Mar 20, 2017

One of the great things about staying at the Mt. Washington Hotel is that we could put all our ski gear on in our room, our boots on in the lobby, grab our skis out of the little holding area downstairs, and hop on our two-minute shuttle over to the resort. We left about 45 minutes before the lifts opened and we still sat around for a while waiting. We thought we'd be on the first chair but this couple beat us to it. Turns out it doesn't really matter anyway. Elite people get to go up early.

We still got ourselves a freshly groomed trail that no one else had skied on yet. It was so nice. We spent the whole day skiing trails with no wait at all for lift lines. Weekdays are the days to go. It was such a wonderful change of pace. The snow was pretty great for the most part and we had the place to ourselves. We got into the trees finally and eased into it, but by the end of the day we were feeling really confident.

We did a run with jumps on it and tried them out a few times. We went down Granny's Grundle and Herb's Secret a couple times which was a nice assault to the leg muscles. Overall it was a really great day and we were worn out by mid afternoon. The view was great as well. The sun was out and the sky was blue all day long.

When we got back to the hotel we headed right for the hot tub. It was nice for a little bit, but then others joined in and started chatting. It was a little awkward, but the guy told us about the outdoor pool so that was a nice tip.

The outdoor "heated" pool wasn't so warm, but we stayed in and walked around for a little bit mostly for the novelty. The coldest part was getting out in the chilly air while we were wet. Luckily we could duck into the pool house to dry off and put on our robes.

We felt like pizza so we drove a few minutes down the road to the town only to find out the pizza place was closed. Then we found another pizza place which wasn't there anymore. We ended up driving a half hour to Littleton where there was a nice little downtown area and a beautiful covered bridge over a frozen, snowy river scene with the cute little town behind it. We got our pizza and walked across the bridge enjoying the nice day and the late day sunlight.

The red building with the water mill on it is Schilling Beer Co. We went in and tried a few samples of decent beers and then we headed back to the hotel.

We went back outside behind the hotel to enjoy the fire pits and encountered a strange woman who kept telling us that we just missed them making s'mores and she could go inside and get some if we really wanted to. She eventually left and we went to the bigger fire pit because it was getting chilly.

We spent the rest of our night playing SnipperClips in the lobby and hanging around the room in our robes trying to get the perfect gangsta picture. I think we got it. It felt too soon to already be leaving our lavish accommodations, but we packed up our stuff anyway to be ready to leave in the morning then relaxed in bed. It felt like a really long day in a great way.

Dec 31, 2013

I spent the last day of the year mostly in bed, feeling lazy and bored. I went to the gym with Ryan in the afternoon, but I soon returned home and felt like lying in bed some more. I debated for a while if I wanted to go out for the night even though I knew I did. So I got up and went to Darcy and Chris's party at their house. I was not aware it was outside. Good thing I dressed warmly.

I brought my Rumspringa beers, which were all really good. They did a Pollyanna where everyone regifts something so I brought my second pair of slippers I got and I ended up leaving with some kind of wine preservation spray that I still don't really understand. It was fun to watch though.

We all gathered around the the TV for the countdown. People clapped. Then we resumed drinking and hanging out around the fire. It was so damn cold outside. Converse are not made for cold nights. I hung out with Johanna most of the night and took her home so she didn't have to worry about driving (read: so I didn't have to worry that she might drive.) It was a fun time though, and I'm glad I went out. Happy new year!

Jun 13, 2012

I met Jess and Steph in the morning and we began our long drive south to Roanoke. We stopped along the way at a nice park to have a picnic lunch. For the first time, and many, many, many subsequent times on the way down, I heard "Call Me Maybe" on the radio. That's what happens when the radio is on.

Once we got there we went to the nearest grocery store to get camping supplies. Only the essentials.

We got back to the campsite we started a fire to cook some sausages. Finding sticks sturdy enough was the hardest part, but once they were cooked we feasted! And it was good.

We explored the park we were staying in for a while, walking around the trails and up the nearby hills looking for firewood for later.

We found a hike nearby that we had to drive to. We were looking for a good sunset view. We drove to a strange area, parked, and walked for another mile or so down a path that was overgrown in places and seemed to lead nowhere. We found no good vantage point for sunset and had to head back down the boring trail.

When we got back to camp we got a fire going and Steph and I decided to sneak into the swimming pool for a night swim. We had fun in the pool, but once we got out it was freezing so we rushed back to the fire to warm and dry ourselves.

It was a great day of fun and we sardined into my tent for the night. Not too much rolling around allowed.

Jun 2, 2012

In the early afternoon I went to Belleplain State Park for a run. I had planned to run the whole lake trail, but I stopped after 4/5 miles and walked the rest. Later we had a fire at Kate's so we sat around the fire drinking beer and talking for a few hours.

Eventually Chuck got the guitar out and started playing a bunch of songs for us or parts of a bunch of songs anyway.

May 27, 2012

Kate and I decided to go on a South Jersey wine tour for the afternoon and we started out at Heritage in Glassboro. We tried a few good wines there and then moved on to Wagonhouse down the road. They had some amazing wines. I like almost all of them. The Fallen Quaker was probably my favorite of the day though, with chocolate and coffee flavors. So good.

We went to four others somehow. Some were definitely better than others. Coda Rossa was great as we were the only ones there and the guy pouring for us was really friendly and he basically let us sample all of their wine. And they had a lot! Belleview also had great hosts that were very nice to let us stay and try wine even though we got there just before they were going to close. All in all a really fun time.

We stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and then went to Christie's brother's house for a bonfire. We got a nice fire started using some of the neighbors' wood (shhh) and then had some beers sitting outside on a beautiful night. Eventually we got the iHome working so we had music too!

Tracy, Mike, and Tina showed up eventually as well and, after we sat around talking for an hour or so we finally got in the pool!

I love night swimming. Even though it was an above ground pool it was still fun. We didn't stay in for too long, but the water was really nice and we went to stand around the fire again for a bit after that.

Quite a fun day and nice getting to see people for a while. Gotta go to more wineries soon.

Apr 3, 2012

Annoyingly I did not get a job this morning, so I went to drop my car at the mechanic's early and my grandmom suggested getting breakfast at Jim's Lunch. I got a pretty good omelet and a very small orange juice.

It was gorgeous out so we went and played a round of disc golf. Kate is getting much better by the small amount of practice she's had. I did pretty well too. We got a basketball and went to the park so I could embarrass myself. I'm awful at basketball. But it was fun shooting around though.

We spent some time planning the trip for next week and then went to the fairgrounds to let Jack run around and chase balls. I was also scouting it out for a possible booth there in the summer to take photos.

I went for a run on the trails behind Kate's house, but I was pretty tired from running the last few days and only went about two miles. I walked the rest of the way listening to Stuff You Should Know and getting lost on the confusing branched trails.

We decided to have a fire later on. It was already going when I got back from home. We got to try out the beer that Fred picked up for us at Coddington's Brewery in Newport, RI. It was quite good.

Chuck and Tracy joined us. Tracy and I tried to make some plans as far as camping and running/obstacle events for the spring and summer. We have a better idea of what we want to do.

It was a nice day overall and I was tired when I got home so sleep came quickly.

Mar 25, 2012

Kate and I started heading to the Flightline for breakfast before we realized they are cash only and we had none. We went to Bob Evans instead and I had some tasty sausage gravy.

I went to the gym with Ryan a short time later to do various muscle workouts since we haven't been this week per our Tough Mudder training plan. We did some interval runs on the treadmills after working out.

My day was pretty lazy after getting back from the gym, but later we went to get some beers and hung out at Kate's with the fire going. It was a good night for fire.

I didn't feel too much like drinking, but the Lancaster Milk Stout is always delicious. Chuck played a few tunes for us now that the guitar is back in working condition.

After the fire died down and we got chilly the party moved inside for a short time until we got the boot and I came home and watched some 24 and tried to get a job until well after midnight.

Mar 18, 2012

I went to the park with Ryan later in the morning and we did some interval runs and hill runs with exercises in between.

We carried logs on the hill runs and then did throws with them. All of this in preparation for our upcoming race. I don't know if it helps at all.

Chuck came out to the park and played a round with us after a while. It was a really nice day so I was trying to be outside as much as possible.

Continuing with that tradition, we went over to Kate's later to have a fire. We hung around and had some beers. The usual.

I'm always happy when I can spend the whole day outside. It makes me feel better in general.

Jan 31, 2012

I worked at my favorite English class during the day at the senior high and all was good. Some classes watched movies and the others did creative writing responses.

I went to Kate's later and we built a fire. Yes, that is a flame thrower and that is how they start fires here. Chuck came over and we hung out around the fire pit having a few drinks and talking.

I left after a while to go to the gym with Ryan and then went back for a little bit before going home for the night.

Dec 31, 2011

I went to Kate's early and it was a beautiful day out. No way we could pass it up to be outside. We took a walk on the trails behind her house that led to a dirt road and eventually brought us back out to Carmel Rd. It was a nice, long walk.

We were both really hungry after that so we went to Peking Tokyo for lunch and got a few rolls to share. The Crunchy Roll was great. That was filling. And we had an exuberant waiter that kept us entertained.

My dad invited us down to hang out and play pool for a while so we went down there. I didn't beat him at all. I am not that good. I played a few games with Kate and I don't even think I won any of those.

Later, Kate, Chuck, Marsha, and I went up to Jeff and Sam's place to have a New Year's Eve party. There were plenty of veggies and snacks out and Sam was making vegan pizzas so all was good. We stood around in the kitchen talking for a while drinking the variety of beers we brought.

After a while we got down to business playing Telestrations. It got weird during a lot of the rounds. I don't even know what was being attempted here. As always, there was a lot of laughing and looks of astonishment when we found out what was being drawn.

We scrambled to get outside to the fire around midnight. I never really cared for the countdown so much. I don't think we even did one, but we did light sparklers and run around the yard for a while.

We stayed out in the cold for a while until the fire was dying down and we decided we'd like to be warm again and play more games.

We stayed around for a while longer, had another slice of pizza and another drink. This was the lineup of empty bottles when I left. We did pretty well. And quite an array of craft beers at that.

The drive home wasn't bad at all. The roads were clear somehow. Maybe we were too soon after midnight for people to have left their parties yet. Either way, happy 2012!