Vail, Skiing and Snowed In?

Saturday brought more cold temperatures (sensing a theme here?) and a day trip to Vail, CO, vacation destination to the stars. We all layered up, got everyone ready, loaded up the vans and off we went. It took a little under an hour to get there thru the mountainous terrain and snow fluuries.

Vail is a suprisingly small village (from what we saw) replete with condos, shops, restaurants and ski slopes. We saw more people dressed in ski attire than regular clothes walking around the village. We wandered around for a bit, had some (0verpriced) lunch and hit a couple of shops to collect our normal souveneirs (spoon for Cynthia, golf ball for John-hint hint if you travel). Sadly we didn't see any stars out and about but it was a nice day outing capped off by all of us getting fitted for our ski outing on Sunday.

Sunday morning and the slopes were calling! We woke up, ate a little breakfast and it was time to head out to the great outdoors. We had gotten some advice on how to dress to stay warm from Dr. Bill, a long time friend of Brandon and Nedelka and we tried to follow his advice. Here's some advice of my own, as the picture can attest, when it's 13 degrees, snowing and windy, there's not enough clothes to keep you warm while you're outside, but I digress. We got out there, got dressed (ski mask, helmet and ski boots which were an ordeal on their own) and made our way to the mountain. After getting our lesson and lift tickets we (Cynthia & I, Camille, Tan, Jerome, their daughter Caprice and Nedelka-the rest chose snowbarding) met up with our instructor and started with the very basics. I will give all credit to those who grasped and embraced the instruction. I followed along enough to the point that I wouldn't fall flat on my face but all I was concentrating on was trying to make sure I still could feel all 10 toes!

We started with one ski and making our way in a wide circle with that. Then the other ski and the same drill and then both skis. As we advanced to moving side stepping up to a small incline and making various slides down the hill (basic, shuffling the feet, making a wedge) the altitude got the better of Cynthia and she needed to sit the rest of the session out. I continued on as we went to the top of the hill and came down. Camille loved it, Nedelka, Tan and J enjoyed it also. Cynthia said I did a really good job, but I think gravity had more to do with it than anything. Meanwhile the surprise of the session was Caprice. Tan and Jerome both marvelled at how quickly she picked it up and how much fun she had. After the lunch break most of us stayed in the lodge while Camille and Caprice went back out on the slopes and Rus, Brandon, Dwayne and Marise went back out to snowboarding. At the end of the day everyone had a memorable time and now for those of us who aren't going back later this week we can say, 'We ski'd!'

When we came back from skiing, the girls had spa appointments scheduled for 6pm. They headed out to the spa, but 20 minutes later here they came back in the front door! Turns out the winds had kicked up even more than earlier in the day and due to the blowing snow, visibility was negligible. We were snowed in for the night!! Turns out the Colorado Dept. of Transportation has closed the main highway (I-70) west of Denver (where we of course are!) and it remains closed cuurently. Rus, Brandon & Dwayne cooked dinner for the group, the wine was flowing, jokes exchanged and plenty of laughs. Good food, good friends, great times. "You know how we do!"

Cynthia's altitude sickness took a turn for the worse so she was bed ridden for most of the evening but after getting some oxygen, she was back to about 80% of her normal self. Jerome also struggled with the altitude and had an oxygen tank delivered to the house. The service told him that they had taken 100 calls for vactioners needing oxygen assistance. We had planned to go snowmobiling today but decided when we got up that she wasn't really healthy enough to go. We are still going to try to go to our planned New Year's Eve sleigh ride so there's more news to come!! ** UPDATE-It was cancelled due to the weather conditions. **

Winter Wonderland

It's a winter wonderland alright.. Cynthia is wondering when can we come back and John is wondering how he was lured into cold weather again!

John's legendary hatred for cold weather was tested immediately when the announcement came from the flight deck upon our descent into Denver that the temperature was 15 degrees! That was downright balmy compared to the -5 degrees the in car thermometer read as we drove the 2+ hours thru the mountains to the house in Breckenridge. Once we arrived however, the house is nice, cozy and nestled in a picturesque neighborhood up in the mountains.

The altitude difference cannot be understated. Imagine the feeling of running a 100 sprint after just walking to the kitchen! The shortness of breath and lightheadedness are conditions we all have to endure as we get adjusted to being more than 10,000 feet above sea level.

This morning the temperature when we arose was an even 1 degree. Despite feeling the effects of the altitude, Cynthia was like a kid with a sugar IV drip she was so excited to see the snow, snap pictures and 'frolic'. The frolicing lasted all of about 90 seconds, remember it was 1 degree! She kept remarking how beautiful it is and how much she loves it.

We also brought a little late Christmas to the crew which provided a surprise to them all as they made their way to the kitchen to the smell of pancakes, eggs, bacon and Dwayne's fried sweet potatoes. The guys all received monogrammed golf towels, the BB's received travel jewelry boxes, Caprice & Jasmine got some clothes, Kyla got a Disney see and draw and Drew got a picture frame collage with pictures from his birthday party at Disney.

We've got plans to travel to Vail this afternoon to spend the day before coming back to B-ridge for dinner tonight. A couple of the crew are struggling with altitude sickness but we'll power thru it. More to come!

97 Degrees of Separation

We're getting ready to head to Colorado this afternoon and after staying up to 1am packing last night all I can say is WHEW!! The good news, the guest bedroom no longer looks like a mall exploded.. The bad news, where are we going to put all of our winter stuff when we get back?!?! We'll deal with that when we return I guess.

So as I get online this morning the sunshine streams thru the windows, a neighbor wearing shorts and flip flops walks her dog thru the parking lot, another beautiful South Florida morning. I go to www.weather.com & I looked at the top of the screen to my default home city of Pompano Beach and it reads 80 degrees. I put in Breckenridge, CO to see what we're facing and I see the current temperature.. It says -17 degrees with a wind chill of -37!!

Now I'm no math whiz, but to me, that seems like a 97 degree difference!! What are we getting ourselves into?

Stay tuned, it's going to be an interesting week..

Happy Holidays!!

Since we've been together, one of the passions that we share is traveling. If you have an e-mail address, you have more than likely received a Snapfish (TM) album or two from one of our many trips. We thought we can 'up our game' in 2008 and share with you more of our experiences thru a blog..

Our most recent journey was a Christmas visit with John's family. Mom, Dad, brother in law Neal, nephew Dominique (13) and niece Morgan (11) are all in the Dover, Delaware area. We were there for 5 days to celebrate Christmas.

When we arrived on Saturday morning, we got to meet good friends Edna and Marvelle at a restaurant outside of DC for lunch. We spent a good 3 hours talking, sharing and laughing. It's always good to connect with them when we are in the area.

Mom is notorious for not putting up a tree until sometimes Christmas Eve and when it gets up, decorations are often a good thought but rarely actually make it on to the tree. Well on Sunday morning, while Mom was out shopping, a couple of Santa's elves took the initiative to decorate the tree. When she returned she was almost moved to tears by the surprise and the beauty of the decorated tree. Everyone that came to the house was almost immediately ushered into the living room so she could brag on the great work done by Cynthia and John.

Christmas morning brought John's favorite, Mom's coffee cake and a trip up to see the kids and deliver some gifts. After the gifts were exchanged and opened, the adults came back to prepare for dinner. We had the traditional feast, ham, turkey, stuffing, mac & cheese, sweet potato souffle, homemade yeast rolls, sweet potato and apple pies. After dinner, the adults opened their gifts (as well as a few more for the kids) and exhausted, we called it a night.

Heading back to the airport in DC brought a nice bonus. John's best friend from NC, Derrick, his wife Yaa and his mother Bonnie were driving to NJ for the weekend and our paths were basically going to intersect around the DC area. Getting the timing and location were a little dicey but we were able to meet at a restaurant outside of Annapolis, MD. The visit was brief but enjoyable.

Now it's off to Breckenridge, CO with Rus, Camille, Drew, Jerome, Tan, Caprice, Jasmine, Brandon, Nedelka, Kyla, Dwayne and Marise.. Snowfall is expected to top an additional 4-12 inches by Thursday night!! Send hot chocolate!! We're looking forward to a wonderful 2008!! Happy New Years!!!