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Published: January 13th 2008
The Canada Crew
From L to R: Willo, TJ, Erin, Stacy, Turtle (front), Retnuh & BenOur much awaited trip with Tammy-Jo (TJ), Simon (Retnuh, or Mr Plough as he is now known after skiing), Sarah (Turtle), Tim (Willo) and Ben (Ben). Some of the old 23 Div crew from ADFA and our lovely additions to the crew had finally got it together after 5 years to all meet at the same place at the same time for another big adventure. TJ was already living and working in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island as a Physiotherapist so it was decided that we would all travel to Canada for the big reunion. We left London on 23 Dec 07.
The Physiotherapy clinic that TJ is working in is downstairs in the house she is living. Gulzar, the owner of the business and house, lives overseas 6 months of every year. She looks for Australian Physio’s to run her business whilst she is gone. So we all stayed there for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. TJ and Retnuh picked us up from the ferry and took us straight to the house. No sooner had we dumped our bags, Retnuh was dragging us all out of the house to go and explore the coastline of Vancouver Island (and play
a bit of hacky sack for old times sake).
The secretary at the Physiotherapy clinic, and her husband came over for dinner on Christmas Eve. It was one of the many massive feasts that we had over the 3 days we spent on Vancouver Island. Jet lag saw us both to bed quite early that night - a trend that was going to continue as old man Mitchell could never stay awake past midnight (must be a thing that happens when you turn 30!). That night we pulled the fake Christmas tree out of its box, gathered together the decorations and the lights to construct ourselves a Christmas tree! Yay! It was finally Christmas! But this year we would all be orphans away from our families.
Christmas Day was spent indoors as it was raining and sleeting, but we were able to watch the snow fall on the distant mountains from the house. Five deer paid us a visit on Christmas Day and we fed them their much loved salted peanuts at the back door of the house. Unfortunately, the two raccoons didn’t show up as they had the previous day - we hoped they hadn’t become someone’s
Breakfast is served!!
A giant feed of pancakes with maple syrup Christmas dinner!
To work up an appetite for Christmas Dinner we all went for a walk in the rain down by the bay to play more hacky sack until some overzealous character (who shall go unnamed) decided to kick the hack into someone, only to miss and have it land on the roof of a nearby building! Retnuh saved the day to the rescue the hacky by climbing a wet, slippery tree, risking life and limb. We all returned wet and cold, but not before Retnuh had gone out to cut some holly off a nearby tree for the dinner table. Our spirits were lifted when the girls surprised us all with some beautiful hot freshly made egg nog.
Christmas dinner was a huge spread of gourmet food. The most impressive 14 pound roasted turkey (thanks to Turtle and her trusty assistants, TJ and Erin) was served and it wasn’t long until TJ had the whole leg in her hand and was eating it like a chicken leg! Again we were all festively drinking wine, telling old stories and of course, creating new ones (like all raiding the house owners cupboard full of clothes and donning them for
a spectacular modeling shoot!! - the things we kids do…..).
Boxing Day was little foggy for most of us, as the wine had proven to be quite damaging…..go figure! But we all dragged our butts out of bed, and Stacy whipped out a feast of pancakes for the crew. The industrial sized pancake mix packet however was more than we could get through in 100 hungover mornings - we would be having pancakes again.
After breakfast Retnuh and TJ offered us their car for the afternoon so we could go and explore Vancouver Island. As we were driving out we saw a massive group of weirdly dressed people by the beach. So we pulled over and found that it was a tradition that the locals all dress up and jump into the water on Boxing Day to raise money for charity. After witnessing a bunch of loonies jumping into water that is only 6 degrees, we headed out for a walk by Nanaimo marina and then headed up to Westwood Lake. The scenery here was amazing. The lake had just frozen over, so it was perfect to break the ice off the surface and shatter it across the
hard lake. Throwing large rocks and logs out to shatter the surface also proved to be an endless source of amusement (some kids never grow up!). We also took to sliding rocks across the slippery surface to see how far they would go - some made it at least 50m. What entertainment!!! Who needs TV when you have frozen lakes to play with…
The following morning it was up early (luckily after a designated alcohol free night) to catch the 6am ferry to the mainland - we were off to Whistler to tear it up (or plough it up for some!). We all caught the ferry no problems; but the bus was a different matter - our tickets had not arrived in the mail, and TJ and Retnuh’s persistent attempts on the days prior to source them were futile. The bus company (Greyhound….dodgy bastards) just weren’t answering their phones over Christmas! So we all had to buy our tickets again - as nothing was going to stop us from reaching Whistler.
After a spectacular journey along the tight and windy coastal roads through Lions Bay and past Howe Sound, we were checking into the Legends Chalet at Creekside,
Deer in the backyard
They come down every afternoon to enjoy the salted peanuts that TJ feeds them. Whistler by 1pm. The Chalet was literally right next to the Creekside Gondola and Dusty’s Tavern - perfect! That afternoon we unpacked about 2 tonnes of food and drink and hauled it up to our two rooms. The food included the 5 meals that the others had prepared and frozen on the days before we left (good work guys!) The rooms were very well appointed and had incredible views over the mountains and Creekside Village. Willo and Turtle stayed in our room which was designated as the party/cooking/eating/chillout room. So we decided to move the dining table up against the wall and use it as the bar for the next 4 days. The beer was moved into the chiller (the verandah), and then we laid the rest of the grog out on the table to then realise: “we’re not going to get through all that!” But we certainly tried!
That night we all headed over to Can-Ski to hire our equipment. The confusion on Erin’s and TJ’s face just gave away the fact that they had never skied. Perhaps they were wondering which ski was the left, and which one was the right? The next morning it was on…..
Christmas Dinner is served!
The a huge feast with the perfect roated turkey “Seeya girls” the guys (& Turtle) yelled as they bailed out the door right on the nick of 8am - just when the Creekside Gondala opened. The girls were doing their own thing….a full day skiing lesson with Sven had been booked, and they were going to experience skiing for the first time!
Whilstler is an amazing place:
On a top to bottom run you will descend 5020 feet
Total area of terrain is 93 acres
Longest Run is 11km
The 2010 Winter Olympics are being held here
Some of us skiied the mens super-G course (steep, fast & scary!)
We had the greatest time ever on the mountain! The guys (& Turtle) took on everything they could find. They all agreed that their favourite areas where over on the backslopes around Harmony and Symphony. These areas are eco-friendly, so it has been selectively logged, which means you can scoot through the trees, take on the moguls, and play in the fresh powder. The long Gondola rides were always a huge laugh: “you crazy Aussies!” we always said, as we made the others in the Gondola either cringe or laugh at our exuberance. Retnuh also
What a good looking bunch!
We raided the personal wardrobe of Gulza (the house owner). And what a lovely collection it is.... earned himself the title of “Mr Plough”. At first it was just a dig, but the defensive response was too good to let the joke go! So Retnuh officially became known on the slopes as Mr Plough. Go you good thing….plough that hill!! Meanwhile, Ben took up the challenge of snowboarding for the first time. His first couple of days were spent on his backside, but the last couple of days saw him drawing some nice lines from top to bottom - nice work mate!
The girls progressed to master the magic carpet, the chairlift and the snow plough! But they never conquered the 5 year old that took them out as they were getting off the chairlift! They never got an instructor called Sven either….only a fictitious instructor called “Blade”, who was really a Pom. So the girls had traveled all that way just to get a Pommy instructor…..Bugger! The girls also provided hysterical entertainment each evening as they re-enacted their disastrous chairlift and skiing experiences from the day. The girls were mighty proud of their skiing achievements, most notably being able to walk away injury free. TJ and Erin bonded like giggling little girls (not indifferent to
Legends Chalet
In a perfect location right next to the Creekside Gondola the lads really), and it was clear that they were having an absolute blast together on the slopes!
When off the slopes we took the time to chill out and take it all in. On the 30th Dec we decided to celebrate New Years early as Turtle had to leave on 31 Dec. Also, TJ’s parents had just arrived so there was cause for celebration. Around 10pm we all went to laze in the outdoor spa. We had a few red wines whilst the snowflakes fell into the half meter of powder around the pool edge. The relaxing soon came to an end however as a massive snowball fight eventuated - most scored a full-size snowball to their bare skin! After a few more red wines some even decided to jump into the snow and roll around in their boardies!!
Leaving Whistler was a sad day as we were all parting ways. Willo, Retnuh, TJ and her parents all headed back to Vancouver Island, Ben headed off to catch up with a friend, and we headed to Downtown Vancouver for another 2 days of exploring. Getting a bus out of Whistler proved to be difficult as there was
a mass exodus of poverty stricken 18 year olds needing to get the bus out of there! We aimed for a midday bus but it was not until 2:30pm that we eventually made it out of Whistler.
Downtown Vancouver is clean, modern, and appears quite wealthy. However the Starbucks and beggar on every corner detract from it quite significantly. It is evident that the city needs to put more effort into housing the homeless, and keeping Starbucks at bay. The town also loves its sushi; on almost every street you can find a sushi place. So Erin was officially in heaven.
We stayed in the Century Plaza Hotel right near the shopping district of Robson Shops. Here we had good access to the whole city. The first night we went out to a great sushi bar, which was like a sushi train, but the dishes sat on little boats that floated around a mote which surrounded the kitchen. Erin has been missing her sushi since moving to London (as it is prohibitively expensive in London), so we both ate like we were never going to see sushi again! Then the bill came……ouch…… “never again will we eat that
much sushi” we both said. The next night we ate far too much sushi all over again.
The next morning we walked down to the waters edge at George Wainborn Park and caught a ferry over to Granville Island. Here we wandered around the amazing food markets and bought some maple syrup and maple caramels to take back with us. After a while we had seen enough food to last a lifetime, so we decided to walk over to Stanley Park via the footpath along English Bay. Here we hired a tandem bicycle and rode around taking in the spectacular views. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t very clear, so it was difficult to make out the snow covered mountains from Downtown. The tandem bike proved to be sensational as Stacy had the coordination to keep us upright, and Erin’s cycle classes came to the forefront and provided the power we needed to fly past all the other cyclists!
Our final day was fairly quiet. We walked all day around the town and just took it all in knowing we were heading home the next morning. We walked around Canada place and took in the view across Burrard Inlet, visited
the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Gardens in Chinatown, saw the steamclock in Gastown (where we also stopped for a beer/wine), strolled along False Creek and took at look at where they were constructing the Athletes Village for the 2010 Olympics, stopped for a coffee in Yaletown, and wandered the Robson Shops district once more.
The next morning, bright and early we were off to the airport and making our way back to London. How fast two weeks goes when you are having fun! This trip was absolutely amazing. More than anything it was so good to be spending time with friends and catching up over a few drinks, whilst enjoying plenty of laughs. Thanks to TJ, Retnuh, Willo, Turtle and Ben for a sensational time! It is unlikely that the crew will all be together again until the next big reunion, which at this stage is planned for Easter, 2010 at Mr Plough’s parents place in Noosa. So to the 23 Div crew….prepare yourself now and make sure you are there (and it will be kiddy friendly for those that will have kidlets by then).
And Finally: Here is an article that Turtle found on www.SMH.com.au that sums up
Whistler
Top to bottom: 5000 feet - that's a long steep run (about 11km in fact). Erin and TJ’s Whilstler experience to an absolute tea….read on for real laugh!
Ploughed as Punch, by Belinda Jackson 'The big pizza slice is my friend. The big pizza slice is my friend." I'm chanting my ski mantra, learned at Victoria's Falls Creek, that positions my skis to slow down, as I warm up for Whistler mountain, a hulking 2.1 kilometre-high monster two hours' drive north of Vancouver, in British Columbia.
The mountain is big. And white. And steep. The day kicks off well. Up before dawn, in the gondola to the station way, way up the mountain where they serve breakfast for the early birds Canadian style: eggs, bacon, pancakes, maple syrup by the bucket. There is cereal and fruit, but the boarders and skiers are carbing up, so there's a run on the scrambled eggs and cupcakes.
I confess: I'm no skier. But could I also confess that I went to Whistler in winter and didn't ski? I'd be the laughing stock of my friends. This way, I'll be the laughing stock of everyone at Whistler, but I likely won't be seeing them again.
The equipment-hire shops are run by a battalion of young, injured, bandaged Aussie
chicks, with a "my boyfriend is Canadian, so I'm a legit local" attitude. I hang around as Erin from Melbourne manoeuvres her splintered wrist to organise my skis and poles, while the other girls flirt outrageously with a couple of dudes from LA, ignoring their far less tantalising countrywoman.
I try to remember if there's a left and right ski, put them on the right way round instead of back-to-front, layer up against the 3-degree day (in the village, much colder up the top of the mountain) and push off for ski school.
At school, I lay down the ultimatum. Lady, don't give me an Aussie instructor. American, Swiss, hell, even Canadian, if there is a Canadian on the mountain. Anything but Aussie. OK, Emilio, from Bariloche, Argentina, will do. And Philippe from Montreal. Hey! A real, genuine French-Canadian!
After lessons, where I learn that everything I know is wrong, it's time to take on the mountain. Inch by terrifying inch. How else am I going to get to the bottom, other than by humiliating chairlift, reserved only for the injured, the lame and those too young to walk or, I'm guessing, ski.
Compared with Australia, where the runs average
less than a kilometre, Whistler's runs go on forever - the longest is a whopping, and intimidating, 11 kilometres. But at the end of every chairlift there is a green run. Truly, this is a dream for second-rate skiers, although Whistler is absolutely tough enough to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Deep breath and into the fray. It's not long before a ski class of children with irritatingly good form hear a stream of filthy language coming from a bunker of powder (it's got me in the middle of it). "Oh f---, not again." I decide to take a photograph of the spectacular scenery each time I fall down. My two-gigabyte card gets filled up halfway down the mountain. Then a Japanese teenager gets stretchered off in front of me.
"The big pizza slice is my friend," I chant desperately, as a I splay my skis in the hope of slowing down and pump out my bosom Pamela Anderson-style, as instructed, to stop myself from dropping into a lethally off-balance defensive crouch.
At the bottom, I do an assessment of my accomplishment: there is plenty of falling time and plenty of sitting-down time. But no crying time and both legs
Erin tearing up the slopes
Erin & TJ's mantra: "French fries...pizza...french fries...pizza" - referring to ski's together (fast) and ski's apart (slow) are intact, even if my pride's in pieces. Victory dance. I have snow-ploughed Whistler.
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Rach and Justin
non-member comment
Awesome!
Looked like you had an amazing time and the blog was out in no time - good work!! I hope Erin is up for some more skiing when you both return to Aus..... Sounds like Christmas and New Years was a ball, loved the pics. Sorry we missed your call the other night we will try and call you in the next couple of days, if not, the weekend. Take care and keep the adventures coming!! Love, Rach and Justin