Getting Out, Our Ski Adventure

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts Covid has really left me feeling unproductive and trapped at home.  Every winter for at least the last 4 years my family has gone for a weekend ski trip.  This year it was not looking like it would happen but I kept thinking I needed to get us out of the house and do something.  I checked the state website and found I could travel to our bordering states without the need to quarantine when I returned, I confirmed this was acceptable with my employer and started planning our trip. My girls wanted to try snowboarding this year and the usual resort we ski at did not have any lessons available so we tried a new resort.  I am a creature of habit in many ways so this would be a step out of my comfort zone, another step is that it would be a girls trip and my husband would be staying home to take care of the dogs.  Tickets, lessons and hotels booked just 6 short days before we would head out.  Next, I printed out a copy of our ski trip packing list and set the girls on the mission of collecting the items.  Of course we always pack snacks and goodies for the trip. Friday after school we set off on our getaway.  The drive was fairly uneventful with just one small detour due to a wrong turn.  We found the hotel and when we checked in found that the free breakfast would not be available and the pool was closed, but both were available at their sister hotel across the road.  I was not going through the hassle of changing hotels as both of these things did not seem like a big deal at the time.  We unpacked the car then set out to find dinner.  We were able to get a table at the second restaurant we tried and had a good meal.  Something Covid has changed is eating out, there are less tables available and with restaurants doing more take out, your food can take longer to arrive.  Please be nice to your servers as many are trying the best they can and are often at the mercy of the kitchen.  After dinner we went back to the room to unpack and get ready for bed.  We figured in the morning we could find a convenience store for some breakfast sandwiches.  The town we were in did not have the same convenience store chain we have at home and breakfast sandwiches eluded us, so some pastries and drinks filled the void.  The ski resort was very close to the hotel and we arrived with plenty of time before the lesson. It was my first time at this resort so it threw me a bit trying to find customer service, the ski school and the rental shop.  Once we figured everything out the girls met their instructor and I was off to ski.  The lifts are older but there was almost no one there, did I mention it was raining?  This actually worked to our advantage as until lunch time we felt we had the resort to ourselves and it was only lightly drizzling in the morning.  The ski trails were wide and really nice.  I met up with the girls after their lessons and one wanted skis so we switched out the board.  We spent the rest of the afternoon on the green trails.  I thought about trying some of the intermediate trails but I was having such a great time, I stayed on the green.  We decided to skip lunch and have a snack since our lift tickets expired at 4 pm.  Originally, the girls were upset we would have to leave at 4pm but by four we were tired and the influx of people was growing.  After skiing it was off to dinner at Panera, we don’t have them near us so this is a treat.  Back at the hotel we showered and the girls wanted to go out and explore the area, there was a shopping center across the street so we walked around the Christmas tree shoppe and DSW. Later that night there were some rambunctious boys playing hockey in the hallway, apparently their parents went out and left them there alone.  We let it go till 10 pm then I called the front desk, the woman told me she had already been up there and the boys would not tell her what room they were in or where their parents were and “what did I expect her to do about it?”  If my husband was with us this would have been a non-issue as he would have handled the situation long before 10pm.  I wanted to go to bed, so I opened the door and told the boys it was 10 pm and people were trying to sleep, they needed to keep it down.  There was some noise after but they did quiet down.  It takes a lot for me to complain but in the morning I told the front desk clerk about the situation and how that did not make me feel safe staying at their establishment.  Our trip home included stops to IKEA, Barnes and Noble, Old Navy and dinner at LongHorn SteakHouse.  Many things were different due to Covid and the new way of life, but overall getting away for the weekend gave us a sense of normalcy again.  If you have been on the fence about getting out and doing something, please take the time to research how to do it safely, and then go for it! Don’t forget to comment here and tell me about your adventure!