SNOW!!!! NC visit
So back at the end of February, I took off up to NC to see Scapegoat and his wife.
I had previously contemplated going up to the NC area to try my luck with snow skiing for the first time. When I was talking with the goat, he mentioned some other stuff going on and before ya knew it a plan was made.
I drove to his place near Blowing Rock. Which, by the way, is very high up. 3,500' above sea level. I've never driven to a location that high in the winter in the mountains. It was a treat! I took the Subaru because who wouldn't take a AWD vehicle into a snow covered mountain. :D
I got there late and since they live on a hill (as does everybody else there) I pulled my car onto a little mound of snow past a point where the goat had cleaned off some grass, and put it in park. Later that night I remembered I hadn't called my parents to say I had gotten there ok. As a family it's what we've always done so I walked outside to make the call. The cell service for At&t wasn't spectacular so I was out there trying a few times. It was dark, but for the street lights in the distance. While waiting for a connection, I hear this big crunch and then like something being drug in the snow or walking. I first thought it was a dog or someone just where I couldn't see them. Then I looked closer to see my car start sliding down the driveway straight for the ditch. WTF!!!!!!! A small amount of controlled panic kicked in and I put my phone up and started fumbling for my keys while briskly walking down the walkway as to not bust my ass on the ice. I just did find my keys and rounded the front end of my still moving car but then it just stopped. I paused a moment and caught my breath. It never made it to the ditch and my guess is that it wasn't going to move any more. So..... *takes out the phone and continues to make the call*
*laughs* I eventually got back in the car and pulled back to where I had parked and this time...... SET THE PARKING BRAKE. HEY! I'm from South Carolina. We don't deal with things like this. Cut me some slack. ;) in this photo you can see the tire tracks ending back in the snow.
The next day, bright and early, we both go up to Appalachian Ski where the goat was playing the Bag Pipes for a military related event before opening.
I was ready to go and itching to try skiing. Up to this point, I had daydreamed about what it would be like. All those daydreams promptly evaporated about 10 seconds after I got my skis on. I had NO control. *laughs* It was an eye opener. But I wasn't too discouraged. I took a 1 hour training class While scapegoat went and played on his snowboard. After that, He and I got something to eat and he said he was going to take me on one of the intermediate hills because it's longer than the bunny hill and would help me learn faster because I wouldn't be stuck in the long line for the lesser hills. He was right! But oh my gosh how I fell. I fell. I fell again. Then I fell some more. I pizza'ed till I couldn't pizza no more. (one of those terms used to control stop and go) I had a better right hand turn than a left one. It didn't' help that the slopes were really crowded. So if I wasn't bailing because of my own lack of skill, I was bailing to keep from crashing into someone else that was already down.
The Not so Bunny Hill.
Panoramic:
We had a 8 hour lift ticket and I had two hours left on mine. But by that 6th hour, I just couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't hurting and I should of been. I just had no more energy. NONE. OUT. DONE. But gah it was fun. The Goat had himself some great fun on his freestyle slopes. I caught a few photos of him ripping it up.
The rest of the weekend played out calmly with food, drink, coffee, and friends. I drove on back Sunday morning and stopped by Saerak and Raildog's place for a quick "HEY THERE!" then got on home.
Lots of thanks to ScapeGoat and his wife for having me that weekend. It was a great experience. Also, a cozy little house on the top of the hill in the snow is the best. :D
Other photos here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98762415@N06/sets/72157651109664166/with/16694764656/
I had previously contemplated going up to the NC area to try my luck with snow skiing for the first time. When I was talking with the goat, he mentioned some other stuff going on and before ya knew it a plan was made.
I drove to his place near Blowing Rock. Which, by the way, is very high up. 3,500' above sea level. I've never driven to a location that high in the winter in the mountains. It was a treat! I took the Subaru because who wouldn't take a AWD vehicle into a snow covered mountain. :D
I got there late and since they live on a hill (as does everybody else there) I pulled my car onto a little mound of snow past a point where the goat had cleaned off some grass, and put it in park. Later that night I remembered I hadn't called my parents to say I had gotten there ok. As a family it's what we've always done so I walked outside to make the call. The cell service for At&t wasn't spectacular so I was out there trying a few times. It was dark, but for the street lights in the distance. While waiting for a connection, I hear this big crunch and then like something being drug in the snow or walking. I first thought it was a dog or someone just where I couldn't see them. Then I looked closer to see my car start sliding down the driveway straight for the ditch. WTF!!!!!!! A small amount of controlled panic kicked in and I put my phone up and started fumbling for my keys while briskly walking down the walkway as to not bust my ass on the ice. I just did find my keys and rounded the front end of my still moving car but then it just stopped. I paused a moment and caught my breath. It never made it to the ditch and my guess is that it wasn't going to move any more. So..... *takes out the phone and continues to make the call*
*laughs* I eventually got back in the car and pulled back to where I had parked and this time...... SET THE PARKING BRAKE. HEY! I'm from South Carolina. We don't deal with things like this. Cut me some slack. ;) in this photo you can see the tire tracks ending back in the snow.
The next day, bright and early, we both go up to Appalachian Ski where the goat was playing the Bag Pipes for a military related event before opening.
I was ready to go and itching to try skiing. Up to this point, I had daydreamed about what it would be like. All those daydreams promptly evaporated about 10 seconds after I got my skis on. I had NO control. *laughs* It was an eye opener. But I wasn't too discouraged. I took a 1 hour training class While scapegoat went and played on his snowboard. After that, He and I got something to eat and he said he was going to take me on one of the intermediate hills because it's longer than the bunny hill and would help me learn faster because I wouldn't be stuck in the long line for the lesser hills. He was right! But oh my gosh how I fell. I fell. I fell again. Then I fell some more. I pizza'ed till I couldn't pizza no more. (one of those terms used to control stop and go) I had a better right hand turn than a left one. It didn't' help that the slopes were really crowded. So if I wasn't bailing because of my own lack of skill, I was bailing to keep from crashing into someone else that was already down.
The Not so Bunny Hill.
Panoramic:
We had a 8 hour lift ticket and I had two hours left on mine. But by that 6th hour, I just couldn't do it anymore. I wasn't hurting and I should of been. I just had no more energy. NONE. OUT. DONE. But gah it was fun. The Goat had himself some great fun on his freestyle slopes. I caught a few photos of him ripping it up.
The rest of the weekend played out calmly with food, drink, coffee, and friends. I drove on back Sunday morning and stopped by Saerak and Raildog's place for a quick "HEY THERE!" then got on home.
Lots of thanks to ScapeGoat and his wife for having me that weekend. It was a great experience. Also, a cozy little house on the top of the hill in the snow is the best. :D
Other photos here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/98762415@N06/sets/72157651109664166/with/16694764656/