So we finally made it up the mountain on Tuesday night! We were greeted by three feet of snow in the driveway which fortunately we were expecting. Scouter parked in the street and forged a path through the wild, with the kids and I following in his footsteps. For the first time ever. HA! Then Taz, Scouter and I shoveled dug a path to the front door. We also dug a little alcove for the car at the very front of the driveway. The most challenging part was the five foot ice burm at the top of the driveway, where scrapers had pushed snow and ice from the road off to the side.
I'm pretending it was exercise.
The next day, we hit the slopes for the first time all season. Conditions were perfect! Mid-30s, not too crowded, and fresh powder. We headed over to the intermediate slopes and did a slow warm up run. Well, Rainbow and I did a slow warm up run. Scouter and Taz blasted down the mountain like bats out of hell, just like they did all season last year.
At the end of the day, Scouter parked the kids and took me over to the expert slopes as I had never been. The top of the slope was challenging. I was already nervous, and then when I saw Scouter fall in front of me, I wiped out too. But I settled down, took my time, and did okay on the rest of the run.
We had a great day on the mountain and returned to do it again the following day. Christmas Eve was even lighter and we mostly skied right onto the lifts.
Late morning, Taz and Scouter headed over to the expert slopes for awhile while Rainbow and I mainly hung out. We did a few runs but she wasn't that into it. Her highlight was seeing Santa on the slopes, especially when he gave her handfuls of candy. He was actually a pretty good skier. Who knew?
Later, Scouter traded with me and I hit the expert slopes with Taz. The slope that had scared me the day before seemed cool this time around. Taz even talked me into trying a double black diamond - and we had a blast.
That night, we made cookies for Santa and tracked his progress online. For possibly the first time evah, the kids begged to go to bed. They finally settled down around 10:00.
Unlike last year when Taz was up and wild before the sun was anywhere near the horizon, this year Scouter and I were awake and waiting for them. They finally got up around 7:40 a.m., ran downstairs, and attacked their presents. Rainbow said she'd heard Santa walking around downstairs during the night as well as Rudolph crunching on a carrot.
I've gotta say, that jolly old elf didn't pay a whole lot of attention to good or bad behavior again this year because Taz got a LOT of undeserved gifts.
Their favorite and mine is the new gen 5 iPod Nano. That thing is sweet. I can't wait for them to upgrade in another year so I can inherit one. They also got a Wii Fit which I'm pretty interested in trying.
Scouter surprised me with a Kindle which I had never even considered. It looks cool. I gave him a digital weather station because if Scouter could take a re-do on career choices, he would totally be a weather man.
We went up to Scouter's parents' house in Northern Va that afternoon and celebrated with the whole crazy crew. It was a ton of fun especially since I had a bottle of wine all to myself.
I asked my dad if there had ever been a white Christmas in my lifetime and he said the last one he remembers was either the year before I was born or when I was an infant. Pretty amazing.
All in all, another great Christmas in the books.
.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Winter Wonderland
Wow - over a foot of snow in Richmond. Before Christmas even! We haven't had a big snow like this in ages.
Unfortunately the timing completely sucked for us.
The plan was that the kids and I were going to Wintergreen for the week. Scouter was driving separately because he had to come back to work. We left around 4:45 Fri afternoon to caravan. The snow had just started to fall. Here, that is. The further west we got, the more accumulation there already was.
The interstate was not in great shape but we didn't have too much trouble with the roads. The biggest problem was visibility with the swirling snow, and our wiper blades kept freezing. We stopped a few times to clean them. About 30 miles and an hour into the 100 mile trip, I told Scouter we were either adventurous or completely stupid and I wasn't sure which. It soon became clear...
When we got off the interstate, the real trouble started. Cars were sliding and stalling. We were stopped for a long time while a truck was moved out of the road. When we started moving again, my car had trouble getting traction and when it did, I was fishtailing. Shortly thereafter, I was stuck. Scouter and a friendly traveler helped push me out but soon I was stuck again. After repeated unsuccessful efforts to move my car forward, Scouter decided to back it down the hill and get it into a parking lot. I don't know how he did it, weaving around other stuck cars in those conditions, but he did.
About that time, a car coming the other way told us the road was closed ahead with a jack-knifed tractor trailer completely blocking the road. Scouter backed his truck down the hill to join mine in the parking lot and we went into a convenience store to assess our options. I called a couple of nearby B&Bs but not surprisingly, they were completely booked.
I was still hoping we'd make it to the Green, albeit without my car. I called them to get a status on road conditions at the top of the mountain and learned that while roads up there were being kept pretty clear, the narrow, hilly access road was reported to be in bad shape. And to get there we had to somehow get past the downed tractor trailers - which we learned there were three.
After some debate, we decided to leave my car and head back to the interstate in Scouter's. The plan was to stop in Charlottesville if road conditions were really bad. We drove a couple miles; Scouter said his car was doing great and turned around. We went a few miles in the other direction and saw nothing but tail lights, stopped traffic, and stalled cars. He changed his mind again, turned around, and we headed back east once and for all. We were able to make it all the way home, arriving at 1:30 a.m.
We felt pretty damn stupid and reckless, especially because the kids were with us on this crazy adventure.
Turns out that Wintergreen got 30 - 36" of snow by Saturday night. We talked to some people up there who said skiing conditions were amazing and the slopes weren't crowded at all as most people couldn't get there. They were only allowing four wheel drive vehicles on the mountain Saturday.
We stayed home on Saturday and then ventured out on Sunday to retrieve my car. The roads were still in pretty bad shape, even the interstate particularly heading west. Unfortunately we had to come back to Richmond again because Scouter had to work today. Now the kids and I are hanging out, waiting until we can all go up in his truck later this week.
Hopefully we'll make it this time.
.
Unfortunately the timing completely sucked for us.
The plan was that the kids and I were going to Wintergreen for the week. Scouter was driving separately because he had to come back to work. We left around 4:45 Fri afternoon to caravan. The snow had just started to fall. Here, that is. The further west we got, the more accumulation there already was.
The interstate was not in great shape but we didn't have too much trouble with the roads. The biggest problem was visibility with the swirling snow, and our wiper blades kept freezing. We stopped a few times to clean them. About 30 miles and an hour into the 100 mile trip, I told Scouter we were either adventurous or completely stupid and I wasn't sure which. It soon became clear...
When we got off the interstate, the real trouble started. Cars were sliding and stalling. We were stopped for a long time while a truck was moved out of the road. When we started moving again, my car had trouble getting traction and when it did, I was fishtailing. Shortly thereafter, I was stuck. Scouter and a friendly traveler helped push me out but soon I was stuck again. After repeated unsuccessful efforts to move my car forward, Scouter decided to back it down the hill and get it into a parking lot. I don't know how he did it, weaving around other stuck cars in those conditions, but he did.
About that time, a car coming the other way told us the road was closed ahead with a jack-knifed tractor trailer completely blocking the road. Scouter backed his truck down the hill to join mine in the parking lot and we went into a convenience store to assess our options. I called a couple of nearby B&Bs but not surprisingly, they were completely booked.
I was still hoping we'd make it to the Green, albeit without my car. I called them to get a status on road conditions at the top of the mountain and learned that while roads up there were being kept pretty clear, the narrow, hilly access road was reported to be in bad shape. And to get there we had to somehow get past the downed tractor trailers - which we learned there were three.
After some debate, we decided to leave my car and head back to the interstate in Scouter's. The plan was to stop in Charlottesville if road conditions were really bad. We drove a couple miles; Scouter said his car was doing great and turned around. We went a few miles in the other direction and saw nothing but tail lights, stopped traffic, and stalled cars. He changed his mind again, turned around, and we headed back east once and for all. We were able to make it all the way home, arriving at 1:30 a.m.
We felt pretty damn stupid and reckless, especially because the kids were with us on this crazy adventure.
Turns out that Wintergreen got 30 - 36" of snow by Saturday night. We talked to some people up there who said skiing conditions were amazing and the slopes weren't crowded at all as most people couldn't get there. They were only allowing four wheel drive vehicles on the mountain Saturday.
We stayed home on Saturday and then ventured out on Sunday to retrieve my car. The roads were still in pretty bad shape, even the interstate particularly heading west. Unfortunately we had to come back to Richmond again because Scouter had to work today. Now the kids and I are hanging out, waiting until we can all go up in his truck later this week.
Hopefully we'll make it this time.
.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Mommy of the Year
Let me preface this post by saying Taz has been a complete and total pain in the ass today.
So Scouter and I are going to a dinner party tonight that includes a white elephant gift exchange. Each couple is supposed to bring a "gift" that we find within our house.
The highlight last year? The classic book Joy of Sex.
As Scouter and I were frantically scrambling for gifts a little while ago - not that we don't have plenty of crap - Rainbow offered a suggestion: "Why don't you gift Taz?"
Man.... if I thought I could get away with it, I'd slap a bow on that kid's head in an instant.
.
So Scouter and I are going to a dinner party tonight that includes a white elephant gift exchange. Each couple is supposed to bring a "gift" that we find within our house.
The highlight last year? The classic book Joy of Sex.
As Scouter and I were frantically scrambling for gifts a little while ago - not that we don't have plenty of crap - Rainbow offered a suggestion: "Why don't you gift Taz?"
Man.... if I thought I could get away with it, I'd slap a bow on that kid's head in an instant.
.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
