For the past week I’ve had my old primary school friend Rodney visit us from Australia. Rodney and I have the sort of friendship where even after not seeing each other for years on end, when we see each other we’re able to pick up as if it was just yesterday. We had lost touch with each other through high school and it was only just before we left Australia we were able to catch up before my wedding. He promised to come visit us in Canada and followed through…

During his time here it was great to catch up with Rod and reminisce about old times when we were younger and it also gave Tash a chance to get to know him. While he was here we took him around the usual local tourist sights but the highlight would have to be our trip to Whistler. Although the ski season was officially open there wasn’t nearly as much snow there in comparison to the previous year. There wasn’t any snow in the village and only the top half of the mountain was open due to the lack of snow. Rodney had never been in snow before, and he wanted to try snowboarding. Since it was his first time I thought I’d take the opportunity to try it out myself coming from a skiing background. I must say, it is a very different and much, much, much… MUCH more painful learning curve in comparison to skiing! We had a private lesson and before long, and many tumbles and stacks later we were actually able to board down Whislter mountain.

After about 6 hours of pain what better way to unwind our sore muscles than in the hot tubs at the Fairmont Chateau.

We also met up with some of his friends that he had met in Australia who lived in Vancouver and checked out some of the local night life… throughout his whole stay here we drank… and drank…. and did I mention we had a few drinks? I must say… our 10am beer just before our first ever snowboarding session definitely loosened us up and probably softened the blow for us when we hit the ground! Dinner at Coast was amazing… I haven’t had seafood that good in a very long time. The Ahi Tuna sashimi was melt in your mouth and to die for…

It was great catching up with you Rod, and I hope you enjoyed your stay here… I know you’ll miss the doggies trying to climb into your bed while you sleep…