Canadian Stagette

My Canadian Stagette took place last night...and what a memorable occasion.

We began with a snow-shoe session on Cypress Mountain. The weather in Downtown was pretty horrendous, but up on the mountain, it was rather nice.

Nick guided us along the trails, and Clare did a fabulous job of getting the party started:

We then stopped off at Hollyburn lodge for wine & goodies, before heading home to spruce up for the evening.

I'd been given my outfit for the night, which was a beauty. As it's Paddy's Day this weekend, it consisted of a green tutu, green leg warmers, green pom poms, a 'I'm feeling lucky' crown, a pink sash, and a personalized T-shirt with my own face all over it.

The evening antics (and antics is the appropriate word) began at Steamworks, a cool micro-brewry in Gastown. I arrived to see my lovely group of ladies in matching T-shirts saying 'Cheering for Sherry' with my face photo-shopped onto cheerleaders - simply awesome.

The dinner was delicious as always at Steamworks, and I was treated with a great goodie bag (the contents of which I'll keep to myself).

Then the party intensified. Shots were distributed around the table to increase everyone's alcohol levels. At the bachelorette, I also had the pleasure of dunking my face in a bowl of cream to fine the shot hidden underneath. It wasn't pleasant, nor was my face pretty.

Here are some pics from the restaurant:

We then headed to a club called LampLighters. The queue was rather intense, but this wasn't a problem for my clever group of ladies: a bottle of cinnamon whisky was seized (somehow, somewhere) and games of 'Mr & Mrs' and 'I have never' kept us occupied for almost an hour.

I was pleased that the group were drinking as much as me, and we polished off a whole bottle of whisky before we reached the front door. We also all learnt a lot about each other in the process (still laughing at some of the revelations)...

When we made it inside, the shots continued (Sambuca, Jager Bombs) and we hit the dancefloor hard - until 3.30am.

I was also pleased to get home without the aid of an ambulance. At one point there was an ambulance outside, and Helena almost ended up in it after swallowing a straw (who swallows a straw?!)

Thanks to Clare Hamilton-Eddy for organizing such a great day, and to everyone that took part. Despite the drinking, I remember it all...yay!

CS

Team snow shoe!

I had a fantastic team outing this week at work; snow-shoeing at Grouse Mountain.

The snow was deep and the sky misty...it looked rather spooky, and was a great setting for exploring a mountain at night time. Check us out:

Naturally we sabotaged the boss with an unexpected snowball attack, and travelled down any hills on our bottoms.

We had an excellent mountain host as well - no one other than Dan Grima, our good friend from the UK!

Dinner, drinks and good banter followed our snowy adventure. A great way to spend a Thursday evening.

CS

Helena & Paul's wedding

What a wonderful weekend in Whistler, attending the wedding reception of the Helena and Paul!

Here is a glimpse of the magic of their wedding in the mountains (photo credited to their lovely photographer):

It was an awesome evening and an honour to be invited.

The wedding and reception took place in a gorgeous lodge near Whistler Village. There first dance was one to remember (PJ & Duncan are now back in the charts as a result...), and we continued the party long into the evening at a ski club in town.

Congratulations Helena & Paul!

CS

Vancouver Island - part two

On our second day we ventured towards Campbell River.

We had breakfast in a local cafe and watched a pod of dolphins swimming together; an incredible sight to start the day.

We then headed on a two hour hike, beginning at a walking trail alongside Campbell River. We went through Elk Provincial Park until we reached Elk Falls:

On route we stopped off at Fanny Bay (yep, that's it's real name) to say hello to the group of sealions that hang out near the dock. They are noisy creatures & very fun to observe!

CS

Vancouver Island - part one

Next adventure...Mount Washington on Vancouver Island!

We stayed near Port Cambell in Ocean Resort, a relaxed B&B with a yoga studio & steam room that had sea views:

Mount Washington is another ski resort, with several lifts, and many great runs. Views from the top of the mountain were stunning:

Mount Washington was the perfect spot for me to try tree runs...they are pretty tough but good fun, and David was a good teacher to be skiing alongside...

It was an excellent adventure, but pretty chilly. The icicles were happily hanging off my hair:

We'll be heading back to Mount Washington at some point...there are more adventures to be had!

CS

Happy 2013...from Cypress mountain!

Our New Year's Eve was perfect...night skiing on Cypress mountain.

The night was clear and we had an amazing view over the city:

After exhausting ourselves on the slopes, we came home to delicious wine to see in the New Year. Welcome 2013...we are excited you are here!

CS

Hemlock

What better way to spend our Christmas holiday than exploring new ski resorts?

Our first venture - Hemlock - is a local resort that's a three hour drive from Vancouver. The weather was stunning, and despite only have three lifts, it offered plenty of terrain for us to explore.

If you look closely at the picture below you'll see David traveling fast in a snowball. Impressive.

  
The drive to the ski resort was stunning, and we saw plenty of bald eagles along the way. Hemlock is small, cosy, snowy, and definitely worth a visit.

CS