John and I needed some time away from the kids.  Just 24 hours and it happened.  It just feels good to reconnect as a couple.  Sometimes we get going a million miles an hour and the only uninterrupted time is just as we are crawling into bed.  If we start talking then, John can't get to sleep so 24 hours was needed.  I found this hotel on Groupon.  I really like this site.  We tried once before to go away but we all got sick that week.  We found places for all the kids to go and took off as soon as possible.  We crossed the border and headed to our hotel.  It always seems as though when we cross into Canada that we fumble around not quite knowing how to get there.  Its not like we don't take a map, we do but somehow the directions are off.  Of course we missed the turn right away to highway 15 but ended up there and onto TransCan 1.  The map told us to get off 1 and drive around North Vancouver when we could have just taken the Lonsdale exit instead.  After backtracking a couple of time we found our little hotel, The Lonsdale Quay.  There is an indoor public market on the first two floors and the hotel is on floor 3 and 4.  We had a little view from our window and there were chocolates and a bottle of wine waiting for us.  After a glass of wine we headed to Burgoo for dinner.  I so want to go back today!  It was delicious.  The atmosphere was perfect and intimate.  We had reservations at 7:30 on Grainville Island at the Improv Center.  Oh my goodness, this is what comedy should be like, funny.  I don't know why comedians think that standing on stage screaming swear words every other word and being crude is funny.  The Improv Center was funny.  There were two groups of three comedians competing against each other for the most points.  The audience decided on the points.  They did skits using suggestions from the audience.  We almost bought tickets for the next show but decided to head back to the hotel instead. The next morning we wandered around the market after having breakfast and bought pastries.  It wasn't like we were hungry but it just looked good.  We packed up, checked out of our room and headed to the ski hill.  It was a 10 minute drive to the base, where we took a gondola up to the top of the mountain.  Each time the gondola passed a tower, it would sway back and forth.  With it being packed like a sardine can it would sway quite a bit.  Once at the top, we just strapped on our skis and headed to the lift.  It took a couple of runs to get warmed up.  When I ski with the kids, we do some easier runs without moguls.  Skiing with John, it really pushes me.  The interesting thing about the ski area is that there are gates to go through to get on the lift.  I felt like a race horse getting ready for a race.  I would stand in the gate and as soon as the chair past me, I would ski into place to wait for the next chair.  Once on the chair, there was a bar that you pulled down in front.  Baker doesn't have a bar, there isn't anything between you and the front of the chair but they have them in Canada.  The mountain was small compared to Baker but it was good.  The view was incredible, I could see all the way to Vancouver and watch the big ships going out to sea.  By the time we were going up on the gondola in the morning people were already coming off the mountain.  They skied for a couple of hours and were done for the day.  There was so much to do up there.  You could ski, snowshoe, ice skate, go to a movie about the area and animals, eat a fancy lunch or dinner, take sleigh rides (pulled by a diesel powered machine) or a personal sled pushed by someone.  After skiing for about 5 hours we were ready to call it a day.  On our way home we stopped at a Tim Hortons.  The waitress at breakfast said it was better than Denny's hmm, not quite.  I had a pannini and it was good.  I wanted a coffee but it was a wait for their decaf they were out.  It was just different than I thought it would be.  It was such a good weekend.  It definitely ranks right up there with my favorite weekend of all time with John.