Spring has sprung

G'day all,

In the last 2 months we have been to see the Canucks in the hockey, played in the snow a lot, had Erin's birthday which included a weekend trip to Whistler, been able to get back into hiking and Marty had a run in Birch Bay. Also the 11th April marked 1 year since coming to Canada, how time flies.

On a Tuesday evening early March we headed to Rogers Arena in Vancouver to watch Vancouver Canucks play San Jose Sharks in the hockey. It was very exciting for us and although Vancouver lost it went to overtime and then onto a shootout.



San Jose Sharks vs Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena

That weekend, on a nice sunny day, we headed to Mount Seymour to do some snowshoeing again. This time, instead of doing the snowshoe park, we headed to Dog Mountain and Brockton Point. This was a bit more strenuous but gave us some great views of Vancouver and the surrounding mountains.

Erin snowshoeing up to Brockton Point at Mount Seymour

Marty and the view from Brockton Point

Being March it was obviously Erin's birthday. In order to celebrate a party had to be had, so all my Canadian friends came over on the Saturday night to our place for Pizza and drinks. Two of my immensely talented friends even made me Cookie Monster Cupcakes for my birthday cake. A good night was had by all.

Cookie Monster Birthday Cake

Sunday morning saw Marty (snowboard in hand) and Erin heading to the bus station to head to Whistler. After checking in at the hotel we had a look around whistler village with the snow around (as this was the first time we had been in Whistler in winter) and got our lift passes and ski rentals sorted out for the next day. As the weather had started to warm up a bit before this, there was not that much snow around the village and everything was very slushy from melting snow. After this was organised we headed to the pub to watch the Canucks in the hockey.

Blackcomb Mountain behind Whistler Village

Monday morning was a sunny day and after picking up Erin's ski rentals (thanks to a birthday present from Jenny and Tony Phillips) we headed up the gondola to hit the slopes. Erin spent most of the day on the learning area but still had a lot of fun and also had a break by going over the peak to peak gondola for some scenic winter shots of the area. Marty had fun trying out all the slopes higher up with his snowboard.



Erin on Whistler Mountain

View of the Valley from the Peak 2 Peak Gondola

When we woke up Tuesday morning we were pleasantly surprised to see it had snowed all night in the village and there was a foot of snow everywhere you looked. This was what we had hoped Whistler during winter would be like. After checking out we headed out to the Lost Lake Trails just outside of Whistler village in order to give Cross Country Skiing (Nordic) a go. Erin enjoyed this a bit more than Marty but we still had fun trying to figure out how to do it, Erin having a bit more experience because of the 3 times I had been skiing before then. Tuesday afternoon we headed back to Vancouver saying goodbye to Whistler most likely for the last time, for now anyway.

Whistler Village with Fresh Snow

Marty Nordic Skiing

In order to get as much snowboarding/skiing in as possible the next Monday saw us getting a bus to Cypress Mountain this time. After getting there and Erin picking up ski rentals we both hit the slopes again. This turned out to be Erin's last time on the slopes and although I can ski okay, I still have a long way to go to be any good. It has been immensely fun learning though. Marty went a couple more times after this on his days off but he has recently also accepted that the winter is over (mainly because all the ski resorts are closed).

With the weather getting better coming into spring we have been able to get out and do some more serious hikes again. So the following weekend we hiked from the bottom of Grouse Mountain to Lynn Valley which was about 13km. A smallish hike to get back into it. Also the weekend just gone we did a hike around Buntzen lake in Port Moody called Diez Vistas. This was a 18km loop that we did last year but as it was raining very heavily last time we decided to do it again in order to actually see the views. It was an exhausting hike but gave some really good views of Vancouver and the surrounding mountains.

View from Diez Vistas over North Vancouver

Easter ended up being fairly uneventful with Marty working all weekend and Erin working on the Saturday and Monday. Erin still kept up the family tradition of roast chicken for dinner and apple pie with ice-cream for dessert.

The first weekend in April, Marty took the Saturday off work and headed down to Birch Bay in Washington to do a 15km running race with many other members of his running club. Marty finished with a time of  59min 38sec which was 4th overall and 2nd in his age group. He even got a red ribbon for coming second, like the ones you used to get in school. Other people from his running club also finished in the top three for the races or in their age groups (the other races being a 5km and 30km) and the running club won the club award for the race.

Pacific Road Runners at the Birch Bay race

With only 5 more weeks in Vancouver until we head on our Alaskan cruise we are getting excited for our trip but sad to be leaving Vancouver. Also we are busy trying to plan everything as well as fit as much more in as we can before we leave.

We hope everyone is well back home.
Cheers, Erin and Marty