Oh, Canada!

Early St. Patti's Day four of us girls ventured off to CANADA! We did not know what to expect but prepared ourselves for an amazing time...and we were NOT disappointed.

Tuesday, our first day, we traveled to Montreal and then took a 2 hr bus ride to Mt Tremblant. The ride was gorgeous and I have never seen so much snow. After we checked in to our cute little lodge, we rode the bus into Mt Tremblant. We decided to just explore and check out what we might like to do for the week. The area we were in is set up as a ski resort and it is a precious/quaint little French town...loved it! I had the best bread bowl soup and quickly learned things are much more expensive in Canada...they LOVE to tax! While there we also tried Maple syrup on snow on a stick, it was rather sweet even for me! :) That night back at our lodge we heard of the tragedy of the actress Natasha Richardson that had occurred on the same mountain we would be learning to ski on. Needless to say, we were a little apprehensive about skiing in the rain the next morning.

So instead of skiing, we got up Wednesday morning and went intertubing for 2 hrs or so. It was so much fun and I loved the tube lift too!

Thursday morning we got up early and set off to ski. We started off with ski school with our preciuos instructor, Rod. Emily and myself did well and liked it and decided to try skiing the trails that afternoon, while the other two girls hung out around the town. Emily and I went down the green route twice, with a fall here and there. But don't worry we wore our helmets! It was a lot of fun but so icy due to the rain/freeze the day before. I think I'll enjoy it more the next time I go. We went to the very top of the mountain afterwards and watched people ski down some blacks...brave souls! The views from up top were absolutely breathtaking! Later that day when we returned to our lodge, we were EXHAUSTED!!!!! So we ate at the lodge and soaked in the hot tub.

Friday, we decided to be adventurous and go dogsledding! It was absolutely my favorite thing we did! Such a unique experience and a once in a lifetime kind of thing. They let us help harness the dogs and were given the choice of driving/riding. We elected to have a guide come with us...so we pretended to drive. :) Afterwards, they take you to where all the dogs are kept...over 300, and introduce you to some of the popular ones. It was incredible how they knew each dog by name. One of the guys told me, "it's easy they all look different and have different personalites"...ya okay! We had a little rest time before our next activity which was a horse sleigh ride. The horses were gorgeous and so was the view from the ride. There was a funny Frenchman who was the entertainment for us.

Saturday, we packed up and headed off to Montreal after lunch. We took a taxi to our hotel...the guy stops on the middle of the highway and takes pictures of some odd buildings on the other side...who does that?!?! Our hotel was so nice and after a quick relaxation time we walked to the subway staion. I don't know why but when I'm traveling I love the subways! They are so easy to get around on. We went to the old part of Montreal and it is beautiful. It was fun walking around the streets and taking silly pictures. I had so much fun with these girls and we had many bonding experiences! :) I don't really remember what started it but at the beginning of the trip I was known as a 'kid' and at the end I was 'lil mama. We headed back on Sunday, and even though it wasn't nearly as cold as I expected it to be in Canada, I was ready for some Tx weather! I can't wait to go back again and I think Christmas time would be absolutely gorgeous there!

Here are a few picutres from my latest adventure!