(Not) On the Road (Anymore), Day 7

Today was supposed to be another riding day, and we got tickets to Smuggler's Notch, but a few things happened to prevent us from riding. A road to Smuggler's Notch, VT was closed because of some emergency service activity. We were turned around and tried to access Smuggler's Notch from VT Route 100 (the path of shred), but it turns out that after Mt. Mansfield, the mountain pass is closed. So we tried our luck at Stowe. Lift tickets were $89 for the day and $71 for half a day.

Let me say this: my addiction to snowboarding is pretty strong. I have never walked away from a ski area without riding before, but these lift ticket prices are so ridiculous that I just had to pass. $71 for four hours of sliding down a hill? Please. Though it does not seem this way, I do have SOME sense. It was a snow day, too. Damn you, Stowe.

So we poked around VT, checked out the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory and hightailed it home to Brooklyn.

Note: I really enjoy driving in the winter.

(Not) On the Road (Anymore), Day 6

Wood fires: I love them. Bretton Woods, where we spent our last day snowboarding on this trip, has a wood fire pit and several cords of wood sitting near the entrance to the resort. The aroma permeates the base area to the parking lot and is truly delicious. Bretton Woods sits right at the edge of the White Mountains and (I hear) that on a clear day, affords a great view of Mount Washington, the highest peak east of the Mississippi River. Tiger Uppercut. (Un?)Fortunately, it was snowing so our view of the mountains was all but blocked.

ADD kicking in here: These are the mountains that we passed through on this trip: Catskill Mountains, NY; Adirondack Mountains, NY; Laurentian Mountains, QC, Canada; White Mountains, NH; Mahoosuc Mountains, ME; Green Mountains, VT; and the Hudson Highlands, NY. Most of these are a part of the Appalachian Mountain Range with the exception of the Adirondacks and the Laurentians.

And at night, onwards towards Burlington, VT.

(Not) On the Road (Anymore), Day 5

Yeah, that is me, in the green. There aren't too many pictures for this day because the camera battery died and we hadn't packed the spare. But, we spent the day at Sunday River, in Maine. I don't have anything special to say about it except that it is a pretty big ski area. Girlfriend drove today, and it was snowing like the dickens. I'm not afraid of sliding a car off the road (I've done it quite a few times [all in preparation for that Alcan 5000]), but when people freak out, it freaks me out. Nevertheless, it was an uneventful drive.

Happy New Year.

(Not) On the Road (Anymore), Day 4

Wednesday (the 30th of December) was kind of our off day. I had to get up at the crack of dawn to move the car in sub-zero temps, and I couldn't get to sleep after that because I was so cold. After the girl woke up, we popped over to the le quartier chinois for a dim sum breakfast. And then, we hit the road.

As an aside, I wanted to remark that it is surprisingly difficult to get a free internet connection when you're traveling. (Hence the infrequent and delayed updates.) Or maybe I just haven't the resourcefulness.

On the Road, Day 3

On the Road, Day 3

The French Language -- I don't know it and I have no idea how to pronounce it. It is fortunate that most people speak both French and English in this area of Canada, but sometimes the signage is in only French. Practicalities aside, I enjoy this feeling of alienation: it is almost like walking into another world, fumbling over street names and offering a soft-spoken "Merci" when I can. A few years ago, I tried to teach myself French, telling myself that it was the third most spoken language in the world and that it would be useful, but that never panned out. I resolve to learn enough French to hold an uninteresting conversation in two years.

Does anyone find nature and the natural world ugly? Sure, Nature is a cruel mistress and there are certainly ugly situations (e.g.: freezing to death alone on a mountainside, getting killed and eaten by some predator), but for the most part, I find that natural landscapes elicit this inexplicable but pleasant feeling. I really can't imagine someone looking out from a mountaintop with sunlight streaming through the clouds onto the valley below and saying, "I find this an unpleasant sight." Let me know if you think or know differently.

Speaking of ugly, my car is the ugliest and dirtiest it has ever been. It's amazing. I'm so thrilled.

It was cold today. I mean, real cold. Canada cold. I've never had my knees go numb before. And yet, this morning, there was a guy riding his bicycle through the wind and the slush on the streets of Montreal, sliding around in traffic. You crazy Canadians. I admire you, in a way. But it was too cold to have fun snowboarding at Mont Tremblant. I think we spent most of the day indoors, drinking coffee, eating poutine, trying to beat some life into les frozen limbs.

On the Road, Day 2

On the Road, Day 2

We woke up to about two inches of snow and slick roads. It would snow another four or five inches through the course of the day, putting us in the enviable (in my opinion) position of being at Whiteface on a powder day. Unfortunately, beneath the fragile layer of fresh snow lay the ever-present East Coast Sheet of Ice. Nevertheless, Whiteface is a fun mountain.

Incredibly, we ran into Soonjae and wifey at Whiteface. The were there for a few days, taking a short vacation around Lake Placid and staying at this bed and breakfast that we wanted to stay at: Winterberry Inn or some such name. Coinciding events are such an interesting thing. We were not able to spend much time with the above-mentioned couple because we had to make our way across the border to Montreal, QC, Canada. Wait at the border crossing: 1.5 hours.

After checking in and eating dinner at a pricey yet mediocre restaurant, I passed the hell out.

On the Road, Day 1

We were supposed to have been on our way to Hunter Mountain at 7a today. But, since we left our packing for the last minute and had to do laundry, we went to sleep at about 5a. Needless to say, we never made it to Hunter.

Now it is almost 11p and I'm writing this from the Willkommen Hof, in Wilminton, NY. We've driven about 250 miles due north of Brooklyn, NY today. And, just to relive days of my winter driving past, I drove my car straight into a snow-filled ditch, driven wheels first (I thought it was a snow-covered driveway). If I'm good at one thing, it's freaking out the Girlfriend.

Winter Road Trip

The girlfriend and I have been throwing around the idea of doing a snowboarding road trip at the end of the year, between Christmas and New Year. We both have the week off, so we can go a bit further than we usually do. Here are two possibilities.

Ski Areas: Mount Snow, VT; Stowe, VT; Smuggler's Notch, VT; Mont Tremblant, Québec, Canada; Whiteface, NY; Hunter Mountain, NY
Approximate Miles: 1,097 mi between destinations

Ski Areas: Mount Snow, VT; Stowe, VT; Smuggler's Notch, VT; Loon, NH; Bretton Woods, NH; Sunday River, ME
Approximate Miles: 929 mi between destinations

But before you start hearing about this, I'll probably have to prep the ol' Mini Cooper for the winter, since it seems unlikely that I will have it sold before the end of November, in favor of an '02 or '03 WRX. The car is probably going to get a wax, driving light guards, snow tires on steelies, Thule roof rack, and maybe a rubber mat for the boot. Oh, and lots of CDs to be burned.

Awaiting Winter Prep.

Of course, Greg had to show me THIS.

Ski Areas: Meadows @ Mount Hood, OR; White Pass, WA; Crystal Mountain, WA; Summit @ Snoqualmie, WA; Steven's Pass, WA; Mount Báker, WA; Whistler-Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada

Approximate Miles: 974 miles between destinations (and Seattle is in the middle of it all)

If there was ever a question about why I wanted to move to Seattle, the above should be fairly elucidating. Factoring in the plentitude of coffee and the liberal atmosphere, Seattle becomes an obvious choice.