Whistler B.C., 2012

We've been in Whistler, B.C. for a few days. David loves-loves-LOVES to ski, as do my brother and sister-in-law. Gregg is also a skier, and though I do not enjoy it, I enjoy being with my family, so I go along for the company. We have taken this trip together five times, staying in different condominiums and getting better acquainted with the area, as David's love for skiing has grown.

On our first trip, in 2002, both of the children took ski lessons. Katie turned 7 on that trip, and lost a tooth.

David is in the bottom row, middle

Katie is the one in the middle

I can see that loose tooth in front, ready to come out

This year, David invited his friend from high school and college, Charlie, with whom he skis at Schweitzer when they are in Spokane. They are well-matched in terms of ability (and sense of humor). Charlie had never been to Whistler before, so it was our pleasure to have him with us and to introduce him to the area.

View of Blackcomb Mountain from the condo we rented

Unfortunately, my brother injured his arm and shoulder in a fall during Christmastime, so he was unable to join us on the trip. Though we missed his humor and his intense enjoyment of skiing, we did manage to have fun, but Whistler is certainly not the same without "Jimus Maximus." We were able to skype with him and share some laughs; I am happy to say that his arm is healing.

My parents generously treated us to two wonderful dinners while we were away. Since our next-door neighbor, Kim, has strong ties to the Whistler restaurant community, she gave us a couple of gifts to deliver to friends of hers who are in the restaurant business up there.

After unpacking the car, settling into the condo and taking a walk through Whistler Village, we ate dinner at Caramba!, and had the pleasure of meeting Kim's friend, Mario (who owns Caramba! in Whistler Village and La Rua restaurant at Blackcomb base). Mario is a gracious and generous host. Our food was delicious, and the deep dish apple pie was out of this world. The atmosphere in Caramba! is warm and cozy, with a real wood-fired pizza oven generating heat and adding to the casual feeling of welcome. We would recommend Caramba! to anyone visiting Whistler.

Having dinner at Caramba!

The first day of skiing was a pretty good one for the group. This resort has the distinction of having the most ski-able terrain in North America. Having said that, it does not always have good weather, good visibility or dry snow. Whistler-Blackcomb has a website on which you can check the weather at four different points on the mountains, as well as finding any activity you would like to pursue there. On this trip, there was little new snow at the mountains' base, and visibility was not great for the skiers, but snow conditions up high were good.  At mid-day, Gregg decided to move over from Whistler mountain to Blackcomb, which he prefers, while David, Charlie and Caroline skied together on Whistler.

That night, we ate dinner at Le Gros, taking another gift to Kim's friend, Pascal (the owner).

Obviously, Pascal is a character. His hat plays music and the legs do a dance

Le Gros is in an alpine-style house, with fireplaces and tall windows, soft lighting and delicious French food. We all enjoyed our dinner there, watching the snow fall lightly as we ate.

Gregg, me, Charlie, Caroline & David at Le Gros

The next day, Gregg decided to go snowshoeing with me, and take a rest from downhill. We had discussed taking a cross-country skiing lesson, but I really enjoy snowshoeing for its simplicity and directness, and Gregg agreed, so we rented snowshoes, got a trail pass and a map, and set out. It was snowing lightly when we left.

Gregg on the snowshoeing trail

I am the 3rd person in the family to use this ski parka, and it is still going strong (& warm)!

On the trail around Lost Lake

We walked about 5.2 kilometres along trails which form a loop around Lost Lake. It was a blast! I would love to find a snowshoeing group to join while my family of skiers are on the mountain. I just don't care to go downhill fast, so all of the expensive gear and lift tickets are wasted on me.

After we returned the snowshoes to the rental hut, Gregg and I walked to the village and ate lunch by the fireplace in a brew pub. Then we did a little bit of shopping, came home and got into the hot tub (each condo in this complex has its own tub outside). It was still snowing lightly while we were in the steaming tub - that was a novel experience, and really refreshing! Then a shower, and the skiers called to ask us to pick them up from the mountain. It was like a little honeymoon day, just for the two of us. I am so happy that Gregg wanted to spend the day with me.

On our last night, we ate at Bavaria restaurant. It has a lovely, warmly-colored interior, excellent waitstaff and delicious food. Their specialties are wild game, fondue and schnitzel. Each one of us tried something different; the boys had kangaroo meat and wild boar (I am not kidding)!

Thank you, Grandma & Kappa, for being with us in spirit and in generosity! We thought of you (and Jim) each day on our first vacation of the new year.

When we arrived home, the proof of my book was waiting for me. I have some final changes to make, and will let you know when it's ready on www.amazon.com. It should be completed in a couple of weeks!

Back to Work

Vacation is over...David is back at his university.

He left this morning.

Before he left, we took a little weekend away with my family in Whistler, B.C.

(The company for which Gregg works closes before Christmas and re-opens after New Year's, so he had time off to spend with David & me.)

My brother & sister-in-law found a wonderful condo where we could all stay together. This is the view from the living room - gorgeous!

Morning coffee, breakfast and dinner, evening laughs and conversation, hot tub chats:
good times.

Our nephew came up from the Bay Area with his sweetie, so we got better acquainted with her. She took snowboarding lessons.

The weather was perfect: crisp, cold and blue-bird skies.

The skiers & snowboarders had a great time.

 Caroline, Gregg, Jim, Phil & David on top of Whistler Mountain.

 We ate New Year's Eve dinner at a French restaurant, owned by a friend of our neighbor, Kim.

Though they were in California, our parents treated all of us to dinner.

Thank you, Mom & Dad!

 Getting ready to hit the slopes in the morning. I loved the heated floors in this condo!

 Our nephew, Phil, and his sweetie, Rachel.

We spent a day together, exploring the village and neighborhoods on foot.

Thank you for lunch, Phil!

I didn't ski; I drove the skiers to and from the hill each day, read, wrote, did a bit of artwork, walked in the snow, and loved it.

Yesterday, we went to Seattle. You might have heard that there was a little sporting event in town (football) that upset some people's playoff hopes, yet lit others' hopes into a huge flame. A sea of blue & green jerseys flowed onto the ferry in the morning, heading for Qwest Field. But we weren't among them.
We went to the Seattle Art Museum to see the Picasso Exhibit!
We're not his greatest fans, but when Picasso comes to town, it's worth a look.
Now, I am going to sound like an old lady:
I majored in Fine Art in college. I have spent a fair amount of time in museums, galleries and with my nose in books, studying works of art and architecture, as well as furniture and decorative objects.
BACK IN MY DAY (that's the old lady part), when one went to a museum, one encountered a work of art with respect.
One stood before it, open-minded, and allowed the work to speak. Sometimes it was a familiar piece, due to study; sometimes it was a new encounter. But always, I remember peace and a personal experience with the work of art. Even in a huge museum, like the Louvre in Paris.
It's not that way anymore. I saw this in the Louvre in the summer of 2009, and I saw it at S.A.M. yesterday. Present-day museum-goers move in dense crowds, without any sort of order, with camera at the eye, snapping away (Louvre), or with audio-guide at the ear, listening to information about the artist, the piece or the exhibit (Louvre & S.A.M).
The peaceful, personal, contemplative encounter with the work of art is gone, apparently.
I could hardly stand it at the Louvre in 2009, and I felt the same way yesterday. It made me sad.

When I was in college, I was fortunate to be able to study in England for a term. One day, in London, we were exploring the Tate Gallery. I remember few people, and silence. Turning a corner, I encountered one of my favorite pieces of sculpture: The Kiss, by Auguste Rodin. I had read about it in Janson, studied its photograph and learned about the sculptor in Art History class. Seeing it in person for the first time, larger-than-life, was a life-changing experience. I could have wept, it was so powerful, filled with passion and tenderness.

This photo doesn't do it justice. It should be seen from all angles, in the round.

I wish that people would treat artwork with the respect it deserves, and be present to it - bring their presence to the moment, and let the work speak. Let the artist speak through the work.

Back to yesterday: we left the museum, had a bite of lunch, walked through the huge mall in Bellevue for some exercise, and went to meet David, my siblings and their spouses for a delightful dinner at a simple but great restaurant.

Today, Gregg and I took the Christmas tree and decorations down, and put them away. He worked in the yard. I vacuumed, and we re-arranged the living room furniture. We went for a beautiful, long walk together. Our house is in a bit of a mess from all of the holiday partying, and this week, I will clean it and get back to work. It's been a great vacation. I hope yours was, too.

Happy New Year!

View from the Peak to Peak Gondola, Whistler, B.C.

Happy New Year!

We spent Christmas Eve with my family at my parents' house. It was wonderful to see our nephew, Phil, who now lives in San Francisco, as well as my brother, Jim, and sister-in-law Caroline.

Christmas morning was spent here at home, and in the afternoon, we drove to Gregg's brother's house, to celebrate with the Gerstenbergers and our extended family. My parents joined us there, as they are always included in the Gerstenberger Christmas celebrations.

I love being part of a large family.

We got to visit and catch up with sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. It was wonderful to be together. We thought of those who weren't there, particularly Katie and Signe. I pray that they are together, celebrating with the many Kvinslands who have also gone ahead, including Auntie Bernice and Grandma K.

The day after Christmas, we left for a brief vacation in Whistler, B.C. with my brother and sister-in-law. We rented a condo near the base of Blackcomb Mountain. Gregg, David, Jim and Caroline are all skiers. Three of them are AVID skiers.
I have never been on skis in my life.

At the age of 50, I was talked into taking a lesson.

Here I am at the base of Whistler Mountain with David and Gregg, just before I joined my class.

Here is my class after lunch, on the deck of the Whistler Mountain Roundhouse. Our instructor, Elisabeth, is at left. She was awesome. In the class were two young ladies from Germany, who are both au pairs for American families. Two of the students were immigrants to Canada from South Africa. One student was from China, and the other was from Ohio. It was a very nice group of people, and we went from not knowing how to put on our skis to riding up the "magic carpet," skiing down the gentle slope, and linking turns. It was a great day! (Hint: I'm the shortest one in the photo)

It was so much fun that I decided to go ahead and take a second lesson the next day. This was the class, Level 2, after lunch on the same deck at the Roundhouse. Fortunately, the sweet German girls were in my class again; they made it more fun, and encouraged me. In this class, there were two Australians and the rest were Americans, from as far away as Florida.

On the second day, we reviewed some aspects of the first lesson, and then took it up a notch:  to the chair lift. This was a big advancement, from not knowing how to buckle my rented ski boots! And the second day was icy, so it was much harder to feel in control. I learned how to fall, and how to get up. I learned how much "muscle" simply stopping can take, when you are having trouble holding an edge. I learned that I don't like going fast yet, and that I will not want to ski in icy conditions, unless I have much more skill and experience.

The second day was much harder and less fun than the first, but looking back, I have a sense of accomplishment for trying, and for getting as far along as I did. The teaching was excellent, and the groups of students couldn't have been nicer. Everyone we met at Whistler seemed happy to be there, employees and guests alike. It's an amazingly beautiful place. I think the Olympians are going to have a blast there!

Gregg, David and Caroline, about to start down the "Symphony Express."

Jim, ready to go.

Caroline on the Gondola.

David on the Peak-to-Peak Gondola.

Trees in the village at night.

We had a delightful dinner at a French restaurant. Thanks, Kappa & Grandma!

Just before we headed home, I caught a flu-bug, and have spent most of the past couple of days in bed. I'm sorry to say that New Year's Eve was spent on the couch, watching "The Tudors," instead of partying with our friends. Gregg stayed home with me, and David went to the party without us. Today I am starting to feel better, but missing another party, so as not to infect anyone else.

I hope you had a Happy New Year's celebration, and wish you a healthy and Happy New Year!