Geo: 48.4219, -123.367Location, location. You can't beat it. Perched right on the Inner Harbour in Victoria it seems that all roads lead to The Empress. The boats, yachts, skiffs, ferries, kayaks, paddle boards and cruise lines, the sea planes, the buses, the bikes and scooters, the cabs and even the horse drawn carriages are at our front door. And right across the road is the Visitor Centre. And after doing a very very happy dance because we have an IRON at last (who would have thought this would be so special!) the Visitor Centre with the very helpful Ted was our first stop.Tried our best for room service team to be out by 10 am but it was closer to 11 before the day was under way. We opted for a two day Hop on Hop ... read more

Geo: 50.1155, -122.946Forty-one hours of birthday celebrations! Happy Birthday Mac and thanks to the Aussie friends who started sharing messages in the early hours of the morning here in Canada which sent Mac's phone and iPad into a notifications alert frenzy. (On the bright side The Birthday Boy now knows how to turn off the alert sounds and the keyboard tap!)It certainly ensured that we were off and running for an early celebration. We cranked up the Beatles' White Album and blasted out "Birthday" at top volume and Mindy did the stylish Daddy Dance to kick off celebrations after diving head first "into the middle" of the bed. The celebrations had begun! Breakfast at Wild Wood had been on the cards for a while (Ian's fav) and after a false start last week they were open ... read more

Geo: 50.1158, -122.946What an adventure. The last few days have been all about camping at Lake Cheakamus.Friday was a big day for Ian. He left Whistler on the bus at 4.30 am for Vancouver for his once a week workday in the city. We didn't see him again until 7.30 pm .... but we were thinking of him on our our almost daily visit to The North Face store. We wanted to get hiking packs for Mindy and Ian to thank them for their hospitality. We spent over an hour in the store with Nic as he went through the features of the different models. The decision was finally made: a 50 litre for Ian, a 35 litre for Mindy and a 20 litre little grey number for Mac. He did take some convincing because he ... read more

Geo: 50.1158, -122.945I was begging for mercy after the on the go days of Vegas. I needed to put the feet up and just chill for a first day of relaxation. We were able to fit in a very lazy sleep in and a breakfast at home! Great start. This is a regular rhythm in 413 The Aspens - very late nights combined with very late mornings because Ian doesn't start work till midday and finishes after 8 pm.Monday morning we took an easy walk to start the day. We know where we are now and can go out the back gate of The Aspens, down by The Magic Chair, through the Upper Village, down the three flights of stairs, through the tunnel along Fitzimmons Trail and over the creek, cross at the lights on Blackcomb ... read more

Geo: 50.1153, -122.946It was a very sleepy morning at The Aspens with little action before 10 am. Mindy was hurrying everyone up because it was was a big day in Whistler...the sun was out...woohoo!Breakfast prepared by Ian in his perennial red stripped pjs (they must be 20 years old!), a quick shower and the mission of getting dressed...the under layer, the inner layer, the middle layer, the outer layer, the over layer and the water proof layer...and this is a sunny day!Whistler was busy today - it seems everyone was out because the sun was shining. Mindy and Ian were giving us the guided tour of the Upper Village, the creeks and bridges and Whistler Village. We dropped in to the bike shop and met Adam - Mindy's summer boss (first Canadian we have encountered) and ... read more