another weekend behind melet me see if I can recall why I feel so rested and relaxed....
friday evening came and I learned that our evening plans had been canceled
there had been the invitation to head to bethesda to have dinner with friends in their recently renovated house
our kids would play with their kids while we ate dinner and talked about adult things
or sadly... as our kids played we would end up talking about our kids
parents can be boring in the way that they talk about houses, schools, and their kids
scratch that... that never happened...
seven year old Dean had been battling a stomach thing
nothing serious... but not feeling 100 percent
so we canceled... he was in no condition for making a social call
part of that plan was that Lisa would drive out with the boys in my car with the roof rack and I would take a short post work ride out there
no epic... just something more than my standard straight home post work ride
having the dinner canceled also canceled the ride
yet I still wanted to ride... so checked with lisa and it was cool for me to do an urban ride across town to visit a
friend I do not see as frequently as I would likerode around town and scoped out some of the inaugural set ups as I zipped in between the car traffic
the visit across town was short because I had left out without lights
and well... I still had parental duties to tend to
arrived home and got into the usual routine
here it is Sunday and I could not tell you what we did for dinner Friday night
most weekends go like that
but I am guessing that there was dinner... and well... the request for a movie... and the acceptance of their request because it was Friday Night
the kids were in bed and lisa and I were sharing some conversation and some wine when my cell phone rang
lisa could interpret the conversation by hearing my side of things
without asking lisa said I could go snowboarding
I tried to continue the conversation... get things clear with Lisa... and check the web for the weekend weather
then I drew back and re-evaluated
I could not focus on the adventure at hand with some much input from so many directions
the call was from an old friend... Mike Mapp aka Micro
although Lisa had said it was cool to go I still wanted a better feel for how she actually felt on things
needed to take a better look at the full situation
after taking a step back I realized that my snowboarding trip would prevent Lisa from Saturday morning Yoga and Coffee with friends
while there was a kid's birthday party on Sunday that Lisa was going to take Dean and Grant to... that was an all mom all the time weekend.... and that is not right
it only made more sense for me to go snowboarding on Sunday and allow lisa to go to Yoga/Coffee on Saturday
also returning me to the original plan to take Grant with me to Dean's 8:30am basketball game
before making the call back to Micro I took a look at the Ski Liberty site and Weather Dot Com
it looked like Saturday had the chance of snow while Sunday would be sunny...
it made more sense to go on Sunday so we could ride the fresh snow in the sunshine
Micro was enthusiastic about the option but he had a prior commitment
again the phone conversation was broken so we could better establish a plan
on separate sides of silent phones a plan gestated
it turned out Micro was unable to reschedule the Sunday appointment
as attractive as my sale of Sunday Sun of Freshies may have been... it was not an option
so... I reworked the plan
it was simple... our assault on the mountain would be a fast one
Lisa would go to Yoga... hang out for coffee and be home by noon...
Micro would arrive at my place at 11:30 and I would be ready with my snowboard
things pretty much went as planned... except I was not entirely ready when people arrived
the drive to Ski Liberty was drama free
no traffic anywhere and no wrong turns along the way
there was plenty of time for Micro and I to catch up as we made the hour plus drive to a local ski hill that I had know of but had never been to
the conversation was enlightening... too bad I did not take notes
there were topics like "innovation versus gadget" in the bicycle/snowboard industries
as well as all sorts of stories from days of old
we laughed at all the stupid things we had done
both a little shocked that things have all worked out as well as they have
our attitude was good and our expectations were low
we bought our tickets and approached the hill
both of us were feeling as rusty as the edges on our board
getting dressed in the parking log we each laughed at the condition of our gear
things were dry rotted and things were worn out
anxiety approached as I could not recall how my board was responding the last time I rode it
we got in the queue and loaded on the chair
having never been to Ski Liberty I deferred to Micro on our course
we headed over the terrain park to the back side
this was fine... waiting in line and taking the t-bar was not my thing
I was looking to make some turns
ah.... it was better than corn snow
we had the east coast at its best
there were some ice patches here and there on some of the very short steep sections but there was some fluff and some crusty courdoroy on the sides
there was nothing but the alleyways of man made
no natural snow within sight
our attitude was good and our low expectations were not let down
we were stoked
it was all good
it was a quick in and out
just as I had things I had to do in the morning there were things to do in the evening
our bodies started to wear down as the lights for the night were coming on
the day had gone well
we had each been reminded of the rush of hammering down the slope
the taste was enough to leave each of us wanting more
I got home with enough time to shower before the party down the block
this early season snowboard trip made me realize how quick and easy a partial day assualt on the local hill can be
this sort of day trip is definitely in the works for the family and friends as the east coast winter begins in late January and February on into March
the party on the block was a good gathering of friends
a good number of kids were at the party
the parents tried to stay polite as the mob of young boys fell into the natural order of Lord of the Flies
Lisa and Dean left before Grant and myself
four year old Grant was having so much fun that a sleep over was considered... but a few minutes before midnight we left for home
Sunday came with no real plans
a bike ride was considered while Lisa was at the kids's birthday party with the boys
but instead I took a long mellow hike with the dog after a grocery shop that included my first approach on the Adams Morgan Harris Teeter (WOW!) and a quick pass through Target
the Meatloaf dinner I cooked took longer than expected
everyone but me was filled on salad, sides, and fruit by the time the main course was done
but I liked it
now the weekend is behind me
I feel well rested and ready for the week