what a week...

Monday was a down day...body tired from two days of skiing and it was a bit crowded Sunday. Tuesday was awesome...nobody at the Beav!! we skied from 10-3 with lunch thrown in at Spruce Saddle!! Red Chili and all the fixin's...I was a toot'en machine!! It was the best ski day of my life until I skied Wednesday

...News flash...We saw a Porcupine in a tree at the Beav...

On Wednesday we went to Keystone to ski with Craig...a long time friend from my IBM days in Rochester, MN. We didn't get as early a start as we wanted....had to gather our gear at the club and then drive the 45 minutes to Summit County and Keystone. Vail pass was a bit icy, but I drove slow and steady...I'm more cautious these days after two winter driving accidents ( neither)  of which were our fault. When we got to the resort, I discovered I had forgotten my jacket...duh (this has been happening a lot lately) I borrowed a windshirt from Craig, which saved the day (Thanks again Craig!!!) We met Craig at the new Gondola and were joined in the cabin for the ride up,  by a twenty something dude with an attitude problem. He was even a skier!!! OMG!

We warmed up on Spring Dipper, did a couple laps on "Jack Whacker" a fun run, a run on Frenchman and then the  always favorite Chinaman :-) -- then it was off to "Go Devil" a black diamond run way off to skier's right...extreme right...you need to enter A51 (a terrain park) and it's right at the ski area boundary. We did 4-5 runs there 'cuz it was fresh snow (5+") and nobody was on it...

We've always enjoyed "Go Devil"; we have a little chant, and I'm working on some dance moves...many of you may recall (years ago) a show called TV Disco...(it was on very late)  It was a "learn to dance" show...I learned a few things from that show that have served me well all these years -- (but I digress)  -- 

By then we were cooked so we took a couple easy runs and called it a day. We met up with Joyce, (Craig's wife) and had a late lunch...then it was back over the pass and home... I can happily say that Wednesday was without a doubt the best ski day of my life (up until that point)

Thursday (yesterday) was the best ski day of my life...We skied Grouse Mountain, Larkspur Bowl, Bachelor Gulch and Arrowhead...seems like a lot but it's really not...I'm also happy to report the Porcupine was still there in the same tree! 

United comes thru...

We were successful with United after Orbitz failed us!! We went to the Eagle County airport about 30 miles from Edwards to talk with United. We picked a good time (by luck) and had a great person help us (sorry didn't get the name) I had done my research, so I knew what flights we wanted...and the price!! -- While it was fairly easy, it did take some time as the person helping us was also the gate agent, luggage person etc. They had a plane landing and they turned it fairly quickly...so we had about 25 minutes of down time. -- but he was willing to help us as long as we could accomodate his schedule. -- He re-booked a Maui trip for July. 

We're using our timeshare at the Westin Kaanapalli resort and the Wrightson clan is joining us! All the grandkids are coming so it'll be 13 people spread across 2X2BR units. -- cozy but fun!!

Prior to out trip down valley, we enjoyed a few hours of skiing. It's one of the busiest weekends in the valley, even BC started to get crowded. We started in Arrowhead, dropped into the Gulch, made our way to Strawberry Park, headed to Larkspur bowl...enjoying some great groomers and a reported 5" of freshies. When Larkspur started to get crowded, we headed back to Arrowhead and the comfort of the Alpine Club...after a quick coffee break, we headed out to do a few laps on our new favorite run...(I'm sworn to secrecy...so I can't name it, 'cuz we had the run to ourselves) 3 roundtrips and we were done...

back in the snow country...

Lisa and I flew to Colorado on Wednesday night with our cat "Simba" -- He's turning into a good little traveler. The medication helps and we didn't over do it this time!! We went into the Broomfield office on Thursday and Friday and drove to Edwards last night. Easy drive, little traffic, favorable weather...it's all good! -- House was picture perfect and spotless -- Kristi and Haig and our neices have been using the house while we're gone. We are happy and lucky to have them looking after things. -- It was not an early start to the ski day, Beaver Creek was reporting 6" but it was overcast and chilly. I skied, Lisa worked out at the club. Snow and grooming was perfect. WE met up about 2 and went grocery shopping and to Home Depot...Somebody had walked off with our deck shovel and broom for the hot tub...Kristi had discovered it missing last weekend. I guess who ever took them needed'em more than us.

We have good friends Bonny, Michele and Andrew coming next Friday and skiing with us till Monday. We've been having the girls out just about every year for as long as I can remember. It's always a pleasure to have them pay a visit.

We will be here till Monday 2/23 when we'll drive back to Westminster, work again from Broomfield on Tuesday then fly back to Florida on Wednesday.

A productive weekend...

The weekend was pretty nice weather wise and very productive. Saturday was a little breeezy as we walked a couple blocks to the "Breakfast Club" -- Not a real club, but my new favorite breakfast restaurant. We then did our loop walk, East to the beach, South along the inter-coastal,  West along the Boca Raton Resort and Spa and North up Federal Hwy to our place. -- 

Then it was time for the first project of the day...(remember my note about stimulating the economy?) We'll we put this together...sort of...In most of my do it yourself projects I end up with parts left over. But this time Lisa insisted we follow the directions, step by step; count the parts; measure the parts; line up the parts; etc. In fact, after following the directions the thing was pretty easy to put together. Only one minor error, left and right end's were backwards. It was very satisfying tightening the final screw, installing the little plastic lid bumpers and admiring the finished product. As Lisa opened and close the lid a couple times, we heard a pop and for some unkown reason we managed to shear off the two screws holding the lifting arm in place. ($%#!)

A quick call to customer service and then the store, brought a little satisfaction as we could either bring in the broken part for a replacement or bring the whole kit and kabootle back for a complete swap. Lisa elected the complete swap. So we loaded up the 4Runner and drove to the mall, went to the back service entrance, asked for Eric and he dragged out the beautifully assembled bench and put in a new box of parts!! (here we go again...but it would become Sunday's project)

When we left the mall we headed for Fort Lauderdale airport and the United counter to deal with our Orbitz fubar. A quick circle of the airport confirmed our suspicion, United no longer flies into FLL, South to Miami (MIA) it was. We met a great guy behind the counter who was very helpful, asked a bunch of questions, talked on the phone with somebody and then explained exactly what I needed to do...Phone a number, make a reservation, send the tickets to United (these tickets have traveled more than we have) and they would take care of everything. Well the number only works Monday thru Friday so I'll deal with that tomorrow. 

A quick stop at Wholefoods for Swordfish and a few odds and ends, a quick trip to the hot tub, a little dinner prep, cooking and cleaning up completed Saturday.

Sunday morning was warmer and nicer than Saturday so we walked down to Mizner Park and the 23rd annual Boca Raton Art show. We did a big loop, bought 3 photos we enjoyed, to remind us of  Florida (Manatees and two Beach scenes) -- Then it was back to assembling our bench. This time it went a lot quicker and no issues. -- We then went "Thrifting" to find some picture frames, scored at our second stop and then went to the beach. We sat in our beach chairs and watched the people, the waves and the boats!! -- Then it was back to Publix for the final dinner fixens and home.

Driving in Florida...

I've been saying I was going to write about driving in Florida for a while. These people are crazy!! If it's not 90 MPH on the highway, it's 35. On the city streets, they stop out of the blue, in the middle of the road...no blinker, no clue what they are going to do...then bam!!...a right turn (or left) -- You gotta be on your toes.

Traffic lights are mere guidelines...If you are stopped at a red light, you've got to wait a good 20-30 seconds before proceeding because somebody is always (and I mean always) running the light. And heaven forbid if you're not quick off the line, because there is somebody behind you that's going to toot their horn at you!! It's both annoying, disrespectful and in many cases un-safe. --

I've never seen so many bad drivers in all my life. At least in California when the traffic is bad, you're not moving!!

We saw one hot rod on a motorcycle passing us at probably 100 mph, weaving in and out of traffic and then popping a wheelie (Show off)...

You can kinda tell when people are lost...then watch out, they'll be coming at you, because you are where (they think) they need to be.

At least we don't have those funky Michigan turning lanes that if you want to turn left, you have to go past the exit, almost make a U-turn, then turn right...How dumb is that?

random thoughts...

Birthday weekend was just what the Dr. ordered...good company (Lisa), good food & wine and a delightful hotel to make everything easy. We stayed on Singer island in Palm Beach, not 40 minutes from our Boca Raton condo, but a world away in many respects.

While out exploring on Saturday we came across some of this...

I still have not received my tickets back from Orbitz (#$@!)

I want to write more about turning 50 and sharing the experience with a bunch of high school classmates from facebook, but that's going to have to wait. Being in Chile last week has set me back from a work standpoint and I really have to get caught up. -- I had some interesting insights that I should have captured on the flight back from Santiago, but the moment faded away...as did my motivation.

I got very little sleep, if any on the 8 hour flight (in coach). I rolled into the condo about 06:30...went to sleep for a few hours and basically worked from home the balance of the day...we finally headed out about 18:00 (I think) and made it to the hotel in time to sip Champagne and dress for dinner. Lisa had planned a romantic dinner for two on a private deck, but the weather did not cooperate (to windy & chilly) -- instead, we had a great table inside, attentive service and a very nice meal with great wine. Saturday night was more of the same, though we had a car/driver take us to a fine restaurant on the inter-coastal waterway.

Only 9 days to go until we return to Colorado for a few days of work and a whole week of skiing!! Yeah!!