Dec 24 - We arranged our lift tickets and hired our gear, and hit Sunshine for some snowboarding. Mags was great at snowboarding, and picked it up really well. Gemma was a really good teacher, so I think that helped. Dunc and I took off down the mountain and when the girls caught up, Mags had had enough. She just didn't like it, so we we did a few more runs and she waited at the bottom for us.

After dinner we were treated to some free deserts - "Merry Christmas" the check said. Our waitress, Vanessa, received a big tip instead.

Dec 25 - Christmas day! We went out to Lake Louise and spent the day in the snow, building a snow man (Simon) who was the hit of the town. Everyone wanted their picture with him, and we could have made a fortune of the merchandising. If only we were more marketing minded...

Back to Vanessa's restaurant for dinner, then off to the local church for Midnight Mass (Debate). We finally opened our presents that night.

Dec 26 - More snowboarding, this time at Lake Louise. Mags stayed at home, which meant I didn't have to worry about her. I mean that in the nicest way... but it was great to be able to go up and down the mountain as many times as I wanted without having to wait at the bottom like a good husbandboyfriend. You know what I mean.

I did 6 runs in total and was exhausted on the bus ride home.

I'd been keen to catch a hockey game on TV (at one of the local bars) but because I didn't check the local time I missed it. With the game being live in Vancouver, and us being one timezone across in Banff, and the whole live vs. delayed telecast thing we only caught the last 10 minutes of the game. Argh, atleast Canada won. Roll on Winter Olympics, I say.

Dec 27 - We took our snow gear back and caught a Greyhound bus at 9:00AM. I was stuck next to a crazy old man called James. The bus started in Calgary, then came to Banff before continuing on to Vancouver. As such, we didn't get spare seats next to each other, so that sucked. This dude was so damn annoying, but I felt bad for him so I didn't slap on a choke and knock him out. He was lucky. At the first stop, the one person getting off the bus was sitting next to Mags - about a 2% chance. Maybe my session at church on Christmas night paid off?

After the bus we checked into our hotel and slept

Dec 28 - We did the mad tourist thing today, visiting the Vancouver Space Museum, the Generic Ol' Stuff Museum and the Maritime Museum. In the morning, and again at night, we went up a huge tower in the city and saw a 360° view of Vancouver. That was really pretty, especially at night.

Dec 29 - We went to Granville Island, which isn't really an island, and spent the day looking around. It's kind of like Fremantle Markets, but bigger and not so crap. The fresh food there is amazing - so much fruit, meat and tasty treats. Though my apple was shit.

We hopped a flight out of Vancouver and into LA. Oh boy. LA sucks.

Dec 30 - Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth©. It sure is. I felt like a kid, lining up to see Whinnie the Pooh and Tigger, and Mickey Mouse.

Disneyland really has to be seen to be believed, and I'd love to go back sometime, especially with kids. The attention to detail is amazing, and they don't screw you once you're in the park. I expect a hotdog to cost US$40, and you'd pay it because... what other choices do you have? But I was wrong. The prices were very reasonable.

It was the second last day of their 50th anniversary so everyone was hyped that worked there.

The only disappointing thing was the lack of hot princesses - I wanted my photo with Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and Snow White, but they weren't around when I looked. Next time Gadget, next time!