The Vacation Begins!
My eyes flew open as Lady GaGa’s voice filled my ears. It sounded as though she was giving a live performance right in my bedroom. As my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room, I realized this wasn’t my bedroom at all. I could see snow piled high outside the window and continuing to fall from the sky at a speed that would paralyze southern Indiana towns within minutes. Ahhh….I’m on vacation in Utah and I’m about to go skiing!
Six-thirty was awfully early to be awake after catching a red eye flight, but after a shower and pancake breakfast, our group was dressed, fed and ready to head into Park City to pick up our skis. It takes a group of 11 a good chunk of time to get fitted for skis/snowboards and pick up a ski pass. By the time we rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain, I was already exhausted and my body was threatening to overheat.
Standing at the top of Park City Mountain Resort, I stared down at the fresh powder waiting to send me down the mountain. I realized that I hadn’t skied in over a year, and maybe I should have warmed up on a green before I began my decent. As it was too late to turn back now, I pointed my skis down and let the cold air surround me as I flew downward turn after turn.
With 11 people, it was easy to look around the slope and find my friends. Some flew down the hill as if they were qualifying for the Olympics. Others took their turns more cautiously and enjoyed the views from above. My thighs quickly began to burn and begged me to quit after that run.
The first half of the morning I gave my best effort at hanging with the boys. Sure I was a bit more reckless than I would normally be because I didn’t want to fall too far behind them. By the time everyone met for lunch at 1, my body was threatening to shut down and my legs were twitching in places I didn’t know were twitchable! Relaxing over lunch was good and I probably could have sat nestled in the warm lodge the rest of the day and been completely happy. But…I was there to ski, so ski is what I did.
The girls decided to go their own way during the 2nd half of the day. Our legs could handle the single blue runs as we took our time and didn’t rush ourselves down the mountain. We stopped at the top to enjoy the view of the valley below. Snow covered every patch of land, as far as the eye could see. The snow stopped falling for a few hours and allowed up to enjoy the warm sun hitting the exposed skin on our face.
Everyone met at the base of the mountain around 4:30, piled into our mini-van, and headed back to the condo. The boys began dinner while the girls showered and cleaned up. Yes, you read that correctly, the boys cooked dinner! And they had also cooked breakfast that morning as well! I could get used to this!
That evening we headed into town to enjoy the nightlife. Irish Pubs always promise a good time, so we headed into an oversized booth at Flannigans. It was here that I got to see one of my friends from years and years ago! She lives in Park City for the winter, so she gave us the scoop on where to go and what to do. A couple of Irish car bombs later, we headed to the “No Name Saloon.” The place was packed! The building was a two story rustic bar with a balcony overlooking the street. The frigid temps and falling snow kept us off the balcony, but we had a great time mingling around the bar.
Shortly after midnight, the combination of lack of sleep from the night before and exhaustion from skiing in knee deep powder all day brought us back to the condo. I climbed into bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow…
Six-thirty was awfully early to be awake after catching a red eye flight, but after a shower and pancake breakfast, our group was dressed, fed and ready to head into Park City to pick up our skis. It takes a group of 11 a good chunk of time to get fitted for skis/snowboards and pick up a ski pass. By the time we rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain, I was already exhausted and my body was threatening to overheat.
Standing at the top of Park City Mountain Resort, I stared down at the fresh powder waiting to send me down the mountain. I realized that I hadn’t skied in over a year, and maybe I should have warmed up on a green before I began my decent. As it was too late to turn back now, I pointed my skis down and let the cold air surround me as I flew downward turn after turn.
With 11 people, it was easy to look around the slope and find my friends. Some flew down the hill as if they were qualifying for the Olympics. Others took their turns more cautiously and enjoyed the views from above. My thighs quickly began to burn and begged me to quit after that run.
The first half of the morning I gave my best effort at hanging with the boys. Sure I was a bit more reckless than I would normally be because I didn’t want to fall too far behind them. By the time everyone met for lunch at 1, my body was threatening to shut down and my legs were twitching in places I didn’t know were twitchable! Relaxing over lunch was good and I probably could have sat nestled in the warm lodge the rest of the day and been completely happy. But…I was there to ski, so ski is what I did.
Everyone met at the base of the mountain around 4:30, piled into our mini-van, and headed back to the condo. The boys began dinner while the girls showered and cleaned up. Yes, you read that correctly, the boys cooked dinner! And they had also cooked breakfast that morning as well! I could get used to this!
That evening we headed into town to enjoy the nightlife. Irish Pubs always promise a good time, so we headed into an oversized booth at Flannigans. It was here that I got to see one of my friends from years and years ago! She lives in Park City for the winter, so she gave us the scoop on where to go and what to do. A couple of Irish car bombs later, we headed to the “No Name Saloon.” The place was packed! The building was a two story rustic bar with a balcony overlooking the street. The frigid temps and falling snow kept us off the balcony, but we had a great time mingling around the bar.
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