Mindy devised an ingenious plan that would make our sofa bed more comfortable. She placed the thick comforter on top of the mattress and below the fitted sheet. That made a big difference for me. I slept a whole lot better. I woke a couple times during the night, once after hearing a loud noise. I got up from bed and peeked out the blinds to make sure it wasn't someone making off with our skis. Nope, they were still there. I went back to sleep until 710a.
Like the morning before, I had my running clothes organized so that I could easily grab them and head into the bathroom without turning on a light and without disrupting anyone’s sleep unnecessarily. I felt pretty good as I prepared for my morning run. I was out the door 10 minutes later.
There was a fresh ½” of snow on the ground. I did a brief stretch using the steps as an exercise aid then took off on my run. I ran the exact same terrain as the day before. It might’ve been a few degrees colder, but not enough to matter. The run was fulfilling. I was out about 25 minutes.
Inside the condo it was still dark with the curtains drawn and everyone still sleeping. I closed the kids bedroom door then started a pot of coffee. Everybody needed to be up soon, however. WE needed to be checked out of the condo by 11am but I wanted to make it out a lot earlier and on the slopes by 10a. Mindy tossed and turned on the sleeper sofa at least a dozen times. She woke as I poured my first cup of coffee. I put bacon in the oven then asked Mindy to keep a watchful eye on it while I headed for a shower. The kids were up just as I headed off to the bathroom. I made sure they didn’t need in ahead of my occupation.
I made quick work of the shower emerging clean and refreshed about 10 minutes later. Mindy shared that the bacon was done. I cooked eggs for Mindy & I while the kids enjoyed cereal and donuts. Mindy & I started the packing process immediately after breakfast.
Mindy had the kids get showers while we packed all of our gear. Went much smoother than I envisioned. Since we planned to ski until 2p or so, we had to pack strategically. We packed everything but our immediate ski gear. After getting the Honda loaded, Mindy and the kids headed off to ski while I drove to the rental office to return our condo keys. I had my skis, boots, and outer layers with me in the Honda. Check-out wasn’t a problem. I drove back to the condo parking lot and geared up and skied down the bottom of the Wall run to the lift. I worked up quite a sweat packing and loading. Because of that, I was a little chilly on the ride up. I spotted Mindy & the kids coming out of Bear Cub as I rode the lift up. They ended up a few chairs behind me.
Atop Cindy’s the kids elected to do that run first. It was colder, windier than Saturday. Unlike Saturday Cindy’s was groomed almost to perfection making the run down smooth and fast. Everybody loved it. I wanted to do it again, but the family wanted to head up Mardi Gras and do the longer cruisers. I was OK with that plan too.
I think we did Northwind a couple of times before heading over to Morning Star. Mindy & I watched the kids from the top, and we both got a huge kick out of watching Bella tear off into the glades on her own and then pop out along the lift line. Jacob was his usual careful self taking a much more conservative path down. I skied the lift line, too. It was fast and fun. After a couple rides down Morning Star, I suggested we introduce the kids to the Eagle lift. Bella was into it and immediately asked if she could try the steep Eagle run. Jacob, on the other hand, had no intentions of trying it. That’s OK. I shared that there’s a green trail that winds around to the lift’s base. At the top, we all agreed to ski Hoot Owl, perhaps the easiest of the four “birdie blacks” (Falcon, Eagle, Hoot Owl, Raven). When Jacob caught a glimpse of the initial drop he quickly nixed that notion and decided to take Woodpecker down instead. Bella was undaunted.
I watched Bella’s technique. She skied it OK, but understandably extra cautious. I think she might’ve even fell once. Last year she would’ve given us holy hell and begged off. This year she bounced up and tore the rest of the way down the mountain. Said it was fun and wanted to do it again. We waited at the lift’s base for Jacob. He returned with his ego slightly bruised and subsequently said he wasn’t too keen on riding up Eagle again. But after seeing all of us getting in line, he followed. Mindy & I both wanted to do Eagle. Bella agreed to do Woodpecker with Jacob.
Eagle was fast and fun, but also rather icy on the initial face, which is pretty steep. Exhilarating! We met the kids at the base and again and hopped back on the Eagle lift. This time, Bella was insistent on trying Eagle. Jacob wanted no part of Bella’s joy. Mindy had to temper his aggravated agression. She agreed to ski the blue Upper Woodstock run with Jacob back towards the Mardi Gras lift while Bella and I did Eagle.
Bella managed Eagle fine, following my advice to incorporate more turns during her descent. She loved it and asked to do it a second time. We did. After a couple runs, we rode back up and took Upper Woodstock down to meet Mindy & Jacob, who were at the gift shop.
Mindy planned to buy Lillian & Makayla helmet bling just like Bella’s. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anymore. I bought an ‘HV’ sticker for the Honda/Thule. We left the gift shop and headed out to do more runs. We agreed to do a couple more then have lunch at Yodeler Lodge. We skied Independence and Champagne. Independence was groomed back to blue status, but still fairly challenging, especially towards the bottom with lots of mini moguls to carve around. Jacob & Mindy did Independence while Bella & I did Champagne.
Lunch at Yodeler. The lodge was packed to the walls. We ended up getting a table on the lower level. And why not? I didn’t plan on beering. Mindy and the kids went for food while I waited at our table right by the window. Nice view of the Yodeler run and its huge formal mogul field with some gigantic mounds peppered in amongst them – some as high as 10’. I watched but never saw anybody go over them. Deadly!
Mindy brought me a bowl of chili. Took a while do to the crowd. I asked for a MT Dew, too. Bad choice. The MT. Dew was bad. Tasted like plain seltzer water. Mindy took it back and got me a Gatorade instead. Said they were out of lots of stuff after the crowd overwhelmed their inventory. Jacob ate $13 worth of food – chicken tenders, fries, and Gatorade.
We lunched for about 45 minutes then gave our table to others waiting around just like us earlier. It was 1p. We planned to ski for another hour then make our way back to the Honda at the opposite end of the park. Mindy & the kids were anxious to ski Spruce Lake one more time. We skied down Independence together then Mindy and the kids did Spruce Lake while I did Champagne and Swiss Twist. I didn’t think I had skied Swiss Twist before, but after skiing it I was pretty sure that Bob & I did it a couple times 2 years back.
I slid over to Tannenbaum and rode to the top. Along the way, I spotted the kids and Mindy just exiting Spruce Lake. I waited for them at the top. As I hoped, they came up quickly. We skied down Crystal to the Yodeler lift then up Yodeler to Mardi Gras. I went near full tilt cutting over to the blue Northwind drop off – fun-fun!
I waited for Mindy and the kids at the base. Jacob & Bella showed up well ahead of Mindy. Bella said she bit it face first after taking some jumps off the side of Mardi Gras. Had snow caked in her helmet. Out of now where, Jacob dropped to the ground as if he were tackling Bella, but apparently going for her ski bindings. What the ^%&? Mindy skied up just as I was pushing Jacob away from Bella and her skies. Once again, he was trying to remove her skies as a joke even after being advised against it multiple times. Mindy wasn’t at all pleased. He ended up mouthing off and getting grounded as well as a tongue lashing all the way up Cindy’s lift. And that was after losing out on the opportunity to get one of their yummie chocolate covered waffles at the lift’s base. Bella still got one.
Atop Cindy’s we made our way towards Bear Cub and then down for our final run of the weekend. :( The trail dumps off right at the tunnel. We removed our skis and carried them over to the Honda just about 100’ feet away. It took a while to get our outer gear off, our shoes on, and the skies in the Thule. It was exactly 230p when we pulled out towards home. I told Mindy our current mileage - 25,034. I was curious the exact mileage driveway to driveway. As we wound down the Snow Pine Village hill we spotted a bird all furled up in the snow bank. I backed up curious what it was. Turned out being a Quail, the first time I’d ever seen one. Very pretty!
Just like last trip, we stopped in Salamanca to fill-up. Same guy working the pumps. It was 3p as we headed onto I-86 and west towards home. Thankfully, the drive home wasn’t nearly as eventful as the drive up. Mindy fell asleep shortly after crossing over Lake Chautauqua until we reached Ohio. Incidentally, it’s 114 miles from the Ohio state line to HV.
The kids behaved well during the drive home, although at the trip’s outset, Jacob incessantly begged his mom for leniency with the grounding thing. His pleading, however, fell on deaf ears. He’d have to serve his term and hopefully learn and correct his behavior. We let him vent and share his frustration.
We were making good time. And just as I hoped, made it around I-271 still in daylight, but just barely though. Mindy suggested we combine a restroom break with a stop for food. I acquiesced and stopped at the first Lodi exit. There we all used the facilities and ordered food from Burger King. I asked for a double cheeseburger only. We were back on the road after only a 10-15 minute stop. It was dark for the duration of our trip home.
We arrived home just before 8p (5 hours and 25 minutes), and after 327 miles. We reviewed our plan shortly before arriving home. Everybody had to help unload. We worked pretty well together getting the Honda unloaded and our gear in the house in less than five minutes.
After getting everything inside, Mindy & I walked down to the neighbors to get Frankie. The kids stayed at the house. We didn’t stay long, but visited long enough to hear about their day at MRM, and then chat with Kapil, who was visiting from across the street, about his new gig in California. :(
Back at home we unloaded the coolers, unpacked our clothes, and stowed our ski gear. Within the hour, we were fully unpacked and preparing for the following work and school day. In fact, by 9p, I had already downloaded all of the trip’s pictures. I got into my PJs then popped a bag of popcorn for us to share. We watched a little of the Winter X games – Shaun White winning the Super Pipe again. He’s just awesome! We headed to bed some where near 10p. Me, just a few minutes after Mindy.
Mindy devised an ingenious plan that would make our sofa bed more comfortable. She placed the thick comforter on top of the mattress and below the fitted sheet. That made a big difference for me. I slept a whole lot better. I woke a couple times during the night, once after hearing a loud noise. I got up from bed and peeked out the blinds to make sure it wasn't someone making off with our skis. Nope, they were still there. I went back to sleep until 710a.
Like the morning before, I had my running clothes organized so that I could easily grab them and head into the bathroom without turning on a light and without disrupting anyone’s sleep unnecessarily. I felt pretty good as I prepared for my morning run. I was out the door 10 minutes later.
There was a fresh ½” of snow on the ground. I did a brief stretch using the steps as an exercise aid then took off on my run. I ran the exact same terrain as the day before. It might’ve been a few degrees colder, but not enough to matter. The run was fulfilling. I was out about 25 minutes.
Inside the condo it was still dark with the curtains drawn and everyone still sleeping. I closed the kids bedroom door then started a pot of coffee. Everybody needed to be up soon, however. WE needed to be checked out of the condo by 11am but I wanted to make it out a lot earlier and on the slopes by 10a. Mindy tossed and turned on the sleeper sofa at least a dozen times. She woke as I poured my first cup of coffee. I put bacon in the oven then asked Mindy to keep a watchful eye on it while I headed for a shower. The kids were up just as I headed off to the bathroom. I made sure they didn’t need in ahead of my occupation.
I made quick work of the shower emerging clean and refreshed about 10 minutes later. Mindy shared that the bacon was done. I cooked eggs for Mindy & I while the kids enjoyed cereal and donuts. Mindy & I started the packing process immediately after breakfast.
Mindy had the kids get showers while we packed all of our gear. Went much smoother than I envisioned. Since we planned to ski until 2p or so, we had to pack strategically. We packed everything but our immediate ski gear. After getting the Honda loaded, Mindy and the kids headed off to ski while I drove to the rental office to return our condo keys. I had my skis, boots, and outer layers with me in the Honda. Check-out wasn’t a problem. I drove back to the condo parking lot and geared up and skied down the bottom of the Wall run to the lift. I worked up quite a sweat packing and loading. Because of that, I was a little chilly on the ride up. I spotted Mindy & the kids coming out of Bear Cub as I rode the lift up. They ended up a few chairs behind me.
Atop Cindy’s the kids elected to do that run first. It was colder, windier than Saturday. Unlike Saturday Cindy’s was groomed almost to perfection making the run down smooth and fast. Everybody loved it. I wanted to do it again, but the family wanted to head up Mardi Gras and do the longer cruisers. I was OK with that plan too.
I think we did Northwind a couple of times before heading over to Morning Star. Mindy & I watched the kids from the top, and we both got a huge kick out of watching Bella tear off into the glades on her own and then pop out along the lift line. Jacob was his usual careful self taking a much more conservative path down. I skied the lift line, too. It was fast and fun. After a couple rides down Morning Star, I suggested we introduce the kids to the Eagle lift. Bella was into it and immediately asked if she could try the steep Eagle run. Jacob, on the other hand, had no intentions of trying it. That’s OK. I shared that there’s a green trail that winds around to the lift’s base. At the top, we all agreed to ski Hoot Owl, perhaps the easiest of the four “birdie blacks” (Falcon, Eagle, Hoot Owl, Raven). When Jacob caught a glimpse of the initial drop he quickly nixed that notion and decided to take Woodpecker down instead. Bella was undaunted.
I watched Bella’s technique. She skied it OK, but understandably extra cautious. I think she might’ve even fell once. Last year she would’ve given us holy hell and begged off. This year she bounced up and tore the rest of the way down the mountain. Said it was fun and wanted to do it again. We waited at the lift’s base for Jacob. He returned with his ego slightly bruised and subsequently said he wasn’t too keen on riding up Eagle again. But after seeing all of us getting in line, he followed. Mindy & I both wanted to do Eagle. Bella agreed to do Woodpecker with Jacob.
Eagle was fast and fun, but also rather icy on the initial face, which is pretty steep. Exhilarating! We met the kids at the base and again and hopped back on the Eagle lift. This time, Bella was insistent on trying Eagle. Jacob wanted no part of Bella’s joy. Mindy had to temper his aggravated agression. She agreed to ski the blue Upper Woodstock run with Jacob back towards the Mardi Gras lift while Bella and I did Eagle.
Bella managed Eagle fine, following my advice to incorporate more turns during her descent. She loved it and asked to do it a second time. We did. After a couple runs, we rode back up and took Upper Woodstock down to meet Mindy & Jacob, who were at the gift shop.
Mindy planned to buy Lillian & Makayla helmet bling just like Bella’s. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anymore. I bought an ‘HV’ sticker for the Honda/Thule. We left the gift shop and headed out to do more runs. We agreed to do a couple more then have lunch at Yodeler Lodge. We skied Independence and Champagne. Independence was groomed back to blue status, but still fairly challenging, especially towards the bottom with lots of mini moguls to carve around. Jacob & Mindy did Independence while Bella & I did Champagne.
Lunch at Yodeler. The lodge was packed to the walls. We ended up getting a table on the lower level. And why not? I didn’t plan on beering. Mindy and the kids went for food while I waited at our table right by the window. Nice view of the Yodeler run and its huge formal mogul field with some gigantic mounds peppered in amongst them – some as high as 10’. I watched but never saw anybody go over them. Deadly!
Mindy brought me a bowl of chili. Took a while do to the crowd. I asked for a MT Dew, too. Bad choice. The MT. Dew was bad. Tasted like plain seltzer water. Mindy took it back and got me a Gatorade instead. Said they were out of lots of stuff after the crowd overwhelmed their inventory. Jacob ate $13 worth of food – chicken tenders, fries, and Gatorade.
We lunched for about 45 minutes then gave our table to others waiting around just like us earlier. It was 1p. We planned to ski for another hour then make our way back to the Honda at the opposite end of the park. Mindy & the kids were anxious to ski Spruce Lake one more time. We skied down Independence together then Mindy and the kids did Spruce Lake while I did Champagne and Swiss Twist. I didn’t think I had skied Swiss Twist before, but after skiing it I was pretty sure that Bob & I did it a couple times 2 years back.
I slid over to Tannenbaum and rode to the top. Along the way, I spotted the kids and Mindy just exiting Spruce Lake. I waited for them at the top. As I hoped, they came up quickly. We skied down Crystal to the Yodeler lift then up Yodeler to Mardi Gras. I went near full tilt cutting over to the blue Northwind drop off – fun-fun!
I waited for Mindy and the kids at the base. Jacob & Bella showed up well ahead of Mindy. Bella said she bit it face first after taking some jumps off the side of Mardi Gras. Had snow caked in her helmet. Out of now where, Jacob dropped to the ground as if he were tackling Bella, but apparently going for her ski bindings. What the ^%&? Mindy skied up just as I was pushing Jacob away from Bella and her skies. Once again, he was trying to remove her skies as a joke even after being advised against it multiple times. Mindy wasn’t at all pleased. He ended up mouthing off and getting grounded as well as a tongue lashing all the way up Cindy’s lift. And that was after losing out on the opportunity to get one of their yummie chocolate covered waffles at the lift’s base. Bella still got one.
Atop Cindy’s we made our way towards Bear Cub and then down for our final run of the weekend. :( The trail dumps off right at the tunnel. We removed our skis and carried them over to the Honda just about 100’ feet away. It took a while to get our outer gear off, our shoes on, and the skies in the Thule. It was exactly 230p when we pulled out towards home. I told Mindy our current mileage - 25,034. I was curious the exact mileage driveway to driveway. As we wound down the Snow Pine Village hill we spotted a bird all furled up in the snow bank. I backed up curious what it was. Turned out being a Quail, the first time I’d ever seen one. Very pretty!
Just like last trip, we stopped in Salamanca to fill-up. Same guy working the pumps. It was 3p as we headed onto I-86 and west towards home. Thankfully, the drive home wasn’t nearly as eventful as the drive up. Mindy fell asleep shortly after crossing over Lake Chautauqua until we reached Ohio. Incidentally, it’s 114 miles from the Ohio state line to HV.
The kids behaved well during the drive home, although at the trip’s outset, Jacob incessantly begged his mom for leniency with the grounding thing. His pleading, however, fell on deaf ears. He’d have to serve his term and hopefully learn and correct his behavior. We let him vent and share his frustration.
We were making good time. And just as I hoped, made it around I-271 still in daylight, but just barely though. Mindy suggested we combine a restroom break with a stop for food. I acquiesced and stopped at the first Lodi exit. There we all used the facilities and ordered food from Burger King. I asked for a double cheeseburger only. We were back on the road after only a 10-15 minute stop. It was dark for the duration of our trip home.
We arrived home just before 8p (5 hours and 25 minutes), and after 327 miles. We reviewed our plan shortly before arriving home. Everybody had to help unload. We worked pretty well together getting the Honda unloaded and our gear in the house in less than five minutes.
After getting everything inside, Mindy & I walked down to the neighbors to get Frankie. The kids stayed at the house. We didn’t stay long, but visited long enough to hear about their day at MRM, and then chat with Kapil, who was visiting from across the street, about his new gig in California. :(
Back at home we unloaded the coolers, unpacked our clothes, and stowed our ski gear. Within the hour, we were fully unpacked and preparing for the following work and school day. In fact, by 9p, I had already downloaded all of the trip’s pictures. I got into my PJs then popped a bag of popcorn for us to share. We watched a little of the Winter X games – Shaun White winning the Super Pipe again. He’s just awesome! We headed to bed some where near 10p. Me, just a few minutes after Mindy.
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