Pneumatics & Snowshoe

Monday, January 19 - Pneumatics

Below freezing at 630am – 28 degrees mostly clear skies. Got up to 39 later in the day. Felt nice!

Ran 4 miles

Worked from the main office.

Left for lunch and home near 145pm. Made arrangements to borrow Tom Clark’s pneumatic nailers for basement trim. Agreed to meet at his place near 2pm. Hadn’t seen Tom for an embarrassingly long time – at least 6 months, probably longer.

Said he’s gym’ng and running again. Good to hear! Showed me around the house. Not much progress since last visit. Says he’s lost motivation to complete the remodel. He does really good work.

Gave me two pneumatic nailers to use: a smaller nailer for the jamb side of the door trim and a larger nailer for the jackpost and floor trim. Demo’d loading both.

Tuesday, January 20

Another nice late January day, 32 degrees at 630am, 41 and sunny midafternoon.

Ran 4 miles

Worked across town.

Stopped at Home Depot on my drive home and picked up finish nails for Tom’s guns (1.25” 18 gauge for the jamb and 2” 16gauge for the floor trim).

 

Wednesday, January 21 – Date Night CBC

More mild weather. Partly clear most of the day. 36 degrees at 630am, 39 late afternoon.

Ran 4 miles

Worked across town.

Date night CBC – No Bodhi. Enjoyed a side salad and wings along with a couple guest IPAs

Thursday, January 22 -

Mostly cloudy. Temp remained near freezing- 32 degrees - for most of the day.

Ran 4 miles

Worked from home early AM and again later afternoon.

Midday, worked across town again – Quarterly presentation. Went well.

Mindy had an after-school event that didn’t get her home until sometime after 630pm. The original plan called for me to take the kids to dinner.

Ran Bella to and from gymnastics. Stopped at Steak n’ Shake on our drive home to get her some dinner. Mindy was already in bed when we got home.

Friday, January 23 – Firkin Friday

Partly sunny – 28 degrees at 630am – 34 by midafternoon.

Ran three miles.

Worked from home.

Installed door trim. Long time coming. Had to make a quick run to Home Depot to buy 1” 18 gauge brads. The 1.25” brads I bought earlier in the week were too long for the smaller gun.

Wow, what a difference a pneumatic nailer makes. Started out just hoping to get one door completed, but it went so well (fast) that I was able to do all four. Only two required both sides. Both closets just the exposed side.

Mindy the kids and I headed to Barley’s for dinner.

Saturday, January 24  - Pack, prep for Snowshoe trip

Weather almost a repeat of Friday - perhaps a bit cloudier.

Watched boys so Lindsey could work OT. She dropped them off at 745am.

Ran three miles around 9am or once Mindy was up

Cut floor trim for the front half of the basement and up the stairwell. Went better than expected though I made a couple errant cuts. A simple youtube video I watched a couple weeks ago gave me some very good (useful) tips.

Took the kids (gkids included) to dinner at Joe’s Rusty Bucket in Dublin. Enjoyed a torpedo and wedge salad. Shared an order of fried pickles too. Drank lemonade since I wanted to be up by 5am Sunday morning for my Snowshoe ski trip.

Landon didn’t care for his chicken tenders – pouted through dinner. I stopped and picked up McDonald’s chicken nuggets for him on the way home. That made him happy. Dropped the boys at home near 815pm.

Headed to bed at 855pm. Mindy wasn’t pleased when she found me in bed about 15 minutes later. She wanted some snuggle time. I was tired and eager for a good night’s sleep. Yes, I was in trouble!

Sunday, January 25 Snowshoe

Up at 445am. Partly cloudy near freezing – 34 degrees. After some coffee, a brief meditation and stretch, I headed out for a run near 505am Ran three miles.

Back at the house near 535am. Immediately loaded the Pilot for the ski trip. All I needed to do was shower and pack the travel cooler. Took a shower in the dark so to minimize disturbing Mindy’s sleep. Hustled through a shower. Dressed and ready to go by 550am. Gave Mindy hug and kiss goodbye. Expressed frustration for me not wanting to snuggle last night. Promised to call later.

On the road by 605am. Stopped at Circle K to fill-up the gas tank. Took about 5 gallons ($1.79 per).

Per Tommy’s suggestion, I took I-70 to 256 to Hill Rd. Passed his driveway. It’s very dark along that section of road. I could only roll my eyes when he shared that he misunderstood my arrival time. Said he thought I was leaving my house at 630am. Uh, no. Arriving at YOUR house at 630am. Wasted little time loading his gear. I was frustrated when my camera fell out of my inside jacket pocket. Seemed to work fine, however. Yikes!

Headed south on Hill Rd to route 33 (just a few miles). Gorgeous drive down 33 through Lancaster bypass, Hocking County, Athens etc. Lovely sunrise too and a few inches of soft fluffy snow coating the ground and trees.

Picked up route 50 once in Parkersburg, WV. Easy drive for the first 200 miles +/-. David called once we were about 87 miles out. We stopped for our 2^nd pee break. David had just arrived at Snowshoe. Advised that there was zero VZW coverage on the mtn. Said he’d wait for us but might go ski a little. Although just 70 miles out, navigation said another 100 minutes. From that point it was a lot of 2-lane country highway eventually winding, twisting and turning up the mountain.

Being the passenger, Tommy got a case of motion sickness. Closed his eyes for the last 30-40 miles in. Arrived at Snowshoe resort at 1145am. Reminds me of Timberline Rd, the last couple miles. Yikes!

No cell service, we hoped to find David hanging out in the lodge restaurant or bar. Nope! At the desk the young woman shared that he left our names. Said he would either be skiing or eating. She checked, our room still wasn’t ready. I didn’t expect it to be. Still just before noon and check–in time wasn’t until 3pm.

We redeemed our lift ticket vouchers and headed to the Pilot to get our ski gear. Just as we were walking in the lodge to change, David appeared out of nowhere. On the slopes a few minutes later – the Silver Creek Lodge area (Snowshoe is split into three distinct areas – none snow ski contiguous). Skied 4 or 5 runs at Silver Creek before shuttling over to the Top of the Hill or the main ski area. Silver Creek is the only night skiing, which is why we opted to lodge there.

Short shuttle drive to the main area which is much newer and very much resembles thee town center at Park City – very nicely done! Very modern, lots of shops, restaurants, etc. I wanted to fetch a trail map but David was insistent about going ahead. Against my better judgment, I acquiesced. We pretty much winged it all afternoon.

Right away, the mountain vistas caught my eye. It was absolutely gorgeous – stunning even. Had much more of an out west look and feel to it. The snow was decent, with a fresh couple inches the night before, but most of the fresh stuff was skied off. The temps hovered just above or near freezing. And most of the runs I stayed along the trails edge in the deeper crud which I absolutely loved!

Pretty much all the ski trails are cut into a conifer forest, again gorgeous. I was loving it! It should also be noted that the resort begins at the top of the lifts, not at the base. That’s different than anywhere else I’ve been, though Timberline in midway.

Comparing the runs to HV, I give the nod to Snowshoe. As for the lifts and ease of getting around, well that nod goes to HV. Most of the Snowshoe lifts are older three-man chairs and slow. They do, however, have Ballhooter, which is the main high speed quad in the center of the main ski area. But it’s also the most crowded and the subsequently the lines were ridiculously long. I have to say, however, the lift cops were very efficient though.

Skied until 430pm then headed into the village for dinner and a beer. David lead us to a small restaurant recommended to him by a season pass holder. Decent food and beer. I had the special: ½ roasted chicken, red beans and rice along with a couple craft IPAs. Good stuff.

After dinner we shuttled back to the Silver Creek lodge and checked into our condo. Nice! 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, full kitchen, balcony on the 6^th floor overlooking the tubing hill. David and I called home from the condo phone, apparently free of charge. Headed to the hot tub around 7-730pm. Surprised that the local help stood guard at the entrance door making sure we had no beverages, even those in plastic cups were against their rules. We stood near the door chatting until we finished.

Spent about 30 minutes in the hot tub with a group of college kids from Va. Beach. Did 10 minutes in the sauna before heading back to the condo. Enjoyed some popped corn and TV. Headed to bed before 10pm. Mindy requested I call her back just before heading to bed. Talked for just a couple minutes. Snowing hard.