I woke just before 7:30am feeling completely rested and ready to go, and that was after no more than 6.5 hours of sleep. Gone was that under slept feeling that hampered me all week long. I asked Mindy what time she wanted up as I was heading down the stairs. She said something like, whenever I deemed it time. OK.
I exercised and made coffee before setting out with Ykraps. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice the spring-like sunrise. The sky would transition from sun to clouds multiple times through the morning hours. A check of the weather revealed an expected high of 47 degrees with gusty winds and sunshine. I wondered what the skiing conditions might be like but certainly didn’t fret over it.
I quietly dressed and departed for my run darn close to 830am. It was a good run. The birds were singing and I had my first citing of spring flowers bursting up through the mulch. Spring is in the air to be sure. However, not all too surprising, winter’s supposed to make a dramatic return later tonight through about Tuesday. They’re even predicting sub-zero wind chills again!
Mindy was still sleeping peacefully when I returned home. I went about preparing a nice breakfast so that we’d have plenty of energy for our day of skiing. Besides, I haven’t made breakfast for the two of us in a long while. I made a delicious turkey & cheese omelet, and served it with rye/pumpernickel toast and fruit. I had to notify Mindy that her breakfast was ready. It was almost 10am.
It was an odd morning. Again, when the sun busted out it seemed like spring but when the clouds returned and winds gusted, it felt cold and blustery. We wasted little time preparing for the day’s activities. We were ready to go by 11am. If nothing else it was good to go through the fire drill. This was great prep for our coming trip. Just before we left Tommy called to let us know that he was just outside of Marysville and would see us there.
We left just after 11am and called Bob & Mary Ann once we were on I-270. They were already there. It didn’t take long for us either. It’s about a 50 minute drive. By the time we arrived we were under completely blue skies. The temperature was about 42 degrees. However, the wind was blowing briskly, and against the snowy hillside it felt a bit cooler. A couple different times I reminded Mindy to bring our cold weather gear just in case. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
It didn’t take long to get our lift passes and rental gear. Some how we remembered the somewhat quirky system from two years ago when we were last here (Mindy’s first time skiing - ever). We found Tommy in the ski boot aisle. As we were getting our boots on Bob called. He & Mary Ann were nearing the rental building. Their news wasn’t good. They reported less than desirable conditions and even used ‘dangerous’ as an adjective. According to Mary Ann the slush was deep and rutted making for rough going. She was kind enough to confirm the park policy on refunds which guaranteed conditions for the first hour. If we weren’t satisfied we could get a pass good for any other day this season. We were willing to give it a go.
We headed up the lift. The slopes didn’t look that bad to me, although I could see that they were carved up pretty good. First run we did a green for Mindy. It was a bit soft and sloppy but not too ridiculous. We had fun. As expected, Mindy struggled to get her groove. It takes a few years to get it like riding a bike. She fell on average about once each run down. She seemed to remember her technique, but getting the body to respond was altogether something else! J
Mindy eventually joined the rest of us on the black slopes taking her time winding & slogging her way through the wet, granular snow. Actually, I kind of enjoyed it, although I would’ve liked to hit some groomed areas too. The tricky part was when a ski would get caught in a well worn rut. It was more than difficult to manage out of it.
We stopped for a beer break around 330pm. There we enjoyed some beer, pizza, and water in the comfy lodge. We must’ve spent about an hour relaxing before setting out for more winter fun. I was stoked – energized more than ever for thrills on the slopes. We skied another 1.5 hours or so before Mindy grew tired and Tommy got caught up in a few work related matters. Mindy made her way back to the lodge after her most recent spill claiming her skiing day over. After a few more runs, Mary Ann volunteered to go check on Mindy in the lodge. Bob, Tommy, and I did a few more runs before Tommy opted out.
We went back in for another beer break just before dusk. Of all people, we ran into our neighbors, Kenny and Crissy, who were there tubing with their Florida friends. I see them everywhere I go. Only Bob and I remerged for more skiing after the sun set and the moon rose. Now that it was dark, the upper most layers of snow began to freeze making the slush crunchy. The slopes were now much faster. The sky was spectacular with a waning crescent moon and numerous stars. It was really beautiful. We must’ve skied another four or five runs. Finally, just after 7pm we declared just one last run. As luck would have it, I busted my keester on that last run. But thankfully not too bad. Not wanting to push our luck, we called it a night.
We met up with Mindy & Mary Ann back in the lodge and gathered our things to go. We agreed to meet back in town at Barley’s for some food. Until then, we went our separate ways. The return process went smoothly and by 7:50pm we were on the road to home. I was tired from the busy day and so the road nearly hypnotized me. By the time we arrived at Barley’s – 45 minutes later the muscles were stiffening. The place was more crowded than we expected .Jersey was tending bar. We had to share seats along side the bar.
We all ordered food and brew with the exception of Mindy who drank water. Her knee was really bothering her. After our meal we were all done! We left for our respective homes minutes later.
Mindy & I weren’t home long before we found our way to bed. I had to walk Ykraps first, however. He’d been waiting patiently since his last walk at roughly 8am this morning. He’s a good dog!
I exercised and made coffee before setting out with Ykraps. Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but notice the spring-like sunrise. The sky would transition from sun to clouds multiple times through the morning hours. A check of the weather revealed an expected high of 47 degrees with gusty winds and sunshine. I wondered what the skiing conditions might be like but certainly didn’t fret over it.
I quietly dressed and departed for my run darn close to 830am. It was a good run. The birds were singing and I had my first citing of spring flowers bursting up through the mulch. Spring is in the air to be sure. However, not all too surprising, winter’s supposed to make a dramatic return later tonight through about Tuesday. They’re even predicting sub-zero wind chills again!
Mindy was still sleeping peacefully when I returned home. I went about preparing a nice breakfast so that we’d have plenty of energy for our day of skiing. Besides, I haven’t made breakfast for the two of us in a long while. I made a delicious turkey & cheese omelet, and served it with rye/pumpernickel toast and fruit. I had to notify Mindy that her breakfast was ready. It was almost 10am.
It was an odd morning. Again, when the sun busted out it seemed like spring but when the clouds returned and winds gusted, it felt cold and blustery. We wasted little time preparing for the day’s activities. We were ready to go by 11am. If nothing else it was good to go through the fire drill. This was great prep for our coming trip. Just before we left Tommy called to let us know that he was just outside of Marysville and would see us there.
We left just after 11am and called Bob & Mary Ann once we were on I-270. They were already there. It didn’t take long for us either. It’s about a 50 minute drive. By the time we arrived we were under completely blue skies. The temperature was about 42 degrees. However, the wind was blowing briskly, and against the snowy hillside it felt a bit cooler. A couple different times I reminded Mindy to bring our cold weather gear just in case. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
It didn’t take long to get our lift passes and rental gear. Some how we remembered the somewhat quirky system from two years ago when we were last here (Mindy’s first time skiing - ever). We found Tommy in the ski boot aisle. As we were getting our boots on Bob called. He & Mary Ann were nearing the rental building. Their news wasn’t good. They reported less than desirable conditions and even used ‘dangerous’ as an adjective. According to Mary Ann the slush was deep and rutted making for rough going. She was kind enough to confirm the park policy on refunds which guaranteed conditions for the first hour. If we weren’t satisfied we could get a pass good for any other day this season. We were willing to give it a go.
We headed up the lift. The slopes didn’t look that bad to me, although I could see that they were carved up pretty good. First run we did a green for Mindy. It was a bit soft and sloppy but not too ridiculous. We had fun. As expected, Mindy struggled to get her groove. It takes a few years to get it like riding a bike. She fell on average about once each run down. She seemed to remember her technique, but getting the body to respond was altogether something else! J
Mindy eventually joined the rest of us on the black slopes taking her time winding & slogging her way through the wet, granular snow. Actually, I kind of enjoyed it, although I would’ve liked to hit some groomed areas too. The tricky part was when a ski would get caught in a well worn rut. It was more than difficult to manage out of it.
We stopped for a beer break around 330pm. There we enjoyed some beer, pizza, and water in the comfy lodge. We must’ve spent about an hour relaxing before setting out for more winter fun. I was stoked – energized more than ever for thrills on the slopes. We skied another 1.5 hours or so before Mindy grew tired and Tommy got caught up in a few work related matters. Mindy made her way back to the lodge after her most recent spill claiming her skiing day over. After a few more runs, Mary Ann volunteered to go check on Mindy in the lodge. Bob, Tommy, and I did a few more runs before Tommy opted out.
We went back in for another beer break just before dusk. Of all people, we ran into our neighbors, Kenny and Crissy, who were there tubing with their Florida friends. I see them everywhere I go. Only Bob and I remerged for more skiing after the sun set and the moon rose. Now that it was dark, the upper most layers of snow began to freeze making the slush crunchy. The slopes were now much faster. The sky was spectacular with a waning crescent moon and numerous stars. It was really beautiful. We must’ve skied another four or five runs. Finally, just after 7pm we declared just one last run. As luck would have it, I busted my keester on that last run. But thankfully not too bad. Not wanting to push our luck, we called it a night.
We met up with Mindy & Mary Ann back in the lodge and gathered our things to go. We agreed to meet back in town at Barley’s for some food. Until then, we went our separate ways. The return process went smoothly and by 7:50pm we were on the road to home. I was tired from the busy day and so the road nearly hypnotized me. By the time we arrived at Barley’s – 45 minutes later the muscles were stiffening. The place was more crowded than we expected .Jersey was tending bar. We had to share seats along side the bar.
We all ordered food and brew with the exception of Mindy who drank water. Her knee was really bothering her. After our meal we were all done! We left for our respective homes minutes later.
Mindy & I weren’t home long before we found our way to bed. I had to walk Ykraps first, however. He’d been waiting patiently since his last walk at roughly 8am this morning. He’s a good dog!
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