1.10.2009

Ohio Here I Come


Winter's last Moon, originally uploaded by filmflood.

Not too much happening this weekend. The weather has been beautiful and reached 80 degrees today. I went out on the scooter but didn't quite have the time to laze by the pool. I'm surprised people don't come to visit more. It seems selfish to hoard all this sunshine to myself.

This week I will spend in Ohio. A few days in Dayton for work and then I head to Cincinnati (well, Kentucky really, but close to the city) to visit Mom. I'm not sure what we're going to see while we're there, so if anybody has any suggestions of things to do in Cincinnati, I'm all ears. It's supposed to be really cold... like 12F. So, while I wanted to see the zoo, it'll be too cold for me and the animals.

Jeff will be holding down the fort in San Diego. I'm sure he's looking forward to having the house to himself and enjoying some peace and quiet. I always do when he's away. ;)

I'll have my laptop with me and will post updates from Ohio this week.

1.03.2009

Skiing Mammoth (Part 3)


Jeff and Christie at Mt. Tom

After a pretty full day of downhill skiing I decided to try my hand at Cross-Country (XC) Skiing at the Tamarack Lodge, which has 19 miles of groomed XC trails. I didn't know what to expect but after talking to a couple at the lodge who had done it for 30+ years I couldn't help to feel their enthusiasm and I signed up for a class.

Thursday morning I took a class with Marcia, our instructor, who is an absolute natural at teaching and an all-around awesome lady. She quickly taught our class everything we needed to know and after 90 minutes told us we were advanced enough to venture onto any of the blue and green trails we pleased.

I had lunch and decided to go off alone on some of the easiest trails near the lodge. The solitude of XC skiing is both exhilarating and terrifying. I ventured down the trail for just 5 minutes and I was completely alone in the woods. The only sound is the birds and my skis. It took me a little while to get used to being so alone in the wilderness.

Soon I felt confident enough to venture up the main trail (Lake Mary Road) toward Lake Mary which I skied around and returned home. While I was up there (at about 8900') I took lots of photos and enjoyed the quiet. I saw a ton of interesting animal tracks from deer, rabbits, elk, and even bear.

Cross-country skiing is a blast and I LOVE it. I didn't want to stop but after 10 miles of mainly uphill skiing my body was giving up on me. I talked Jeff and Denise into skiing again the next morning so I could go back out for more, but when we woke up on Friday a storm was coming through and the wind gusts would have made skiing miserable so we packed up and went home. I can't wait to go back again and am going to see if I can find some groomed XC trails a little closer to home. Who knew I would have found a version of skiing I liked so much?

Here are the photos I promised from the weekend.


Christie Skiing the Bunny Hills at Mammoth



Christie and Denise Pause to Take a Break



Jeff Shows Off his New Helmet



Denise Poses in Line for the Lifts



View from High on Mammoth Mountain



Denise and Christie at Mt. Tom



Denise Boarding High on the Mountain



View from XC Skiing



Peak-thru the Trees from the XC Trails



Jeff and Denise's Views from the Advanced/Intermediate Trails