Buying Skis

Mindy & I worked out a deal Saturday morning that I would get up with the two boys come Sunday morning. I considered that more than fair given my condition early Saturday morning. I woke at 7am Sunday feeling just fine after almost nine hours of precious sleep. Before going for the boys I proceeded to prep the day’s coffee, log onto work, and knock out my sit-ups and push-ups. Afterwards, I fetched Landon, who was calling out for my assistance. I changed his diaper before taking both boys downstairs. Prior to that, Rocky was busy watching cartoons from his bed. After feeding the boys I got caught up in a work related matter that totally consumed me. Come 9:15am I delivered Mindy’s coffee. She was still sound asleep, but Ykraps needed to go out. She understood and promised to join me/us downstairs shortly. As soon as she made it down I leashed up Ykraps. I offered Rocky the opportunity to walk with me. He accepted. I let him hold the leash. He commented that I was treating him like a big boy. You bet! Meanwhile, it was a lovely walk. The sun was shining ever so brightly and the temperature was already near 40. The melt was on! Most lawns facing the south were almost completely clear of any snow. Ours, however, still resembled a Xmas card, facing due north while the house blocks most of the day’s direct sunshine. In the spring in summer it’s a blessing, but in the winter it’s a curse. Mindy made arrangements for the boys to visit Lindsey & Kelly today. The plan called for Mindy to drop them off around 11am and then Kelly would bring them home around 7pm. That meant we’d have some very rare alone time at home. I kept and eye on the boys and stayed tuned into work while Mindy showered. As soon as she was out I left for a run. She figured to be gone before I got back. She was. Not only was she dropping off the boys, but then grocery shopping immediately after. My run was fantastic. Just a couple icy patches to avoid. By and large, the dangerous ice was finally gone. Yippie! Before going inside, I fetched the square landscape shovel and scraped the small patches of ice that remained on the sidewalk on the bridge, over the pond. That part of the walk gets almost no sunshine. That took about fifteen minutes. I ate just enough to keep ravenous hunger at bay. Mindy wanted to do lunch out this afternoon. With my alone time I kept on top of a few work related matters and also tended to the low water in the hot tub. We haven’t used it in a month or two but the water level still dropped by about a foot. As suspected, the hose I purposefully left out was still frozen. Plan “B” entailed retrieving a 100’ foot hose from the shed. I knew that section was dry. Meanwhile, the ground around the entrance to the shed was swollen with ice enough to prevent the door from opening freely. It took some doing but I eventually got in. The hose was plenty long enough to reach the west hose bib and the hot tub. I proceeded to fill her up. The snow was melting fast. As expected, our yard was quite swampy where water typically gathers. Mindy arrived home while I was tending to the tub. I had to delay helping her carry in the groceries until I got the water shut off. After carrying in groceries I Windexed the front and back entry doors. Lots of kiddy finger prints. I suggested that before our lunch date that we drive to the Polaris Aspen Ski & Board to check out their snow skis and see if we can get a different recommendation and/or possibly even a better deal. Mindy agreed. We left the house at 1:15pm. We took the scenic route driving up Riverside Dr all the way to Powell Rd. The store is located on Powell Rd just east of Old State Rd in Polaris. It looked crowded and was. We were offered help almost immediately by a young man named Matt. I don’t often respond well to such overtures, but in a specialty store such as this they kind of have you by the short hairs. To make any real progress requires help. We talked about our desire to outfit ourselves with complete ski packages (Matt’s lucky day). He then asked several questions ranging from our ability, skiing aggressiveness, and our typical ski destinations. From there he recommended a few different skis. Relative to Mindy, he pretty much recommended the same K2 that Jason did at their Arlington store. As for me, he had other ideas. We looked at numerous ski types, even a few twin tips. I was very interested in a ski that would perform well under most snow conditions while feeding my need for speed and carving. We eventually settled on the Volkl AC30s. All told, he was willing to give me one hell of a deal. Next it was onto boots. We agreed that he should fit Mindy first. It took about 20 minutes to properly size her and then find a comfortable pair of high quality boots. She ended up with a Dalbello Aspire. He asked her to keep them on and walk around while he started with me. I was wise enough to have Mindy bring her ski socks along for the sizing. I knew that he and I would butt heads just based on what he was telling Mindy. He/their philosophy is that you want them snug. He measured my foot with dress socks on since I always ski in one pair of synthetic dress socks. This is a secret I discovered several years ago in Runner’s World. It works really well. My feet do not get sweaty or cold. Anyway, I’ve digressed. He measured me out at 27cm, or 9.5 American. No way, I refuted. I agreed with what his tool read, but all of my shoes, dress, sport, and leisure are either a 10.5 or an 11.0. He asked me to trust him. OK, what the hell. Because the skis I picked are considered advanced, and my ski style aggressive, he recommended two different hitech ski boots. Long story shortened, I tried on both pair, both literally had my feet throbbing. Way too tight. Where, he asked. Everywhere! J He kept on about needing a tighter fit for a more technical ski. We went back and forth. That may be true, but I assured him that if I chose those boots I’d spend more time in the lodge rubbing my aching feet. I asked that he humor me once and fetch this pair of Dalbello’s I liked. I also asked that they be 28cm instead of the 275cm he insisted on. He obliged me. They felt terrific. They were nice boots, too. All the straps were adjustable/tweakable as well. We did adjust the strap around my calves due to my bulging leg muscles. Now they were even more comfy. At that point we weren’t sure if it was purely the size or simply the boot. To humor him, I agreed to try on the same boot but in his size recommendation. That made him happy. And by the way, they have a boot guarantee. You can bring them back forever/anytime to be adjusted, tweaked. But at the same time, I got the impression that once you select a pair, they won’t exchange them for a completely different size. That’s why they spend so much time up front on the sizing. Anyway, I tried the Dalbello Protron 8 in a 275cm. Once again, my toes felt crushed. At that point we both agreed that I had the right boots. Not only did they fit perfectly, they matched my new skis nicely too. We did the paperwork before picking poles. They throw those in the deal. I insisted on graphite poles. After all, Jason promised as much at their Arlington store. After checking with his boss, he agreed. He suggested that they’re not as stiff as the aluminum poles and that we may not like them. I wanted them. No problem. While we prepared to pay up, we decided to bite the bullet and buy a ski bag, too. We picked a nice one, one that not only had wheels but also had plenty of padding and could hold two sets. It takes three days to get the ski bindings mounted and tuned. Ours would be ready for pick-up Wednesday mid day. Cool! He forgot to ring up our boots in the deal. For a fleeting moment I’ll admit that I toyed with the idea of not mentioning it. But better judgment prevailed and I reminded him that he needed to ring up our boots too. He was most pleased with my honesty and expressed as much more than once. I would not have felt good about it if I hadn’t been honest. Fair is fair. We spent a lot of money today. There’s no doubt. But by the same token, Mindy & I work hard for what we have and these skis should serve us well and bring us lots of pleasure. We left feeling good about finally owning our own skis. Funny thing is, all we currently had to show for it was four ski poles and a travel tote. J Elated, I had Mindy phone Bob Imber to tell him all about our skis. We got his voice mail. Mindy left a message. It was already 3:45pm. We had been there for two hours. We called Jimaken to work out drop-off arrangements. We were prepared to pick them up at his place, but as it turned out they weren’t there. He agreed to deliver them to our house instead. Cool. We decided then to wait for the kids and then got to dinner. And because we still needed to meet up with daughter Courtney, we called and invited her as well. She accepted and said she’d meet us at our place within the hour. We all piled in the Honda at 5pm and left for the El Vaquero in Hilliard. Again, this was the site of our first dinner date. Mindy & Courtney ordered Margaritas. I ordered a Coke. I ate two baskets full of chips and salsa. Always do. Mindy ordered her usual – Mexican seafood combo – shrimp and scallops. I had a three item combo. Of all things to order at a Mexican restaurant, Bella ordered pizza. And she’s a Latino! Jacob ordered a two item combo. I can’t recall what Courtney ordered. Dinner was OK – not their best. The service was good, however. We had a nice time. Mindy paid the check. We stopped at the ATM on the way home. Courtney left soon after we got back. Jacob and I walked Ykraps. Mindy got Jacob and Bella baths. Soon Kelly & Lindsey brought Rocky & Landon home. Rocky cried a little and must’ve hugged his momma goodbye four times, telling her he loved her each time. He’s a brave boy – good too. After a few minutes, everyone was readjusted. We had the kids in bed just after 8pm. Mindy and I got in the hot tub for the first time in a long, long while. It felt terrific. After the hot tub we talked a short while then headed up to bed.