Stephanie and I had the pleasure of going skiing in Whistler back in January. I posted pictures at the time but never got around to blogging about it. Whistler is a ski village in British Columbia north of Vancouver and previous site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Every time we go skiing I make a mental note of our top ski destinations and the favorites of the past. Whistler now tops the list.  By its size alone it makes most other mountains seem like foothills.

To recount the fuzzy details of the trip six months later would belabor the point, so I will hit the highlights. The ski resort is actually two separate mountains. Blackcomb and Whistler. We stayed at the foot of the Blackcomb mountain in an excellent location with easy access to the slopes and easy access to a hot tub that awaited us at the end of each day.  We were able to stroll down the streets of Whistler at night and view the previous Olympic Park.

I highly recommend Whistler as a future vacation spot for anyone. Don’t let the distance or foreign country intimidate you. It’s much easier to get to than you would think. Keep an eye out for another post coming soon, much more exciting than a half year’s old news.

We started the week with classic tourist sites. We visited Baker beach with great sunset views of Golden Gate Bridge skirting the incoming tide for a quick photo-op.  We roamed about Chinatown for a few good deals and souvenirs ending with the fortune cookie factory to see how fortune cookies were made.  Of note, fortune cookies are much, much better warm off the press.

We then spent a peaceful morning roaming the Sequoias of Muir Woods amidst the early morning glow of fog and afternoon of fine seafood at Scoma’s in Sausalito before returning across the bay by ferry.

For our educational portion of the trip we toured Alcatraz Island and the famed Alcatraz prison which was probably my favorite part of the trip. It was interesting to see how the prison escape was actually executed and see the actual cells they escaped from. We also enjoyed to Cable Car Museum where you can still see the engines that drive the four remaining cable lines. And if you ever go to San Francisco, riding one of the cable cars is a must.

We ended our trip on a more relaxing note, enjoying some much need sleep and relaxing day of strolling and shopping. Of course, everything we ate in San Francisco was delicious, but notably Fish & Farm in the Mark Twain hotel probably took the prize of our best meal there.

More pics on the Pics page

Our favorite part of the trip was probably all of the great food. We enjoyed great fresh seafood at the tourist venue The Crab Pot. We fought the crowds at the authentic Maneki in Chinatown. But our favorite was the authentic little Enza Cucina Siciliana . There we enjoyed the cool Pacific breeze as Enza serenaded my wife in Italian. Stephanie asked her about a couple of dishes and she was apparently so enamored by her that she brought us both of those dishes but not the dish I ordered. We didn’t care though because it was all amazing.

We spent one afternoon on a ferry to Bainbridge Island were we walked the streets and stuffed our messenger bag with delicious treats from Blackbird Bakery, after second and third helpings, of course. As we returned to the mainland, the sun spotlighted the Space Needle giving us the view below.

This one is for the Red Raiders in the family.

And this one is for the Aggies.

I wish my lawn looked as good is my Grandpa’s.

Stephanie and I both love airports. Which is odd considering how much drama we’ve had in them. It rarely seems to go smoothly. I was meeting Stephanie in Jackson who was flying in from Houston. Of course the day I fly out of Memphis is the day it decides to start snowing. After de-icer truck failures and FIVE total de-icing attempts I was airborne to Chicago an hour and a half later. While traversing the length of O’Hare, I here “last call for boarding” of my flight. Needless to say, residency and The MED food has made me sloth like, not to mention running with ten pound snow boots on might as well be an exercise off of P90X. Another airport close call.

The town of Jackson is just the way we like it. A somewhat small, quaint ski village with lots of character. The first day we spent getting our legs back and hitting some cruisers. The resort lived up to it’s reputation with a wide variety of terrain. My description of it would be the elevation change of the Alps, the bowls of Vail and the trees of Wolf Creek. Our favorite place to ski previously had been the back bowls and blue sky basin of Vail. But I think Jackson Hole might have taken the lead in all time favorite places to ski. Along this theme here’s my list of top five places to ski in the US.

1. Jackson Hole

2. Vail

3. Wolf Creek

4. Crested Butte

5. Steamboat Springs

We were blessed with some gorgeous powder the second day of skiing and took full advantage. We also enjoyed to newly rebuilt ‘Big Red’ which travels 4,000 feet of elevation in 9 minutes. Stephanie was all proud because the recording on the gondola gives a long warning about being “expert terrain only” before you get off.

We decided it would probably be a while before returning to Jackson and that we should take full advantage of being only a few miles from Yellowstone. However, we soon found out that it is inaccessible to standard vehicles during the winter. So, we made due and hopped aboard a snowmobile instead.

It was truly one of the funnest things we’ve ever experienced. Yellowstone was beautiful even in the winter, and who wouldn’t enjoy seeing it while going 55 mph on a snowmobile.

Even more pics below and on the Pics page

The next day was historically filled, beginning with the Roman Forum which consisted of the ruins of Caesar’s forum, temples and ruins. Next we explored the Palatine hills and the Coliseum. We set out on foot that afternoon, with a visit to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps.

In between we stopped at an amazingly unique coffee shop and had Jamaican Blue Mountain espresso shots. The Trevi fountain was extremely packed and the Spanish steps, the largest outdoor stairs in Europe were about as exciting as it sounds. Both were great for sitting and people watching while enjoying the sunset. Our last day in Rome was somewhat more relaxed and consisted of the Castle of Saint Angelo, which has a secret escape tunnel from the Vatican for the pope to escape through. We finished out Rome with the Piazza Navona followed by some amazing Italian food. All in all it was an amazing trip and we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to go and for dodging earthquakes in L’Aquilla.