre to party, we had a few (ha ha!) drinks at the chalet and proceeded to have a fun filled but very messy night!

Waking nice and early but still with an awful hangover, ate some breakfast, helped to clean up some of the mess from the night before and then a group of us headed up to Whistler Mountain itself.

This involved a 20 minute enclosed Gondola ride followed by a 15 minute open air chair lift to the 1500 odd meter peak. I was hesitant paying $30 for this but damn it was a fun ride (hangover excluded) and then you actually get to the top of the mountain and the views .... wow well the photos tell the story I suppose!

I will make it back to Whistler to ski/board in the winter but I think summer is when the place is at its best. With pockets of snow, exposed rock and greenery the views are just awesome and all this whilst wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

After Whistler weekend I met up with a few of the gang from the tour. Monday was a chance to relax, Tuesday Thomas from the tour and I were going to watch Batman but it had sold out so we decided on just a relaxed dinner (some lovely Greek), Wednesday a group of us went to watch fireworks near English Bar (part of a three country festival of light, tonight being Canada's turn with the USA and China to follow over the next week), Thursday I went to a gig (but ran into some other travel buddies at the Samesun hostel's bar) and Friday Thomas and I finally got to see Batman (just as good second time around, see it soon if you haven't already people!) before Charlotte joined us for a post movie beer.

Bright and early Saturday morning I caught the shuttle down to Seattle and it was one hell of a trip! We were due into Seattle at 12.30pm but arrived at 4pm - yep 3 1/2 hours late and all that delay was waiting at the border to get into the States. Made friends with an English couple (she's a teacher and he's a computer game graphic artist) so it was good to bitch to someone about out border hell!

After a power nap, shower and refresh (but still feeling worse for wear after my busy week and the awful bus ride) I went to the nearby Triple Door jazz venue to see actor/musician Jay Brannan. The venue was way cool and we were all sat at tables facing the stage and ordered food (a yummy tofu dish for me) and beers throughout the performance - way too fancy for me but the whole evening only cost me $50 and I had an awesome time!

A few beers after the gig with a friend and naturally woke up Sunday morning feeling a little worse for wear! After a brief walk around the city (the clouds putting any photo happy tourist plans to rest) including a stop by the rather cool looking library I then spent about 6 hours doing some serious shopping!

Vancouver is pretty pricey for clothes and stuff but Seattle is way cheaper so I was amped to get a few 'necessities'. Goal number 1 was a new pair of running shows as my crappy old shoes are literally falling apart. Naturally I wanted the latest Asics Kayano XIVs which are around $240 in Oz or $200 in Vancouver but I managed to get them for $105 including tax so I was pretty stoked (and thanks Mum and Di for my belated birthday present).

Bargain of the day goes to my heated blanket (yep I'm getting ready for the Vancouver weather, my basement room is already pretty cold at night) which was originally $150, on sale at $48 and then scanned at $28 - no complaints there!

I also picked up some CK: Man to smell pretty (although we aren't allowed fragrances at work, strange I know!); two pairs of casual shoes; some work clothes (were casual at work but I haven't pushed things with jeans, yet), some bits and pieces and a 1GB RAM upgrade for my laptop (another bargain at $30, 1/3 of what it would cost in Perth).

So I spent about $400 on stuff I maybe didn't need and I did look like a hardcore shopper getting back on the bus with all my shopping bags but the trip was well worth it. The English couple were catching the same bus back as me and they did laugh at me and all my shopping!

So it has been a busy couple of weeks yet again and the next week is going to be even busier! I will take a break soon but as long as the weather stays good I want to make the most of my time here.

Hope everyone is well, stay clear of coat hangers, I hear they can be deadly!

Pete

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