Vancouver and Whistler Trip {Part II}

…continuing from Part I., we visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge on a rainy day, but it didn’t dampen our spirits at all. There was a lot of exploring to do as we looked for hidden reindeers in the rainforest, jumped from one suspension bridge to the next, and decorated gingerbread cookies.

The next morning, we got up bright and early to check out of our hotel and began driving north towards Whistler, the second part of our Canada trip.

The car ride from North Vancouver to Whistler was approximately 2 hours, and it was a pleasant and scenic drive. We all got quite excited at the first signs of snow along the way!

Our first stop was Whistler Bungee, where I had signed Alan up for his very first bungee jumping experience. This has been at the top of his bucket list for the longest time, and for years, I persuaded him to hold off until we find a beautiful destination for it. I figured if he was going to do something as crazy as jump off a bridge, it might as well be at a beautiful place!

The Whistler Bungee location did not disappoint. The bridge is in a quiet, secluded area surrounded by snow-covered trees and a rushing river below it. We parked our car below the bridge and trekked our way uphill.

Alan was the first jumper of the day, and it was nerve wrecking for me to watch him get strapped up in preparation for his jump. A part of me really wanted to jump with him, and if Bridgette wasn’t with us, I probably would have. It was entertaining to watch my hubby’s nervousness be exposed as he took deep breaths and laughed anxiously.

He wanted to to do an ankle harness but the instructor convinced him to do a chest/waist harness instead since it was his first time. I, ofcourse, seconded that suggestion since it seemed much safer that way. Bridgette and I stood right next to him on the bridge as he jumped and captured it all on video:

I was shocked that my fearless hubby would hesitate after the first count down, but I suppose that’s normal when you’re about to leap off a bridge head first over a hundred feet. After he returned safely from the jump, he contemplated jumping a second time, and tried hard to convince both Bridgette and I to jump as well. No such luck for him. We stood firm on our grounds and dragged him away… 🙂

Following the morning adrenaline rush, we continued our way to Whistler Village, where we checked into our suite at the Delta Whistler Village Suites.

Our suite wasn’t huge, but definitely cozy enough for our family of 3. It had a small kitchenette, fireplace, and a washer/dryer, but more importantly, we were located right inside the Whistler Village, where all the restaurants and shops were. Since we were there the week of Christmas and New Years, the hotel offered free hot chocolate to its guests every day at 4pm which was a huge perk for the kids. 🙂

We explored the village a bit before driving a short distance to the Whistler Blackcomb Tube Park nearby, where we spent 2 fabulous hours tubing down multiple lanes. It was my first tubing park experience as well, and I loved it! Bridgette’s favorite part was for us to hold hands in a circle as we tubed down together. For our last run, Alan and I accidentally let go of our hands at the top and Bridgette ended up tubing down all by herself! We were at the bottom waiting for her, convinced that she’d be crying hysterically from being “abandoned” up there, but to our surprise and delight, our brave little girl was smiling and happy about tubing solo! 🙂

Here’s what we learned though….don’t try to take a video with your iPhone while snow tubing downhill with your family. Alan did, and ended up losing his brand new iPhone 5. He tried to search high and low for it but the sad little phone must have been buried deep in the snow… 🙁

That night, we realized that without any type of dinner reservations, our restaurant selections were down to zero. We were freezing and wanted a nice, hot meal so we diligently walked from restaurant to restaurant hoping they could squeeze us in without a 45 minute wait. Our luck finally landed us at Teppan Village, where we enjoyed a lovely Teppan-yaki dinner with a nice glass of wine!

More to come in Part III…