This Mommy Went on a Staycation

It’s been a week since I got home from Whistler. This Mommy went on a staycation. Was it ever needed! My husband decided to book a little getaway for me, and he stayed home with our girls. Whistler is one of my favourite places to travel to in the winter, so it was a nice change seeing it in the summer, and it was the perfect place for me to go and relax and recharge. Prepare for photo overload.

Coming up to the day of my departure I was excited but also feeling incredibly nervous and a bit guilty. This was going to be my first time away from both of my girls. My heart was breaking, but I also knew that I needed this. I’ve been reminded time and time again “You cannot pour from an empty cup.” so I packed my bag the morning I was to leave and waited to hit the road for morning rush hour to die down.

I decided to take my time for the drive to Whistler and stop wherever I wanted to. First stop Starbucks. Next up were several different tourist stops along the way. This was my chance to stop where I wanted, when I wanted, and for however long I wanted.
  Porteau Cove is a great little spot to stop and stretch your legs on the drive up to Whistler. It is located between Lions Bay and Squamish. It’s a Provincial Marine Park, and I only just recently learned there are camping sites there. Might have to check that out for next summer. There are a series of man-made reefs and two sunken vessels are located in the waters there and you just might spot a scuba diver heading into the water, or coming out. If you have the opportunity stop and take a minute to talk to them you just might learn something new. You have a great view of Howe Sound here and you can head down to the pebble beach to wander around. 

My next stop was at Murrin Provincial Park. It’s a little spot that has access to swimming, fishing, hiking, and even rock-climbing. A great little destination stop if those are things that interest you. I saw a whole group getting set to go rock-climbing. This is one place that I actually want to stop and spend some more time exploring the next time my whole family heads up the Sea to Sky Highway. 
 
For the first time ever I was able to stop and get a photo by the Welcome to Whistler sign. I’ve been up to Whistler so many times but have never taken a photo here or even stopped for that matter. So I was a smidgen excited.

I was torn about where to go next. Do I head straight to the hotel and see if I can check in early, my check-in time wasn’t until 4pm. I decided to do some more exploring on my own. I headed to Whistler Bungee. Now I have never gone bungee jumping, and probably never will but it is in a great little area. I loved watching everyone that was going for a bungee jump. If you have some time, go explore there are hiking trails on the other side of the bridge. A few friends of mine recommended Purebread, sadly it was so busy there I was only able to just poke my head in. It is now on my list to get there something the next time I go.
  My dear husband booked me in for a one night stay at The Westin Resort & Spa Whistler. The hotel very kindly upgraded my stay to a one bedroom suite. I arrived before check-in time, and was a bit hesitant about seeing if I could check-in but upon going to the front desk I found out there was a room available right away. If I was not able to check-in I was planning to simply park the car and go explore. This though allowed me the opportunity to take my bag, and laptop bag up to the room right away and start relaxing.

I’ll be sharing more details about my stay in the hotel and the room itself in a followup post. I can tell you it was incredible, it has become one of my favourite places I have ever stayed in Whistler.  It’s a place that I am already hoping to get to go back to some day, either with my whole family or maybe another mommy staycation.

Being on my own with no nap time schedule to stick to was a nice change. I caught up on some blog work and made sure my husband knew I had made it safe and sound to the hotel. Eventually, 4:30pm rolled around and I decided to attempt to beat the dinner rush in Whistler Village.

This was when I realised it had started to downpour outside. I had forgotten to bring my rain coat with me and I didn’t even have a sweater to wear. I popped into Gap and lucked out in there being a 40% off everything in store sale and I managed to find a sweater that I absolutely love. It’s going to end up being a staple for my Fall wardrobe. 

The Westin is right beside the lifts for the mountain at the top of the village, so I had a bit of a walk down to where I wanted to go for dinner. My favourite restaurant in all of the village is El Furniture Warehouse the main items on the menu are $4.95! I had a ten-minute wait to be seated, though I could have sat right away if I didn’t mind sitting at the bar. I don’t drink and told the hostess I’d feel bad taking a spot there.

It’s a little odd at first to be dining out by yourself, but oh was it ever nice to not be worrying about keeping my girls busy or preventing items and food from being thrown on the floor. I was able to enjoy a hot meal. The food at El Furniture Warehouse has been spot on every time I’ve been here. It did not disappoint this time either. I was also thinking ahead and ordered their pierogi dish to go so that I had breakfast all set for the next day. Brilliant! With a kitchen in my hotel room to reheat it the next morning, it worked out great. No need to get up early to find a place to have breakfast at or order food to go, I already had it.

One thing I did before going to Whistler was to treat myself to some macarons from a local patisserie. I had those to look forward to enjoying in the evening. I also stopped in the village on my walk back to get a chai tea from Starbucks.

I figured now was the best time to pop down to the pool and hot tubs. I had popped in earlier to see if was busy, and it had been full with families and their kids. Going during dinner time was much better. I learnt later that the hotel has adult only swim times in the morning and the evening. 

Even after swimming the tub was calling my name. No little hands knocking on the door or trying to turn the door knob. No constant asking for something. Just peace and quiet. Oh, it was lovely! I’d brought my Ipad and watched a little Netflix.

You’d think that I would take the opportunity to go to bed early and get as much sleep as possible. Nope! I stayed up late reading. I did, however, sleep in the next morning. It was so nice waking up when I wanted to and not from my girls waking up to start the day. Though, to be honest I was missing my family. I love them to pieces.

Part of me did not want to leave, I could have totally gone for one more night away. However, this is how I knew it was time to get home. I missed my family. My husband had told me to take my time getting home, which I did, but I wanted to get back to be there for when the girls woke up from their naps. I popped into Starbucks again after checking out to get a nice hot coffee to enjoy on the drive home. 

On the drive home, I made a few more stops at scenic locations along the way. More places that I have always wanted to stop but for some reason never have. Many of them are just turnouts off the highway and you are treated to incredible views.

This was exactly what I needed to recharge and return home refocused. Sometimes you really do just need a little staycation to make sure you are running on full. I needed the time to focus on me.

Have you ever gone for a mommy staycation?
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