Canada
The next day we were booked to go on a dog sled trip, this was one of the highlights of the trip. Whizzing through the snow covered pine forests being pulled by four 55 kilogram Malamutes at a great rate of knots is something that has to be experienced to be believed.
After 3 very enjoyable days in the old city of Quebec we flew further east towards Halifax and then transferred to another flight which would take us to our destination of Prince Edward Island. The further east we travelled the smaller the planes became and the more icy the take-off and landings were. It was lovely to be greeted by some friendly faces when we arrived at PEI. We were taken to a cosy bed & breakfast in the capital Charlettown which happened to be only a slippery 50 metre walk to the Town Hall the site of the wedding reception, how convenient. I don't know why they need fridges in Canada because you only need to leave your beer or champagne outside at night for half an hour before the corks start to pop or the beer bottles start to explode, maybe you need the fridge to stop things freezing.
The wedding was held out of town at a lovely little church surrounded by snow of course. Good thing it was heated inside. Us Aussies had just been enjoying a 30 degree summer and now we were in the depth of a Canadian winter, talk about extremes. After the service we were shuttled back to our accommodation to prepare for the big reception, Canadian style. It was very special to be welcomed by all the locals and thanked for travelling all the way from "down under". The Canadian flag and the Australian flag were even hung behind the main table, a nice touch. Celebrations went well into the night for the special reason that New Years Eve was only minutes away. Those Canadian's really know how to party, and much rye whisky was consumed.
After a lazy breakfast the next morning and the swapping of many stories. Such as "did I really slip over on the ice covered car park last night? must have been those new shoes". We were taken on a trip around PEI to see amazing sights like snow on the beach, frozen harbours, Anne of Green Gables House and even a local wading into the surf just to impress the Aussie's. The hospitality of the locals and the Canadian's was outstanding.
The next stop was Whistler ski resort, after yet another flight to Vancouver and then a very scenic coach trip we arrived at Whistler / Blackcomb ski resort in the Rocky Mountains. Since we have only ever skied in Australia we had no idea what to expect. The most impressive feature is the mountains, they are huge!! Thredbo eat your heart out. This is a magnificent ski resort, with everything just a short slippery walk away. Plenty of shops and heaps of restaurants for the Après skiing at the end or the middle of the day and enough snow to get covered in over your head. One night we had over 250mm of the fluffy white stuff and the same again during the day, so much so that we nearly got snowed in and the coach couldn't get through. We might of missed our flight home and had to stay another night, maybe next time.