A solo mom afternoon on a family trip to Whistler

I have created this post in partnership with PrAna and the ideas and opinions are my own.

Sometimes you find a brand that just clicks right with your soul.  PrAna’s mantra of being ‘clothing for people who live fully, play long, and travel well’ speaks to me and I love that the clothing I’ve tried from them has been comfortable and easy to wear.  I was asked to try a few pieces and talk about where I brought them.

I picked the Deedra sweater in coal and the Ryley crop pants in black and I brought my outfit on a family trip to Whistler, BC.  I thought I might ski, but as we got closer to our trip the weather was more rainy than snowy. The boys were talking about all the BLACK DIAMOND runs they would try and this might have sparked a bit of mom fear in me.  Skiing at Whistler is amazing but sometimes it’s equally amazing for a mom to have a day all alone in a ski village while her boys get their energy out doing crazy, wild things without her on the slopes.  I waved goodbye to my troop as they adventured to the mountain and I adventured to the spa.  (Do you see the picture above? Does your hotel room look like this too when you travel with kids?)

And how much do I love the spa?  The older I get and the busier life gets, the more I appreciate being able to tune out and just take a bit of time for me.  It’s a nice to be pampered and it’s a forced time out of life to just zone out of every day craziness and be present in my own mind for a change. I chose to go to the Whistler Day Spa because it was close to my hotel and I found out they had a really great special. (I checked the website and they had mid-week deals that saved a bunch!) I also considered the popular Scandinave but it was nearly twice the price for a massage and I just wanted a facial.  I also wasn’t sure if I would like to spend my day going into the pools by myself and they have a no-talking rule that is hard for someone who likes to babble like I do.  Have you been to the Scandinave?  I’m so curious on what it’s like-it does look totally incredible.  I was also proud of myself because I worked out in the gym before my spa treatment and it felt nice to take care of my body and take care of my mind.

After my facial I felt so refreshed but I thought I better try and take a selfie with my outfit just in case I spilled something on it at lunch.  It is so hard to take a picture of yourself-especially the type where you try and sit in the window as one does when you have a big window in your hotel room.  I used the timer button and jumped into the window spot.  I should have taken a video to show how dramatic this all went down but I’ll leave that to your imagination.  The sweater is so cozy soft it feels like it was designed for wearing after a day of working out and going to the spa because it’s almost like a blanket and I like the way the pants are a little droopy and super comfy to wear.  They would make great Thanksgiving pants because they have room to stretch but they still look stylish. I am so happy that the material is all recycled in these two clothing items.  I try to be careful about the things I buy because we do have SO much stuff in the world so when things can be recycled or bought recycled it feels good.

I had time for lunch while the guys skied and I was almost overwhelmed with all the choices I had. There are many lunch options in Whistler when you don’t have kids in tow and you’re not on the slopes.  I considered the Green Mustache, Peaked Pies and Fifi’s Bistro but I ended up grabbing a sandwich from Ingrid’s ,a place I’ve been going to for years and I enjoyed bringing my sandwich up to my room.  Then I spent the rest of the afternoon reading my book, thinking about what to eat for dinner and shopping the web.  When I picked up the boys we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and ended the night with a lovely dinner at Stones Edge. (They have a kid’s menu if you’re curious too!)

I really enjoyed my restful and rejeuvenating day.  I even ended up wearing my pants again the next day because I packed enough clothes for everyone else BUT me.  Isn’t that just mom life for you?  But this was the perfect family trip to Whistler that this mom needed.

(PS. As stated before I created this post with PrAna in exchange for trying out their clothes and as always the opinions in this piece are mine.)

(PPS. If you’re curious where we stayed it was the Pan Pacific Mountainside, a place we often stay at when we visit Whistler on a trip with the family.  We were thrilled that they had free valet parking for electric cars when we stayed, which was a lovely treat!)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)