Anniversary Trip Recap: Day 1

Mr. Jansson and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary this weekend up in Whistler, BC. We had such an amazing time! This was only my second trip to Canada and first time to Whistler. Needless to say, it won't be my last! Here's the rundown on what we did, where we stayed and of course what/where we ate. I decided, for your sake, to break down our trip into three parts. Each post is long but I hope you find them entertaining. Here goes with day 1.

We left home super early on Friday morning (after a brief Starbucks run of course) to make the four hour drive. The wait at the border via the Peace Arch wasn't too long and once we hit BC, the scenery on the Sea to Sky Highway was beautiful.

Peace Arch Park

Sea

to Sky

We reached Whistler around 11:30am and made our first stop at the hotel, Aava, to see if we could check in early. The only rooms available were nicer than the one we had originally booked so we chose to upgrade for an extra $20 a night and were given in and out privalages at the hotel garage for an extra $19 per day. 

Reception area of lobby at Aava

Sitting area of lobby

The room was nice but not huge. (I'm not exactly sure what we would have gotten if we didn't upgrade.) The high ceilings were great and the AC cooled the room down really quick. (The weather in Whistler during our stay was pretty hot, in the 90's.) We enjoyed our stay but did have 2 complaints. One, there was a large set of windows in our room that had the usual shades/blackout curtains but there was also a smaller window located further up the wall that wasn't covered. That meant streaming sunshine super early in the morning. No bueno. Secondly, the pool was too small for the number of guests at the hotel. When we go back, I think we'll choose to stay somewhere else.

Hotel Room at Aava

Restroom - small but updated and functional

In usual Jansson family style, we had alot of activities planned for our long weekend. First up was a two hour horseback trail ride in Pemberton (about 30 minutes north of Whistler). We made a quick wardrobe change and then drove up to Adventure Ranch. The scenery was amazing! After applying sunscreen and bug spray in the parking lot, we were paired up with our horses. I was given Jigsaw. He was a huge horse that was roughly 7 feet tall or so (he was part Clydesdale). Mr. Jansson was given Archie who was also pretty big.

View from the stables at the ranch

My horse Jigsaw

I was a little nervous (I'd never been on a horse) but ended up really enjoying myself. The horses all stayed in a neat little single file line and were really well behaved. Our favorite portion of the ride was when we reached the Green River and the horses got to take a break. All the horses loved the water but Mr. Jansson's horse, Archie, had a blast splashing water all over himself, the other horses and Mr. Jansson! The one downside for me was all the mosquitoes! I was eaten alive even after being sprayed down with deep woods off. I had at least 6 or so bites on the back of each arm and 5 or so various bites on my legs where the mosquitoes managed to bite me through my jeans.

Me, Jigsaw, Mr. Jansson and Archie in the Green River

Closer up

Archie splashing away

After our ride, we made a quick stop up the road to the Pemberton Distillery. It's a small distillery owned by a husband and wife (Tyler and Lorien Schramm) who didn't seem to be much older than us. We had a quick tasting of their organic potato vodka and gin (along with an impromptu tour from Lorien). Mr. Jansson purchased a bottle as a souvenir and then we were on our way back to the hotel to cool off in the pool.

Pemberton Distillery

As I mentioned before, it was hot. The hotel pool was over crowded. I didn't take a single photo. Instead, I sat on the side of the pool with my feet in the water reading a magazine and trying to keep all the water that kids were splashing out of my drink. After a brief pooltime, we got cleaned up and explored the village a little before stopping in the Alta Bistro for a pre supper cocktail on their patio. (Thanks for the tip Lorien!)

Mr. Jansson at Alta Bistro

After our drinks, we strolled around a bit more before making our way to Araxi for supper. I had been looking forward to this meal since we planned on taking this trip. Araxi has been called the best restaurant in Canada by Gordon Ramsey and I was so excited to experience it first hand!

Araxi

The atmosphere was not what I had expected. It was incredibly loud and an odd mix of folks in jean shorts and others in suits. Our waiter, Phillepe, was a little hard for us to understand (especially with the dining area being so noisy) but was friendly and knowledgeable regarding the menu. We started off with apps. Mr. Jansson ordered the BC Oysters Five Ways: crispy with avocado and tomatillo salsa, chilled on the half shell with ponzu pearls trout caviar and creme fraiche, raspberry mignonette and cucumber salsa.

BC Oysters Five Ways

I chose the special daily sashimi (two kinds of tuna - one was slightly grilled, and salmon). It was good - very fresh - but I have had better. (One of the perks of living in Seattle and having access to amazing sushi grade seafood at relatively low prices.)

Sashimi Special

For entrees, Mr. Jansson chose to go with the Paradise Valley Pork: slow cooked pork belly and roasted pork loin with corn and herb salsa accompanied with sweet potato, cilantro and ginger ravioli. I tried a bite - delish! 

Paradise Valley Pork

I chose to go with the Wild BC Salmon: quinoa and chive risotto, crispy green asparagus and summer vegetable powder yuzu, olive oil and chive vinaigrette. The salmon was wonderful (especially the charred skin)! I could have eaten the risotto on its own and been a happy camper too. 

Wild BC Salmon

For dessert, the restaurant knew that it was our anniversary and had this lovely dessert tray brought out to us with shortbread, macaroons, and little honey cakes. It was such a sweet ending to an amazing dining experience. 

Overall, I'd give Araxi two thumbs up for their creative menu, local seasonal ingredients and overall taste. I'd have to knock them a bit for the atmosphere though - when spending a good chunk of money on a special occasion supper you'd like to be able to hear each other talk. 

That pretty much sums up day one. Has anyone even read down this far?! I doubt it. Stay tuned for all of day two's fun. I'll post that soon! We had a great time but are so happy to be home with Watson. A big thank you to Mr. Jansson's mom for staying at our house this weekend to babysit Watson. We appreciate it!!!