Canada...eh

Hi…Long time blah blah blah.

Well we just got back, well not just; actually it was Monday from Whistler, BC. Has traveling become more stressful or is it just me. It used to be where you stood in line for the check in counter and wait for the next available human to issue you your boarding pass and baggage claim. Now you stand in line for the next available computer screen and check in yourself, it’s supposed to make the process move faster.
The screen gives you about six options on which to enter your flight information, after striking out on three we tried the passport method…bingo. After that you stand in another line to check your baggage, want didn’t they used to do this at the same time? Next line security, oops forgot to take the laptop out of the bag, sorry folks behind me. Security at LAX is pretty lax compared to the rest of the world.
Now we are though security. We have to get our boarding pass at the gate; didn’t they do this at the same time as check in? Vancouver is a very nice airport, not to big, not to small…it’s just right.
Customs in Vancouver was a breeze except for the guy I went to, my passport is almost expired so he gave me the business. Our flight was delayed in LA so we missed our bus to Whistler, so we had an hour to kill. Fresh Stella’s killed the time nicely. The Sea to Sky Highway is a really nice drive; it’s about two and a half hours to Whistler from Vancouver, Vancouver is a nice city, got to spend some time their one of these years, I’ve been to Whistler four times and never got off the bus in Vancouver. I don’t know if the Canadians are really proud of their country, or they were still celebrating the Gold Metal over the US in hockey, but there was Maple Leaf Flags everywhere, hanging from building in shop windows…etc; everywhere! It’s aboot 1730 when we arrive at our hotel, Adara. It’s a nice Boutique hotel that I got a good deal on. The hotel is just steps away from the village. We dropped are bags and hit the town er village. The Paralympics were starting on Saturday so there were a lot of athletes in town for that, the Village was all a buzz. Upon returning to our hotel about 0130 we could hear the music from the disco below pretty clear. Lucky four us the hours of operation are not like in New Zealand…”til late” The music stopped about two, and off to sleep. The next morning I got our room moved to more quite local, the third floor on the opposite side of the disco. Very nice staff at the Adara, I would go back. The weather in Whistler was not very nice; it snowed all day, everyday. This is good and bad. I’d rather have a nice blue bird day, but you can’t have everything. Never saw the sun the whole time we where there, now I see why people move to California. Are time in Whistler was spent like this, Sleep a lot, eat a lot, brush ‘em like crazy, Run a lot, do a lot, never be lazy. The Paralympics started on Saturday, we where able to see the opening ceremonies and some of the events on the giant video screens they had everywhere. This is the Olympics they should broadcast! I’m not going to go into any details, but think about it…
On our last day in Whistler we went Snowmobiling and Zip Lining. Snowmobiling was fun, the last time I rode one I was really sore from all the jarring, this time not so much. Zip lining was good as well although we where doing it while snowing; this zip lining is a blast. If you are ever in a place where they have it, by all means try it! Alas we are back home, it’s 80 degrees.