Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory with the old chairlift and giant bear still present in the village
My posdum looking out from the window of my bedroom - great view of Whistler at night
View of the geated outdoor pool below in the apartment complex and of Whistler from my balcony
The Winter Olympic rings from 2010 near the ice skating rink in the village
The new multimillion dollar Village Gate Loop coach terminal viewed from my balcony
Whistler during the day from my balcony
The bag is going to Whistler with me - all options will cost me either way. If I left it in Vancouver it will cost me for storage and if I take it with me to Whistler it will cost me for transportation. If I donate the contents it will cost me.
It has been a stressful 3 weeks so far - my allergies have been aggrevated and I have grey hairs - about a dozen of them!
If I arrive in Whistler and find there is a problem with my accommodation I will absolutely go bizerk!
TBC.....
Ok no problem checking in but I arrived earlier then expected. It can take up to 2.5 hours to get to where I am staying in Whistler due to the number of drop offs and mini vans required for door to door service.
Today we arrived in a little over an hour as there were only 2 drop offs Squarmish and Village Gate Loop - no Creekside drop offs and only 3 drop off when we transferred to a mini van - the first being Cascade Lodge therefore departing Burrard station at 10.40 am with 2 no shows to the Fairmont Whistler arriving around 11.40 am - schedule arrival time was 12.30 pm. The coach was less then 1/3 full. Plenty of room to stretch out but going back downtown it was a full load. Nobody was travelling up to Whistler on Friday morning and I probably know why - no accommodation - why? because this Sunday is the start of Whistler Pride and Ski Festival, an event usually later in Jan/Feb but pushed forward this year to clash with Robbie Burns & Australia Days instead of clashing with Family Day in early to mid February this year.
Too early to check in at Twin Peaks, I leave my bags in the lobby of the Cascade Lodge to take photos of the village after picking up my new Epic Card (lift ticket) from Guest Services at the base of the Whistler Gondola. For those of you that have not been reading my blog Whistler is now no longer a Canadian owned ski resort - it is now part of the "Vail" group of ski resorts owned by the USA and includes one of Australia's ski resort NSW Perisher Blue, hence Whistler also known as "Whistralia" is known as a "North Americian" ski resort and never referred to a "Canadian" ski resort especially in ski magazine publications. No mention of it still being "North America's top ski resort" as there has been a lot of outrage and or negative feedback as to the change in operation from locals and visitors to Whistler since Vail's takeover of the resort. The resort has become far to commercial and expensive - gone are the days when I first visited Whistler back in 1994/1995.
Some things around Whistler Village haven't changed but there is a new multimillion dollar coach "terminal" at the Village Gate Loop which for the life of me can't work out why it would cost that much as it looks incomplete and the stucture unsafe. It is just an oversized wooden roofing structure where buses upload and download passengers in bays - not much different to the previous bays - passengers still have to stand to wait for coaches to arrive and depart as there is still no seating.
Also under construction is a new pod hotel in the centre of the village - maybe next year when it is complete I may stay in it. Where do you put your skis and how do you get to the top bunk?
Back to Twin Peaks where I check in and where my apartment is still not quite ready to check into but the couple from Montreal had just checked into their apartment. Ok they are just making my bed so I was advised that by the time I walk back to the apartment it should be ready.
First night in my apartment felt like home. I unpacked everything and sorted everything and caught up with my diary record keeping. I also washed my clothes and hung them up to dry. I watched tv properly for the first time then I ate whatever I could find and then went grocery shopping at the IGA at Marketplace Village North ( lack of food available there for some reason therefore grabbed what I could). Back to my apartment and I had a shower then went to bed.
End of night 1 in Whistler.
Tomorrow is catch up day hopefully.
Photos attached above - what a sight from balcony and bedroom of Whistler day and night.
If you are wondering whay happened on the 17th and 18th January 2018 - well these were do nothing days except final preparations for Whistler Week. I was so angry about my missing Christmas parcel I didn't even want to go anywhere or do anything and I still had a long way to go before I completed everything I wanted to see and do on my bucket list. I have failed to complete it this year. Next year I will not be returning to Vancouver! I have started to plan for my next trip now. Montreal again next year probably - there will be no NYE fireworks no Polar Bear Swim and no more Mr Nice guy to Australia Post. Wait until I start legal action against Australua Post when I get back to Australia.
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