{16march2012: Whistler - part 3}

So the main reason we went up to Whistler, so Jason could ride the bobsled at the Whistler Sliding Centre.


We got to the sliding center a bit early so we decided to walk around the area.


Darwin got to check out the skiers and snowboarders.



And walk down this wooden stair case.

Jason had to sit through a short introduction class so while he was inside I made Darwin a gold medal winner (minus the medal):

I put Darwin in the car while I went inside to see when it would be Jason's turn to ride. The professionals take 3 people down per bobsled (a 4 person bobsled) and Jason was with a couple in the 3rd bobsled. I hurried outside to the ring so I could snap a few pictures as they went around.

Luckily I was able to snap a few shots of they in the frame as they zipped by. (Jason's in the brown jacket in the back of the sled.)

As I was leaving the ring I noticed a sign that pets could be in there as long as they were on leash. So of course I had to bring Darwin in to see a bobsled! 

I had her stand near the railing for a few pictures and soon she could hear something coming... 

{what is that noise?}

{it sounds like it's getting louder}

{holy s$%* what the $@# was that?!}

I'm mean, I know. But it was funny. 

I walked her around in the ring a bit so she could calm down a bit before walking out to find Jason.

As we waited I got her to sit by a bobsled outside the visitors center.

It was almost 2pm by that point and Jason had a 1am flight to Singapore. So we quickly loaded back in the car and hoped for good traffic as we headed home. A quick weekend trip, but definitely worth it.

{13march2012: Whistler - part 2}

Continuing on our walk...



Since we were in so much snow we had to have some snowball time.

(BTW, throwing a snowball and trying to take a picture at the same time is pretty tricky!)

I had Darwin pose for some pretty pictures as well.

We came across a short wooden bridge and Darwin LOVES crossing bridges, so she ran over, and when she saw we weren't following she ran right back.


Darwin figured out stopping in the snow isn't very easy and she came to a sliding stop, almost into me!


We ran Darwin in a few more loops before heading back to the cabin.


Jason and I had spa time, then came back for a late dinner.  Sunday was the big day Jason was looking forward to, so come back and check out how it went!

{9march2012: Whistler - part 1}

After we found out the big news, Jason and I were talking about all the things we would miss and began thinking of weekend trips before we move. As we were talking Jason found out that the Olympic bobsled track in Whistler (used for the Vancouver Olympics) was open to the public and he really wanted to do that. Then right before we went to Belize, we were asked if we'd be willing to work in the Singapore office for a couple months as they are really busy and our office was pretty slow. We both wouldn't be able to go so Jason agreed to go. They wanted him to go the Monday (1am) after we got back from Belize, meaning he wouldn't be back til late April. That forced us to plan a quick weekend trip up to Whistler that same weekend we got back from Belize (we got back Thursday at 1am, and drove up to Whistler at 4pm Friday). Can I just say, EXHAUSTING. It didn't help that the weather as we drove up was awful, heavy rain and there was a lot of traffic leaving Seattle. Plus the road to Whistler from Vancouver is a windy and dark. I told Jason I felt like I was driving a street car racing course and I was losing (everyone was passing me). We finally made it up there at around 11pm Friday night (EXHAUSTING).
Jason had found a dog friendly resort that was very close to the village. It was a great location. After we unloaded the car we brought Darwin in and could finally relax. As we were checking things out I turned on the ceiling fan. It freaked Darwin out.

We think it was the shadows on the ceiling because we turned it on again in the morning and she could care less about it.
Saturday morning Jason had planned to go snowboarding, but he realized he'd rather spend the day with Darwin and I since he was leaving for so long. So we hung out a bit at the cabin, and Darwin checked out what was happening outside. (She wasn't a fan of the guy shoveling the sidewalks.)

I had noticed that there was a spa just up the road from the resort so we decided to get a massage. (If you're ever near a Scandinave Spa I'd highly recommend the splurge for a massage and a chance to relax in their thermal baths. So nice.) Of course being that we had JUST gotten back from Belize and were only half conscious when packing we neglected to bring swimming stuff. No worries though, we couldn't book a massage appointment til 745pm so that gave us time to head to Whistler Village to do a little shopping (a girl can never have too many bathing suits right?).

Of course we had to have refreshments...


(Seriously, why is poutine a Canadian thing? Fries, gravy, cheese. So good. Restaurants in the US need to get on that!)
After our quick shopping and eating break we picked up Darwin from the cabin and went on a little walk around the resort.


Of course the best way to get Darwin to run is to split up and call her back and forth.









to be continued...

{29feb2012: unBelizeable}

Before we knew about the big news, Jason and I had planned a holiday to Belize. The timing worked out for work as right around the lunar new year projects at work slow down, but it did mean we missed Darwin's birthday (I feel awful about it and still need to get around to planning her birthday/family reunion too). But we did have a great week and a half vacation and I have the bad tan lines (and now peeling skin) to prove it!
Here are some pictures:
Such pretty clear blue water!

Our first stop after landing was the Belize Zoo. Here's a Tapir.

An Ocelot:

A Puma:

We splurged at the beginning of the trip and stayed at an eco-adventure lodge, Cave's Branch in the jungle near Belmopan. 

It was a great way to start off our trip and we got to do some fun day trips. One was cave tubing and zip lining!

The second day we went on a tour of waterfalls located in a cave under a mountain. This one was a workout hiking through the jungle to the entry of the cave, hiking through the water through the cave, and climbing up (and jumping down) waterfalls. We did have a great picnic lunch in the cave though, on a nice white table cloth too!

We stayed another night and did a side trip (not a trip booked through Caves Branch) to the biggest Mayan ruins in Belize, Caracol. This was quite a drive to get to, and most of it was on unpaved, potholed dirt roads. Rough drive, but the ruins were great.

The next day we left Caves Branch and headed to an island a little north of Belize City, Caye Caulker. Lobster season was about to come to an end, so we started our time off on the island with fresh grilled lobster!

Island life was relaxing. Lots of time spent lounging around reading, eating and drinking. 

Lots of dogs and some cats on the island. One dog in particular buddied up with Jason.

Of course we were suckers and shared our ice cream with him.

We did get out and do more than just sun ourselves. Jason went scuba diving one day, we rented a kayak and checked out the north side of the island, and on the last day before we left we spent the day on a sail boat and went snorkeling.

It was a great vacation but we were very happy to get home to Darwin!