Winter Wonderland II

I had high hopes of updating the blog throughout our holiday vacation but obviously that didn't happen. I thought my Christmas post was a little lackluster so I have decided to start from the beginning of our trip and work my way through. I hope you can keep up!

The trip

I have been traveling the roads that lead from SC to PA at least twice a year for 25 years so I am familiar with many of the landmarks along the way. This year we stopped at the Christmas lights display in Altoonta, PA, something I have been wanting to do for years.

Maggie enjoyed the ride, as always.

 

The SNOW!

Pat took it upon himself to shovel the sidewalk after the first snowfall...

And he happily aided Rick in the clean up after the BIG snowfall...

Skiing

Pat insisted that I accompany him for a ski trip to Holiday Valley about 1 hour from the house. I need to preface this story with a quick recap of the last time he took me skiing. It was two years ago and I had NEVER stepped foot in a ski boot in my life. We arrived, went straight to the most popular lift and rode it to the top. I stood up to exit the lift and my ski's flew out from under me. I knew it wasn't going to be good... My instructions were "pizza pie" so I tried to keep the tips of my ski's together as I darted down the mountain. I spent most of the time screaming things like "Watch out", "Whoa!" and "PAAATTT". On a couple of occasions many sympathetic people helped me gather my ski's, poles and helmet. One hour later I skidded to the bottom of the mountain, laying flat on my back with my head bouncing off of the ground. So....

This time we started off on the beginners course and to my surprise I did quite well. After I mastered turning and stopping I was confident enough to venture onto new slopes. We had the best time!



 Day two of our adventure was very different. Every muscle in my body was aching. I could hardly walk down the stairs of our hotel and when I put my feet in the ski boots I could feel the bruises on my legs that had not yet come to the surface. We skipped the beginner slope and chose one that we enjoyed the day before. Geez, I thought I was going to die! I had no control, I didn't fall but it wasn't pretty. On the next lift Pat dropped his sunglasses so we had to go down the slope to get them and this slope was blue (aka hard)! My legs were like jello and the more difficult slope didn't help. Once I started gaining speed I got scared and turned left to try to slow down, luckily a small pine tree stopped me. The only thing I could see from my vertical position were ski's and sky. That was it, I lost it! The tears started and continued most of the way down. I threw in the towel and opted for the warm lodge while Pat finished his runs. I vowed never to ski again...until next year.J

More Snow

 Pat wished and wished and wished for snow and his wishes came true! We got a ton of it, about 16-20 inches total.

Sled Rides

All of the snow made for great sled riding conditions.

Some kids like to be buried in sand, others prefer snow.

The yard is big enough for an awesome path but that wasn't good enough for Pat. He made a path up the hill that felt a mile long.

I had to take multiple breaks on the way up.

Spending time together is what the holidays are about and we do just that. The lack of television, cell phones and everyday distractions doesn't necessarily leave me feeling rested physically but I feel very satisfied mentally. 

I'm not sure why but the holiday season seems to be getting shorter as the years go on, this one in particular. I welcome 2013 but I wouldn't mind a few more days of 2012 to share with the ones I love. 

Happy New Year!