My little fella'

We have a little snail that has been hiding/living between our sliding glass door and screen door and he finally came out of his shell and moved out of his entrapment which allowed me to take pictures of the underside of the little fella'. Unfortunately by the time that I got the extension tubes out and the camera set up, did the little fella' start retreating back into his shell so I was only able to take one picture of him before he hid again. I'm hoping he comes out again, he was a different subject matter to take photos of :)

• if you click for a larger photo of him, it looks like he has a small little smile! •

• too bad he was moving which made him blurry •

Earth Hour Evening

Our celebration for Earth Hour 2010: candles + Scrabble + home-brew beer = a perfect evening...

• our mantel and the eerily glow of norman rockwell's "main street" •

• game on •

• wasn't able to play the word "cent" •

• lights out •

My photographer fail moment

The weather is getting beautiful here which means more walks during the days (especially since working from home, it's nice to get out for a bit during the day). So today I took my trusty Canon out for a walk only to discover that I left the battery at home in the charger. I think that we're all entitled to one of those days, right?!

Instead, I took photos from my backyard since there are hidden gems everywhere...

• blossom one •

• blossom two •

• fallen blossom •

• spiderweb indicating long time since use of torches •

Hidden Neighborhood Gem

• i love finding little gems in my neighborhood that make me smile •

Whistler Favorites

Final Whistler post - my favorite photos :)

• you can barely see the moon right in the center •

• firework show after watching The Roots •

• our view while watching the final day of the Olympics •

• not sure why but i like this pic •

• on top of whistler mountain •

• the view from the Peak to Peak between Whistler and Blackcomb •

• an evening out •

• i just had to make these two trees become an "i ♥ u" tree •

Ziplining Adventure

Although there was so much Olympic stuff going on around us, we wanted to make sure that we squeezed some adventure into our trip and of course, ziplining was the perfect answer! We went through Ziptrek Ecotours and they made sure to pack in as much coolness as possible!

We took a snowcat up to our location which is nestled in a temperate rain forest between Whistler and Blackcomb mountain. We hiked over suspension bridges and up observation platforms that were 150 ft high in the forest canopy and offered spectacular views. Our ziplines reached speeds of 50mph (that's what they say although in the adrenaline rush, it's hard to actually know how fast you're going) and included a 2000 ft zip that dropped over twenty stories over Fitzsimmons Creek! During our three hour adventure, the team also made sure to educate us on the environment and nature that we were zipping through, which was a definite bonus to learn more about the location rather than focusing only on zipping.

The main highlight (besides zipping) was watching the final three teams - Canada, US and Germany compete for the Gold in the Bobsleigh event! Part of the hike included a small section where we were able to watch the teams go by and the timing was perfect since we watched the final three teams go by to win their medals! It was fantastic being on the secret sideline watching this happen and of course, watching the US win the Gold!

This is my third time zipping (Cancun and Nor.Cal) and tops the list as the most incredible zipping adventure! Now I just need to go to Costa Rica to try it there too! :)

• our snow cat •

• looking down into the forest and our ziplines •

• zipping off •

• weeeeeeee! •

• husband over fitzsimmons creek •

• the santa clara zip team •

• our prime viewing location for the Men's Gold Bobsleigh race! •

Bobsledding Event

Almost all of the tickets for the Olympic events ranged between three to four figures (Men's Gold hockey game) which seemed quite excessive so we were so happy and surprised to find that the qualifying race for the men's bobsled game was only thirty dollars! Standing in the cold, rain and snow for a few hours to watch men slide down on the bobsled was incredible especially since we found an excellent location at the final curve. We were also surprised that there were so many crashes due to the crazy track (never seems that the networks air crashes) so watching the bobsleds go by overturned made us hold our breaths and cheer wildly when the team all stood up safely. If we ever make it to another Olympics (Sochi anyone?!), we will have to make sure to make appearances to the bobsledding event!

• watching at the last curve before the finish line •

• spectators •

• team USA •

• team USA •

Some Olympic Goodness

Road tripping to Canada for the Olympics was the perfect mid-winter vacation full of sight-seeing, ziplining, tree-trekking, snowcat riding, bobsledding watching, hiking, gondola riding and soaking in the surreal experience after the US lost the Gold in the hockey game!

• olympic flame in vancouver •

• perfect timing to capture the helicopter over the symbols •

• whistler village •

• whistler at night •

• perfect scenery to watch the closing ceremony •

• more photos to come :-)