Ski Ya Next Year

Woke and headed downstairs somewhere near 730am. I slept soundly enough, but probably could’ve slept for another hour or more had I not forced myself up and out of bed. Despite a sluggish start, I felt good and quickly started a pot of coffee. It was bright and sunny and looked cold. There was even a light coating of snow on the deck.

I spent the first 30 minutes enjoying coffee and playing on the internet before remembering that I needed to renew our Norton anti-virus subscription. Only 4 days left. Decided to do it right then while everyone else remained asleep. Took care of the primary PC first which went fairly smoothly. Once that PC was updated, I headed to the kitchen to take care of Mindy’s laptop. Unfortunately, that took a while. No matter what I did it wouldn’t accept the 25 character product key, and I knew that I typed it in correctly. I quickly became irritated. After fooling around for ten or fifteen minutes I discovered the missing step, which was logging into my Norton account online first. Perhaps I missed that in the instructions. Once I figured that piece out the rest went smoothly. I still needed to upgrade the kids laptop but planned to take care of it later.

Mindy was up just after I finished upgrading the anti-virus on her laptop. I’m thinking it was somewhere near 930am. Enjoyed some more coffee then headed out on a walk with Eiknarf. It was really cold, especially with the wind blowing in my face from the west. It was just before 10am when I headed out on a run.

I ran the usual weekend trail – only three miles. It was nice and sunny but also cold and windy.  I didn’t mind. It was almost certain that I'd be heading up to MRM that afternoon. However, because the kids were still sleeping, I didn’t know whether that would be alone or with them. The night before, Bella was game but Jacob was not.

Saw Kenny standing in his driveway. As I ran by, I asked if he was still planning to head up to MRM. Yep. Me too, though about 90 minutes out. At home I asked Mindy if the kids were up and if they were planning to join me. She knew they were up but wasn’t sure of their decision. I headed up to ask. Stopped in Jacob’s room first. He was still half asleep and said he wasn't interested in going. Fine. I wasn’t going to push him/them. Went to Bella’s room next. She was lying in bed watching TV while also playing on her Kindle Fire. Said she didn’t want to go, and then curtly told me not to even try to talk her into it. Oh heck no! I wasn’t trying to talk her into it at all. I simply was letting her know that Makayla, Lillian, and Cassidy would be there. Because of her sassy attitude, I took her Kindle Fire and told her she wouldn’t be seeing it anytime soon.

I went downstairs to begin gathering my equipment. Mindy heard what transpired. She went up to let both kids know how their day might otherwise unfold. She was going to a wedding shower and wanted them to know that they’d be going with her. Bella was now upstairs sobbing. Always the dramatic one.

Long story short, both kids decided that they wanted to go. I only insisted that they truly want to be there because I definitely didn’t want to hear whining all day. I spent the next half hour preparing and packing food: cheese, nuts, sandwich, water, soda, and Gatorade. I put a couple White Rajah’s in the cooler too, and refilled my flask with lemon nip.

I headed up for a shower around 1140am and was dressed and ready just ahead of noon. We only needed to load the Pilot after Mindy and I agreed to swap cars for the day. She figured to be hanging at the Wedding shower and then heading up to meet us at MRM around 4 or 5pm. Like me, she wasn't too interested in doing the bachelorette party afterwards.

Mindy made me a egg, bacon and cheese sandwich before we left. That hit the spot. The kids and I headed off some time just ahead of 12noon, though we needed to stop at Thornton’s for gas on the way. Took $52 to fill-up. Mindy made out. The Accord was darn near full. It was a fast easy rive up 33 west to MRM. It had to be near 1230pm when we pulled in the lot. Not too crowded. We didn’t spend a lot of time trying to get the closest spot. Instead, I took one 6 or 7 rows out, but a straight shot to the ski shop. If the kids have learned anything this ski season it’s how to gear up on their own. That’s a big deal for parents!

It was demo day at MRM. Most of the complimentary ski racks were taken up with demo equipment. We leaned our stuff against the wooden fence then headed in to get our lift tickets. Soon we were headed up Four Star. Ran into all of our peeps atop the main run. The runs looked icy and thin. Hard to imagine it making it through yet another week where we’re expecting temps in the 50s and 60s with both rain and sunshine.

My kids bolted down the back heading off with their own peeps. I skied down with Tina, Bob, and Bob. Kenny and Mike O. went down the backside with the kids. The runs were a combination of ice and loose granular. I didn’t mind any of it. I was just happy to be skiing. As warm as our winter’s been, the weekends have been surprisingly cold week after week. We haven’t missed skiing even one weekend since Xmas.

Both Bob’s tried out some demos. Bob K tried two different pair. The first pair was made by Icelantic and were crazy wide According to Bob, though wide, extra light. They were grossly ugly too! Come 230pm, Bob & Tina said they were ready to head in for a break. Bob headed in first. Tina was riding with Bob I and I when, just like the week before, they shut down the race course and started regrooming it for the public. We did a couple other runs while they finished grooming it. We were the first skiers to get to rip through the freshly groomed corduroy. We did it twice. It was fast and fun. But just like the week before, it got torn up pretty quickly.

I went to the Pilot to fetch my cooler then headed into the lodge. I knew the Kubra’s were in the lower level but didn’t see them.  I headed to the upper lodge and bar area. There I found Bob I., Kenny, and his ex-wife Michelle. She was there to pick-up Makayla and Lillian, but also planned to stick around for a while. There didn’t appear to be any tables available, at least big ones. Bob K and I eventually managed to commandeer a small one while Bob I. went after a pitcher of beer.

I shared my cheese and pita chips with the others. Bob K gave Tina a little grief for not coming in when she said she was. I called Mindy to check on her ETA. She was still at the wedding shower but expected to be leaving soon. Said she knew very few of the girls there. Thought she’d be at MRM by 5pm. We ended our break I’m guessing even before 4pm. Might’ve been about the shortest one we’ve taken all year. Bob K. said they’d been there since 9am and he was getting really tired just sitting.

We gave our table to others just coming in for a break. I let the guy know we were leaving our cooler under the table. I finally spotted Jacob and Bella and let them know that their momma was on her way up. We skied another hour or so before I got a text from Mindy sharing that she was there. We skied until 530pm before heading in to greet her. By then, Bob & Tina were ready to call it a day. However, they wanted to head inside to see Mindy before leaving. Mindy was sitting at the table we had earlier. Michelle was with her too. After a few short minutes Bob & Tina headed out. Said the kids were already in the car waiting on them. If nothing else, we agreed to hook-up over the summer. We learned they have a boat and like to play at Salt Fork. Not too long after, Michelle headed out with Lillian and Makayla.

I saw a work peep who’s also a MRM ski instructor sitting at a table with another park employee. I took Mindy over to introduce. We chatted for about 5 minutes.

Bob Imber stuck around maybe another 15 minutes before heading out to do a couple more runs then leave to meet Mary Ann at home. After eating a pizza, both of our kids professed that they were done skiing/boarding for the day. Jacob had some serious road rash on his face (right cheek) after falling while attempting to ride a rail at the terrain park. Ouch!

Mindy, the kids and I sat around for a few, me eventually asking the kids if either were game for a few more runs. After all, I shared, this might very well be our last opportunity this season. Jacob was a no. Bella, however, was up to the challenge. She and I headed out to do a few more runs.

I’m pretty sure that we skied the face three times before I suggested that be our last. Bella easily agreed. We stowed our skis then headed up to the lodge to fetch Mindy & Jacob. Mindy & Jacob were sitting at another table away from our stuff talking to some other folks. Mindy said she’d prefer to drive her own vehicle home. Bella, Jacob and I headed out to the Pilot to stow our gear. I assumed Mindy would drive the Accord to the Pilot where I not only was stowing everybody’s gear, but also changing out of my ski attire. However, Mindy walked to the Pilot meaning I had to walk and find the Accord on my own. I didn’t say anything but wasn’t pleased. Both kids opted to ride with Mindy in the Pilot.

The drive home went quickly. Gets faster with each passing trip. Traffic was uncharacteristically slow on 270 south of Cemetery Rd. Looked like an accident south of Roberts Rd. was the cause. It was near 8pm when I arrived home. Mindy and the kids presumably arrived just ahead of me. They were still sitting in the Pilot in the driveway.

Everybody helped carry in gear then Mindy must’ve asked Jacob to walk the dog. I was pretty hungry. Woofed down a couple slices of stale pizza still in the fridge from last Sunday. Headed up to change out of my base layers a few minutes later. Always feels better than good to get out of the snug fitting base layer and then into something loose and leisure.  I brushed my teeth too, then headed to the kitchen where I poured a Jack & Coke and made a plate of nachos topped with melted cheese. They hit the spot. Mindy and the kids were already watching Idiot Abroad. I joined them.

I’m thinking we watched something else afterwards but can’t recall just what it was. I enjoyed a second Jack & Coke just before Mindy & I headed up to bed. We turned on the TV from bed. Can’t recall what we watched from bed either.