It’s been snowing in Whistler for a few weeks, and everyone has been talking about a La Nina winter. La Nina’s are typically colder and snowier, so let’s pray for that. C and I skied today (Nov 29). It was great to be up on the hill and C's new boots are apparently working a treat.
The year has been a bit of a blur and while there were some small speed bumps on balance it’s been a good year. As ever we skied on Christmas morning, the conditions last year were average and while it was great to be together on the hill, the conditions made breakfast the win of the day.
G is at Queens University in Kingston and has started third year in September. J was supposed to be in Grade 12 last year, but he had finished all his courses in Grade11, he basically worked full time all year and packed away some cash for school.
Winter 23-24 was very average. Very poor snow and almost no snow in the valley- so much so that I effectively never cross country skied. I went heli-skiing in late Jan and on the first day tore my Achilles and ruptured my calf. That was pretty much the end of my ski season, and it took 7 months for things to heal and start to feel right again. C had told me if I got injured on the trip not come home as we were heading on a family sailing trip to the Caribbean. It was not my best moment.
We had booked the sailing trip to coincide with G’s reading week in February. We had booked with another family and their kids, so were scheduled to have 4 adults and 5 boys between 18 and 24. What could go wrong. C J and I flew into Tortola in the BVI a day early to get our bearings. The weekend we flew was a US and Canadian bank holiday so between the winter storms and huge crowds the travel was a joke. We ended up missing a couple of our ship mates so the first day we went out for a day sail to shake things down and we left in earnest on the Sunday.
Sailing in the BVI is incredible, the trade wind blows from the east every day between 15 and 25 knots. Everyone helped with the sailing except for yours truly who was captain gimpy and could only hobble around the decks. The boat was an amazing 50 foot catamaran, the term gin palace was coined for this boat. Air conditioning and en suite heads is a departure from most of the sailing I have done in the past. There is an unofficial circuit people follow basically around the main island and out to the leeward islands and back. There is a bit of rush every day to secure a mooring and if I am honest, we should have sailed more than we did. We would get up early to make a 3–4-hour sail to the next resting spot. Some of the boys never saw us under sail, sleeping through every morning adventure. Where the boys never let themselves down was every evening in the island bars. Each island has different bars with different vibes, so every night you stop somewhere different, and the crazy begins again.
The Willy T was special, jumping naked off the bar roof ( not the adults), twerking on the dance floor and decent mixed drinks really set the tone. A particular highlight was at the bitter end, where the boys decided to swim in the pool, only to find out it was the aquarium, and filled with biting eels. The bar manager was surprisingly laid back, he said in his 15 years he never thought he'd have to put up a "no swimming in the aquarium" sign. They limbo danced, they corn holed, but primarily our 5 boys socialized like crazy. For us it was just cool to be there to see the fun. We ate like kings, and we had a few drinks both onboard and, on the beaches, and at the bars. I think everyone was very sad to say goodbye to our luxurious gin palace.
At the end of the sailing, we needed a couple of days to detox, so we spent a couple of days with the boys at a resort on the island before flying home to the cold and snow.
During spring J applied for universities and was lucky enough to be accepted at everywhere he applied. By May he had decided he wanted to go to Western University with the plan to attend the Ivey School of business. It's a great school and tough to get into, so hats off to him. Even though J was not strictly speaking at high school, he still participated in some things and really threw his support behind the rugby team of which he was the captain. They had an amazing season, and I will miss standing on the sideline watching them play. We have thoroughly enjoyed the last 15 years of supporting both the boys through their various sporting adventures and now its over its something we will really miss. Graduation was in June, with the requisite prom and grad ceremonies. As much as it was fantastic to see J (like we had with G) go through his school leaving cycle there was a sense of closing a door for C and I.
With Skiing a bust, we were ready to get the cabin open as soon as we could. I think early May we opened, and while we had some plans to build, they all got shelved as soon as the weather turned nice. We had a lot of weekends with the boys and their friends. Now they drive we would head to the dock to pick them up and there would be a crew usually with a keg of beer and 5 bags of ice. The boys used the big orange boat to surf a bit, but we could tell they were looking for something new, so we bought a Sea doo, truth is you can either be part of the solution or part of the problem. With this purchase we became a bigger part of the problem!! They did 250km on the first weekend, 230kms in a donut. The dog loves it, and we could zip to friends on the lake with a cooler, C and I and the dog. We even went in for closing weekend on the sea doo alone. It was bought for the boys, but C and I enjoy zipping around on it as well. The weather was good, and while wildfires were an issue for the province, not for us. Everyone on our bay invested in firefighting equipment, and we had some fun times spraying each other with our new pumps. We have finally said goodbye to the big orange boat- it was an amazing boat and gave us hours of entertainment.
We have made plans and next summer is the big build summer. I hope to be getting a laser spirit level from St Nick. and we are going to lay concrete and finally build the kitchen deck.
As the nights started to draw in, we closed the cabin and headed to Southern Ontario with the boys to drop G in third year and J to start out his adventure at Western in London, Ontario. We had a great time dropping him off and as C and I drove to the airport, all the empty nester jokes dried up as the reality of finally having the house to ourselves dawned on us. In the event it's been pretty good.
In October, C and I headed to the UK, we spent a couple of days in Edinburgh, I had a 40th high school reunion and spending time with the Edinburgh Taits. We caught a sleeper to London and then spent time with our old London gang, and the truth is years can pass, and we just pick up from where we left off. C and I headed for a couple of days in Amsterdam doing lots of walking, a fair amount of culture, and lots of cabbage and pickled herring. It was a great end to the trip.
Now we are only a few days from the boys coming home and celebrating another Christmas. Christmas morning, we expect to have breakfast in Rendezvous and then back for presents and probably too much food. Most importantly we look forward to spending lots of time together which is something deeply to be cherished with the boys living so far away.
We hope this has been a great year for you and yours, that all your hopes and dreams have come true, and that 2025 will be everything you wish for. If you find yourselves anywhere near the Pacific Northwest, let us know, we would love to reconnect.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Lots of love
D, C, G and J
.