Fun Day

I forgot how much I like skiing. This is my friend Mark who comes up periodically from Austin Texas to work with Chaos and myself. The Alyeska Resort is the top skiing destination in Alaska, but various life distractions precluded me from checking it out until this weekend. Mark is moving on to other opportunities, so he will likely not come back to Alaska for a long time and this was his first and last chance to ski Alyeska. Calico and 3 of her high school buddies joined us making the trip a hoot. The trip to Girdwood is about 2 1/2 hours away. We picked up our rental skis first and then had lunch at The Bake Shop (highly recommended for those planning on visiting Alaska). After lunch, we suited up for an afternoon of skiing. Somewhere between the rental shop and The Bake Shop, my ski boots (non rentals) turned up missing. We had loaded up so much gear for 6 people in the back of the SUV, I suspect my boots were left at the curb (soon to be at the used sports equipment store). Retracing my steps was unfruitful, so I had to rent some boots. Mark gave the girls some instruction on the bunny slope while I was getting outfitted. In my discombobulated state, I cracked my head on the liftgate of the SUV (thankfully without drawing blood albeit I did see stars). I finally had skis on feet by 2:00. I did a couple of instruction runs with the girls which was the limit of parental supervision they could tolerate. Mark and I broke off and took the chair lifts to the summit. The view from that perspective was awe inspiring. The valley floor of Girdwood, the surrounding mountains, and glistening Turnagain Arm at low tide were all in the field of view. Calico had the point and shoot, so this scene is only recorded in memory. No photographer or camera could do it justice. Despite the start up wrinkles, I had a great time. The adrenaline of the day made my body forget it was 48 years old and not conditioned for skiing, so the last run to the bottom was a struggle to keep it together with my rubbery legs. One of the girls was to be dropped off at a family birthday celebration at a Chinese restaurant in Anchorage. The menu looked good so we dined there. This chinese restaurant also doubled as a steak house. I had the best and rarest prime rib in years. The hot and sour soup was also top shelf. After dinner, we were dropping Mark off at his condo and noticed a great sunset off the horizon of Cook Inlet. We had to stop and enjoy the view. I lent my D300 to Calico to capture it for her blip. The drive back to Wasilla was a quiet one as the remaining passengers were quite exhausted. For me, I was ready for a nighttime dose of vitamin M (Motrin) and a good night sleep. I know the sore muscles are coming. Despite the wayward boots and the tender bump on my noggin, it was a great memorable day. I'm happy that Calico is getting the ski bug. I'll have to make a conscious effort to be in shape for next year's ski season. I'm sure she wants to go back to Alyeska quite a few more times next year. Maybe we can coax her mom to go as well.