'cause i have some COOL pix to show you of the North Carolina mountains where my friend and I took Jenna skiing New Year's day, and nice mountain pictures Jenna took today on the drive home. We went to Cataloochee in Maggie Valley, NC. Here's the live webcam outside of the ski lodge. (hint: we're home, so we're not there.)
The drive up was interesting. Going through North Georgia always is. There was that one stop we made for gas where I found a white supremacist magazine on top of the real-estate guides for Habersham County. I took that one along so I could have some interesting bathroom reading. The bathroom (garbage) is where I left it too. How many Americans do you think have had complete lobotomies by now? No, really.
Anyway, we made the 3.5 hour drive without any problems, except my hyper-vigilanteism caused by reading the Neo Nazi rag I picked up along the way. That, combined with the six cups of coffee and fresh-garlic-coated wings we ate when we got there may have had something to do with my lack of sleep that night.
In the morning, Jenna had her first try on skis, complete with a lesson, and you have GOT to see the mini movies. C-u-t-e is one big hint. The battery is recharging tonight, so I'll try to get the pictures up in the morning, and a movie or two, so you can see jenna in the SNOW (which excited us to no end). In case you're wondering, I did NOT strap those chopsticks onto my feet--I hiked and trudged through the slush in good old fashioned boots like a good old fashioned Great Lake dweller, although I did have the pleasure of falling twice, since the man-made snow had turned mostly to ice, and since Jenna never did quite get the hang of getting up after falling on skis.
Things I learned since the last time I went skiing 38 years ago:
They have little moving sidewalk thingies now that take the kids up to the top of the bunny slope instead of having to side-step up or use a tow rope like we did.
To help kids learn how not to crash into barrels and grown ups, they they teach them how to "Pizza." That's what they call what we used to call the snowplow -- I guess because the triangle shape your skis make when you put the tips together looks like a piece of pizza. As in: "Good Pizza, Jenna!" (Yeah, that one took me a while.)
It hurts just as much to fall on your back without skis as it does with.
Lifting up a nine year old who can't get her balance can cause permanent neurological damage to the piker-up-ee.
Film--and pix--at 11. (or whenever the battery charges).
Tags: ski, north carolina, kids, parenting, vacation, cataloochee, maggie valley, blogging = Powered by Qumana
