The ski trip this weekend was great. There are really no words to describe what fun (and in some ways, pain) it was. Starting on Friday afternoon, I packed my bag. I actually packed early, like 3 hours before we left. Gathering together before we left, I was feeling some apprehension about the ride up to West Virginia. With a big storm coming in, and icy conditions predicted for the weekend, the driving condition were going to be less than great. But God was looking out for us. The storm, though covering much of I-77 driving northward, abated by the time our convoy reached the mountains of Virginia and WV. We only hit ice once on Sunday driving up to the slopes, and Stephanie handled it with ease. I must have told her ten times how well she drove. I was stuck in the back seat, but with my iPod to keep me company, having my knees jammed into the seat in front of my was very bearable, and, after a couple hours, sleep inducing.
That night, we settled into our cabins, with Ryan and Jeremy sharing the two-bed room, Chris, Josh, and I sleeping on cots and a couch in the family room and kitchen, and Matt R getting the double bed to himself (don't ask how he worked that one). The next morning was a sitting around day, but not really. A few of the group went afternoon and night skiing, but the rest of us stayed back and slept, caught up on homework, and did other things. Stephanie, Michele, and I walked a trail around a small section of the park. Tony and I practiced ice skating on the front walk of the cabin. Lou proceeded to step in a freezing river, and I must have been secretly jelous, because later I placed my foot in a freezing lake, ignoring the sign on the side of the lake. My quote right before that was, "Tony, listen. You can hear the ice creaking," as I placed more weight on the ice right before my foot and ankle went in. Walking the 1.5 miles back the cabin, my pants leg froze, the air was so cold. We get back, and Neil tells me of how he stood on the lake earlier in the day. I must have done something wrong with my lake-walking/standing-on-technique.
Skiing the next day was a blast. It was cold enough and the snow dry enough that no artificial snow was being blown. Ryan informed me that it wasn't as good as Alaskan snow, but I figure it was the best that I'd be able to find this side of the Mason-Dixon. Lunch was great, sandwiches, which were set out buffet-style on a bench, with many people walking by and lookin at us like we were strange. Well, I'll admit, we were. At the end of the day, we came back wet, cold, tired, and sore, but extactic about the great day of skiing we had just had.
The next day, while going back to the cabin, Josh rode on the outside of Chris' Explorer. He had the rest of us riding inside wanting to ride on the back next.
The drive back was where sleep deprivation caught up with me; that, and the huge breakfast for lunch we ate at Cracker Barrel on the way home. I was out of it for a huge portion of the ride. We got back and ended a spectacular trip around 7 PM. It was a great way to cap off a terrible first week of classes.
My room was really cold this morning. It was very windy outside today and my window sill has several crack in it that Ive never seen before today. I did my best to fix it up, as you can see. But lacking the proper materials (duck tape), I haven't sealed it fully. The scotch tape and paper towels will hold up fine for now, though.
