This trip has taught me the importance of ‘Claire and me’ time. We will need to take some mini vacations within our global travel for just ourselves. They could be a night out together on a date or even a week long vacation in Europe while my folks in England look after their adorable grand daughter. Claire and I have wonderful times together and I feel it will be a critical piece of the global travel puzzle to ensure that the whole journey is an overall success.

In summary about Whistler – it rocked. We played hard, eat extremely well and pampered ourselves into a state of ‘lobotomy-like pure relaxation.’

Their website describes the spa as follows: Situated just north of Whistler Village, B.C., engulfed in a spruce and cedar forest on the edge of Lost Lake and Spruce Grove parks, this unique spa overlooks incredible mountain vistas and valleys. Invigorate and cleanse your body and mind in the hot baths and refreshing waterfalls, melt away with a relaxing massage, and breathe in the invigorating country air.

It is based on the Scandinavian traditional spa of hot and cold. Once you have been in the steam room you dunk yourself in the cold (and I mean ‘cold’) plunge pool to seal off the pores and reinvigorate yourself. Then come some serious chilling out in one of the hammocks or solarium rooms and then into the hot tub, followed by another cold plunge, followed by more relaxing. Then comes the wood-burning sauna (smelt AMAZING) and then the cold brave plunge into ice water again, followed by more relaxing. OK, so you get the picture, relaxing followed by more relaxing. We were there from 3-9pm and to add to our experience we both had an hour-long massage in the middle as well.

I normally get deep tissue sports massage where they hurt like hell and take you to the verge of tears. As this was supposed to be a relaxing experience I went for more of a relaxing massage experience. It was perfect! I was relaxed going in and more relaxed coming out. The pressure was deep enough to make a difference but not too deep to leave me in bruises – in short it was personable and amazing.

To add to the relaxing atmosphere the whole spa was ‘silent’. My only complaint about the spa was that this wasn’t mentioned until we had paid and were about to enter the changing rooms; for some the silent treatment may be off putting. For someone who doesn’t really enjoy quite downtime I thought this would be quite painful. It was a little strange to begin with, especially when my wife and I would see each other – but it forced me to be present and relax. It had me focus on my book that I was reading and not get caught up in idle chatter as well as being distracted by others annoying banter.

The spa is relatively new so it still has that pristine quality to everything. The grounds are kept spectacular, the change rooms were very clean and relaxing and the staff were super friendly.

I was also surprised at how reasonable the costs were. You could chill out in the spa all day for only $55. The massage was $140 for an hour which is still reasonable. If you are a local Whistler resident there is a special monthly pass – how great would that be at the end of a crazy day of work or play you relax in a hot baths watching the sun set or enjoying the stars and moon shining above you.

My whole trip was amazing but this spa is the one thing I am very eager to return to. In fact I am trying to think of any special occasions where we could visit again as soon as possible. For someone as particular as myself this speaks volumes for this spa.

So off we went up the chair lift on Blackcomb mountain, ‘happy as pie’. It was strange as I am use to doing this in winter, and there definitely was no snow here today. We passed over fields of slightly brown patches of grass, enjoyed stunning views as we turned around to see the city shrinking behind us and we got freaked out by the numerous warning signs saying you were going to be eaten by cougars, bears and other scary mountain like creatures reminding you that this was their territory. Fortunately the closest we came to such wildlife were the servers in the canteen with their less than favourable attitude and customer service skills.

We decided to hike at the top of Blackcomb before catching the new Peak to Peak gondola to Whistler mountain, as I knew the longer I procrastinated about the hike, the more likely it would never happen.

The Mountain Hike was actually very enjoyable, an easy trail (no surprises that it was the easiest one on the mountain), the views were spectacular, stunning in fact, reaching for miles and miles, seeing mountain pass after mountain pass. It made you feel small and insignificant, you could imagine another person stood on top of one of the mountains in the distance looking towards yourself and obviously not being able to see you. I like this. I find it important that as humans who often think they are all-mighty on this planet are reminded that nature will win a fight any day of the week. We may chop down the forests and pollute the skies but nature will fight back with deathly tornados and crippling volcanoes. Doom and gloom aside, the views were very pretty, the type my Mum would enjoy a picture of if I was to send it to her

After about 75 minutes and 24 mosquito bites later we had finished the ‘gentle hike’ to catch the Peak to Peak. This is the latest Gondola to be added to the Whistler and Blackcomb mountain and connects the two ski hills at the top of the mountain, the peak, hence the name. It breaks three world records, it has the longest unsupported span of 3.024 kilometres; it is the highest lift of its kind at 436 metre above the valley floor; and completes the longest continuous lift system on the globe. It travels 7.5 meters per second, it’s 4.4km long and amazingly it has only 4 towers.

Considering all these amazing stats. the ride was quick, extremely smooth (probably not so on a stormy winter’s day) and once again the views were amazing. There is one cabin that has a glass floor but we would have had to wait another 20 minutes for this and it was past lunchtime and our blood sugars were low, and as this was a romantic trip we thought we would eat and prevent the ‘hunger monsters’ showing up for a vacation feasting.

Claire wanted to come back to Blackcomb and return on the chair lifts, but I wanted to catch the smaller enclosed gondola back into Whistler so I could make out with my wife in the gondola cabin. It’s always good when a plan comes together We worked the line up to make sure we got a gondola cabin to ourselves and we were off… down the mountain. OK, as we’re responsible adults the passers by in the upcoming cabins didn’t get too much of an eyeful– but maybe this was because the windows were too steamed up for them to see anything (nod nod wink wink). As my wife is a teacher I have to state that I am only joking and we would never be caught doing such a thing!!…we were very careful…seriously, very well behaved, it wasn’t like this was our first time away together, was it.

Sidecut is a US style Steak house done fancy style. The service was spectacular. It was personal while still being respectful of your personal space, leaving you to enjoy the meal but always being there for when you needed them. Service at this high level is fundamental to a quality restaurant. It sets your expectation for the rest of the meal and can even absorb lesser expectations in the food. Luckily this was not a concern as the food was as amazing as the service. I had a 16oz New York Sirloin steak, cooked to perfection, medium rare; in fact I am having a ‘foodgasm’ right now just thinking about it as I type this post. There were two things that I thought were different with Sidecut when compared to other restaurants that I have also enjoyed rather great steak at. One, they asked what type of dry rub I would like on my steak. The other was they brought to the table a gravy and sauce boat with eight different types of sauces to try with your steak. They were rich, sexy and bursting with intimate flavours.

Don’t get me wrong the main course was good (I think this is evident in the previous paragraph) but the desert blew it out of the water (so to speak). This may have something to do with that I had not eaten sugar for the previous 18 months (due to health reasons). Tonight would break that hiatus, and what a perfect desert to jump full body off the band wagon. A very large slice of Pecan Pie was delivered to the table, served with triple bourbon vanilla ice cream and caramelized bacon. I hate whisky and bourbon, love the rich smoky,oaky smell but hate the taste. That said, this ice cream was spectacular. It had a subtle taste of bourbon without being overwhelming. If you were to mix bourbon with double cream this is what it would taste like. The pie was dreamy, rich, decadent but simple, letting you revel in the taste rather than any fancy craftsmanship of presentation. The pie, the triple bourbon ice cream, mix that with caramelized bacon and you have a flavour-combination of extreme adult satisfaction. The sweet and salty bacon was a delight that was a surprise. I have heard a lot recently of bacon being served with dessert but I was still a little skeptical. I still remember having it on the spoon and thinking ‘well, here goes’. It just works, the kind of thing you have to try for yourself to truly believe.

The evening was finished with a crazy sugar rush and a splendid decaf Americano, and as we were celebrating our seventh wedding anniversary the server generously brought seven hand made chocolates to the table. Now, as described, I was already rather full but not surprisingly I made a tiny bit of extra space for these complimentary and delicious chocolates.

The evening was shadowed by my large almost pregnant over stuffed belly! it’s never a good thing when one over-eats. That said, strangely when this happens I never blame the restaurant but only myself. Imagine saying ‘that damn Sidecut, they were so good they made me eat so, so, so much’. No, in fact, if the food wasn’t so bloody amazing I would have only had the main course and then would have exited as soon as possible (actually maybe it is their fault I overate after all . Even though my belly was groaning, I will always be left with the memories of fantastic service, incredible simple food served with the highest level of quality and taste. Can’t wait to go back again.

ATV’ing is something my wife wanted to do. Not I. I have a rocky past with motorized bikes. At adventure parks in the UK as a Kid every time I went on a mini bike I would either crash monumentally into another rider or ‘head over ass’ into the bales of hay set up around the perimeter as safety barriers. Mix this with a good friend dying on a bike at 17 has left me a little scared and cynical of bikes (with either two or four wheels). That said, I wanted to have an ‘open mind’ about trying out ATVing. Also my wife grew up living in Northern BC ATVing and riding Skidoos in the winter (a world apart from how I grew up), so it was something she was excited to do again.

Although I may have a bad experience with bikes I love skiing and going a little bonkers on the slopes. It could be said there have been times that I have been going so fast that my brain has set off alarm bells warning me of upcoming death if I continued at this speed and pace. It is exciting, invigorating, it gives you that energy-burst, reminds you that you are still alive, grateful of the fact, alive with adrenalin. This is what ATVing was like. After I got over the fact that I wasn’t going to die, I was like a little boy let loose on their parents seated lawn mower. I could rev it as much as I like, go a little too fast and then be ‘more cautious’ when I needed to calm the hell down and return to the reality that this was my first time on an ATV.

We went with Whistler ATV on their Bushwacker tour. It is described on their website as follows: “By far our most popular tour. Enjoy a variety of terrain from single track boulder trails to wide forest trails. Venture deep into the coastal forest for spectacular mountain views, remote mountain lakes and surging waterfalls”. They collected us in Whistler village and drove about fifteen minutes to the ATV location. The staff were fun, relaxed and above all when it came to safety were very serious and professional (we even did a test course and emergency breaking exercise), this with my past hate of bikes was very reassuring.

What a ride (forgive the pun). We stopped a couple of times to enjoy the view and rest up for a couple of minutes, which was amazing as it gave us time to reflect on the adventure to date, breathe, knock some dust off you (from the summer dry trails), take a photograph and then jump back on the ATV and get going again to the next crazy section of the course. I found myself at least six times grinning like a young man ‘popping his cherry’ for the first time, or driving his parents’ car and going super fast in third gear (well beyond the speed limit) and surviving and being able to brag about it to his buddies the next day.

Would I do it again? Without a doubt. Sign me up. Lets go today. Loved it. It was risky, fun, exhilarating, challenging and adrenalin-pumping. On the ride back to Whistler village we were talking to the driver, he explained that most people work the ATV summer shift just so they can enjoy the thrill of riding the snowmobile’s in the winter. Either he was an amazing marketer or he was genuinely being authentic about his passion for snowmobiling. Either way I am enrolled to jump onto one and can’t wait for the snow to fall.

Organized to the N’th degree! Anal! Always on the go!  These are some words that people may use to describe my sometimes overly-structured personality. I find it hard to sit still and do nothing, I feel lazy and unproductive. As this was our special and very rare time away together, I was so determined to chill out and relax. The only time in the last 10 years where I have truly relaxed was on our honeymoon, extreme hot weather (as well as other hot activities – nod nod wink wink) forced me to chill out and relax, succumbing to relaxing by the pool all day drinking and reading my book. So, as the hotel we were staying at had a pool and I had been working a ton of overtime the few weeks leading up to this vacation I had this vision for Friday where we would recreate Mexico, pool side, book, sun and ‘much relaxation’.

Our hotel room had a kitchen so we decided to eat breakfasts there and all other meals out. So come Friday Morning I went out early (my body clock unfortunately didn’t realize that my daughter wasn’t with us and that I could actually sleep in) to buy breakfast. While at the local supermarket buying cereal and fruit, I picked up a few flyers for things to do in Whilster. Lets say a few of them caught my attention as by the time I got back to the hotel I was super pumped-up and ready to take on the world. A day relaxing by the pool had been replaced by a two hour adventure swinging from the trees. As I burst into the bedroom I overwhelmed my wife with my new vision of the day. I ranted on about Monkido Monkiodo Monkido as she adjusted to being awake having her loving husband bouncing around the bedroom like Tigger on speed.

Monkido is an adventure course in the tree tops organized by the adventure company ‘Wild Play’. As they describe in their brochure: ‘Traveling from tree to tree in the forest canopy, guests navigate a variety of elements including suspended bridges, swinging logs, Tarzan swings, zip lines, tightropes and more’. If I had been one of the acrobats from Cirque this course would have proven easy. As an overweight desk junky it was anything but easy. Well that’s not entirely true. The course was similar to a ski run starting with an easy green section but getting more extreme and challenging all the way to a black section at the end of the course. Towards the end I hung on for dear life and even though I was attached to a security-line it felt like I was about to fall to my death or at least a broken limb or two at any moment. I went from being quite in control at the beginning to swinging like a drunken monkey trying to save a small slither of self dignity (that said, I am sure I looked calm and collected from the ground

The course started with an introduction to the different elements of the course. We were taught how to continually make sure we were attached correctly to the safety line. We were even warned that if the staff noticed we were not following the safety procedures we would be removed from the course. This would normally rub me up the wrong way (don’t love being told what to do) but on this occasion I was rather glad to hear they took safety so rigorously and I was very happy to oblige.

It was interesting to watch which part of the course my wife struggled with in comparison to me. This is not me being macho, believe me I struggled a lot on some sections of the course, it all depended on I guess personal strength and knowing what to do. At different times when the staff felt it was needed they would shout up advice and tips from the ground below the course which would make it so much easier.

As the course got more difficult the more I felt challenged, and with that the more I felt accomplishment once I reached the other side of a course, my hands, arms and legs may be aching like an old man in his 70’s but I was filled with pride and a sense of adventure.

Explaining in words what exactly the different course elements looked like would not do them justice, so here are our photos capturing the craziness of our Monkido adventure.

I judge whether something was successful on whether I would recommend it to others and if I would do it again. Would I recommend Monkido to you? If you are looking for a fun, adventurous afternoon filled with personal mental and physical challenge then you should do this, I loved it and am glad I spent the time and money doing this. It left me feeling like I had accomplished something, challenged, proud and manly. Would I do it again? Yes, but not for a wee while. It’s not the type of thing you do every weekend unless you are the type of person that likes to see how quickly they can climb a mountain every weekend, which I am defiantly not! My body ached, my hands felt like they had been in a two-hour tug of war, not the type of thing I want to do every week. That said, it was an amazing experience, adventure, chanting like a monkey warrior and challenging myself physically and mentally. Something I would defiantly do every couple of years for sure.

We took a long time to decide on where to go, should we go to LA, Vegas, stay local, go to Whistler etc. As I didn’t have a whole week off work we couldn’t do a package holiday to Mexico which would have been amazing, and we didn’t want to spend two whole days flying somewhere like LA. I also didn’t want to stay in Vancouver the whole time as it wouldn’t seem like a proper holiday, so we decided to drive the two hours to Whistler.

We created a tight budget for our trip and it was extremely important to find accommodation that’s wasn’t $450 a night. As important it couldn’t be too affordable and be infested with sweaty ‘splugy’ party stains all over the carpet. My good buddy had used the online service Allura Direct many times and highly recommended I checked it out, so I did but only after I was delusional and checked the Four Seasons website in anticipation that they would have a crazy ‘lets be nice to Matt and Claire’ room rate of less than $120 a night. After returning to reality I went straight to Allura Direct . The website is for private owners who rent out their units to people like us. We didn’t know where to start so I checked for my dates and starting with listing the cheaper units first. After looking at the first few nasty listings we saw one we liked. It was slope side in Blackcomb (will be amazing in skiing season), looked decent and was priced at $100 (summer price), which seemed very reasonable compared to others of similar style listed on the site. So we went ahead and booked our stay at the Aspens.

The online booking system was easy and I was emailed an auto responder / welcome message straight away. I was also emailed the PIN number for entry into the unit personally from the Rich & Jude Bouchard (owners of the unit), as well as the opportunity to get discounts on lift tickets and other Whistler attractions on their website. As a first time customer and user of the website I have to say it is really straight forward. Having direct contact with the owners of the property was very reassuring and it made answering my questions direct and simple.

When we arrived there we discovered that all the units are privately owned but the owners all contribute to hiring front desk staff like you would expect to see in any hotel lobby. This was a great touch–they helped with parking, getting to the elevator and other basic front desk tasks that added to the overall experience of the vacation.

I love expensive hotels because I am extravagant and I love amazing customer service  and these type of hotels are experts at this. They are all about the micro details and enhancing and delighting their customers. As our hotel room wasn’t the same nightly rate as the expensive hotels (where you have to steal all the bathroom products just so you feel you are getting better value for the room rate). I wasn’t expecting too much attention to detail.  Well was I ever shocked. We walked into the room and were greeted by the bar-like dining table set beautifully for a breakfast for four. A real simple touch but had you instantly feel welcomed and had you want to go to bed so you could wake up and enjoy a wonderful breakfast together around the table. Talking of sleeping, there was an amazing King size bed – nice touch. When you go on vacation you want to feel special, and as most couples sleep in a Queen size bed a King has that extra ‘roll around and stretch out room’ to make you feel special.

There was a selection of DVD’s (including the Layer Cake which is a brill British flick) and books, so if you wanted to cuddle up and chill on the leather sofa and shut out the outside world you easily could.

If you want to be in the Whistler village then this place is not for you. It’s located in Blackcomb a close 10 minute walk from Whistler village. Personally I have always preferred Blackcomb, the slopes are better and their village area / stroll is more intimate and relaxed.

The only downside of the room is that it is pool-side and as all of Whistler and Blackcomb is a party town there were a few drunk kids jumping over the pool gates in the middle of the night to try desperately to drown themselves.

An annoyance for sure (and would occur almost everywhere in Whistler) but nothing that would spoil a great vacation.

The true sign for myself that makes a place great is if I would return a second time. This for me is a big deal, I am very particular – some would say bloody fussy and have extremely high expectations (I do work in branding and marketing after all). Well, my verdict on this accommodation is overwhelmingly positive to the point where I somewhat regret sharing the info with others incase it is booked when I want to go again (ah well, guess I am just feeling generous). I am excited to return there in the winter and enjoy the benefit of ‘ski-in’ and ‘ski-out’ from the hotel – will be soooooo sweet. I am off now to book the room before I post this blog

After lunch we headed for Cirque Du Soleil, to watch their new performance Kooza. Cirque’s website describes the show as: ‘Between strength and fragility, laughter and smiles, turmoil and harmony, KOOZA explores themes of fear, identity, recognition and power. The show is set in an electrifying and exotic visual world full of surprises, thrills, chills, audacity and total involvement’.

Claire had always wanted to see Cirque, so this was really for her. That said, I knew I would enjoy the show but wasn’t super excited. Wow, was I ever wrong. I more than enjoyed it, I thought it was amazing. They made it look easy. There was one guy who balanced 15 chairs ontop of each other one by one to a height of about ‘oh, my god if he fell he would be dead’ and then did acrobatic maneuvers on top – some on one hand. I don’t think I could balance that many chairs on top of each other never mind the acrobatic moves – then again he was ‘slightly’ more rippled than I am.

I had read a review in the local paper about the show and one thing that I was attracted to was the low-fi approach they took to this show, less pyrotechnics and more simple back to the basics ways of entertainment. This I loved, there was circus acrobatic mixed with slap and tickle Punch & Judy and Laurel & Hardy. People bent in ways that made my eyes water, people jumped and did tricks on stilts that exhibited years of practice and skill, people did crazy life threatening stunts and throughout the whole show the audience loved it and applauded nonstop.

The one performance that comes to mind again and again was the tight rope act. Now forget what you know about tight rope. Picture two guys on bicycles balanced on a tight rope 20 feet off the ground with NO safety wires. Crazy right. Now imagine them connected by a 7 foot long rod (it wrapped over their shoulders). On that one inch round rod was another man doing acrobats on a chair. Acrobatic stunts like a handstand holding onto the chair with one hand. They made it look so easy that for a second you kind of forgot what you were looking at. Only now, the more I think about it am I blown away with how amazing this was. A man doing a hand stand holding onto a chair with one hand balancing on a small rod, held between two men on their shoulders as they balanced on a bike on top of a tight rope twenty feet off the ground. Crazy. Amazing. Spell binding.

At the interval there was lots of merchandise to be tempted by,– hats, toys and a whole arrange of clothing. The most amazing by far were these intricate and whacky Jewelry box. Claire has been asking for me to buy her a jewelry box for years now but they are all boring and dull or massive in size. This was small, and was shaped like a dream from Salvador Dali’s brain combined with classic quality driven craftsmanship execution. In a world of plastic tacky merchandise it was refreshing to see something hand made. They are created by an artist called André Dorais from Montréal in Canada and are quite simply unique.

Cirque was an event I am glad we went to see. That said I am not rushing to see another one in Vancouver. Now that I have experiences the low-fy smaller Vancouver show I would like to see the over the top Vegas show as a comparison.

After Cirque we hit the road and drove to Whistler.

Well, well! This was a different type of trip. Unlike our camping trip that was plagued with bad weather and our sudden discovery of our hatred for sleeping in a tent, or unlike my solo trip to the UK for three weeks, this trip was just Claire and I. Our wee gal was staying with her Gran for four nights without her Mom and Dad.

Due to my extended stay in the UK (because of flight restrictions caused by the active volcano ash) I only had one more vacation day left for the whole year. I worked extra overtime and national vacations to bank extra days off so Claire and I could take a well deserved vacation together, just the two of us. This, as well as recent stress at work, made this a well-timed (and in my opinion a well deserved) break away from everything. I was ready to go and was uber excited to get away.

My wife on the other hand, although excited about spending some ‘one on one’ time with her husband (and who can blame her – lucky lady) was a little concerned about leaving our daughter alone for the first time for more than one night. Luckily for both of us I was cognizant of this and supported her and we called daily and checked in with our daughter when needed.

Before previous vacations I have been anxious to get going and to hit the road, and resulted in stress for both of us. This time I made a very conscious effort to chill out before our travels. This was helped by my wife taking our daughter to her Gran’s (a ferry ride away) the night before and not returning to lunchtime on the day of our big trip. The night before the trip I ordered Szechwan Ginger beef from our local Chinese restaurant (soooooo good) and washed it down with some imported British Ale. After a night of sleeping spread out in our bed (because I could) I got up the following morning and watched TV for three hours. What a wonderful luxury. I had committed  myself not to get sucked into the norm and check my emails or clean the kitchen. This was my vacation and I was going to do stuff that I didn’t do on a day to day basis. Latte in hand and bum on sofa I watched Sherlock the recent British BBC three part series about Sherlock Holmes set in modern times (amazing TV making, once again, the Brits make the best TV around), it was the best start to what turned out to be an amazing vacation.

Fast forward a few hours and Claire and I were leaving the Four Seasons restaurant ‘Yew’ in Vancouver, Canada with satisfaction in our bellies and showing on our faces (not incredible food, but a solid 7.5 out of 10), the service on the other hand was a 10 out of 10, professional and personal without being intrusive.

Located in Port Moody situated next to the inlet Rocky Point Park is Port Moody’s best known park.

Set to the backdrop of cascading mountains, the park has many amenities. The centre of many people’s attention seems to be the kids water park (well on sunny days anyway). Filled with spraying pipes, tubes and water guns it is a kids water dream come true. I enjoyed running through the water park being soaked in all directions with my two year old.

Another way to enjoy the water is the outdoor pool. Open from June 15th to the end of August. Being able to swim outside under the sun with the mountains in the back ground is a relaxing and yet invigorating experience.

Next to the water park is a great playground. The pirate ship was crawling with children going crazy, while others enjoyed playing on the swings and other fun things. How the park is designed allows kids to play and the parents can sit around close by and supervise without having to play the role of Captain Jack and climb on the pirate ship too.

Picnic tables provide the ideal opportunity for family gatherings that can last the whole day.

For older kids there is the skateboard “SK8” Park. The city took recommendations from the the youth of the city resulting in a well used park by skateboarders and BMX bikers.

Pajo’s and Rocky Point Ice Cream supply a constant flow of fish and chips, burgers and yummy ice cream for the hungry visitors.

The boathouse restaurant (specializing in Seafood) caters to a different audience. People wanting to enjoy a quality meal set in a modern environment will love this restaurant.

Running through the park is the Trans Canada Trail. If you’re up for a walk within the woods follow the trail East. If you’re wanting more of a hike go West as the trail heads up to SFU mountain.

The park also hosts a boat launch with boat house for groups and clubs.

The park is a great place to have a fun filled day this summer.