Whistler Pre-Olympics

Instead of the standard American staple of turkey for thanksgiving, May and I decided to pack our bags and head north for the long weekend in Whistler B.C. The border website that May mentioned in her last post was a lifesaver. We left at around 7am and completely avoided all the border back-up. Brilliant!

We missed all the good snow by a week...54 inches to be exact. By the time we arrived the weather had been relatively warm (40's) all week so much of the snow at the base had melted. We stayed at a hotel right in the heart of Whistler village, walking distance to everything. Instead of a fancy hotel using the Expedia travel agent rate we decided to book a room with a fireplace, living room and kitchenette. We really enjoyed it, much more room to spread out and it was super convenient to just make breakfast in the room instead of dining out for every meal. And with the 1:1 exchange rate, it made a big difference.

On Friday morning I went snowboarding while May researched spa treatment options. It was an unexpectedly beautiful day, crystal clear blue skys, not too cold. The skiing on the top of Whistler was perfect, no complaints, but the bottom of the hill was dreadfully icy. I had a blast but the last run of the day proved fateful, I sprained my wrist on a fall and walked down the last bit of the mountain... the bottom had very little snow, just ice patches here and there. After a quick visit to the doc I got a bandage and a clean bill of health.

May and I walked over to a nearby trail that circled Lost Lake and did a little snowshoeing on Thursday and Saturday. Not a ton of snow, but just enough that without the gear your feet would sink a ways into the snow. It's a blast, particularly the downhill sections. Talk about a super cheap sport. We were so excited to get our first snowfall on Saturday morning, but due to the warm weather it melted by the end of the day. I recommend visiting Whistler on Thanksgiving weekend, there really were not many folks in town...hopefully it stays that way for January too!

After scoping the border crossing website we decided to kill some time in Vancouver. What a great city, I keep forgetting how many shops there are there. In fact one might say it's a smaller version of Hong Kong... and colder too. The terrible exchange rate didn't get us excited to buy anything so we turned our attention back to our stomachs and visited a friendly looking steak and fish grill before hitting the road.

What's the next winter moutain trip? Mt. Baker? Crystal Mountain? Steven's Pass?

The internet saves the day!

It's really amazing the type of information you can now access through the internet. Scott and I were discussing this a while back when we were getting ready for our Deception Pass camping trip. We marveled that the Washington state parks site not only lets you view (and choose) available campsites, but also shows you pictures of each individual site so you can gauge shade, the level of the ground, etc.

Tonight, I'm impressed I was able to pull up archived data of the average wait times at the Washington/Canada border. The Cascade Gateway Data site can chart the average delay time down to the hour of a specific day. So cool! Based on the data for last year's Thanksgiving weekend, we've decided we'll try to cross the border back into the States this Sunday around 9-10pm. If history is our gauge, the average wait times by then should be down to less than 45 minutes. We'll let you know how it goes!

Symphony!

We have been very bad about posting lately! Sorry about that, we will try to be better. Especially with all the winter activities coming up, we should have a lot to report on.

Last night we ventured out to test the cultural side of Seattle and went to the Symphony. We catch the bus to work underneath the Hall, so it was fun to actually be able to go INTO the building this time. The hall itself is quite nice and far smaller than I imagined. It looks like pretty much any seat would be a good seat in this auditorium.

The headliner was Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, but the standout for the night actually ended up being Mozart's Piano Concert No 21 in C Major, featuring guest pianist Gabriela Montero. It was hauntingly beautiful and, since it's a pretty recognizable piece, we even found ourselves humming it after the show. Montero is known for her improvisations and she wowed us with her encore - she asked an audience member to pick any song and someone volunteered Sleeping Beauty. With that, she improvised a 10 minute piano piece incorporating the famous melody. It was dazzling to see someone riff like that on a piano - she started off playing it classic and then ended it on a jazz note. It makes me wish that I practiced piano more when I was a kid!

Here's the concert list that we heard:
Ludwig Irgens Jensen: Partita Sinfonica, “The Drover”
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, “Pathétique”

Autumn in Yosemite

Last Saturday morning we set off from Way & Kevin's home in SF to nearby Berkeley to get our indian food fix in before the trek to Yosemite. Vic's Chaat Corner is one-of-a-kind. I normally would beg May to order chicken-tika-massala but this place doesn't serve the normal dishes, they serve "chaat" or street food. No idea what any of the items on the menu are, but the food is tasty... a helpful addition to the menu would be pictures (even better, scratch and sniff).

The drive from Berkeley to Yosemite was only about 3.5 hours with lead-foot-larry (aka Way) at the wheel (jk!). We got there in plenty of time to enjoy the last few hours of sunlight in the valley floor where we stopped to snap some pics of the fall colors and friendly Mule deer. Night #1 we spent in Curry Village (no connection to our lunch) - these are heated and insulated "tents" (more like cabins than tents really). Despite the near freezing temperatures at night we were toasty warm with the heater. I'm not sure why, but I don't think any of us slept that night. The beds were a little stiff and I think all of us were too scared to go outside and brave the bears to use the restroom. Alas, no bears to be found in the morning... good thing Kevin took the threat so seriously, jettisoning all non-essential food, chapstick or anything else that could possibly attract a bear or squirrel.

Day two was a beautiful crystal clear fall day. We decided to all rent single-speed bikes and ride the trail around Yosemite valley. I would highly recommend it despite the $25 per person cost. It was about 12 miles round-trip along flat ground with breathtaking views of the waterfalls, meadows and rocky walls. May enjoyed that the bike trail was pretty far removed from the main roads. Night #2 we spent at the Yosemite lodge which had much nicer accomodations on the valley floor than the cabin... but the bathroom was arguably on-par with the Curry village camp ground. We decided to get a drink at the old and famous Ahwahnee hotel. Beautiful location below the cliffs, but quite a bit outdated throughout... not worth the $400 per night. When we returned to the lodge we decided to eat-in and visit the ol' caffeteria next door. More pizza and burgers for the weekend... the nature was healthy for the sole, but the food in Yosemite not-so-much.

Day three we decided to drive up to Glacier point (7K foot elevation) to take advantage of the beautiful weather and snap some pictures of Half Dome. Unfortunately we spent a good chunk of the morning parked - waiting to drive up the mountain in-between road working crews. But the wait was worth it, picture-perfect views and amazing vistas overlooking the Sierra Nevadas. I can't wait to go back when there is snow on the ground!