Sun dogs over Whistler

Happy Christmas!

Greetings to us from all of us, enjoying being together at Whistler on December 25!

Malcolm & Brenda ~ Devon & Charlotte ~ Al & Irene

Getting our ski legs?

Early season skiing requires some muscles we may have ignored over the summer...

Al stretching.....?   hmmmm

Greg stretching...impressive!

Fresh tracks

Beautiful day in the mountains....

Excellent early season conditions!

Fresh tracks at 8:30am

First big dump of snow in the valley!

We have already been skiing this week, and enjoyed excellent early season conditions on the slopes, but today we woke up to see the first day of serious snowfall in the valley.

Ski season begins again!

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Today Whistler opened for skiing, so it must be winter  and time for winter blogging.

We returned to Whistler almost two months ago.  Our first month back was spent mostly outdoors, hiking and biking, working in the yard, and completing jobs around the house.   Our second month was dominated by several short trips away to visit with friends and family.  Both months have involved plenty of social times and dinner parties - including Canadian Thanksgiving feasts - all a major part of getting back to our Whistler Winters.

International FIS Children's Committee dinner party chez nous

While excellent and gourmet meals are regularly prepared in our ship's galley, it's always a treat to return to our fully equipped Whistler kitchen.  Soon after getting home Al made his traditional granola, which he makes in bulk from bags and bags of raw grains (and more) sourced at the Granville Island market in Vancouver.

yummy granola!

Fresh baked bread, cookies, slow cooked stews...for us these are all appealing culinary options which we avoid while on the boat where our limited propane supply restricts regular use of the oven.

yummy cookies

yummy slow-cooked lamb shanks

Hiking and biking in the forests and mountains within walking distance of our house are such a treat, especially when the days are still warm and the trails are not yet covered with snow.

 September in Whistler mountains

 among Arbutus trees on the BC coast

People often ask which coastline in the world is our favourite.  After all, we have sailed along many of the globe's most exciting coast lines.  Still, as Pascal once said "there is no place like home" and a favourite for us is still our own BC coast!

getting out on our BC coast

taking time for water colour painting

wandering with friends along another BC beach

Owning a house can be a bit of work (understatement) and one aspect of being away for extended periods of time is that when we return we notice there is actually quite a lot or work to be done.  Whether it is maintenance, or in our case completing a major renovation begun 10 years ago, a house always requires attention.  For us specifically, the time has come to finally get the final jobs completed, and our renovation building permit signed off. 

unfinished area under the deck

soffit job complete at last!

first snow on our deck = time to stop working outdoors!

Another aspect of being away is that we miss spending time with friends and family.  And so once the weather changed we set off for a few weeks to visit people, on the coast, inland and, thanks to Arthur and Rita, in sunny California.  

Gingko tree near the house in Palo Alto

unripe lemons beside the house in Palo Alto

We appreciate all the generous invitations and hosting! Thank you all!  Come visit us soon!

Al ~ Irene ~ Bill meet after ?? years?

Joshua Tree & Palm Springs

Our California Dreamin' adventures included a most wonderful exploration of Joshua Tree, where clambered around on the rocks, hiked some trails, and photographed desert plants.  We learned that the Joshua Tree (really a cactus, not a tree) only blooms after a frost and only branches after a bloom.  We were fortunate to see the one Joshua Tree in the park that was known to be in bloom.

We also discovered the amazing Cholla Cactus "garden" which is so thick with these plants that it's a challenge to wander around them.

And, of course, the rocks were a highlight.  Too bad we didn't bring any climbing gear.

Our friends Foster & Tracy recently acquired a place in "old" Palm Springs,  a beautiful architecturally designed house surrounded by lovely, private gardens and complete with a swimming pool plus a private tennis court. 

Many house designs here were inspired by the European Bauhaus movement and include Desert Modernism, Art Moderne and Spanish Eclectic.  George Alexander built many of these homes designed by Richard Neutra, Donald Wexler, Lloyd-Wright, and others.  Most houses were built for Hollywood movie stars, particularly in the 1950s. The well-known Kaufman House is just around the corner.  (as is the honeymoon home of Elvis Presley, Bob Hope's house etc etc etc)

Kaufman House

We wined and dined in luxury, starting each day with freshly squeezed orange juice from the tree near the kitchen, and a swim in the pool.  We even practiced hitting tennis balls, our first time to hold tennis rackets in over 30 years! 

 We also enjoyed some hiking, biking & exploring around the area. No, we didn't actually go golfing...

 Thanks Foster & Tracy,  for a truly wonderful visit!

Alta California

Thanks to our Dana Point hosts, we enjoyed a thoroughly interesting visit to one of the oldest missions in Alta California ("upper California"), the mission of San Juan Capristrano.

 SJC was founded in the mid-1700s by Spanish Catholics during a period when this area was considered the domain of the Spanish Monarchy.  When the mission was founded about 500 native people lived in the area and the goal at the mission was to convert, education and "civilize" these people.  Over the next 40-80 years over 5000 local souls were converted....  The mission is still active today, not only as a museum to visit, but as an educational center.   

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SJC was just one of 21 missions along "El Caminio Real"  (see map) New boundaries were created after the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s and Alta California became part of the USA, and most of the missions gradually became ruins.  These missions are historically and architecturally interesting, of course, only recently have been recognized as worthy of attention and funding for restoration. 

If this subject interests you read more here: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_missions_in_California 

all the leaves are green....and the sky is blue....

We took a trip south to visit yachting friends at Dana Point, which is just south of LA.   We have mutual cruising ideas so we spent some time reviewing charts, routes and harbours where we may meet again this coming summer.

 What a change from Whistler in February!  

As the song goes....all the leaves are green, and the sky is blue....

Thanks, Jim and Kathy, for hosting us!  Yes, we see that big power boats are popular here, but we won't be trading in SV Darwin Sound any time soon.

More California Dreamin'

Yes, photos from another week off skiing are about to be posted....

California Dreamin'

Walking in the hills...

Mature Oak bark

Wandering among cactus plants...

More cactus

Erotica?

Fresh orange, anyone?

Oh, just pick a lemon for our jug of water...

Strolling through Eucalyptus, hmm a wonderful scent

Campus or hacienda?

Beautiful architecture

View from new home site

Dr H Manzanita on the property

House to be built here....

Thanks for a wonderful week!