Whistle-stop Whistler wishing for wind.....

We headed out of Tofino this week once again and this time I left the Island (gasp!) and set foot upon the mainland for the first time in 7 whole months! We were Whistler bound with a stop off in Squamish for Neil to cram in a kite surfing lesson. As we headed out of Tofino on the affectionatly known "vomit highway" I was just beggining to feel the all too familiar queeziness when we saw our good friend Bear stuffing his face with Salal berries. We see him and sometimes his friends pretty much every time we drive this road but until now I've been unsuccessful persuading him to pose for photos. Today he was feeling pretty and obliged. He even did a little strut past the truck door just to show off. Thanks Bear! You have officially made my wildlife photography debut! Now, onwards towards the ferry or the tooth fairy as the kids call it (poor confused little munchkins!)

We missed it by minutes and sat frustratedly watching the last few cars smuggly drive aboard before we decided how to amuse ourselves for another two hours. Great! There's only so much you can do at the Nanaimo ferry termnal. After a long wait and a not so long ferry ride, we arrived at Horseshoe Bay to an almost setting sun and very much enjoyed the spectacular view on our drive up highway 99. We arrived late at our hotel in Whistler in pitch black and then proceeded to play the game "how many times can you get out of bed before Mummy smacks your bum" a favorite bedtime passtime of our's when we go away on trips.

Next morning we were greeted by glorious sunshine and back off to Squamish we went in search of wind.

We hung around on Squamish spit while Neil set up his kite and waited for the wind to pick up. At about the same time as Seb and Bel began to twist themselves up in someone elses kite lines I decided it was probably time for the kids and I to find somewhere else to play. So off we headed into the wilds of downtown Squamish.

To the COOLEST PLACE EVER!!!! Tumblewoods!!!

Between leaving Neil and finding this place I did attempt to wander around a couple of nice little boutiques, this failed miserably and ended in tears.....yes, mine. Thank god for Tumblewoods is all I can say!! This place saved my day and has got to be the best indoor playground I've ever seen. Ever! The whole thing is like a giant tree house made from reclaimed cedar wood. It's got slides and rope ladders and little play shops and houses all on a big spongy bed of fall friendly rubber flooring. And best of all.....a lovely little cafe and an endless stack of magazines....frazzled Mummy heaven I tell you!!

"and relaaaaaaax" :)

The kids LOVED this place and I have nothing but praise for the people whose bright idea it was to create it all. Anyone who has ever sat, hand sanitizer in hand, at the usual kind of indoor play places around knows just how yucky they can be. I wish we could bulldoze them all and replace them with more Tumblewoods!

Eventually we picked up Neil who by the sound of it had sat on the spit for most of the day waiting for the wind and headed back to Whistler. Neil did manage to get in a bit of kitesurfing and has definately overcome his previous fears of breaking his legs and back.

We spent the next day in Whistler and although it wasn't beautiful weather like the previous day we had fun on our bikes riding around town. We met up with our Whistler friends Mark and Margi for a quick coffee and they told us about another new play area, this time outdoors. We checked it out and again it was beautifully built from a real ancient tree trunk and the kids had a great time. We got some video on Neil's Go Pro so hopefully you'll see more of that later.

On our way out of town the next morning we stopped to check out a bakery I had heard good things about. Pure Bread is a little slice of baked goods heaven! Off the tourist track, they sell all their yummy yums out of their totally charming and tiny little bakery at Function Junction and at farmers market in Whistler, Squamish, Pemberton and Vancouver. We picked up a couple of coffees and some Nutella Brioche (hell yeah!) for our journey back to Horeshoe Bay to catch the ferry.

Once again, we missed it by minutes! yes that's the ferry we wanted to catch.....leaving without us.

On the positive side, Horseshoe Bay is a much nicer place to kill a couple of hours than Nanaimo. We played at yet another playground and had yet another coffee before we jumped aboard and headed back to the big Island and the vomit highway...all the way home.