Forty-one hours of birthday celebrations! Happy Birthday Mac and thanks to the Aussie friends who started sharing messages in the early hours of the morning here in Canada which sent Mac's phone and iPad into a notifications alert frenzy. (On the bright side The Birthday Boy now knows how to turn off the alert sounds and the keyboard tap!)

It certainly ensured that we were off and running for an early celebration . We cranked up the Beatles' White Album and blasted out "Birthday" at top volume and Mindy did the stylish Daddy Dance to kick off celebrations after diving head first "into the middle" of the bed. The celebrations had begun!

Breakfast at Wild Wood had been on the cards for a while (Ian's fav) and after a false start last week they were open and we snuggled into a booth to toast in the birthday with a Mimosa and overflowing plates of food. Certainly, the biggest breakfast to date and we agreed with Ian that it was one not to be missed!

Mac and I rounded out the morning with a circuit of the Village and took some time to watch the growing crowd on the downhill bike course. Mindy still thinks this is on the agenda for us - the only thing saving us at the moment is the Birthday Boy's injury.

Night time entertainment on Birthday Round 1 was a movie. Ian and Mac took in The Avengers and the girls belly laughed their way through Pitch Perfect 2! About 45 minutes into the movie there was a power failure in Whistler and the movie just stopped for about 5 minutes . As we left the theatre, Mindy and I were given a free pass for another movie to be used at any time - no such luck for The Avengers patrons!

Whistler was quickly filling up with people for the long weekend. A band was playing in the square to ring in Friday night and restaurants and bars were overflowing with people. With the benefit of local knowledge we dodged the crowds and headed up to Fat Tony's and filled up with a couple of slices of $2 pizza before making a beeline for the Barefoot Bistro's Ketel One Ice Room to enjoy their vodka menu.

The Ketel One Room is a 15 minute experience in a minus 32 degree Celsius bar. You sample four different types of vodka in the bar well protected against the cold in the traditional hooded arctic jacket. We shared the bar with 7 other people. The only instruction we were given was "Don't lick the walls!" No problem!

One girl wore thongs into the room and one young guy refused to wear the jacket claiming he worked in those conditions all of the time and did not feel the cold . We, on the other hand, certainly felt it. I know why vodka is taken as a shot now - the glass is so cold you just can't bare to hold it!

The room was small. The walls of ice doubled as a sculpted bar display for all the different vodkas. The hostess explained the differences in the flavours as the samples were distributed. Everything in the room was washed by blue light and everything appeared white and washed out except my hair which turned purple! (@JA you know I was thinking of you!)

Each of the vodka samples was very different. And the final round was a choose your own adventure. Mindy and Ian went for the top shelf Absolut which was a one in 100 000 bottle, Mac tried the coffee flavour and I went for a fruity sample. All delicious but after just 15 minutes in the room we were happy to be ushered outside to the fireplace.

We rounded out the first night of celebrations with a coffee at Starbucks on the way home . We thought we were in for a quiet end to the night. Unfortunately it was Johnny Cash karaoke night at The Fairmont and A Boy Named Sue seemed to be on an endless loop!

And then it was time to do it all again for the Canadian birthday. Presents were first up and Mac was kitted out with a new Whistler shirt, boardies for the hot tub, a zip up fleece jacket and his North Face Gloves. Mindy and Ian added Bear Bum Wild & Cozy PJs and thermal socks. Bring on the Arctic, he is prepared.

Birthday Breakfast number two was at the local Milestones Restaurant just at the bottom of The Aspens. Absolutely beautiful fully glassed restaurant with a view of Blackcomb. A little bit of gin to accompany breakfast and the day was well under way.

We merged breakfast with the next meal of the day and joined Mindy and Ian in the Village at GLC for a liquid lunch and a close up view of the bikers on the downhill track as they launched themselves off the jumps . We had front row seats for all the action and with the sun beating down at 25 degrees it was thirsty work.

But all the eating over the last two days was just the warm up for dinner at Rim Rock Cafe and Oyster Bar at Creekside. This is a fine dining establishment and it was packed for the long weekend (great job our Friendly Whistler Guide for booking weeks ago!)

We enjoyed every course - and there were four of them. We tried the oysters, the prawns, the salmon and tuna, baby octopus and calamari, elk, bison, venison, pulled pork and beef, scallops and prawns. Every morsel was absolutely delicious. At the end of two and a half hours of eating we were all collapsing in a food coma. Probably the finest dining of our lives...all in a relaxed and casual atmosphere, with great company in a candlelit booth with daylight till 9 pm.

So that was 59! It was a rolling series of eating and drinking experiences . And with just 365 days to go planning is under way for the BIG 6-0. Toot toot, see you on the Ghan.

P.S. About this downhill biking thing. As far as we can see, this is what happens. Fully covered in protective gear including elbow pads, wrist guards, padded gloves, elbow guards, shin guards, neck brace and full face helmet, you nonchalantly throw your bike onto the converted chairlift, take a place in the chair behind to follow your bike up the mountain....then on disembarkation at the Fitz Chair at the top of the ridge, you repeat the "nonchalantly" bit and remove your bike and then, smiling with such total enjoyment, you point your bike down hill on the graded, dirt track and head for the bottom. You can jump logs and tyres, do tricks in the air and even ride off the edge of a 3 metre platform onto the ramp below and finish up by jumping over a house, still smiling with enjoyment. In what part of your consciousness can you see Marathon Man or me in this scenario. Seriously, someone needs to tell Mindy SHE'S DREAMING or one of us is going to have to sustain another injury!

PPS: Best line of the night was Ian's claim "We've got her surrounded."....sorry, cannot even begin to explain.

Friday
Temperature: 25
Pedometer: 10183
Bear Sightings = 0

Saturday
Temperature: 25
Pedometer: 5 556
Bear Sightings = 0

Total Bear Sightings = 2