Whistler :: British Columbia 2018

My second (and final) day in Vancouver, at the suggestion of the owners of the cottage I stayed at, after an early morning hike that eventually took me to Quarry Rock, I made a day trip to Whistler and enjoyed the incredible beauty of the Sea to Sky Highway, going from Vancouver up to Whistler. It literally took my breath away and gave me goosebumps. The signs kinda taunted me, saying absolutely no stopping, because all I wanted to do was slam on the brakes and sit there in the middle of the mountain road staring. Seriously. Incredible!

I took off around 10am from North Vancouver, and although I WANTED to stop along the way up to capture the insane raw natural beauty along the way up, I made it a straight shot, with this being my only stop:

How crazy is it that when I stopped, I was sad that they chose THIS spot to have as a stop for photo op, because compared to what I had just seen, it was NOTHING.

I made it to Whistler around noon time and found parking, and then some lunch in the ADORABLE little Whistler Village.

I walked around the village for a good half hour before deciding to stop for some lunch at The Brasserie.

I decided at the urging of a few of my Canadian friends to give poutine another try. The only other time I had tried it was at the Toronto airport before we went to Ireland, and I was sorely disappointed. This time I opted to add some shredded pork to it, and it was a HUGE hit! I still wasn't overly fond of any bite that I took where it was just the fries and gravy and cheese curds, but any bite with the pork was AWESOME!

While Whistler is known for its incredible skiing in the winter time, when it gets into summer time, it isn't skiing, but mountain biking that takes over. There was a really cool course, and I'm assuming some sort of tournament while I was there. There were mountain biker dudes (and dudettes...and little biker kiddos) EVERYWHERE.

The people watching was paramount here! It was the perfect place to just sort of sit back, relax and watch all the different people.

After lunch, I explored more and did some light shopping for the kiddos and myself.

Whistler was such a wonderful little place! I would absolutely go back, given the opportunity! It was such an easy, relaxing place to stroll around, shop a little, eat a little, relax a little. I think it'd be an excellent place for families and kids, was SO walkable, and the village was just so quaint and cozy and inviting. It was absolutely worth the drive up from Vancouver.

Baden Powell Trail and Quarry Rock :: British Columbia 2018

I typically wake up between 4-5am during the week when home in Minnesota, so having my normal wake up time be so early at HOME, subtracting 2 hours from that for the time difference and add in the luxury of sleeping through the night and sleeping "in", I was up and ready for my day by 5am British Columbia time. I had planned to head out for Whistler around 9 or 10am so that I could grab some lunch and explore there, and had a little time to kill. I had heard about nearby Quarry Rock, just a short hike from where I was staying, so I opted to park near the trailhead, grab some water and snacks and my Bible and head on up there for my devotions that morning.

Let me start by saying: Don't be like me. Don't be stupid and naiive. Take at very least a whistle and some mace should you come across a bear (which I was fortunate to not have), extra water, and extra snacks. And a water proof jacket. And...oh...I don't know...a MAP?! I mean...I obviously don't hike a lot, but man was I ever unprepared. Fortunately, everything turned out completely fine, as I'm here, but this hike reminded me over and over how stupid I was. I mean...my DSLR weighed more than the entire rest of my pack, if that says anything.

A "short hike", I was told, and I mean...I should've known after the first 45 minutes that I had gone the wrong way. I should've turned around and re-grouped at that point. But...here...at this bridge...immediately across from where I parked, I took a right when I should've taken a left, and well...90 minutes later, I turned around to head back the "right" way, which was actually LEFT at this bridge:

I mean, really, seriously - I had only 3/8 of the "essentials" for hiking, and some tennis shoes on, so if you HAD found me dead on the trail eaten by a hungry bear, it wouldn't have been too far-fetched.

I will say, hiking out in the woods (albeit completely ill-prepared) at 5:30am was extremely peaceful! It was so beautiful, and I saw so many cool little slugs and my first ever snail.

I had these great visions of sitting on Quarry Rock enjoying an incredible, refreshing devotional overlooking the cove with little boats going by out in the distance. Yeah...that just wasn't really a "thing", and I finally just stopped after hiking about 45 minutes and plopped down on a rock along the trail. The Lord led me to Matthew 22, where Jesus walks on the Water. It was a really good reminder to me that even in the midst of this crazy year, the most important thing is just continue to keep my focus on Christ. When I lose my focus and begin to notice just how enormous the storm is that I'm in the midst of with our family crisis in 2017/2018, I am going to drown. And the hike was an incredible reminder to me that I just have to take the next step, even when I'm weary and beat down and overwhelmed. Just the next step.

Before long, I reached this point, and seriously - it was at this point that I should've known better. The owners didn't mention anything about crossing a road. And if there had been a place to park that would've shortened my hike, they would've told me about it, right? The thought crossed my mind, but I convinced myself that I had just forgotten.

As a reference, I should've taken the green path, but I ended up taking the red path...and then having to come all the way back down and THEN following the green trail. WAYYYYYYY out of my way. And did I mention that the hike was pretty much entirely uphill? It was a whole lot of work, and I didn't even bring a hair tie to put my hair up. I thought often that I was so very glad that it was at least nice and cool that morning, so I wasn't in the heat of the summer sun.

In fairness, I kept thinking they were just referring to "Deep Cove Lookout" as Quarry Rock, which was probably stupid, but that's why I kept going. If I hadn't seen that on the guideposts, I probably would've turned around much sooner.

I did snap a few "trail selfies" along the way to document my little hike ;)

At some point around in there, I ran into a guy going for a morning run (no doubt coming from a home right up the street - gah - I should've known better) who told me that yes, I *could* get to Quarry Rock from here, but it'd be a LONNNNNGGGGG hike, and he advised I turn around and follow the Baden Powell Trail all the way back to where I came from, and then also ran into another guy out mountain biking with his dog who specifically told me where I went wrong, and so I turned around and hiked ALLLLLLLLL the way back to here, which was when I started. By then, it was 7:50am, so I had already been hiking for about an hour and twenty minutes before I got back to where I was supposed to have started ;)

By that point, I was a little tired of pictures, and I just wanted to get there and get back. I made a quick 10 minute pit stop at the car to rest for a short bit and to grab a hair tie and to drop off my empty water bottle and grab my iced latte (that I thought I'd be back for in half an hour earlier haha) It was a pretty crazy, but very short hike to the Indian Arm lookout, which was beautiful, but no more beautiful than the view from my cottage.

Not long after, I made it to Quarry Rock!

It took me all of 20 minutes to take the hike. Twenty minutes! I was there by 8:20am. After my crazy long day of hiking, and my desire to get on the road for the 2 hour drive to Whistler, I didn't opt to stick around very long once I got there. The view was stunning, but again, not significantly better than the view at the cottage where I was staying.

After that whole day, I think I'd do the hike again, but I just would actually PLAN to hike to the top of Mount Seymour, and well...park WAY up at that last road I made it to so I wouldn't have to waste so much time hiking that far lol Quarry Rock was beautiful, but I don't think I'd make THAT hike again.

A Facial at Willow Stream Day Spa :: British Columbia 2018

Every part of this trip was pretty amazing, but this part was pretty awesome. I have to start by saying I had never been to a spa before, so I had no idea what to expect. I mean, I did a spa manicure in Sioux Falls the day before my wedding, in which I had a very small taste of the experience, but I will ABSOLUTELY be visiting a spa again in the future. It was INCREDIBLE! It was SO relaxing. I enjoyed myself SO MUCH. And I want to take all my girlfriends when I go back, because it would have been even BETTER with friends!

The staff at Willow Stream Day Spa left no detail left unattended to, and I felt extremely relaxed. The ONLY thing I felt a little "off" about was that I didn't realize I should have brought a fresh change of clothes with me, and maybe some makeup? I guess that's just the inexperienced spa experience, right? lol I had no idea! I also had no idea I should've brought a swimsuit with me for the hot tub. (I didn't know they had one, or that I could have used it. It would've been AWESOME on the rooftop patio in the ladies' lounge)

I started off by slipping into my white plush robe and relaxing in the ladies' lounge with a glass of fruit-infused water, taking in the incredible view from the roof.

They offered a menu option along with snacks, and it was at that point I should've ordered my sushi and enjoyed it on the patio, but well...I opted to just stick with the snacks for the time being.

Seriously - HEAVEN on Earth right here!

After about an hour of relaxing (including using their 8 or 10 (I didn't count) head shower and taking a short little nap on the patio, reading a few magazines, and just resting, the clinician called me back for my facial, and boy was that a treat! I started by wrapping myself up in this little cocoon of blankets and practically falling asleep while waiting for the facial to begin. In fairness, it was only delayed because I asked if there was any possible way to increase my time on my parking meter, as I had stupidly only put 2 hours, and it would be more like 3 before I got out. (The last thing I needed was to have my rental car towed or fined!) They handled it well, and ensured me that I didn't need to worry about a thing.

The facial was divine (I had the Nature's Indulgence treatment), and oh, so relaxing, but I'll admit that after that killer massage from earlier in the day, it was just "nice", and I probably wouldn't go to that extreme again.

It really did feel awesome, though, aside from the part where she did the "extrusions" (a.k.a. popping zits), and my skin felt seriously radiant, and OH so smooth afterward. I only wish I had thought to bring a change of clothes and makeup afterwards so I didn't feel so gross putting on my old clothes.

Would I go here again? ABSOLUTELY! I don't think I'd do nearly as expensive a facial, but would probably opt for a massage or pedicure or something along those lines. Their service was INCREDIBLE, and the facility was INCREDIBLE, and I'd give the whole place a 5-star rating! Granted, it was my first real spa experience, so there's that ;) I think this is most definitely going to be a thing from here on out on my travels ;)