Spring Break 2016 – Whistler

To kick off Spring Break 2016, we headed up to Whistler for a night.

Way back in 2013, Peter and I had ventured that way for spring break. We had a little less snow and a whole lot more child to deal with.

Now, I could show you some sweet pictures and let you think this was a relaxing time away but…that would be a lie. Don’t get me wrong – we had fun and it was nice to go and do something different. But I wouldn’t describe it as relaxing. We had originally thought we might stay two nights but at about 2 am on Sunday night, I was pretty sure one night would be enough for us.

Pearl’s favourite part of the trip was this window in the condo, where she could stand and look out and bark at any dogs that might pass by below.

After writing this post on Saturday,  it may be clear that we weren’t going into our trip with the best sleep under our belts. And Pearl, bless her little heart, is a home body. While she’s fine with some flexibility in her schedule, she does still need two naps a day and she loves sleeping in her own bed.

She also loved admiring herself in a mirror the length of one whole wall.

We only had to pull over once on the drive from the ferry to Whistler and Pearl’s annoyance at still being in her car seat was placated with baby biscuits. She eventually fell asleep and we opted to not stop for lunch in Squamish (the original plan) but drove onwards and spent our afternoon in Whistler.

As sacrificing parents, Peter and I set up Pearl’s portable bed in the condo’s bedroom and took the living room’s (very uncomfortable) pull-out couch. Pearl went to bed with minimal fuss and Peter and I enjoyed take-out pasta and cable television. The rest of the night? Well, let’s just say when Peter went out to get us coffee in the morning, I asked for a large.

We spent a quiet morning in the village and then worked hard and long to get Pearl to take a nap. Which ended with her asleep on the big bed and me laying down beside her, not asleep.

Having decided one night was enough for us, we packed up and drove to Brandywine Falls, where we’d heard there was snowshoeing. Unfortunately, we were missing that key component of snowshoeing – snow. So it was more of a hike while carrying snowshoes.

But the falls are pretty.

Family shot!

Can you tell that Pearl is edging ever closer to being done with family bonding/hiking time?

We made it as far as the bungee bridge, me feeding an increasingly fussy baby bits of rice cake. We stopped there for a quick snack and let Pearl out of her carrier to run around in her snow suit. Which she did not like.

But at least she looks cute.

About five minutes after we’d turned to head back, Pearl started hollering and crying for serious. Peter and I launched into a rousing rendition of “The Wheels on the Bus” (Pearl’s favourite song, stretching it out to make it all the way back to the car. Since one of Pearl’s favourite things right now is animal sounds, the song morphed into a song about a bus full of animals (and some dinosaurs) but Pearl quickly grew quiet and before long was fast asleep.

It really was a pretty hike.

We all slept (pretty) well that night, happily in our own beds.