Snow The Day The Music Died

It snowed a couple weekends ago. The snow was pretty with big flakes and the kids tried to play in it, but it was very wet and messy. I had gone into work for something and when I called to tell Helen that I was headed home she said it was snowing hard. I asked if the kids were outside playing in it. She said that Adam was, but that Derek was despondent because he just found out that he had left his MP3 player in his pants and it had been through the washer and no longer worked.

Derek had used a gift card from Christmas to buy the player and he had really been into it. He was constantly at the computer downloading music from my collection onto it and we thought it was really cute how he was so passionate about it.

Derek was sad, but Helen said he was really worried that I would be mad. I didn't give him too hard a time. I just reiterated my mantra (which he doesn't really buy into) about how everything has a place and how things should always be put back in their place...live and learn.

Adam was working fevershily on a snow fort when I got home, but it wasn't really going anywhere and he was soaked through so I made him go in and change so we could walk over to a birthday party for his friend, Ryan. Helen and I were coming down with something. School was canceled the next day and Helen slept most of the day. This winter has been the absolute worst for us in terms of sickness.

Kelley Visits

My sister Kelley, who lives in Anchorage, was in Nashville for a conference so she drove down for a visit. We all gathered at my brother Jason's house the Friday after we got back from skiing. Since it was Jason's birthday on the 17th and Kelley's on the 26th, we had a birthday party as well. Jason and Laine are painting their house, which is why there are so many paint cans in the bottom photo. My mom had fallen at work and was wearing a brace on her leg. Kelley went over to her house and helped her sort out some of the logistics of dealing with her boo boo.

Ski Trip 2009: Steamboat, Colorado (Day 6 of 6)

Tuesday February 24, 2009

We were up early, packed, and waiting for the shuttle when it arrived to take us to the Steamboat\Hayden airport. We rode with another family that appeared to be from England - man, they had a long trip ahead of them.

We poked around in the gift shop before heading through security. It's a tiny airport and there were more security people than travelers when we went through. In Atlanta, we were told to leave our plastic bag with liquids and our electronics in our carry-ons because the x-ray machines could see them just fine. Not so at this airport. We had to dig down and take everything out. It took several tries before we had everything out that they wanted to see. Then everyone has to remove their shoes and you're trying to shuttle the kids through...what a pain!

Our flight to Denver was good at first and the pilot came on an mumbled something about being down in 10 minutes. It took about 20 minutes and we hit some pretty rough turbulence. Was there any explanation from the pilot? Any reassurances? No.

Our layover in Denver was about 2 and 1/2 hours, so we had time to relax, get some food, and browse around. We brought some sandwiches along, but Derek was so excited to use his own money to buy himself something at McDonald's.

I finished the book I was reading before I left home, Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". I had read his "No Country For Old Men" and I was discussing the movie with my friend, Brandon, when he mentioned that he thought I would like The Road. It was a bleak post apocalyptic story, but beautifully written with lots of things to make you think about. I also read Harlen Coben's "Hold Tight". He really knows how to write a page turner. Helen started it when we got home and quickly became obsessed with it so that she couldn't put it down.

The flight home was pretty quick riding the air currents west to east. The only problem was the descent into Atlanta. For some reason, unexplained by the pilot, the pilot made a pretty steep descent. The nose tip was definitely tilted downward. The change in air pressure was noticeable and you could see everyone opening and closing their mouths to relieve the pressure. Unfortunately, it was really tough on the kids. Derek and Adam were crying. Derek was pretty quiet about it, but Adam was bawling and responding loudly that "it's not helping" to any of our tips. Was there any explanation from the pilot? Any reassurances? No.

We picked up some quick takeout at Panda Expesss on the way home. It was our first time trying it and it was pretty good. Adam liked it, but Derek just had cereal. We unpacked a few things and hit the bed before returning to the rat race the following day.

Ski Trip 2009: Steamboat, Colorado (Day 5 of 6)

Monday February 23, 2009

Monday was our last day to ski before heading home and I was anxious to get the most out of the day since we weren't on the slopes for very long for the beautiful day on Sunday. When we woke up the beautiful blue skies had been replaced by overcast grey skies, but it was snowing! We had had plenty of beautiful clear skies, but had not seen fresh snow yet, so we were excited.

Helen and Adam were slow getting going so Derek and I headed out with a plan to meet Helen and Adam at noon at the top of the gondola. Our excitement was quickly dampened when we went outside and realized it was snowing, but it was also drizzling. I mentioned something like, "We could have gone to North Carolina for this!"

When Derek and I got off the lift at mid-mountain it was very soupy. There were times I couldn't see my skis. Derek was anxious to ski, but I was a little worried. The fog seemed to dissipate some so we could ski reasonably safely, but it wasn't fun. I could tell Derek was losing it and it wasn't long before he wanted to go home. By then Helen had called and said that she and Adam were headed up the gondola, so Derek and I had to head there and wait for them.

We had some lunch at the gondola and watched all the people coming in from the wet soupy conditions. We had had 2 of the nicest weather days of the year over the weekend, but Monday was probably the worst. People mentioned it was like late Spring mud season.

After lunch we headed back down the mountain. Derek went with me and I could tell that the lunch gave him some energy. I wasn't pushing him, but I could tell he was re-thinking his wish to go home. We were waiting for Helen and Adam at the bottom when Derek said that we should just try some short runs while we were waiting. We ended up skiing quite a bit. There was a little terrain park that he and I did over and over while we waited. There were some knee high jumps that we had down by the time Helen and Adam finally showed up.

We all went up together and did several more short runs and then I took Derek up higher one last time to the Rabbitt Ears terrain park before we all called it quits.

We were eager to get home and out of the wet weather. We had pretty much crashed, but managed to gather up enough energy to walk over to the Tug Boat Pub down the street for dinner. We had a good time and it was a nice atmosphere, but it was all we could do to hold down all the creamy sauce they put on our dishes. Those creamy sauces taste ok at first, but they get old in a hurry.

After dinner we headed back and started packing for our early morning departure.

Ski Trip 2009: Steamboat, Colorado (Day 4 of 6)

Checking out the Yampa River which runs through town

Across the street from Howelson Hill public ski area

Howelson Ice Arena

Yampa river with ski resort mountains in background

Derek posing with a pig outside one of the town shops

Waiting for the bus to take us back to the resort

Adam wanted to bungee after skiing

...so Derek thought he might try it too

Enjoying the Old Town Hot Springs after skiing

Abe and Derek enjoying a moment outside one of the shops

In heaven at Fuzziwig's candy store

Local favorite, Mazzola's, didn't disappoint

Carl Howelson monument: Norwegian immigrant, "father of skiing" in Colorado,
and founder of the annual Winter Carnival celebration

Sunday February 22, 2009

It became obvious to us that if we were going to go out and see the town of Steamboat we were going to have to do it before skiing because we were always too tired after skiing. With that in mind, we decided to check out the town Sunday morning.

We took the bus to town and got out at the Old Town Hot Springs. We didn't have our swimsuits, but we got out to look around. It looked cool and we thought we would try to make it back sometime.

Then we walked farther into town and across the Yampa river to check out Howelson Hill and the Howelson Ice Arena. The ski jumping ramps were impressive and we thought the tubing hill looked fun - we wanted to get back sometime and try it. Adam gathered all kinds of icicles on our walk. When he could no longer hold any more he made us hold them.

There were baseball fields at the Howelson park area too, but obviously they were covered in snow. It was strange to see that when we were already a couple weeks into baseball season back home. Seeing all the kids in their hockey gear at the ice arena and all the kids skiing\snowboarding got us talking about how it would be such a different childhood growing up in a winter sports area.

The boys were getting tired of walking around so I thought a trip to Fuzziwig's Candy Store would re-energize them - I was right. When they went in their little eye's lit up. It was like Willy Wonka. They really wanted to get something, but we told them we would try to come back later.

Everyone was getting hungry so we walked over to the Creekside Cafe. Unfortunately, it was rather small and there was a wait of 45 minutes. We went back to Fuzziwig's and the lady recommended a place called, The Shack. We misunerderstood and thought it was a block down and over when it was really a block over, so we took the long way but we got there. It was just what we were looking for - a casual place with a great comfort breakfast menu. The pancakes were big and tasted great.

After our big breakfast we felt like taking a nap, but we got back on the bus and headed for the ski resort. It was another Chamber of Commerce kind of day - beautiful blue skies and comfortable temperature. I got somewhat irritated by how long it was taking us to get on the mountain. I wanted to explore the town, but it was taking FOREVER for everyone to get ready to ski.

Adam was complaining about his boot hurting him again. I was already exasperated at the great skiing day wasting away, when I had to take off my skis to help Adam. I guess when I snapped back into my bindings my boots had some snow in them so that when we all boarded the lift I looked down and saw that one of my skis had fallen off. I had been on everybody else and now I was the one with a missing ski. Thankfully, a nice lady a few chairs behind us brought it up with her.

Adam hung with Derek and me to start with, but after a particularly bad run where I had skied ahead of him and watched from below while he fell countless times and required help from a nice young couple for about 15 minutes before he made it 100 yards down to me - I had it. I grumbled some comment to Helen about Adam earning "a ride on the Mommy train" and then took off with Derek and left Helen and Adam on their own. I would pay for that later.

Derek and I had fun skiing together. He was really gaining confidence and kept doing the Two O'Clock blue\black run. He was skiing better than me. It was all I could do to keep him in sight. I kept sitting back instead of getting over my skis and on the steeper hills that caused my skis to slip because there was no surface area for them to grab onto and I fell back on my butt. I quickly bounced back up and continued skiing, but I was constantly berating myself for being a wuss and not staying over my skis.

I felt much better about getting our money's worth after skiing with Derek and not having to wait around for Helen and Adam, so I was in a good mood when we got back down the mountain. Unfortunately, Helen wasn't too happy about my attitude and "it took some time" to patch things up.

At the base, the end of the ski day was a big party - especially on beautiful days like today. The patios of the slope side bars were packed with people and there were fun things for the kids like bungee jumping.

In the past we always tried to get slope side accommodations (ski in\ski out), but this time we tried something different. The slope side rental shops offered free overnight storage so this time we stored our ski's slope side and stayed across the street. It worked out great. The less time spent walking in ski boots the better.

Since we didn't ski for very long we weren't worn out and decided to head back into town to the hot springs. We had a great time relaxing in all the hot pools and riding the water slides. We loved the look on Helen's face as the slippery-fast and pitch-black enclosed slide spit her out.

We got a dinner recommendation for Mazzola's from one of the workers at the hot springs so we headed there afterwards. We stopped by Fuzziwigs candy store on the way and the kids picked out some candy. The restaurant was only a few blocks away, but we missed it and walked a few blocks past before realizing we had gone to far. There was a wait, but the kids were preoccupied with their new candy and we had some drinks. The wait was worth it because the food was delicious.

We got on the bus, headed back to the condo, and crashed.

Ski Trip 2009: Steamboat, Colorado (Day 3 of 6)

Helen eats breakfast while the boys play Nintendo DS

I turned around on the lift and took this shot back down the mountain

What a beautiful day

Posing with former Olympic skier Billy Kidd

Breaking for lunch

Helen and the boys - in the background the ski patrol clean snow off the roof of their building

Checking out the mid-mountain info

Derek's favorite runs in the background - One O'Clock & Two O'Clock

Saturday Feb 21, 2009

Derek woke up and seemed fully recovered from his altitude sickness. He slept through dinner the night before and missed the pizza. No worries, he warmed up a couple leftover pieces for breakfast with some Dr Pepper.

We took our time getting out each morning, which didn't bother me too much. I knew that 8 hours of skiing would be too much, so we would head out about 10, break for lunch, and finish when the lifts closed at 4:30sh.

It was a beautiful clear day. We headed up to the right top of the mountain for some long blue runs...with green run access for Helen. Adam stayed with me and Derek some of the time and with Helen some of the time. He was a little volatile and complained that his boot was hurting him. There were numerous stops requiring boot adjustments. We finally put a band aid over his ankle bone where the boot was rubbing. All in all a great day of skiing.

When we got back to the condo we ravenously ate anything and everything we could get our hands on. We talked about going into town, but we were all beat. Helen crashed and me and the boys watched Empire Strikes Back. When Helen woke up we went to the hot tubs, took a shower, had a snack, and went to bed early.

Ski Trip 2009: Steamboat, CO (Days 1 & 2 of 6)

Watching Star Wars on the plane

View from our condo balcony Friday morning

Making our way from our condo (background) to the ski rental place

Helen has an affinity for moose and loved this long legged guy

Checking out some sort of ice structure under construction

Gondola Square in the background with lots of construction

View up the mountain from the bottom

Gondola Square - lots of shops, restaurants, and Gondola loading area

Got our equipment and we're ready to ski

Derek and Adam check out the trail map during a break

Taking the gondola up the mountain

Nice view from the gondola

Derek, Adam, and Me at the top of the gondola

This year we went skiing in Steamboat, Colorado (Google Map, Wikipedia). We really wanted to go out west again, especially because the boys are skiing much better since our last trip out there and because it was pretty icy on the east coast last year on our trip to Sugar Mountain.

I wish our ski trips out west could be for a full week, but because of Helen's teaching schedule she feels she can only get away for the 3 personal days she's allowed each year. If we wrap them around a weekend then we can get 5 days. It's also harder on the kids to miss school the older they get. So, unless we want to ski during crowded holidays we're stuck with the 5 day ski trip.

I started looking at airfares late last year and it wasn't looking good. Then I started to see some reasonable airfares (in the $300 range), but with our limited time we really needed a late afternoon departure time and a late afternoon\early evening return arrival. I finally found one and was about to book the online itenerary I had assembled, but when I went to book the flight it had jumped $60 a person. We pushed the trip back a week, which was good because I found cheaper lodging as well, and I quickly booked the trip. It was a good thing. It wasn't long after I booked everything before the price on our flight started going up.

Thursday Feb 19, 2009

I had the day off and spent a good bit of time the previous night packing. We planned on only checking 1 suitcase. I left a bunch of Helen's clothes out and told her when she woke up that she had some choices to make. She said she wasn't prepared to make any choices and that we would just have to pack 2 suite cases.

Another teacher picked Helen up in the morning so that the boys and I could pick Helen up at her school and head straight to the airport. I finished the packing and loaded all the stuff into the van, did a sweep\vacuum\mop, cleaned the toilets and headed to have lunch with the boys at their school. However, the school decided to have the students eat in their rooms in order to setup the science fair in the cafeteria - thwarted! I filled up the van with gas and ran to the bank for some money and then came back and checked the boys out. They were so excited.

After checking the boys out of school we headed to Helen's school. I told her I would be there about 1:15sh (I always add "sh" to any time commitment). She was stressed about us not making our 3:58 flight and called me on the cell phone about 1:20 wanting to know where I was. I let her panic a little before telling her to look for me because I was pulling into the parking lot.

The drive to airport was pretty smooth, although it was pretty crowded at the airport. I used to valet cars at the airport during college, but I've forgotten all that and had to make a couple trips around the loop before getting the parking right.

We checked in and security wasn't too crowded - thank goodness because we were starting to run out of time. Even though security wasn't crowded it was still a royal pain. I have a big problem with security in general and what a drain it is on productivity. I would estimate that there's at least a 25% surcharge on all productivity do to the need for security. Why can't people just do the right thing and do nothing that detracts from the productivity of society? Do they really need to be wanding 65 year old men and having them remove their clothes? I didn't get to stew about it too long because the plane was boarding by the time we made it to the gate.

We flew Frontier Airlines. They have different animals painted on the planes. Stu the rabbit was flying with us to Denver and then Luke the lynx on the commuter from Denver to Steamboat. The kids loved the animals on the plane. The flights were fine, although we were a little concerned about the pilot on the commuter because he looked and sounded about 20 years old.

The shuttle bus from Steamboat met us at the Steamboat\Hayden airport and it was a 20 minute or so drive to the resort. Derek slept on the sofa and Adam slept on the love seat - and they were excited about it. However, the following nights the novelty wore off and they opted for turning them into sleeper sofa's.

Friday Feb 20, 2009

We woke to a beautiful morning. From our condo balcony we could see people letting their dogs loose and running around the ski slopes before the slopes opened. We had a relaxing morning and didn't get out until about 10. We walked over from our condo in Ski Time Square to Gondola Square where we rented our ski equipment.

It was Spring Break locally so it was probably more crowded than usual, but still minimal lift lines. In the early part of the day we stayed down lower and worked on refreshing our skills. The kids loved the Rabbit Ears terrain park. We all (except Helen) tried some weak jumps. I had just sat back and landed on my butt when this teenager in a Ray Allen Celtics jersey proceeded to nail all three waist\chest high jumps in succession - with a somersault on each one. It was amazing how well people were skiing out there.

Later in the afternoon we took the Gondola up the mountain and did some runs up higher. When were got back to the condo Helen and Derek crashed. Derek had some altitude sickness and didn't stir until morning. Adam and I hit the hot tubs. There was one indoor and one outdoor. We spent most of the time in the outdoor tub - something about the temperature differential that makes it feel really good. Adam, my soaking partner, never really relaxed and treated it instead like a swimming pool. There was lots of kicking, splashing, and jumping in. It was fun.

I ordered some pizzas for takeout and took the city bus to get them and go to the grocery store. It would have been nice if there was a store within walking distance. We brought a bunch of chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies that Helen made at home and they lasted almost the whole trip.