Holiday Valley Revisited

I slept well and was up a good ten minutes ahead of 530a. I wasn’t about to try to sneak in some extra winks, not after over sleeping the past couple of days. It snowed a little less than an inch over night. Far less than the three inches many predicted. I started my calisthenics then checked the weather. It was 28 degrees. I took Frankie out after push-ups. She was in no hurry to get up and head outside. As we stepped off the back deck, I could hear the hot tub making that familiar gurgling sound, a sure sign that the water level was once again low. After a little prodding, Frankie finally took care of business. I could rest easy knowing that she addressed both ends. Back inside, I gave her a Milkbone then did ten minutes of meditation. That went fairly well. Stretching went well too. Just ahead of 630a I took Mindy some coffee along with the pug. I headed out for my run once again wearing back-up running attire, my favorite stuff already packed away. The freshly fallen snow provided that extra bit of cushion I often gush about in winter. I ran the full 4.1 miles without issue. Back at home, I started the Honda then took about ten minutes to shovel the driveway clear. Again, there wasn’t a great deal of accumulation but I didn’t want to chance driving over it and then having it turn to packed ice. It was darn near 730a when I finished shoveling and headed in for breakfast. As usual, my mind was racing with all I had going on during the day, including our trip. Just before she left, Mindy confirmed that all I had to do to fetch the kids was show up at their school near 2p. She’d already communicated with both of their teachers. While scraping the snow off the Honda I was reminded that the rear windshield wiper blade was toast. It needed more window juice too. I asked Mindy to make a quick stop at Advance Auto to purchase wiper juice and a new rear wiper blade. I went on to explain that they’ll install it while she waits for no additional charge. Mindy wasn’t pleased with the request, but seemed to realize its importance. I had already asked that she stop & top off the gas tank again, too. Mindy soon left for school and the kids and I readied like normal. Come 755a we prepared for the bus stop. Having made plans for the neighbors to keep Frankie for the weekend, I carried the pen while one of the kids took Frankie. We headed to the neighbors. It was already 8a. No Chrissy and no kids at the bus stop. Strange! I left the pen on their front porch then returned to the bus stop. Just then, Jacob busted his behind on Trena's driveway after sliding on ice. The same ice I asked him to avoid the morning before. He hit hard too. Scared me. I scolded him for not heeding my warning. Said he was OK. The bus pulled up maybe a minute or two early. Not wanting Chrissy’s kids to miss the bus I hurried towards their door. After knocking twice, Chrissy finally came to the door. Said they all overslept. Chrissy said I could simply leave Frankie and then asked that I wave the bus on without her kids. She’d take them on her way to work. I waved the bus on, but then shared that I could help by dropping Makayla & Lillian on my way to work saving her the trouble. After all, it’s practically on my way. That’s what we agreed to do. Said they’d need 20 minutes, though, which worked well for me. I still had to start and warm the Trooper and then finish a few last minute chores at home. I headed home to take care of that stuff after leaving Frankie in Chrissy’s care. My stuff done, I headed back to Chrissy’s in the Trooper to pick-up the girls. Me, Lillian, and Makayla left for school & work near 830a. The drive in was uneventful. The most exciting piece of our drive was passing their school bus on Cemetery Rd. I had the girls at school by 840a. I waited to make sure they could get in the building that early. The bus doesn’t typically get them there until 850-855a. Off to work. I arrived at the office at 845a. I was in good spirits. How could I not be with such a fun weekend ahead? After getting settled, I stopped in to chat with my boss and let him know that I needed to leave early to pick-up the kids from school. We had our typical Friday morning staff call at 9a. That lasted about an hour. A couple touchy topics, but none that I was willing to let ruin my day. The day went pretty fast, especially considering that I was leaving at 2p. Mindy called just before noon to share that she visited the Advance Auto Parts store literally one block from her school at lunch time. Said they don’t stock the rear wiper blade for her Honda, but the friendly rep was able to fix the old one. She also picked up a gallon of windshield juice. She sounded relieved. Shared that she would be leaving school at 220p. I took care of several pending matters before 2p rolled around. I actually was able to head out the door at 155p. I must’ve arrived at the kids school around 205p. Bella was already waiting in the office and busy reading a book. Jacob was still in class and taking a computerized math test. The office assistant said he had six more questions to answer then would be down. No worries. Greeted Mrs. Valentine. Jacob & Bella both had her for first grade. Jacob showed up around 215p. I signed the kids out and we were on our way. We were home by 230p. I immediately started loading the cooler with our refridgable items and then organized all of my personal electronics into my travel backpack. Mindy called to let us know that she was 10-15 minutes from home. We asked that she pick-up OJ and ice while topping off the fuel. She agreed. The kids were squabbling, mostly Jacob trying to annoy Bella. I had to separate them at least twice. Mindy arrived near 245p. While she headed in to address some last minute stuff of her own, I loaded the cooler and several other last minute items into the Honda. I also filled the windshield juice reservoir, and then checked out the wiper blade repair. Yep, looked like new. Cool! Mindy wanted to check the cooler, but by the time she was back downstairs I shared that it was too late and already packed. I was in travel mode (think nervous, neurotic, antsy). Rush, rush, rush. I wanted to be on the road by 3p. We secured the home and loaded into the Honda at 304p. I rushed back inside to grab my hair brush and pee. We were on the road by 310p. It started to snow almost immediately but only flurries, and definitely not enough to harm traffic flow. We buzzed around I-270N towards I-71N without the worry of Friday rush hour (hence why I was insistent on getting out of town when we did). The one unknown variable remaining was traffic flow around I-271 to I-90E. We’d be rolling around I-271 at the beginning of Cleveland’s rush hour. Yikes! For me, the first 50-60 miles always takes the longest. It seemed the further north we traveled, the heavier the snow flurries became. I was surprised only because the forecast called for a calm weather drive – no snow storms. Despite the flurries, it didn’t impede our speed. The roads remained dry. Mindy packed a full bag of snacks, but after about 100 miles the kids started asking about food. I’ve learned not to over think it. We needed a pee break any way. Mindy suggested we turn it into one stop. We got off I-271N at the Northfield exit stopping at the Wendy’s. The same stop we’ve made three other trips up. We agreed to use the facilities then get our food order to-go. All totaled, our stop was a brief 15 minutes exit to reentrance. We sailed around the rest of I-271 without any problems and then made a smooth transition onto I-90E. Nice design! As we headed east the car quieted with the kids and Mindy either napping or using personal electronics. We hit darkness halfway between Cleveland and Conneaut. Everybody was asleep as we crossed into PA. It’s a quick drive through PA. As we approached Erie, the snow flurries quickly turned into a full fledged snow storm. It quickly began sticking to the highway. In fact, as we made our way east of Erie, it only got worse. Can you say white knuckle driving? Oh yeah! There are a few stretches along I90 & I86 that are under construction where the two lanes are narrow and uneven. Of course those were the same stretches where the snow fall was heaviest. My senses were on full alert as we progressed eastward through the rest of PA and the snow squalls. The snow continued on the heavy side as we entered New York State and eventually passed over Lake Chautauqua. Almost like magic, it let up as we approached Jamestown. We hit a few more squalls but the roads were mostly dry the rest of the way into Salamanca. By then everyone was awake and nervously observing. Despite the treacherous weather, we still made damn good time exiting onto 219N at 815p, or after only 5 hours and 5 minutes on the road. It took another 15-20 minutes or so to get to the HV rental office. As has become family tradition, we marveled at the ‘land of icicles’, some reaching from the second story all the way to the ground. Add to that, there had to be 18” of snow on the ground and many driveways hosting piles 8’ foot high. Some serious snow fall, and the most I’ve seen, this my fifth trip up. At some point during our drive up, I confessed that I didn’t pack the eggs, and couldn’t remember if I grabbed the white milk, either. Mindy wasn’t too pleased. She gave me an earful for not allowing her an extra minute to check the cooler. I had no defense. In hindsight she was correct. But like she’s taught me over the years, what we forget we could simply buy. After all, what’s the cost of a dozen eggs and a quart of milk? We checked in near 840p in what was a smooth process. Soon we were onto our condo in Snow Pine Village. Jacob was apparently tired and started sporting a horrid attitude. Didn’t want to help carry any gear and said he wasn’t going to join us at the EBC to celebrate Bella’s adoption day, either. Well, let’s just say he picked a bad time to piss Mindy off. The one bedroom condos at Snow Pine are very convenient for ski-in/ski-out. You literally slide open your patio door and slip into your skis and peg over to the bottom half of Wall run. However, getting your gear to the room, well that’s another story. You have to walk down three different flights of stairs as well as a long hallway opening three door along the way. Physically exhaustive, to say the very least. Jacob gave me the stink I when I gave him his first load, the plastic dry goods tub (light but bulky). Oh no! I thought Mindy might clock him right there. Yikes! Slowly but surely we toted all of our gear, minus skis to the condo. I planned to carry the skis around to the patio come morning. The one bedroom condo’s are small and look like something from the late 70’s, possibly early 80’s. Just a bedroom, small livingroom with sleeper sofa, a small kitchen and bathroom. Not much bigger that some hotel rooms, really. But this we already knew having stayed there once before. Mindy realized right away that there wasn’t a blowdryer in the bathroom Asked me if I brought ours. No? I don’t use/need one after a new haircut. Oh boy! I saw a side of Mindy I’ve never seen before. Lord, who is this venomous woman and where did you put my loving wife? And from the kids body language, I could tell they were thinking the same as me. Among one of several rants, Mindy suggested I call the rental office and insist on a blow dryer. I already agreed to stop at the town grocery for milk and eggs on our way to EBC. Checking the cooler I realized that I did, in fact, pack the white milk after all. The only food item I forgot was the dozen eggs. No sooner had we got ourselves somewhat situated, we left the condo destined for the Ellicottville Brewing Company (EBC) in downtown Ellicottville, but not before planning a quick stop at Tops, the town grocery. Mindy & Jacob waited in the Honda while Bella and I went inside for eggs. I was hoping that they might sell blow dryers too, anything to help change Mindy’s horrid disposition. While shopping, Bella whispered that she was afraid and worried about her mom’s uncharacteristic outbursts. I assured her that everything was OK. We found eggs but no blow dryers. I offered to buy Bella anything her sweet tooth desired. At first she wanted nothing, but eventually decided on a pack of gum. She suggested we get Jacob a Hershey bar, according to her, his favorite. OK. Talk about an old time grocery store feel, this store had it. By the time we exited the store, it was snowing like the dickens! Big flakes too. In a menacing tone, Mindy asked if there was a blow dryer in the bag. No, but I looked for one. We headed over to EBC where we were fortunate enough to get a decent parking spot just a few car lengths down from the brewpub’s entrance. As expected, the place was jam packed, and the wait quoted at 30 minutes. There was live music, too. I was concerned that Mindy & the kids might turn for the door, but they didn’t. Instead, they took the pager and found the most comfortable spot they could find. I circled the bar looking for a crack in the crowd where I could belly up to the bar and get a beer. Finally, after waiting about 10 minutes or so, I was helped with the aid of a kind patron. I guessed and ordered an EBC Oatmeal Stout for Mindy. I ordered their Imperial IPA –Pantius Droppus for myself. Good. It took all of the 30 minute wait we were qouted for a table to come available. We were seated by a window far in the back. Perfect, really I ordered a second beer along with an open face reuben. Mindy ordered their Manhattan clam chowder (tomato based) and perogies. Bella ordered spaghetti. Can’t recall what Jacob ordered beyond French fries. Dinner was quite good. I picked up the check. I picked up a long–sleeved t-shirt for Mindy on our way out. It had all but stopped snowing. We drove back to our condo. It had to be 11-1130p. After dinner and beer, everybody was in a much better mood. Thankfully. Not 30 minutes later it was lights out in the condo. Big ski day ahead.