Minus Eleven ... Ski Day

I wasn’t motivated to get out of bed until almost 745a, and that was after waking numerous times between then and 5a. I brushed my teeth and gathered my running clothes before making my way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I glanced out into the cold abyss while slipping into my exercise shoes. After 55 sit-ups I checked the weather like I do every morning. I was sure that the Yahoo weather feed was in error after reading that was -7. To double check, I went to 10TV’s site. There site said -3 degrees. Yikes! After completing push-ups I freed Frankie then made a cup of coffee. The temperature continued to drop down to -11 before the crisp sunshine helped drive up the temperature. Got much colder than predicted. I bundled warmly heading out with Frankie. I had to carry her out to the yard. She wasn’t having anything to do with the bitter cold. She eventually peed, but then quickly ran back to the house. Obviously too cold for her comfort. I played around online until just after 9a. I made sure to stretch before a run. Given the extra cold temperatures, I went with two pair of running pants and then added an additional upper layer as well. And because it was so bright and sunny, I wore my good sun glasses. Despite the bitter cold, I was surprisingly comfortable and plenty warm from the runs outset. The extra layer did the trick. Thankfully, there was little to no wind, and the intense sunshine added plenty of warmth to my all black attire. Aside from the tip of my nose, I was quite cozy throughout the three mile run. Mindy was still asleep when I returned from the run but was up & downstairs not long after. Said she heard me head out. Reported not sleeping too well, and said her stomach was bothering her. Still planned to ski, however. Neither one of us were in a big hurry. Didn’t start getting ready until sometime after 10a. While Mindy showered, I made a breakfast sandwich, and then 3 sandwiches for the slopes. In fact, I did all the day’s prep. I retrieved all of our ski gear, packed and iced the cooler, then loaded the Honda. Chrissy left Mindy a VM while I was packing. I showered just before 11a and was ready to go by 1130a. Mindy commented that she contemplated staying home. We listened to Chrissy’s VM. They were already there and with a table secured in the lodge. We called Tommy to see if he wanted to join us. Nope, working. Maybe Sunday, though. Thanks to the brilliant sunshine, the temperature had already climbed to a whopping 10 degrees as it neared noon. It was a fast drive up. Unfortunately, the brilliant sunshine faded to complete cloud cover about the same time that we pulled in the lot, which was close to 1215p. Much to our liking, there wasn’t nearly the crowds of last week. Plenty of available parking. We lucked out and got a spot in the front row just outside the lodge entrance. Cool! It took us a while to get geared up and then inside the gift shop to get our daily pass. I remember glancing at the clock mounted atop the 4 Star Express. 1238p as we made our maiden run. No line whatsoever. We did 4 or 5 runs in a hurry and without a wait. Mindy eventually phoned the neighbors. They were still lunching inside. Said they’d meet us soon. Next run up 4 Star we spotted Scott. Said Bob & Mary Ann had just arrived, too. We did a run with Scott before meeting up at the lift’s base. And then, after a couple more runs Kenny, Chrissy, and the kids came out from their break. The kids were especially eager to ski with all of us. Lillian really liked skiing with Mary Ann and Mindy. Should have seen Mary Ann’s face when Lillian said she wanted to ski Mary Ann’s backside. I guess Lillian had no idea where it got its namesake. We gave her a history lesson. :) We did several runs as a group and with the kids. It was a lot of fun. Somewhere along the line we broke out the shots: lemon nip, Goldschlager, and something new that Scott concocted called the nutty Irishman, apparently a mix of Frangelica and Bailey’s Irish Crème. It had to be near 230p when we headed inside for our first break. I went for the cooler while Mindy went for some soup. In the upper lodge I happened upon my work peer, Ken and his wife Lori, who were both dressed in street clothes and both playing on their laptops. Their two boys were out skiing. We chatted for a few, and Lori showed me a Yahoo video of this new indoor bounce center in North Columbus where one of their boys was heading later that afternoon for a birthday party. Essentially a room of trampolines, both as the floor and the walls. We snacked and drank beer for the next hour or so. I was feeling good when it came time to head back out. We skied hard and got in lots and lots of fast runs over the next couple hours. We headed back in for another break as the flat lighting set in – 5-530p. Our second break was bit more disjointed since there weren’t enough seats at one table. We learned that Kenny & Chrissy were a little disappointed in son Jake, who just doesn’t seem to care much for boarding. Gives up too easily after a simple spill. Said he was done for the day. You could see the disenchantment in Kenny’s eyes, let alone in his voice  While we finished our break, Jake walked his rental gear back to the rental facility only to return a few minutes later still with the gear. Said they couldn’t find the paperwork thus wouldn’t take it. Not happy, Kenny took it back himself. :) To put it mildly, Kenny was sporting a really good buzz. More than once, he threw Jake under the bus for his lack of desire. It was funny, but a bit over the top. I felt bad for Jake. I suggested numerous times that all he needed was a little peer pressure to get him going. Our Jacob wants to board. Maybe we’ll get those two out there next week. However, it could be that Jake will never take to boarding/skiing. It’s not for everyone. Chrissy was frustrated and ready to go home with kids. She agreed to let Kenny stay and ski another hour or so with us. Of course, he’d ride home with us. We all headed back out into the dark. Bob & Scott’s old friend, Wayne (a.k.a. Pick) had recently arrived, too, with his entire family (wife Sue and two boys). Kind of late, I figured, especially given the cost, but hey. We skied over to the bunny hill to meet them. They were over there with their youngest getting him acclimated to the sport. Pick came to ski with us while his wife, Sue stayed back with the younger boy. They’d eventually trade roles. We skied fast and furious over the next hour. Kenny took a number of spills on his new board, often verbalizing his frustration with falling. You’ll have days like that. And honestly, he’s doing fantastic, especially for someone who’s only recently learned how to board. Of course, the numerous beers played an obvious role in his recent tumbles, though at the time he wouldn’t dare admit it. We decided to bag it sometime near 730p. Mindy already agreed to drive home. A good thing, too. I had a pretty good buzz as well. Riding shotgun, I got into the chocolate stash on our ride home. Before it was all said and done, I’ll bet I ate ten pieces of chocolate – something I rarely ever do. It tasted so good! Kenny sat in back, and much to my surprise, took a few nips of the Goldschlager stashed in the cooler. He was funny! Asked that we not pull up in his driveway. Wanted to walk home from our house. OK. As agreed, Mindy carried in most of the gear while I walked Frankie out back. We left the skies in the Honda since we’d in all likelihood be heading back to MRM in the morning. We left our gear (mesh bags & boots) just inside the front door. Once out of our ski clothes we sat on the sofa, me sipping what was left from Friday night’s 22oz beer, watching what I believe was the Travel Channel, a Ricky Gervais program, Idiot Abroad. It was funny – sort of. We eventually gave it up and headed for bed. It couldn’t have been later than 10p. From bed, I flipped on the upstairs TV, and I’m thinking it was a public access channel. We watched some mathematics program until I fell asleep.