Adoption Day @ MRM

The night before, Mindy talked about leaving for MRM by 9am. To that end, I drug myself from bed a few minutes after 7am. There was some light snow falling but no almost no accumulation. I started some coffee then headed to my PC. It was already 32 degrees but not expected to get too much warmer throughout the day. In fact, they were still predicting snow flurries through mid day. I went out to MRMs website where they professed getting a couple inches of fresh snow overnight. All trails were opened.

I enjoyed coffee and internet until about 8am when I figured I’d better get going with my run. Mindy was up about then, too. She suggested we make some bacon and eggs before heading to the mountain. Sounded good to me. It snowed as I prepped for my run and continued doing so, though only lightly, throughout the entire three mile run. It was an easy run.

Mindy had all of our gear carried up from the basement and setting near the front door. Meanwhile, I could smell the bacon cooking in the oven. Yum! While Mindy was upstairs getting ready, I headed out to load our skis, poles and board in the Thule. We needed the extra room inside for nephew Joe. In addition to the bacon and eggs, Mindy baked cinnamon rolls to help us celebrate Bella’s adoption day.

I headed up for a shower around 845am. It didn’t take me long to get ready. Back downstairs I topped off our flasks and prepped the coolers, one with drinks the other with a growler of Centennial IPA. I tossed a couple canned IPAs in for consuming on the lift. And while I was in the shower, Mindy cut up more cheese and sausage.

I think Joe got there around 930am. We waited before we dug into the eggs and bacon. Mindy put candles in the plate of cinnamon rolls so we could sing in celebration of Bella’s special day. Makayla spent the night, so she stayed through breakfast and our mini celebration. But she needed to scurry off home so she could get ready for a ski day too. The neighbors were heading up to MRM as well.

We left the house at 10am sharp, the earliest we’ve been on the road this season. I was very happy about that. The local snow changed over to sleet and rain on our trek up 270. It wasn’t pretty at all. Mindy called one of Bella’s classmates to see if she and her father still planned to join us at MRM. They couldn’t make it. Once we hit 33 west and approached Marysville, the rain/sleet stopped and the sky brightened some. The temperature dropped a few degrees too. It was hovering around 30 degrees.

Once we got west of the Honda plant there was another very noticeable change. There was more than a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, which always helps raise my spirits. We arrived at 1042am, or about an hour earlier than normal. As a reward, we had no trouble getting a good parking spot. We were in row three between the lodge and gift shop. I emptied the Thule before gearing up. The kids needed little to no help getting into their gear. We were ready in record time.

Mindy, Joe and the kids headed to the ticket window so Joe could get his lift ticket and rental gear while I finished getting myself ready. We agreed to meet at the base of the Four Star lift. Didn’t take me long. I got my lift ticket from the gift shop and used the restroom by 11am.  I didn’t see hide nor hair of the others, and since there was no line at Four Star, I headed up by myself, the first run on my brand new skis. I was very excited to give them a go. They’re wider, lighter, longer than my other Volkl’s.

The snow looked pretty decent, especially after considering Thursday’s heavy rain. Given the new skis, I thought it wise to take Mary Ann’s backside down for my first run. The snow was slow and there was a mix of groomed and hard pack. A lot of refreeze near the bottom making for some serious chatter, which was further exacerbated by my new powder skis. I knew it would take a good 5-10 runs to get a real feel for my new sticks.

Mindy & Bella were just buckling up at the bottom of Four Star. My timing was perfect. She said Jacob and Joe were going to hang around the bunny hill Until Joe got his snowboard legs about him. Used to be a member of ski club, but it had been about 10 years since his last outing. Wasn’t sure how he’d do. Meanwhile, Mindy, Bella and I headed up Four Star. We had to remind Bella several times to be careful with her poles and to stop swinging her skis. She seemed a little crusty. Not sure why, but guessed it might have had something to do with none of her peeps being there.

We skied several runs before any type of crowd showed up. It started snowing and blowing, too. In fact, it was far colder than we expected. Seemed like the crowds stayed away fearing rain, which was more than fine with all of us. We spotted Bob & Tina off in the distance and eventually hooked up. Said they had been out since 10am and were ready for a break. We agreed to try and synch up later.

After several good runs, Mindy, Bella and I skied over to find Jacob and Joe on Sundowner. Joe was wearing a bright yellow jacket making him easy to spot from way across the park. Sure enough, we hooked up atop Sundowner. I was impressed with Joe’s snowboarding ability. Good form and speed. After one run down Sundowner, I suggested that Bella and I head back to Four Star. She agreed. Joe, Jacob and Mindy followed.

We hooked up with the neighbors at the base of Four Star and we all skied together for a few runs. I’m guessing that it was near 1230pm when we headed in for a break. I went for the cooler but left Bella’s adoption day cake there. Mindy wanted to do cake and pizza around 4-430pm. I left the Centennial in the Pilot too.

Chrissy offered to buy me a beer.  I suggested a pitcher of Black & Tan, which is a better deal if you’re gonna buy two anyways. The lodge wasn’t very crowded. Getting a table was easy. We were probably in there for a solid hour. Even though I peed before heading back out, it wasn't but a couple runs later that I needed to break off for another bathroom break. Thought I could catch up to Mindy & Bella without missing a beat since they were taking the slow Mary Ann's backside. We were temporarily separated.

At the top of mountain I happened upon Bob I. Said he only recently arrived after having to deal with a challenging work issue. We hooked up with Mindy & the others a couple minutes later. The kids were very excited to see Bob. I’m thinking it was near 2pm when the clouds cleared and the sun came out. What an unbelievable day it turned out to be. The sun helped soften some of the refreeze, but it was noticeably cooler with the clear skies. I didn’t mention it earlier, but it was Winterfest day at MRM. Lots going on – big air, races, live bands, and the portable Budweiser bar to help celebrate their 50th anniversary.

We skied until 4pm. By then we were able to synch our breaks with everybody else.  I headed to the Pilot to get the jug of Centennial but still bought a pitcher of Black & Tan.

Darwin was there now too. He flagged over Pat McMasters, a guy I used to hangout with back in high school. We did a lot of crazy stuff together. Pat & I chatted for quite a while. I eventually introduced him to Mindy and all my peeps. We offered him a beer but he doesn’t drink.  He was there with his son who was entered in the evening’s big air competition along with Darwin’s son, Lane.

There was a cool band playing, Katty Whomp Us. They’re a bluegrass band that plays a lot of old 70’s tunes. Really good. Mindy ordered a couple pizzas to help feed the group, but the others picked up some food too. We were having a really good time. I’m guessing we broke until 530pm. I went to get our clear googles before it got dark.  We made tentative plans to stay until the fireworks, which would be the latest we’ve ever stayed. They wouldn’t begin until 10pm or so.

During round three I was starting to get a good feel for my new skis. They’re faster than my others and they definitely float more up front as designed. I skied the treed run numerous times to get some feel for their ability in fluffy snow. We skied for another couple hours before taking a 3^rd break. That’s when Bob I pealed off for home. His goal was to be home before Mary Ann got home from work.

Had a couple more pitchers and polished off the growler of IPA. Mindy, Joe, Chrissy & Kenny called it a day. Planned to hang in the lodge through the fireworks.  Kenny actually took a spill and injured his knee. Went to first-aid and got an ice bag. Bob, Tina, Darwin and I headed out for more skiing and stayed out until they shut down the lifts. It was a Midnight Madness night so they planned to reopen at 1030pm, or right after the fireworks.

The line at ski check was crazy long. We didn’t plan to ski anymore, so I took my skis to the car to stow them. I changed out of my ski pants and boots too. Headed back to the lodge to meet up with Mindy and the others.  Mindy was feeling no pain and ready to cut loose on the dance floor. She was making friends and chatting with a couple guys at our table too. Joe, Mindy, Tina and I headed to the dance floor for a few. Joe grabbed some young girl from her boyfriend and got the whole place boogying.

Sometime just after 10pm they announced that the fireworks were about to begin. Many of us packed out onto their deck to watch. They were lighting them off about a ¼ way up the main run. At the same time, the groomers were running up and down the trails preparing for Midnight Madness. We hadn’t seen the girls (Bella, Makayla, or Cassidy) but we figured they were watching safely somewhere nearby. The fireworks lasted about 10-15 minutes, and were pretty good for a ski park.

Mindy professed being extremely tired and was ready to leave. However, we couldn’t plan to leave without first finding Bella. Not a minute later she and the others showed at the table where we organized all of our stuff and headed for the Pilot. Bella pouted and whined about wanting to stay for Midnight Madness, but looked a wreck. She had big dark circles around both eyes. She needed some rest. Mindy & Bella headed to ski check to get their skis while Joe headed to return his rentals. We were all loaded into the Pilot and ready to go minus Joe. We waited for about five minutes before Mindy asked that we drive to rental returns even though I suggested we stay put. He knew where we were parked. He and I walked out to the Pilot earlier so he could add a layer.

Mindy headed in rental returns looking for Joe. No joy. We promptly drove back to the aisle where we were originally parked. We ended up pulling up along the curb and Jacob spotted Joe waiting on a bench in the dark. Good eyes, Jacob! By 11pm we were on the road for home.

It was a quick drive home. Bella was out five minutes into our drive. Some of the others dosed off too. When we departed MRM, Jacob went on and on about being hungry, but as we neared home he wanted only his bed. J Everybody was exhausted, including me. We arrived home around 1145pm. Everybody helped carry in gear. I unloaded the Thule and stowed our skis and Jacob’s board by myself. I made sure to take my new skis out of the soft tote to help prevent rusting edges. As it was, they were coated in icy snow.

Joe headed for home as soon as everything was carried in. The kids meanwhile were quickly off to bed and Mindy headed for a shower while I whipped up something to eat. I made a quick version of a Cuban sandwich. It was delicious. After her shower, Mindy cited feeling sick. Said she was going to throw up. Oh boy! She headed to bathroom where She let out perhaps the loudest, deepest belch ever. Said she felt a whole lot better afterwards, but was still super sleepy. She was out in a hurry.