Back to Reality

Lots to write about today...let's start with Colorado! The skiing was amazing; it was pretty warm the first day, when Adrienne and I skied at Beaver Creek. I've never skied in such few layers, nor regularly removed my mittens on the chairlift. It's amazing how different the snow can be, depending on how high you are on the mountain. At the bottom, it was slushy, kind of like mashed potatoes. Mid-mountain, it was still soft but didn't grab my skis, and at the top it was hard and a bit icy. But this Michigan gal can't complain: the runs were long and fun, and by the end of the day my quads were screaming at me. Of course, I just yelled back, "You like this! You're having fun!" and they grumbled a bit but continued to function.


Me at Beaver Creek. If you look closely, you can see that my pit zips are undone and I'm only wearing a thin long underwear shirt. By the end of the day, my face and neck were sunburned, despite the sunscreen I applied.


One of the views from Beaver Creek. Breathtaking!

We took a day off skiing and did some snowshoeing, which was pure torture for my tired legs and oxygen-starved lungs. It wasn't a particularly nice day and we weren't anywhere spectacular, but it was still nice to get out. Later that night, we hit up the Gore Ridge Brewery for dinner, and I bought a growler of "Biker Stout," their darkest micro-brew, for Mitch.

Skiing at Vail on Wednesday was almost overwhelming. It was significantly colder and much windier, and because they hadn't gotten any new snow for awhile, some of the runs Adrienne wanted to show me were rough and icy. We started out on the front of the mountain, but quickly tired of lift lines and headed toward the back bowls. There are tons of areas to ski at Vail, and I bet you could ski for a few days without doing the same runs more than a time or two each. Anyway, we spent most of our time back in an area called Pete's Bowl, where it was a little more protected from the wind. Our favorite run was really neat because it started out sort of flat, but let you carve around little stands of evergreens. Then it narrowed and got steeper, letting you build up speed and really work for your turns before dumping you out at the lift. The overwhelming part? Back there, were were SEVEN MILES from where we had started the day!


One of the many peaks surrounding Vail.


Me and Adrienne trying not to get blown away by the frigid wind.

Aside from the awesome skiing, my trip really made me appreciate two things: my marriage and my friends. Adrienne and Kyle, though only married since June, seem to have some things to work out. She can be demanding and critical; he, impatient and moody. It was a little awkward to listen to him raise his voice to her and to hear her pester him about inconsequentials while he worked. I am blessed to have Mitch and see that all the work we put into our relationship is priceless.

We spent each evening hanging out with Adrienne's friends from her work, which was fine and fun. But they are horrible gossips, criticizing other friends and constantly running down their student intern. I'm trying hard to recall another topic of conversation, but all I can come up with is a brief exchange about the Wings and the Avs. By the end, I was both weary of it all and uncomfortable with their lack of compassion.

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

Back in Michigan, I spent a fantastic long weekend with my family. Mitch surprised me by showing up at my parents' on Thursday night, and had even brought my bike so I could go for a ride the following day. I hit the roads at Island Lake and it felt wonderful! Though the rest of the weekend was a bit dreary, we kept ourselves occupied with a trip to On 2 Wheels (got our team jerseys!), a couple games of Scrabble and the six-hour movie Lonesome Dove.

While I would have loved the relaxation to last for longer, reality beckoned. Sunday afternoon brought the start of my third term of grad school; this semester, I have a class called Business and Society, and another one called Operations Management. Both require substantial group work...I hope I don't get stuck with an incompetent slacker like last time...

Which brings me to tonight. After only two days back in the office, I packed up my car and drove to New York (State, not City) to spend five days recruiting new Alma students. The bright side of this trip: weather conducive to biking and new places to ride, and cable TV in the hotels (I'll get my fill of Fox News and CMT). But really, I would rather be home with Mitch.

Well, it's about time to wash off the smell of Red Lobster - my dinner choice for tonight, for those awesome biscuits - and relax for the rest of the evening. I'm sure I'll blog more throughout my trip!