Second Day. Drinking beer. Writing execise? Why not.
Great day. Sooooo tired. Good sleep. Ate cereal. Dropped kids. Ankle sore: Kinda worried. Bought tickets. Damn expensive! Lugged gear. Tired already. Took lift. 10,000 feet! Felt dizzy. Skied down. Fell thrice. Rode lift. Skied down. No falling! Felt proud. Rode lift. Skied Down. Different route. Shorter runs. More complicated. No falls! Seriously proud. Rode lift.
Lonnnng run. Legs wobbly. Knees achey. No falls! Lunch time. Stow gear. Change footwear. Cross street. Decent sandwich. Reasonably priced! Paid bill. Donned gear. Final run! Rode lift. Long run. Snow icy. Terrain rough. Temperatures warm. Bumpy bumpy. Knees screaming. Legs failing. Fell once. Reached bottom. Sighed contentedly. Remove gear. Retrieved children. Took pictures. So cute! Drank cocoa. Bought pictures. So cute! Jacuzzi time! Children invaded. Left dejectedly. Looonnnng shower. Dinner time! Mediocre food. Terribly expensive. Kids showered. Bedtime reading. Bourbon rocks. Shiner Bock.
Bed time. But tomorrow? More skiing? Horseback riding? Snow tubing? Maybe both? Who knows.
Good night.
Mood: Exhausted.
Now Playing: Laurie Anderson, "Mister Heartbreak"
Monday, February 05, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Angel Fire, NM: Day 1
Well, first full day, I should say. And full it was, let me tell ya.
You know, this whole skiing thing is taking some effort to get into. I mean, the resort is great, the weather glorious (days in the mid-thirties, so cold enough to keep the snow from melting too much, but warm enough that it's not what you'd call frigid or bitter), and we've chatted up some really nice people (including quite a few from our home town -- seems a lot of folks head for late-season ski vacations when our school district does this Winter break thing...).
But man, I just can't cope with all of the damn equipment. I mean, we are constantly lugging almost a hundred pounds of crap everywhere with us. And this damn resort has TONS of stairs that need to be climbed to reach the slopes. So we're climbing about a dozen flights of stairs, in ski boots, all damn day long.
Fun isn't supposed to be this much work, is it? I mean, this really makes me miss scuba diving. Scuba has tons of equipment, sure, but once you begin the actual activity you're just sort of floating. Lugging the gear everywhere is just the beginning of the "fun" when you ski -- the actual act of skiing is pretty damn exhausting, as far as I can tell. Plus there's the whole scuba=warm and gorgeous places, skiing=cold and gorgeous places dichotomy.
And to make things worse, we're dressed to the gills for this stuff, because we're terrified of getting all cold and ruining our vacation. But the temperatures are so mild that we're SWELTERING in our ski gear. I literally sweat about 5 pounds of perspiration into my tank-top/thermal undershirt/long sleeve overshirt combo layers this morning. I was drenched, and completely dehydrated. And then I changed into lighter underlayers, and managed to sweat through them as well. At this rate I'll be wearing gym shorts and exercise gear for the trip home.
The actual skiing part of the vacation is going well, I suppose. We had a lesson with the Rudest Old Man Ski Instructor Ever this morning. He kept scolding everyone if they didn't listen carefully enough and getting all frustrated with us. I swear, I kept waiting for him to tell us to get off his damn lawn. Jerk. But then Christine and I decided to just jump in and take the "easy" lift to the top of the bunny slope. We did 4 runs this afternoon, and after falling TONS of times I finally managed to do the entire run without falling on my last try. That was pretty much my goal for the entire vacation, so I figure I'm golden.
Christine, on the other hand, is doing great -- never falls. I really think it has to do with our relative heights -- I'm nearly a foot taller than she is, and the higher center of gravity has to make SOME sort of difference. I have WAY better balance than she does in other aspects of our lives, but here I'm just flopping about like a fish out of water. Really makes me miss Tang Soo Do Academy and my training regimen, there. And makes me realize that I really have gained confidence in my abilities, whether I realize it or not. Here, I'm hesitant to jump back on the slopes cause it's real work, man. But at TSDA I can't wait to get back for another lesson, even when I have a rough night.
Anyhow, fairly injury free so far. No skiing injuries, at least -- I nearly killed myself climbing down the stairs from the hot tub, though. Stepped in a puddle, my foot went straight out in front of me and I nearly came straight down and tumbled ass over teakettle. Luckily my reflexes were up to snuff and I managed to grab both of the handrails and only just prevented my back or head from slamming into the tile steps. Still managed to whack the back of my right ankle good against 3 steps though, and it's killing me now. Hopefully it will settle down before hitting the slopes tomorrow. But wouldn't that have been the way? I go skiing and break my neck walking away from a hot tub. Sigh.
So, right now I can sort of kind of hear the end of the Superbowl going on. Watched literally none of it -- no interest, really. We went out for local Chinese food, which was startling tasty, actually. Now it's back up to the room for some wine and hang time with the family and sleeeeeeep.
Mood: Tired
Now Playing: Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"
You know, this whole skiing thing is taking some effort to get into. I mean, the resort is great, the weather glorious (days in the mid-thirties, so cold enough to keep the snow from melting too much, but warm enough that it's not what you'd call frigid or bitter), and we've chatted up some really nice people (including quite a few from our home town -- seems a lot of folks head for late-season ski vacations when our school district does this Winter break thing...).
But man, I just can't cope with all of the damn equipment. I mean, we are constantly lugging almost a hundred pounds of crap everywhere with us. And this damn resort has TONS of stairs that need to be climbed to reach the slopes. So we're climbing about a dozen flights of stairs, in ski boots, all damn day long.
Fun isn't supposed to be this much work, is it? I mean, this really makes me miss scuba diving. Scuba has tons of equipment, sure, but once you begin the actual activity you're just sort of floating. Lugging the gear everywhere is just the beginning of the "fun" when you ski -- the actual act of skiing is pretty damn exhausting, as far as I can tell. Plus there's the whole scuba=warm and gorgeous places, skiing=cold and gorgeous places dichotomy.
And to make things worse, we're dressed to the gills for this stuff, because we're terrified of getting all cold and ruining our vacation. But the temperatures are so mild that we're SWELTERING in our ski gear. I literally sweat about 5 pounds of perspiration into my tank-top/thermal undershirt/long sleeve overshirt combo layers this morning. I was drenched, and completely dehydrated. And then I changed into lighter underlayers, and managed to sweat through them as well. At this rate I'll be wearing gym shorts and exercise gear for the trip home.
The actual skiing part of the vacation is going well, I suppose. We had a lesson with the Rudest Old Man Ski Instructor Ever this morning. He kept scolding everyone if they didn't listen carefully enough and getting all frustrated with us. I swear, I kept waiting for him to tell us to get off his damn lawn. Jerk. But then Christine and I decided to just jump in and take the "easy" lift to the top of the bunny slope. We did 4 runs this afternoon, and after falling TONS of times I finally managed to do the entire run without falling on my last try. That was pretty much my goal for the entire vacation, so I figure I'm golden.
Christine, on the other hand, is doing great -- never falls. I really think it has to do with our relative heights -- I'm nearly a foot taller than she is, and the higher center of gravity has to make SOME sort of difference. I have WAY better balance than she does in other aspects of our lives, but here I'm just flopping about like a fish out of water. Really makes me miss Tang Soo Do Academy and my training regimen, there. And makes me realize that I really have gained confidence in my abilities, whether I realize it or not. Here, I'm hesitant to jump back on the slopes cause it's real work, man. But at TSDA I can't wait to get back for another lesson, even when I have a rough night.
Anyhow, fairly injury free so far. No skiing injuries, at least -- I nearly killed myself climbing down the stairs from the hot tub, though. Stepped in a puddle, my foot went straight out in front of me and I nearly came straight down and tumbled ass over teakettle. Luckily my reflexes were up to snuff and I managed to grab both of the handrails and only just prevented my back or head from slamming into the tile steps. Still managed to whack the back of my right ankle good against 3 steps though, and it's killing me now. Hopefully it will settle down before hitting the slopes tomorrow. But wouldn't that have been the way? I go skiing and break my neck walking away from a hot tub. Sigh.
So, right now I can sort of kind of hear the end of the Superbowl going on. Watched literally none of it -- no interest, really. We went out for local Chinese food, which was startling tasty, actually. Now it's back up to the room for some wine and hang time with the family and sleeeeeeep.
Mood: Tired
Now Playing: Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood"
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Angel Fire, NM: Day .5
OK, so the drive here was uneventful but quite lengthy. We made almost 500 miles yesterday before I decided to grab some shut-eye in Clovis, NM. Not exactly a scenic roundabout, I'll tell you. Anyway, horrid hotel room: At first way too cold, then INCREDIBLY hot. Rotten night's sleep as a result. And it was this fairly small room -- maybe 300 sq. ft. -- but it was packed with crap: 2 double beds, 2 chairs, a table, and end table a hutch, TV, microwave, and fridge. you could barely walk to the bathroom without busting a toe on something or other.
Anyway, hit the road y 9:00 this morning and made our way up to Angel Fire. The ride was beautiful, particularly the past 100 miles or so. Living in the mostly-flat-with-the-occasional-gentle-incline place that is central Texas for the past 6 years, I'd forgotten what mountains look like. And lots of snow. Beautiful.
The Angel Fire Resort is quite nice: a bit past it renovate-by date, perhaps, but not much. The room is spacious and well maintained, with a fireplace and all sorts of room for storage. The snow looks to be terrific -- light and fluffy, not wet and nasty, so my first real ski experience, tomorrow, looks to be ideal.
Otherwise, the day has been a hectic mess. Checking in, exploring the hotel, messing around in the snow, and then trying to get things on track for tomorrow, without success. Apparently it was a slow night at the gear shop so they closed early, thereby preventing me from picking up our skis and stuff tonight. Food options in the resort are minimalist, to say the least. So we decided to wander into the town of Angel Fire (just down the street) and managed to latch onto a stray dog that was dodging cars. Great dog -- Labrador Retriever bitch, nice white patch on her chest, and extremely friendly. I swear, it seems that wherever I go stray dogs find me. Anyway, I stood around in the cold with this dog for nearly 40 minutes waiting for a local cop to show up to take her to the local animal hospital, and finally she'd had enough, busted away from me, and ran off. I hope she's okay.
And now I'm just sort of hanging in the hotel lobby. No wireless in the rooms, so this is my only option for internet-based fun. Working my way through a Shiner Bock, and when that's done I'll be heading back upstairs to read myself down and prepare for the long first day of skiing, tomorrow. Wish me luck, and visualize me walking under my own power at the end of the day, if you would.
Mood: Headache-y, beat
Now Playing: Clutch, "From Beale Street to Oblivion"
Anyway, hit the road y 9:00 this morning and made our way up to Angel Fire. The ride was beautiful, particularly the past 100 miles or so. Living in the mostly-flat-with-the-occasional-gentle-incline place that is central Texas for the past 6 years, I'd forgotten what mountains look like. And lots of snow. Beautiful.
The Angel Fire Resort is quite nice: a bit past it renovate-by date, perhaps, but not much. The room is spacious and well maintained, with a fireplace and all sorts of room for storage. The snow looks to be terrific -- light and fluffy, not wet and nasty, so my first real ski experience, tomorrow, looks to be ideal.
Otherwise, the day has been a hectic mess. Checking in, exploring the hotel, messing around in the snow, and then trying to get things on track for tomorrow, without success. Apparently it was a slow night at the gear shop so they closed early, thereby preventing me from picking up our skis and stuff tonight. Food options in the resort are minimalist, to say the least. So we decided to wander into the town of Angel Fire (just down the street) and managed to latch onto a stray dog that was dodging cars. Great dog -- Labrador Retriever bitch, nice white patch on her chest, and extremely friendly. I swear, it seems that wherever I go stray dogs find me. Anyway, I stood around in the cold with this dog for nearly 40 minutes waiting for a local cop to show up to take her to the local animal hospital, and finally she'd had enough, busted away from me, and ran off. I hope she's okay.
And now I'm just sort of hanging in the hotel lobby. No wireless in the rooms, so this is my only option for internet-based fun. Working my way through a Shiner Bock, and when that's done I'll be heading back upstairs to read myself down and prepare for the long first day of skiing, tomorrow. Wish me luck, and visualize me walking under my own power at the end of the day, if you would.
Mood: Headache-y, beat
Now Playing: Clutch, "From Beale Street to Oblivion"
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