Day 90: Arriving to Whistler, British Columbia

The muscle relaxer and pain pills for my neck and back kept me asleep until 10:00 am. I got dressed and went into the kitchen. Ash, my Airbnb host, wasn’t around. My room was supposed to come with a cooked breakfast from Ash, but I slept so late that I didn’t blame him for leaving.

All of a sudden, Ash came out of his room. He said, “You slept in too?!” I said, “Yup!” Ash started making breakfast and showed me a short documentary about Whistler.

The documentary told the history of Whistler – it was formed in the 1960s as an attempt to host the Olympics. Being a ski town in the 60s, its population was heavily into drugs. Whistler Mountain was frequented by traditional skiers and speed skaters, and when Blackholm Mountain came along right next to it, it quickly became the mountain for snowboarders and freestyle skiers. There was a big rivalry between the two until the Peak to Peak gondola was built in 2007-2008, connecting the two mountains. In 2010, the Winter Olympics were finally held in Whistler.

Ash was 65 years old and retired. He’s originally from Canada but moved to the US when he was 12. He lived in Denver, Seattle, Portland, and LA. Ash moved back to Canada in 1999 and six years ago started a bike tour company. His Airbnb came with a three-hour electric bike tour, which is why I booked with him.

Ash was a character. He was around 5’11” and was fit, but had a big belly. He had white hair and a small white goatee. Ash has six stents in his heart and said, “From ages 40-60, you lose 50% of muscle mass if you don’t do strength training.” When he lived in Seattle, he had a high-pressure job that wasn’t good for his heart. Ash gave up his green card to the US when Trump was elected, and now the US won’t let him back him, even to visit. He seemed regretful about that decision.

Ash told me more about Whistler and why he loves it. There are only 10,000 residents, but they host between 30,000-70,000 tourists a day. All of the jobs available are in hospitality. A lot of people volunteer for perks around the city. For example, you could volunteer to be a greeter at one of the museums and get a yearly bus pass. Or do a volunteer shift for 22 weeks and get a ski pass ($1,500). Ash said the small town and all of the volunteer work means you often run into the same folks, which helps to ensure people are nice to each other. You will likely end up working or volunteering with that person down the road, so you don’t want it to be awkward.

I told Ash about my back, neck, and shoulder pain, and he asked, “Would weed help?” I declined his offer, and he recommended I check out physiotherapy. He helped me call and get an appointment. I told Ash I would check out the Scandinave Spa because the hot tubs and saunas might help my muscles. He asked if I wanted some mushrooms, and I declined those as well. He told me to be careful in the hot tub because a friend of his recently died in one. He said, “We all eat mushrooms, smoke weed, and drink, so that probably contributed to it.”

I drove to the physiotherapy place and had a 30-minute appointment. I wasn’t sure what to expect. The girl who was helping me was from the UK. She said that because of my limited movement, she would do some pressure points as I sat on the table. I’m not sure that it helped at all, but it was worth a try. The girl told me about how she was getting married next year and wanted to do a big road trip around British Columbia, so she was asking me for tips.

After physiotherapy, I walked over to a massage place and got an hour-long massage, hoping my muscles would loosen a bit. Once the massage was done, I drove to the Scandinave spa.

This place was incredible! It’s situated in the mountains, has two hot tubs, several saunas, cold pools, relaxation rooms, and fire pits. I arrived at the front desk at 5:30 pm, and the girl gave me instructions: spend 10-15 minutes in one of the hot areas, 10 seconds washing in the cold, and then 10-15 minutes in a relaxation room. Then do it all over again, and again, and again.

I put on my swimsuit and headed for a hot tub. There is no talking of any kind allowed, so it made me feel less alone since nobody else could talk to their buddy. It wasn’t crowded because it was off-season, and I was excited to try each room. It was cold and sometimes raining outside, so the heat felt good. It was fun being outside in the rain in a hot tub.

After about an hour, I went back up to the cafe inside to eat some dinner. I was upset when I saw they decided to close the kitchen early because they didn’t have enough staff. All I could get was a yogurt parfait and a piece of cheesecake for $13.

I went back down to enjoy the luxurious spa. My favorite steam room was the eucalyptus room. I kept rotating between hot tubs, steam rooms, and relaxation rooms. It reminded me of the movie, Last Holiday, where Queen Latifah thinks she’s dying, so she spends her life savings living it up in Switzerland. I stayed until they closed at 9:00 pm.

When I got back to my Airbnb, Ash was hanging out drinking a beer. We ate candy together, as I told him about my day. He told me about mushrooms again. He had a bike tour at 9:00 am, and two people already signed up, so I said I would join that group. I went to bed and took some more medication, hoping I would be capable of the bike ride in the morning.

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Post Edited By: Mandy Strider