Hap Hap Happy in Holiday Valley - Ski Day #2 (New Year's Eve)

Like clockwork, I was up and out of bed by 640pm and quickly dressed in my running clothes. This time it was a little snowier as well as a little colder. The early temp was a cold 10 degrees. I sucked down a quick cup of coffee in the lobby before heading out. It was cold, windy and a little slick. Walks were scraped again, too. Another nice run into town. On the return I pondered the year about to expire.

Back at the Inn I poured two coffees then headed back to the room. Mindy and Bella were soon up and the three of us off to breakfast. Once again, Jacob opted to sleep in. Instead of French toast, this time they had Belgium waffles. Everything else was pretty much the same. Knowing I'd burn it off in a hurry, I loaded up on the sausage. We shared out table with another family. Bella made sure to grab some extra muffins to take back for Jacob.

Back to the room by 845am, we readied for another day on the slopes. This time all four of us headed out together. We were on our way up Sunrise near 940am. Not bad. This time the runs were covered in a fresh couple inches of groomed powder, though there were still a few icy spots here and there. Snowed pretty hard all day and at times so hard that it was a complete white out. Still had snow makers blowing on several of the runs too. By lunch time, the runs were slopped up with a heavy dose of fresh powder. I was lovin' it.

We took a long lunch break in the Yodeler lodge. During our break, I taught Jacob how to play penny basketball. He was loving it. We had a lot of fun. I sucked down a S.T. IPA too. Mindy stuck with water and Gatorade. Said she felt dehydrated. We skied Eagle and Falcon. Falcon was by far the most challenging. Even with all the falling snow the face was still icy. On the front side, Champagne was about as tamed as it has ever been - easy. However, it doesn't take too long for it to get moguled up.

Late in the afternoon, Mindy and I skied Mardi Gras while the kids took Northwind. Well, Mindy stopped to help a fallen child, and I stopped to wait for Mindy. We were supposed to meet the kids at Cindy's. Even after taking a while to get to the bottom, there was no sign of the kids. Mindy and I both were worried that something might have happened to one of them. And then were more than a little spooked when the emergency snow mobile headed up Mardi Gras with the red beacon twirling. I agreed to head up Mardi Gras and ski back down Northwind looking for the two of them while Mindy stayed put. In the back of my mind I wondered if they simply might've ventured up the Cindy's lift without us.

I skied an otherwise empty Northwind. A very nice cruiser, especially with all the fresh snow and nobody else on it. No sign of the kids, which to me was a very good sign. At the bottom I found Jacob alone. Said he and Bella went up Cindy's because we told them to meet us there. Ughhhh, we meant at the base. Not sure what happened to Bella, but now those two were separated. Mindy was on her way up Cindy's to find her. Finally, after two runs, we were all back together again. I laughed it off as a simple misunderstanding.

Headed back to the room near 445pm. Once again the ski day got the best of us even though we didn't ski nearly as many runs as we had the day prior. And like the day before, Mindy and I were quickly out of our ski clothes and off to the hot tub with our cooler in tow. We me more nice folks while enjoying our beer and wine. It was snowing so hard and so cold that snow was accumulating on our heads. I'll bet that we were in the hot tub for well over an hour. And before heading back to the room, we spent about five minutes in the sauna.

We hadn't nailed down our New Year's Eve dinner plans. We talked about getting a take-out pizza from the Depot, but in the end decided to eat at the restaurant. By the time we were showered, dressed and there, it was 7pm or so.

We anticipated a long wait, but were pleasantly surprised to get a table as soon as we walked in. Our server was awesome. I ordered a S.T. IPA. No sense messing with what works! For appetizers, we ordered friend pickles and something else. Can't recall what it was. For dinner, Jacob and Bella wanted pizza. Mindy and I ordered wings and onion rings. I drank a second IPA too. After drinking two beers and eating dinner, I knew there wasn't anyway I was going to see midnight, the fireworks or the torch parade. I wanted nothing more than my pillow and it was only 9pm.

The kids and Mindy bet that I would be the first one out. In reality, though, it was Mindy. And because Mindy rolled over and fell asleep, I decided not to fight it any longer either and joined in her slumber. I remember waking just before midnight hearing the fireworks and seeing Mindy up in bed texting on her phone. Bella was out on the balcony watching the fireworks with our neighbors. Heard her wishing the others a Happy New Year. Cute! I was a little sad that I slept through the event but too tired to change it. In the end, however, it was probably best. Meant I'd be rearing to go come morning. As an old friend used to say, Partying hard on New Year's Eve is for rookies.

Good night and goodbye 2013!