First night with my family was fabulous, as always. Second night is always with PSM’s family, a fun time that!
It’s Tuesday, so it’s still a work day, that means, more cooking, just to fill in some of the gaps from what we ate last night at the first seder. We made two more kugels, another matzoh brittle, more gefilte fish, and more broccoli pancakes, oh yeah, more hard boiled eggs.
In between cooking, there was work to be done, for my job that is! I actually got a lot done, had a few calls, GES and dad went to the grocery store for some supplies, I did go out and treat myself to a chai at Starbucks, ended up talking to a nice guy about bikes, he commented on my Sturgis sweatshirt, how could I not talk about how much we love to ride?!
About 5p, I started to pack up my stuff and about 530p, I hugged and kissed everyone goodbye and headed to PSM’s family’s for seder. There were a lot more people at the second night seder, GES was having about 20, we had 11 last night, sound about right!
I walked in with my goodies, the fabulous veggie matzoh ball soup for me and the peach matzoh kugel for all. Let’s just say, I know it was good, but…there was absolutely nothing left for me to take back to PA and PSM! Happily disappointed!
We sat down about 630pm, I ended up at the kids side of the table. Kids being the youngest was about 16 or 17 and the oldest in their 20s, these are bigger kids. They still do the Four Questions, well, they’re still the youngest! Of course, I was also seated across from some of the older trouble makers, myself included, not complaining, there was a lot of laughter and love!
As all families, they have their own traditions, we sing Take Me Out to the Seder, sung to…you guessed it, Take Me Out to the Ball Game! They use different Haggadah’s, as most families do, but like most families, everyone takes a turn reading, participating in the service and the telling of our story.
I stayed until the seder was over and we started clearing the table, and some folks were heading out, it was about 930p and I had a very long drive home! Not looking forward to that…I got on the road, had the top down for part of it, of course! I decided to go through Connecticut, how much traffic could there be at 12-1am?! Well…not hours of traffic, but there was traffic! Seriously? I cannot stand driving through that state! I may have already said it, I enjoy the state, just not driving through it! ugh!
After about 3 hours, I probably stopped every hour, to get gas, walk around, keep myself awake and ready to go. It was a very, very, very long drive. I find that during the day, I can drive for what seems like forever! I remember driving from St Louis to Denver, CO, it’s about a 12 hour drive, I did it in one fell swoop, isn’t that a great expression! But once the sun goes down, I’m not good for the full drive without stopping.
I made it home safely, finished a podcast, started a new one, that kept me going for hours, I wasn’t sure when it was going to end, but good for my drive! I made it home about 330am and I was done! I emailed dad and my sister to let them know I was home, went into the house and was greeted with running, snuggles, and kisses from the fur babies, someone had fallen asleep and left them out.
I proceeded to love on them, get them in the crate, and it was all I could do to walk upstairs, put on my jammies, and fall into bed, the alarm was still coming at 6a, really?
All in all, a good trip, too short, but a good one. Family, friends, food, and fun, what more could you want? Notin’ I tell ya! Nothin’! G’Night!
When I think about skiing, I was so used to skiing out west that I forget there are mountains on the pass in the Northeast and when I looked at the Epic App [Vail Resorts] and there are seven mountains in PA on the pass! Score! The closest one was Roundtop Mountain, it’s only about 33 miles/1 hours drive. Double score!
PSM encouraged me to go, who am I to argue! I loaded up my car, I love that my skis and poles fit in the backseat! I suited up, I prefer to drive in my ski gear instead of getting dressed at the mountain. I put my boots on the floor in the front and I made sure to put the heat on the floor. One of the best pieces of advice I got from my friend in Colorado, AM, was to buckle the boots and keep them as warm as possible, that makes it easier to buckle them when they’re on your feet. I’ll be honest, one of the things I cannot stand about ski boots is getting them buckled! I even thought about starting a business to just go around and help people get their boots on and buckled, unbuckled and off! I’d pay money for that, would you?!
I got everything in the car and headed out, stopped at Starbucks, it was on the way, I needed some sustenance. Plugged in my phone, listened to a podcast, that’s a whole ‘nother post! and I was off. The drive was great, there weren’t a lot of people on the road, nice, and it was pretty clear, snow was only on the sides of the highway.
After close to an hour, I got off the highway with everyone else going skiing, almost didn’t have to use the gps, I just followed everyone else and I could tell because of the ski racks and the window stickers on most of the cars, kind of a dead giveaway! Got to the mountain, found a place to park, I have to tell you, Annie, my VW Convertible Beetle is a champ! She has front wheel drive and has gotten me to and through a lot of places and she is a hoss! LOVE her! She also fits into smaller parking spaces!
Got situated, took out the skis, and then the task of getting the boots on and buckled, I so covet snowboarding boots! Just so much easier to get on and off and walk it, at least that’s the way it looks to me! I wasn’t sure what it would be like on the mountain, the parking lot was full! Let’s go!
I walked through the parking lot, down the hill, stopped at the shuttle hut, waiting about 2 minutes and said, let’s just go. It wasn’t a long walk, no longer than at Keystone in Colorado getting to the lifts, actually, it might have been closer, have to give it some thought. I walked up out onto the snow and then to the first lift I saw. The lines were ok, I will tell you, when you ski, the singles line is always the shortest and sometimes you get on the lift faster, that’s a plus of skiing alone. Although, there are people who ski together who will get in the singles line…because it moves faster.
I got to the top and headed down, it wasn’t a very long run and it was a green dot, so it was one of the easier runs, always good for the first time. The snow making machines were doing their thing, everyone I shared a lift with talked about how great the snow was and how the machines were working overtime. Apparenlty Roundtop had some of the best snow out of all the resorts in PA, lucky me! I will say…one of the drawbacks of the snow makers going so much, it was hard not to ski through one and when it landed on my goggles, a few times I had a hard time keeping them clear, the snow was freezing on the goggles almost as soon as it hit them!
I skied two easy, green dot, runs, then someone told me they started easy where I was and progressively got more difficult, as you went left. If you’re not sure what the symbols mean, check out this explanation, it should help! After the green dot runs, I skied over to a blue dot, did a few of those, then moved over to a chair that serviced blue dot and black diamond. So I did those next, not too shabby. I will say, there was some good powder, but there was also ice, I felt it as I was skiing and crunching. That’s one of the things east coast skiing is known for, ice, which is not my favorite, I’ve wiped out on it before, but I’ve lived to tell the tale! I was a little nervous skiing east after skiing west for so many years, but I think having skied consistently the last few years has helped my confidence so I’m game for whatever!
Here’s a little live action swish swoosh!
I realized I was getting a little tired, my knee started talking to mem and I did go boom at one point, but that was in the middle of my runs, so I got up and kept going, it was nice that someone did stop to ask if I was ok. When I get tired, I take the advice of the national ski team person who helped me years ago, not sure if you remember me telling you about it. Instead of saying ‘I’m getting tired, I think this may be my last run’…say ‘I’m getting tired, I’m going to do two more runs’, then don’t do the last one. Kind of trick yourself into thinking you’re going to keep going and maybe get wobbly, I don’t know why…but it works!
I skied down, went into the lodge, got myself a hot chai, sat and warmed up for about 30 minutes, and when the feeling started coming back to my fingertips, I decided it was time to go. I headed back towards the parking lot, took advantage of the shuttle back up towards the parking lot, then removed said boots, loaded the car and headed towards the highway. About 30 minutes into my drive, PSM called and we decided to meet somewhere, I was about 30 minutes from the house and he was out running errands, so I found a place about 15 minutes for each of us.
We decided on the Rising Sun Bar & Kitchen in Palmyra. We were in Palmyra yesterday, if you recall, we went to the Whirling Dervish Bakery & Coffee Shop, and that new park for the pups. Rising Sun was on my list of new places to explore and Palmyra, pleasantly enough is only about 15/20 minutes from us!
I got there first, took 2 spots at the bar and had a look around. I think I told you, we prefer to eat at the bar, you usually can get a spot, sometimes you get to chat with other patrons, and you have first line to the bartender, win-win-win! It’s a charming, open, inviting, warm, and friendly atmoshpere. The bar was large and open, big cross beams at the ceiling, almost a barn feeling. PSM got there and we ordered some drink and food. I was 100% on a hot tea journey, my fingers were still cold! I also loved that I could walk in there in my ski pants and no one said boo!
We had some shaved brussel sprouts, and two salads, mine was a roasted beet with slivered almonds, raisins, and goat cheese, y u m! And PSM had a blackened chicken salad. The food did take a minute, but it was good. As soon as the bartender wondered where the salads were, went to go check, they were ready to be picked up, good on us! Food was good, drinks were good, conversation was good, football was on, good for PSM, not so much for me, but…he found people next to him he could talk to about the games, and they talked about other things I could jump in on.
We hung out, ate, talked, drank, laughed, watched. Eventually, about 530p, I said I was heading home to take care of the pups, PSM stayed behind to watch more foosball! I headed home, took care of the pups, hung out with them, decided to go upstairs and took a very much needed, relaxing, hot hot hot shower, got in my jammies, gather the pups and snuggle. The big reason…when PSM is in the bed, they have no use for me, so I’ll take what I can get!
So…skiing, first time this season, won’t be the last, a new mountain, skied the east, a new restaurant/bar, date with my husband, snuggle with the dogs, yeah, that’s a pretty good Sunday. How are we going to top this next weekend!? You’ll just have to wait to find out!
First…there were the itchy eyes, I told you about that a few weeks ago, fear not…itchy eyes have not left me, they are both itchy, wet and dry, how about them apples!, but now…flowers are in bloom…looks beautiful…but…now add runny nose and sneezing! Seriously? Spring, Mother Nature, haven’t you done enough? Ha ha, couldn’t you have just made the flowers bloom…without the side effects?
I take my Flonase, every day, all year long, to be exact. That seems to help when it’s not Spring! I don’t remember if Summer is the same, I can’t think right now! And the worst part, all the sneezing wipes me out! I am exhausted! There are some days I have to take a nap in the middle of the day, I can’t see straight! Now, don’t get me wrong, I do love a good nap, just not when I have to work!
Before you ask, I have taken or tried many allergy medications, but…they all make me drowsy! Even the ones that are not supposed to. Being immune to medication is not a super power! ha ha. The other day, just to function, I took a Dayquil, just to stop my poor nose from running. It’s getting sore from the overuse of very soft tissues! I think I went through a box in two days! really?!
Honestly friends, I love Spring. I really do, even though I am speaking out right now, begging for relief. Now, when I was a kid, I didn’t have seasonal allergies, I didn’t know how lucky I was! When I moved to Georgia I was told…if you don’t have allergies when you move there, you will! And I was so lucky for year, but sure enough, in my 15th year or so…achoo! What?! And they haven’t left. When I moved to Colorado…not sure what magic there was, no allergies!
Ok, I’m done. This too shall pass, right? Yup, Fall is just around the corner! I can feel it!
Oh, how punny! I know, you have no idea, so I’m going to tell you, not to worry!
Last week sometime, while I was in Colorado, I told PSM, this was a whim I had, and I’ve had a few, that when I’m home, we need to do an MCU marathon! And for those of you not in the know…that’s Marvel Cinematic Universe! And for those of you still not in the know, those are the super hero movies based on the Marvel Comics, and the amazing Stan Lee, just one of the many brilliant minds who brought us all those amazing super hero comic books and grapic novels.
I was a kid when I started reading the comic strips in the newspaper, Sunday funnies, those were great, because, depending on the newspaper, those were the ones in color! When it came to comic books, I started with Archie Comics, Spider Man, in high school, I was introduced to X-Men, among others, I could go on and on and on, on this topic and I might just do that…another day. Back to the topic at hand.
I’ve watched a lot of the comic book and graphic novels come to life, like I said, another time, and I remember when the first Marvel Movie came out, Iron Man in 2008, starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Faverau, who also directed, and Terrance Howard, to name a few…I think I reviewed this movie way back when, but I have a renewed look at it, I could do it again, it is my blog, after all! And that was just the beginning, literally! One of my favorite memories was when The Avengers movie came out, May 3, 2012, I went to the AMC Theater near me for an MCU marathon!
Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, and then…The Avengers. It was 18 hours in the theater! OMG! We had special passes and they let us out for about 30 minutes in between each movie, it was amazing! So…if you had only seen each movie once, which we know was not the case for me, this was an opportunity to see each movie again, and then…The Avengers! What a day it was!
So…where was I? Oh yeah, like I forgot, we’re in the MCU Universe! PSM must have heard me because last night he suggested we do a MCU Marathon, but… not in order of release date, but in chronological order, how you should watch them in the timeline that actually happened. And friends, that’s just what we did!
We started wtih Captain America: The First Avenger, starring Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving, and Hayley Attwell, then we watched Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson. Both fabulous, oh, we have got to talk about these two movies soon! Tonight was Iron Man, we started late, so we threw in something else that didn’t take as long, tell you about it later! Tomorrow…Iron Man2 and The Incredible Hulk, with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, of course! Oh man, I’m getting excited to tell you about the movies themselves! Tangent!
So…that is the plan, go through all the movies, even the ones we weren’t crazy about, only because one of us didn’t like the way it played out, [that would be me], but ya gotta take the good with the bad, so I’m down for some Baby Groot to lift my spirits!
I know, it’s not actually the first day of Spring, that would be March 20th of this year, which is only a few weeks away, but…my allergies have kicked in and they are already kickin’ my arse!
I have been scratching my eyes like crazy today, my nose won’t stop running, if you see it, please catch it! When my eyes get like this, I can’t focus, it makes me incredibly sleepy and groggy. I actually had to close my eyes for 30 minutes earlier today! Oh brother!
I didn’t have allergies growing up, just smoke. Then…I moved to Georgia…someone told me that if you don’t have allergies, after you move to Georgia, you will! It didn’t happen to me for at least 10+ years, then all of a sudden, I’m allergic to everything and every spring…I had a mantra…I hate Spring. I know, hate is a strong word, I have said it a million times, but oh brother, I mean it! I even use Flonase every day, when it gets like this, it doesn’t matter! I used to user bioAllers Outdoor Allergy, it was dissolvable and I took it every four hours. It was crazy, it literally was like clockwork, if I went over four hours, I was sneezing. Eventually, it didn’t work very well, so I stopped. I’ve taken Zyrtec, that tends to make me sleepy, so does Claritin, even though they are both supposed to be non-drowsy.
When I moved to Colorado, wow! No allergic reactions to anything, except smoke, wow! It was crazy…I’d visit the Northeast and as soon as the plane doors would open…sniffle, achoo. Oh well, when I moved to Boston, hello, then Hawai’i, no different, now Missouri, it is what it is. Usually it only lasts this bad a few weeks, then it tapers off to manageable annoyance, then…in no time, it will be Autumn! Ha ha!
I remember last year, when the mask mandates came down, it was Spring and I was walking through the grocery store sneezing, and I would say loud enough for the people around me to hear “I loathe Spring!” That was all I could think to do to let folks know it was allergies and not anything else! Geesh…
I’m glad you can’t see me right now, my eyes are red and puffy, itchy and I can’t stop sniffling! I was so happy the snow melted…until now!
I think I told you last week, while I was in Colorado, that there was a group ride on Sunday, and here we are! I told you that PSM and I went out on the bikes to get some dinner last night, after we both got home and it was brrrr…chilly! Today, the official group ride. Wah to the hoo!
We belong to the St LouisIndian Motorcycle Riders Group, or IMRG. When we lived in Hawai’i, we joined the IMRG HoloHolo chapter, well, we actually still belong to the group, we have the 2021 patches to prove it! Man, I still need to get a vest to put my patches on! At this point, I need two vests or something to put the patches on. I absolutely LUV my motorcycle vest so much, I don’t want to put anything on it! Is that terrible?! I’m looking, I’ll do it eventually, promise!
We got up, took the pups for a walk, had some breakfast, geared up, well, you have to put your gear on, every super hero does! ha ha. Because we’re riding, we start with jeans, I’m sure you’ve seen people wearing shorts on a bike, not me, ever. Ok, I can’t say that…the last staycation we had in Hawai’i, we went to the Big Island and rented motorcycles. The last morning, when we were returning them, we both wore shorts the 2 block ride to return the bikes, but I promise, there is no way I would ever ride in anything by jeans. Short sleeves, definitely, especially when it’s hot, and I’m usually wearing a vest that helps protect my chest, but my legs, no way! I have to tell you, I was so happy to be completely covered the day I wrecked my bike, years ago! Wow, digressing now! You wanted to hear about our lovely ride!
So…back to our apparel. Jeans, long sleeve shirt, thin sweatshirt I got last summer at the Looney Bin Bar & Grill. I will be telling you all about it this summer when we go on our annual motorcycle ride with the guys in New Hampshire, cannot wait! Then, I have a heavy denim Indian Motorcycle jacket, it’s quilted on the inside, so it keeps me warm, but it’s not too warm to sometimes wear in the summer. Yup, I wore my Chucks, and got grief from our Ride Captain, it was awesome! I showed him the picture I shared with you from KN, “How to spot a biker chick”, he still rolled his eyes at me! I had my black gloves with red trim that I got at Harley Davidson in Seattle, WA, I had to go a long way to find those and those…saved my hands when I wrecked, I will never give them up! Neck sleeve that I got with sunflowers that got at the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, headphones, goggles, and helmet…we were good to go!
We met the group at the designated QuikTrip, gives us a chance to greet each other, this is the first time a lot of us have seen each other since the last ride in the Fall, I think it was October, get something to drink or a snack, gas up the bikes, and get our riding instructions. When you’re riding in a group, it’s important to know the rules and hand signals, all that good stuff to keep everyone safe. There were about 25 of us, it was great! There are male riders, female riders, as you might guess, couples, Indian motorcycles and two Can-Am Spyder Roadsters.
After all that, we were off. We ride side by side to get started, then we ride in staggered formation, you’re on the left, I’m behind you on the right, and so on, and in some places, depending on the road, we ride single file. It’s quite the site to see a line of bikes coming down the highway. We try to stay together, when we’re at stop lights and stop signs, acting as a tractor trailer, so to speak, trying to keep any cars from getting in the middle of our group. That’s common for most group rides.
We rode to Sandy Creek Covered Bridge Park, a beautiful park with, you guessed it, a covered bridge. It looked like a great park for walking, together, with the dogs, a picnic. There were signs telling you the history of covered bridges and where to find Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites, something to strive for. And every ride…a group photo, have to commemorate the ride!
After the ride…lunch! We rode to Cafe Smok N Pi in De Soto, MO. I always look up the restaurant we are going to go to that day to see if there is anything I can eat, I finally got smart! This time, I really got smart, I had made myself a sandwiche to bring with me. It was a cute place with character and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Cafe Smok N Pi was our final destination and some people took off after lunch. The rest of us went to the Dew Drop Inn in Bloomsdale, MO, PSM said they were known for their bloody mary‘s, but did he have one? Nope, but the ones I saw, wow, they were like a whole meal! Celery, bacon, pickles, olives, pulled pork, really? Wow!
We had a great time, drinking, laughing, telling stories, getting to know each other, making new friends. The biker community is like no other, when you have a bike, you respect each other and look out for each other. If a biker is on the side of the road, other bikers will stop to help. I remember one day, I was coming out of a gravel parking lot and my bike dropped, immediately, bikers pulled out and stopped traffic in each direction and two bikers helped me pick up my bike and made sure I was set and the bikers stopping traffic waited until I was back on the road before they started moving again. It really is something.
After the Dew Drop Inn, we got back on the road and headed home. I have to tell you, it was a little chilly in the morning while we were going to meet the group, then it started to warm up when we got to the Park, some people started taking off their jackets as we were heading to lunch, and progressively, it headed up to almost 70 degrees, it was fabulous! It started to even out my sunburn!
How fabulous, skiing on Thursday, convertible Friday and Saturday, riding a motorcycle on Sunday, my life is full! I can’t wait for the next ride!
Mama, I’m comin’ home, by Ozzy Osborne is one of my favorite songs. I just wanted to throw that in there! Today, I am home! Back with PSM and the girls, Ruby and Bee, right where I belong.
I had the best time while I was in Colorado! I was with the dogs in the backyard and chatting with a neighbor, when I told them where I had been, they asked why I wasn’t still there…I missed my family! I will admit, it was tough to leave, but I wanted to be home, if they were with me, I would have stayed all month! Yesterday was really tough, I didn’t ski! I worked in the morning, then headed out. It was so tempting to go to Keystone when the lifts opened, for just an hour or two, then work for a few hours, then start driving. I was good…sigh…I worked until about noon, then took off.
NM and AM left earlier for the mountain to go riding, I finished working, packed up, let the dogs out, let the dogs in, loaded up the car and away we went. Annie II and I, that is. The roads were clear, what a change from my drive in and every day I was there! As I was on the highway heading away from Dillon, I was so glad not to be heading in the other direction, the line of cars was crazy! O M G! I’m sure it was going to take people about 2-3 hours to go 20 miles, no thanks!
I drove about half way, I was in Kansas at this point, sometimes with the top down, fabulous! Got some food and a hotel, settled in, talked to CWB, then crashed, it was nice. Today, got up, made some breakfast, then…I was on the road again, that was exactly the text I sent, by the fabulous Willie Nelson! Made me laugh. The temperature began to climb and it was 60 in no time, and you know what that means…top down on the car the entire drive home! The only drawback…I just realized I think I got a bit of a sunburn!
I got home, played with the pups, they seemed to have missed me! PSM had been out on his bike, came home, I dressed for the weather, jumped on the bikes and headed out to dinner, an impromptu date night! It was nice, we went somewhere new, talked, laughed, caught up, laughed, got goofy, perfect date night for us.
Now…we’re snuggled up, the pups are in the crate, and to quote the most famous Kansan said “there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home.”
Or, maybe attitude towards the weather. Today was my last official in Colorado for this trip, heading home to PSM and the pups tomorrow, I have seen them in over a week, very much looking forward to that!
Since today was my last day here that I could ski, I made a reservation at Keystone, mostly because it’s a 12 minute drive from the house! What?! Awesome! I had a few meetings in the afternoon, so I decided to do first run of the day, spend a few hours, come back and work. I know, you’re thinking, what does this have to do with the weather JJ? I’m getting there.
It started snowing, see…sometime last night and went on for most of the day, actually, I don’t know if it stopped yet, I know it was still going about 730 tonight, it will be an interesting drive tomorrow…but it’s been close to 60 in St Louis, so there’s hope.
When I pulled out of the driveway to head to Keystone, I said to NM, “if this was happening in St Louis, I would be saying…again? seriously?” but…since we’re in the mountains and I’m heading out to ski and they’re going to snowboard, I was quite excited about the prospect!
Isn’t it interesting how we think about things, perspective is situational, and from today’s perspective, oh yeah. Tomorrow, I might be like, oh joy, dripping with sarcasm, because…if you recall, last Wednesday evening/Thursday very early morning, the snow was not exactly a welcome site.
That’s about it! I’ll keep you posted on my drive tomorrow!
I was excited today, going to a new resort, Beaver Creek. I think I mentioned the other day one of the things I like about having to make reservations to ski is the opportunity to explore other mountains. I was thinking about it, I think the reason I only go to Breckenridge and Keystone when I visit Colorado is that I’m usually only here for a few days, so I think I stuck to what I knew. In addition, Beaver Creek is about an hour from Dillon and Vail is 30 minutes, which is not bad, while I stay here, but if I am staying in Golden, which I usually do, that adds almost 2 hours each way and while I don’t mind driving an hour and 20 each way, the longer trips don’t always seem worth it, especially if I’m only going for a few hours. Driving 2 hours there isn’t bad, but driving back, after skiing a few hours, exhausting. Well, that makes sense to my swiss-cheese brain!
I must be getting comfortable with the altitude and time difference, I have been getting up a little earlier every day! 530am is too early, but it is what it is! Even though I was up, didn’t mean I had to get out of bed! I leisurely lounged, watched some Netflix, and made it a lazy Saturday morning, sounds good to me. Eventually, I got up, motivated, dressed, made some breakfast, and looked outside…snow…and lots of it. I’m in the mountains of Colorado, what did I expect?! Let’s get the car packed and go!
I left the house, the streets had a new layer of snow on them, made it almost to the highway and almost couldn’t see the cars in front of me, hmmm…do I still want to go? I called PSM and we looked at the weather together, well, he looked, he’s much better at it than me!
We already know Annie II can do it! Not worried about her at all, and she proved that she can drive in the snow and we made it to Beaver Creek. Let’s just say it was a little crowded, all but one of the parking lots was full and when I finally got to the parking lot that was open, it was closed, huh? As I’m driving back down the hill I asked someone and he let me park on the side of the road, with everyone else in the same boat, which was great because we were pretty close to the lift!
I walked up to the lift, put my skis on and headed up the mountain. I really enjoyed Beaver Creek, just like all the Vail Resorts I have been to, the slopes are wide open and manageable. I find that when I haven’t been to a mountain before I tend to stay on the green circles, which are the easiest, for the first few runs, then I venture into some of the blue squares, more difficult. I haven’t reached the point this year that I want to ski the black diamonds or double blacks, most difficult. I used to, I just don’t these days and I’m ok with that!
I think I mentioned the snow that started sometime in the morning, continued on the drive and…most of the day, there were times you couldn’t see too far ahead of you, the snow kept coming, and the wind picked up, there were even a few snow swells and swirls, not quite snownados, but looked like it! If you look at my pics, it looks like of black and white, doesn’t it?!
Despite the view, or lack there of it, there was still much swishing and swooshing, and smiling while doing it! All that snow made for nice fresh powder in a lot of places. I had a few very nice companions on the chair lifts who gave me some advice on runs to do and they were spot on, thank you!
I lost track of how many runs I did, but I took a break at one point at one of the lodges, hung out by the fire and was thinking it might be time to head out, I had been there a few hours, but when I asked someone how to get back to the gondola, their answer didn’t fill me with warm fuzzies, the other resorts I have been to had ways to get back to the bottom, wherever I needed to be from wherever I was. Thankfully at that, because half the time, and I know you won’t be surprised, but I don’t know where I am half the time! I was telling someone that I admired all the skiers and riders that knew the runs and what they were called and where the ended up. You laugh, but it’s true! I remember when I would stay at the Doubletree in Breckenridge, a fabulous ski in/ski out hotel and I would have to remember the run that would take me back to the ski in part!
Anyway, she told me that I would need to go back to the top and ski to where I needed to go. That’s a tough one when your mind has told you your done. You have to kind of trick yourself, ok, let’s do another run! Well, two more and then skip the last one! I went to the top where she told me and I couldn’t figure out where she was telling me to go, so I asked someone at the top and they said, no, go this way, which I did and whew, I ended up where I needed to be! When I got to the bottom of the hill, I was a little confused, but…I found the exit, it was actually a nice run to the bottom, the lift that I came up on! That was very cool, at some other mountains, you ski, then get on a gondola, or you’re at the bottom and you walk out, this was ski to the bottom to where the hotel entrance was, a very short walk to the car, that was fun!
I got to the car, it had stopped snowing at some point and the sun came out. I thought, ooh, I’ll go into Beaver Creek Village and look for something to eat. I should have kept my car there and taken the gondola into Beaver Creek Village. I was not paying $30 for parking for the very short time I was going to be there. I wanted to walk around, get a bite to eat and maybe a t-shirt and sticker for my helmet, not worth the money. So…I started back to the house.
The drive was sooo much better on the way back than coming up there! It was a breeze. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up some supplies, then back to the house. Into the house, and I told you how nice that was to be able to put my stuff up in the garage/house! I even memorized the codes for the garage and door! Go me! Shower, pizza, movies, and you. What could be better! Tomorrow, Vail, another mountain I haven’t been to and I’m so looking forward to it!
PSM kicked me out of the house…to Colorado to go ski! He’s so harsh! Ha Ha! He knows what it means to me and with my new job, I can do it, serious work/life balance. Besides, sometime in the next few months, he’s going to do the same to me, take off work and disappear to parts unknown. Works for me.
I packed up the car with my ski gear, it all fits in the car! and cleared out the fridge and freezer of al the things I knew PSM wouldn’t eat, I didn’t want it to go bad, besides, this helps me not eat out every meal, win-win. Even had the leftover ovo-vegan lasagna from Thanksgiving, it’s been in the freezer, and it’s still good! Here we go!
It was 59 degrees out, you know what that means! Yup, sweatshirt on, butt warmers on, drop the top! It was gorgeous! Eventually the top had to go up as the temperature dropped, which was alright, I could hear people on phone if they called and eventually it would be too cold for the top down. It was a good thing too, NM told me there was a snowstorm coming to Denver, it wasn’t predicted earlier in the week, I checked the weather. Ok… we could do it. I don’t know if you remember me telling you that we, Annie II and I, drove through the a bit of a snowstorm a few weeks ago coming back from Denver. Now…we’re getting on going to Denver, oh joy!
Annie II is a beast! I had her when I lived in Colorado years ago and she drove through the snow all the time, she even had to do some snow and ice driving in Atlanta when I lived there. So the snow started somewhere in Kansas, it is a very big state! I know it was after Topeka, but I couldn’t tell you where I was, only that it was Kansas.
It started as just snow coming at the car, then it progressively got stronger, slicker, and started to build up on the ground. I was able to keep driving in my Chucks for a long time, there was cover at the gas stations, and I would have to start kicking some of the snow from the wheel wells. Eventually, as I was driving through Denver, people were starting to skid out, the work trucks and snow plows were out in force. I had a few moments of “don’t use the break”, “go with the skid” nothing major, but I remembered my experiences while I was growing up in New York, driving, even learning to rock a car out of a snow bank, driving in Western New York, learning what to do when you start to skid. The skid warning light or traction control indicator came on a few times, but we were fine, just go with it.
One of the last time I stopped to get gas, I had to put on my wonderful, furry, winter boots, love them! I got out and got A LOT of snow from the wheel wells, that’s the only thing I worry about, it builds up so quickly and can mess with your driving abilities. As I was getting back on the highway, we spun a little, slowly, but we spun, not sure if it was lucky, but the snow was thick and soft, we righted and got back on the highway.
By now, the roads had cleared and it was just me, Annie II and the work trucks and snow plows, that was kind of interesting. Eventually, we got to Dillon, we made it to the house and into the garage, safe and sound. The trip took a little longer than it should, 13 hours turned into 15, but…
My car, my little beetle bug convertible, a car that is not known for driving in the snow, conquering the skids, mounds of snow, and slippery roads, but…Annie II is a champ and seems to love it, so…don’t tell her she doesn’t have 4-wheel drive, why crush her dreams!
Ok, so….I have to correct myself…sort of…I just looked up Beetles driving in the snow, and I had forgotten all about this and now I la la la love my car even more and know why she is a champ! She has front-wheel-drive, this gives her a natural advantage for dealing with snow and ice, it’s the weight distribution. Go Annie II! Oh yeah! Could I love this car any more?!
Peaches Prattlings 