We had a restless night on Wednesday due to howling wind outside and noisy neighbors overhead. We were concerned that the wind would ruin our day. Avery’s ski school is located at the absolute most windy spot on the top of the mountain. Our fear is that he would become a human kite and blow off the mountain. Thankfully, there was another affiliated ski school a little further down the mountain and thus somewhat protected from the high winds at the top. We never knew the cause, but the power went out on top of the mountain that morning as well causing the ski lifts to be useless elevated chairs. One ski patrol chap speculated that some of the locals might have been shooting at the power line insulators proving that rednecks exist in every corner of the world.
The only open lifts (and thus the only open slopes) were “down the hill” at the Silver Creek ski area. This area is much smaller and became more crowded quickly, but at least we were able to ski. Avery had a positive ski school report on his ability to make turns and was much more steady on his feet, however he tired quickly. He himself admitted that he refused to make his “Pizza Wedge” (the ubiquitous snowplow) at the end of the lesson because he was tired. The morning cleared nicely and during nap time, Jen was able to ski solo. Thankfully, power was restored and the rest of the mountain was open. Hopefully she’ll comment on her alone ski time.
After an excellent nap time, we had our third and final trip to the indoor pool and dinner out at “The Junction.” Apparently, potato prices are at an all-time low as we were served around 4 pounds of french fries as the side dishes.
This morning, we left out at about 10:30 and had a nice trip. I really wanted to drive all the way home today, but by the time we made it to Bristol, there was already 2 inches of snow in Nashville with more on the way. We’re camped out again in Johnson City, TN with no real idea of when we’ll make it home. We stopped at Hardee’s on the way home as we were getting tired of Arby’s. It had been at least 10 years since I had stepped foot in a Hardees. Growing up in Oxford, we had possibly the world’s nastiest, dirtiest, grossest, funkiest Hardees ever. In the 10+ years since then, Hardees has really improved. Their burgers and fries were really pretty good and I’d recommend a visit to those who have had similar experiences as I had in the past. (Again, can I get paid for some advertising?? Maybe if >3 people ever visited this site…)
The Mixons have temporarily relocated to West Virginia for a vacation. We wanted to go skiing and wanted to go out west. Alas, due to the recent economy… Wait, the economy has nothing to do with the fact that I’m still making beans and we’re heavily in debt. Oh well, going out west was not an option so we chose West Virginia. Jen had read a write-up on Snowshoe Mountain in Southern Living and we found that 1) we could drive there and 2) it was a little cheaper. Long story short, here we are.
We left Sunday evening after Jen got off work and drove to Johnson City, TN. There we stayed with the Bridgforths (long-time family friends of the Wells). After a nice time of catching-up and a scrumptious breakfast quiche, we headed up here.Monday night brought hard winds with blowing snow. Tuesday was somewhat disappointing as the weather continued to be rough. Cold, blowing snow with wind over 15-20mph most of the day. In addition, the pool didn’t open until 2PM (really?)
Wednesday has been 100x better. We decided not to ski Tuesday and pushed our lift tickets to Wed/Thurs instead. After eating a heart-healthy breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios (I wish I could get paid for all this free advertising), we set out. Parker was the only child in the daycare, but he didn’t mind as they had a much larger Lightning McQueen than we own. Avery went to Ski School (pictures to follow as I don’t have a cable for the camera). Jen and I refreshed our ski-muscles on the bunny slope a few times prior to attacking the green slopes. Make all the fun you want, but I know my limits. The ski-muscle refresher for me (Avery) wasn’t quite enough. Needless to say, the first long, big hill that I encountered caused a bit of panic and I ate it (moderately). This first slope that we tried also had a warning sign (un-heeded) that they were currently “making snow” on this slope. That amounted to a huge pipe spraying a fine mist in the air every 200 or so feet. So, I’m careening down this big hill with very little confidence. Every minute or so, there’s this smoke screen of artificial snow that I cannot see through (much more powder-like than the rest of the snow), and then there’s this big (probably not all that big really) drop-off. My skis dig in to this nice, soft snow and decided to stay put. I did not. Spread eagle, flying-squirrel like face plant into the snow. Thankfully, no one saw except several woodland creatures. I think I might have accidentally killed a few of them with my antics. To add insult to injury, I landed right underneath one of these snow-blowers. As I struggle to stand-up, find my skis, find my poles and reassemble both my dignity and ski costume, I’m quickly becoming covered in a fine mist of rapidly-freezing water. I felt like the liquid metal terminator (T2), just waiting for the slightest thing to cause me to shatter into a million pieces. I finally reestablished a vertical position only to fall twice more on this slope. Jennifer was laughing like Randy laughing at the deranged Easter Bunny costume (the pink nightmare–click below for reminder) as I must have looked funny. Covered in a shell of ice. Thankfully, no photos here.
The remainder of the day was much better. Had to get that one out of my system. The day was clear and milder than the previous 2 and the wind was not a bother. No more significant falls and I don’t think Jen fell once, not that I was counting. We went to meet Avery at Ski School and the instructor told us 2 things: 1) He was really sweet and respectful and 2) he needs to be in the beginner class again tomorrow. To cut him some slack, he did spend the first 60% of his life in Tampa and he’s not even 4 yet. After lunch, the boys fell asleep hard and it was my turn to go solo skiing while jen stayed with the boys during naptime. Had some great runs (no falls) with nice weather. The slopes here have been really nice and comparable to what I have seen out west (2 resorts >11years ago for what it’s worth).
After a dip in the pool this afternoon, it’s bedtime at last. Will write about the remainder of the vacation after it actually happens and include photos. Stay Tuned…
I have been an Ole Miss fan as long as I can remember. I grew up less than one mile from the heart of campus and as hard as I tried to escape, I am glad that I decided to be a Rebel. In this time, I have had the opportunity to watch our football team win games we should have lost and lose games that should not have even been close. All this to set the stage for Saturday’s showdown with #8 LSU. There is no team out there that I have more animosity towards than LSU.
When in college, I travelled to Baton Rouge twice to watch the rivalry. In 1997 as a freshman and in the marching band, we won 36-21 in a day game. I will never forget the near-constant rain of bottles and cups that were thrown at the band throughout the game. That’s classy. In 1999, Jen and I drove down for a night game (in the rain) and we put it to them 42-23. With those 2 results, you might think that we have had the upper hand in the series, but 02-07 found us losing 6 in a row. If you look back on the series tally (since I was old enough to go to games), LSU has held the edge 15-9. All this to say, there is a lot of bad blood between these two schools.
Enter Saturday, Nov 21. The CBS SEC game of the week. The early game was dominated by Ole Miss with a couple of questionable calls that took the rebels out of the endzone twice, having to settle for a field goal and a LSU int for a TD. The defense held strong and we went in at the half down only 17-15.
The 3rd quarter was a field position struggle and the real excitement came in the 4th quarter. Dexter McCluster has been the hero of the second half of the season and completed his first pass ever for a TD with 13 minutes left to go putting us up 17-22. A clock-eating drive gave us a field goal to go up 17-25. Up by a TD with 2-pt conversion with 3:42 to go. What happened next is legendary. A methodical drive by LSU gave them a TD with 1:17 left pulled them to within 2. After 2 tries at the conversion, the rebels somehow managed to hold onto a 2 point lead.
Everyone knew the on-sides kick was coming and LSU ran it to perfection. At this point, I had indigestion. I could just see Ole Miss losing this to a last-second field goal. I could barely watch. The mental vaccuum that is the offensive minds in LSU somehow botched clock management and the tigers ended up on the Ole Miss 6yd line with the game clock expired. For once, things went our way. I waited for 10 minutes (well after the game coverage went off the air) to allow myself to breathe and enjoy the tally mark in the win column. At 8-3 with the Egg bowl left to play, the Rebels are finding a way to redeem what was supposed to be a great season. Will await bowl predictions soon.
The night only got more interesting as we went to a Mannheim Steamroller concert. Yes, the uber-popular Christmas music phenomenon tours and has been doing so for some time. Needless to say, it was a Laser Drum, Laser Light, Laser violin extravaganza. I lost it when the violin player pulled a spin move. It was a good day.
While the ladies manned the fort (8 kids), we went hiking on the Appalachian Trail. We put in at Newfound Gap in the heart of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We hiked northbound on the trail for 5days/4nights. We were weather channel savvy and hiked to the first shelter prior to the monsoon that arrived the first day. Thankfully, we stayed fairly dry. We had gusty rain through the majority of the night.
The following morning (Wednesday), was clear and cool. The hike took us by Charlie’s Bunion and over the sawteeth. Vistas were clear and beautiful. Several spots gave a 180-degree view. I’ll post some photos without many captions (too much effort involved). We hiked shelter-to-shelter backing off a little from the mileage obtained in the previous years. This made for a more relaxed experience. You will notice that there is a photo of a grouse. his name is Ricardo (don’t know how he earned that one) and he is a resident of the TriCorner Knob shelter metro area. Saw lots of bear scat but no bears. I do want to put a plug in for the new sleeping pad I bought this year. It is the REI Lite-Core 1.5. This pad was worth every penny. Light, compact, luxurious. I was not paid by REI to say that, but wouldn’t refuse it if they like the publicity.
The hikers this year were Andy Wells, Micah Lewis, Chad Bailey, and myself. We also had some rain on our hike out of the park, but a steak dinner made it tolerable.
All in all a great trip. Fun Facts about Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN:
1. These two towns have a pancake restaurant/resident ratio of 3:1. I was amused and counted twelve dedicated pancake establishments as we drove the main drag of Pigeon Forge. This is not counting the Shoney’s and TWO Cracker Barrel stores. What gives? Who decided that pancakes are the official food of Appalachia? Did I miss this in my schooling?
2. You can buy a Funnel Cake 365 days a year in Gatlinburg.
3. There were at least 5 stores that I’m confident sold a Braveheart-like sword.
4. Halloween is creepy in Gatlinburg. Hard to tell who is wearing a costume or just out for a night on the town.
All I know about Glenn Beck is that he is on Fox News and called Obama a racist. I don’t know the context, so have no argument one way or the other. I watched a rant that he produced in regard to the Fort Hood shootings. Regardless of what you think of the guy, I recommend watching this. He’s a little dramatic, but his points are well made. It’s approx 16 minutes long and at times, the dubbing is a little off. Comments?
Yeah, I know, it’s a little late. The Baileys and the Wells came in town and we had a picnic. Also included is a few shots from the mountain house vacation and Halloween. I didn’t take the time to arrange them in the proper chronologic order. Things to note:
1. Avery (jr) is a slip-and-slide maniac.
2. Ghost costumes are cheap.
3. Watermelon is tasty.
4. No birthday party is complete without an inflatable monkey.
Today, Thomas the Tank Engine came to town. We found out too late to go to this last year, so we have had tickets for 3 months in anticipation.
I know that there are a lot of pictures, but it’s been a while since i’ve posted, so bear with me.
I know that there’s a lot of photos, but it was that kind of a day. To explain a few of the photos:
They had a huge tent with 7 or 8 train tables, a temporary tattoo tent, a story-telling tent, a small train, a big train, a petting zoo (seriously?), a costumed Sir Topham Hatt, some kid with a Rat tail(!), a gift shop, and a musician who let the kids bang the fool out a triangle. It was a fun and tiring morning. As expected, Avery had a great time and cried when we left. Gratitude is not his strong suit at this point. Highly recommend the Day out with Thomas experience if it’s heading to your town.
