Whistler: March 2015

Skiers by the Inukshuk

Dennis's parents sponsored a ski trip to Whistler in March 2015. It was an excellent opportunity to see the west coast of Canada! We flew into Vancouver and took a large van up to the condo where we were staying.

 In the Vancouver Airport

It was amazing - if there had been more snow, it would have been ski-in, ski-out. In 2015, the snow pack was a little light, but there was plenty of skiing up high on the mountain. In all honesty, I would never have been able to ski-in, ski-out because my legs would have given out! The runs at Whistler are amazingly long and the snow is fantastic.

On the balcony 

Checking out the village map with the grandparents

The village was an easy walk from the condo, and we often walked there for dinner or to let the boys play. There was an amazing playground for the boys, and a lot of fantastic restaurants.

(Root) beer in an Irish pub

Hanging out on the Olympic rings

Totem pole

The skiing was unbelievably cool. The views were fantastic and we had amazing snow. My favorite run was "Seventh Heaven."

Seventh Heaven. Amazing.

Everyone loved riding the gondola, especially when we managed to snag the special silver one with the glass floor. The Peak-to-Peak gondola goes from Whistler to Blackcomb, and we skied on both mountains.

 The boys and Grandpa on the gondola

Cool view

After a week of skiing (and recovering from one of the worst cases of bronchitis I have ever had), we were thoroughly exhausted and happy.

 Grandpa with the boys on Blackcomb - with a rainbow in the background.

 Mat takes a rest.

 Matt skis near a lodge.

 I am enjoying the sun.

 Nolan and Mommy selfie.

Nolan chills. 

Leflers on Whistler - by an Inukshuk!

The week was soon over and we were on our way back to Western New York (which, by the way, was far colder and our winter lasts far longer than Western Canada). The Vancouver area is stunningly beautiful. 

Heading home from the Vancouver airport

We really enjoyed our trip to Whistler - skiing on the West Coast is definitely better than East Coast skiing!

Disney World: Day 6 - Magic Kingdom and EPCOT (February 2015)

We returned to the Magic Kingdom for our final day at Disney World. This was the only day I didn't make any dining reservations, deciding to "wing it." While it turned out "mostly" OK, we decided if we return in the future we will have reservations for almost every meal. Due to crowds, we ended up eating in the rain (separated from my parents) at the Magic Kingdom and over a trash can at EPCOT. Reservations are the way to go!

We were up early and in the Magic Kingdom before crowds arrived. We rode Thunder Mountain several times and Pirates of the Caribbean. As we were exiting the Pirates ride, a show with Captain Jack Sparrow was starting. The boys leapt at the chance to be a part and Matthew was chosen to be the boy who fought with Captain Jack Sparrow!

We met up with my parents and rode a few more rides and saw some shows. This was the only day we had that was cold - I think the high was about 55 degrees. My mom was a real trooper and rode Splash Mountain for the grandkids despite the cold.

Everyone loved the Haunted Mansion. The queue was quite entertaining for the kids.

 We took a spin on the teacups. As the crowds began to pour in, we made this the last ride.

We took the monorail over to EPCOT and wandered through the World Showcase, watching a few of the shows.

We had to bid farewell to our vacation and we returned to our hotel. We had an early wake-up call for our flight  home in the morning!

We returned to Pittsburgh the following morning and the blast of cold air and gray skies were a reminder that we were not on vacation anymore! We waited for the shuttle to take us to the parking lot.

The boys were tired on the ride home, but happy to get back into a routine.

It wasn't long before Matthew crashed and slept the entire ride home!

We really enjoyed our trip to Disney World. We are glad to have done it before Matthew turned 10 and became an "adult," by Disney standards. We were able to pay child prices for both boys and that helped with the cost of the trip. We really enjoyed ourselves and the sun was a welcome break from the cold Western NY winter!

Disney World, Day 5: Animal Kingdom (from February 2015)

Animal Kingdom is my favorite park. It is beautiful, wild, huge, and was uncrowded on the day we were there.

We woke up early and had a character breakfast at the Tusker House restaurant. The restaurant was fantastic and had traditional breakfast items as well as food with an African flair. Characters came by our table to interact with the boys in an uncrowded atmosphere.

The best thing about the character breakfast is that you are allowed into the park BEFORE it opens. We had the entire place to ourselves!

My parents arrived shortly after we were done with breakfast and we hopped on the safari. This park is so massive and beautiful, we really loved it.

Animal Kingdom does have some rides, including my favorite roller coaster - Expedition Everest. The theme is spectacular and the train-coaster through the Himalayas is ridiculously fun. There is also a ride called Dinosaur, which is the only ride that scared Nolan.

We really loved walking on the trails and exploring the animal habitats. The Asian section was my favorite.

We had lunch at the Yak and Yeti restaurant, which is highly recommended. The food was fantastic! We watched the Lion King show in the park (there are several fantastic live shows available) and let the boys play in the excellent dinosaur playground.

We allowed the boys to buy stuffed souvenirs on the way out.

I don't remember where we had dinner that night. I do know we went to Downtown Disney to visit Disney Quest, which is like a dream-land arcade for every 7 and 9 year old boy. The games are all free and we spent a few hours here letting the boys enjoy themselves.

We made it back to the hotel around 10 pm and the boys fell asleep instantly. Tomorrow: our last day at Disney World!