Weekend in Whistler

Last weekend, me and a few guys from work took off to Canada to play golf! We got in on Friday and out on Sunday so it was a quick trip, but boy did I take in the culture. Here are some things I learned in my 54 hour trip to Whistler.

-Traffic in Vancouver looks a lot like traffic in Bellevue but with less Mercedes' and more smiles. I've never seen people so content to go 3 mph on the freeway. Excuse me, 4.82 kilometers per hour.

-Though it's completely practical and logical, fuck the metric system.

-People that say a 6 hour drive is "not that long" have way too much time on their hands. If I can watch Braveheart and Season 3 of Saved by the Bell on the car ride to somewhere, we should've caught a plane.

-Canada has the secret to keeping the outdoors feeling outdoorsy. They take care of it. People up there LOVE hiking, riding bikes and wearing skinny jeans in 80 degree weather. It's not coincidence that they look healthy and happy.

-The company I work for is baller status. The large company condo was located 100 yards from the clubhouse to Nicklaus North and in between the two were million dollar homes and shiny new cars.

-Australians obviously love Canada. I did not speak to a single service person (golf course, restaurants, shops in village) that was without an Australian accent.

-Whistler is filled with two kinds of people: Wealthy people and ski bums.

-A nice view and well maintained cuts can make a boring layout still a great golf course. There was little to no contour to the course and I was still in awe.

-Small things count. At the turn on Saturday, a course manager made small talk with us at the tee box as any nice guy would. When we were eating on the deck after our round, he came over and gave us each a gold Nicklaus North coin. It didn't take much effort, he just gave it to us as a token of thanks. That solidified the positive vibe of the course.

-Bears aren't as easy to find as bear shit.

-Chipmunks will steal your food right out of your cart. If it weren't for my affinity for Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers, I may have murdered one after snatching my muffin or taking huge bites out of my apple.

-On vacation with co-workers, HR is clearly not a concern.

-"Guys Weekend" premise is to get away... From work, from family, from reality...  but you often end up talking about them most of the weekend.

-Border agents typically aren't that jovial.

-My luck at the border is a sign that I should not traffic narcotics.

-I'm lucky and glad to be home.