Kamloops and Whistler

Our fears of wet roads were unfounded as we woke Thursday to dry roads, 23 degree temps, and about 3 inches of snow on top of our car. We began what the GPS said would be a 7-hour drive to Kamloops in BC, our halfway point to Whistler. We arrived in Golden where we were to catch the Trans-Canada highway only to find it was temporarily closed due to an accident. After a half hour delay we were allowed to move on, but the road was understandably crowded. We were to go through a couple of national parks on the way through, but it turns out that most of the venues in Glacier and Revelstoke National Parks were closed for the winter. There were some spectacular views, but nothing close to Glacier NP in Montana. It really seems to be more of a hiking/backpacking place than tourist-friendly. We stopped for lunch in a little town called Revelstoke, a charming little railroad town, called "historic" for reasons we never figured out,

but we did find this cool place to eat called Bad Paul's, pictured at left. I had a spicy beef wrap, which wound up being nearly as hot as the shrimp at Giovanni's on Oahu. It was also very filling, so I still have the other half in our ice chest. As we have found in every stop in Canada, the waitress was very friendly and helpful, and after a short tour of the town, we moved on toward Kamloops. Evidently the GPS figures on your averaging about 40 MPH, and since it is off-season, there was not much traffic, and we made very good time.

We finally arrived at Kamloops around 4 pm, and this is an aerial view of the city. It has about 75000 people and the place we stayed was very nice, with a very good restaurant called the White Spot within walking distance. Jan was feeling poorly, so we got takeout and I endured another Halo win over the Red Sox.

Today was about a 4-hour drive to Whistler, which along with Vancouver will be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics in a couple of months. Unlike the other places we have visited in Canada which are already scaling back for the winter, Whistler was in full swing, and the downtown parking lots were full. Turns out it was the annual Turkey Sale, which is held every Thanksgiving Weekend in Whistler. October 12 is Thanksgiving in Canada, and the turkey sale is actually the time when all the local merchants have their end-of-year sales. So skiers, bikers, snowboarders, etc, can find some great deals, so the place is packed.

We discovered all of this information from the clerk at the Residence Inn in Whistler, which we have decided is infinitely a nicer place than the Residence Inn in Costa Mesa. We are on the 6th floor with a view of the mountains from out back patio. The city of Whistler also operates a free shuttle from the hotels to the Village, so we took advantage of that. The Village is their eating/shopping district and is closed to auto traffic. It is really a place full of energy, reminding us of a summer evening on Main Street in Huntington Beach. We visited the Araxi restaurant, which is where Hell's Kitchen is currently being filmed. We didn't eat there, partly because I refuse to eat at a place when I don't understand the ingredients as explained on the menu--40 dollar entrees need to be understood for me to order them. My son-in-law said we would be sorry if we didn't eat there. I assume that was a prediction, not a threat. We did eat at the Mongolie Grill, which is one of those places where you fill your bowl

with food from the selection at left, add sauces and give it to the chef, who grills it in front of you on a round grill. There is a place like it in HB at Garfield and Brookhurst, with a much smaller selection of foods. It's a lot like Fire and Ice, which is in Tahoe and Boston. The difference is that the chef actually weighs your food, and you pay $3.50 for each 100 grams of food--thats about $17 a pound. Mine was delicious--since I picked out the food myself, and we got out of there for about the cost of one entree at Araxi's. We did a little shopping afterward, found gifts for the girls, I bought a couple of logo t-shirts. We didn't buy Olympic gear, because it's amazingly overpriced to get logo stuff for the olympics. I know, I'm cheap. Speaking of cheap, Jan wanted to ride the gondola to the top of the hill, but I disappointed her by not being willing to pay $44 per person for one round trip. Another cool thing for bikers--they may have this elsewhere but Whistler is the first place I' ve seen it--they have a chair lift for bicycles, they take you and your bike up to the top of the hill, and then you ride the trails downhill. I think an all-day pass for that is $53.

Here is a shot of Whistler Village. This is definitely a place on my "revisit" list, as are most of the sights we saw on this trip.

Back to the states tomorrow. A couple of days on Whidbey Island with cousins, a few days in Salem with cousins, a couple of days in Portland with friends and family, then home, probably getting in late on the 21st. If it is possible for a vacation to exceed expectations, this one has done so.