2022 Ski Adventure

I am excited to report the girls and I were able to get away for a ski weekend!  I was given the ok by my physical therapist and I booked a hotel in Scranton so we could ski at Montage Mountain again.  Last year due to covid, the free breakfast at the hotel was non-existent and due to a lack of planning on my part breakfast consisted of powdered donuts from a convenience store that had limited offerings.  This year I wanted to be better prepared and researched the hotels.  I found one that I thought was closer to the mountain with a great price and an open pool.  They did not offer free breakfast but knowing that ahead of time I could pack our own.  Thursday night we packed and cleaned. Friday morning required a trip to the store to pick up last minute items for our trip and a quick stop at work, even though I took a vacation day.  Finally on the road.  A trip to the bookstore is usually part of our trip on the way home but we decided to stop on the way, Cape May county has limited bookstore offerings and the girls had gift cards to use.  As we follow the GPS to the hotel, I realize it is taking us into the city of Scranton.  I pulled over to check which hotel and it turns out I booked one further from the mountain in the city.  At this point I am upset, this is not what I had envisioned for the weekend and I worry about safety being in the city.  We go to the hotel, check in, and unpack. I calm down as I find the hotel and staff are nice.  We head out to dinner and I notice a couple of women on different streets running alone, this makes me feel better about the area.  After dinner and some shopping we head back to the hotel. The little one needs to workout to keep up with her training schedule for the upcoming spring sports season.  I joined her as I have also been cleared to run 10 easy minutes on the treadmill by the physical therapist and after not running for 11 weeks I will take any running I can get!  After her workout the middle one wants to check out the pool and hot tub.  Back out I go.  The next morning we eat and head to the mountain, a little later than I wanted but still less than 30 minutes after opening.  New kiosk system, scan my receipt and we get a card, what no lift ticket?  New system being implemented at many ski resorts is an rfi card, the days of the traditional lift ticket on your jacket seem to be gone.  The world will now need to look for another way to start the I just went skiing conversations that lift tickets on your jacket used to propel. The temperature was good and the snow was slightly slushy but not iced over.  After a few runs on the green trails I ventured out of my comfort zone and hit a blue. It did not go well at first and I fell on a steep part.  There was a cut over to the green trail so I took it.  I met up with the girls and we had lunch then back to the blue trail I went, I was determined to get all the way down without falling.  Took me one more try but the third time I did it.  I thought about tackling some of the other blue trails but this one was not that crowded and I figured it was better to stay there and keep practicing.  By 4:30pm the girls were tired and as much as I wanted to stay my legs just could not do anymore.  We packed it in and headed back to the hotel. After a short nap we looked to get some pizza for dinner, being in the city we found a place a short walk from the hotel.  We ventured to Buona Pizza.  It looked like time paused the 80’s, the orange and wood booth seating, fake brick walls and of course a small collection of video games.  I instantly regretted leaving my roll of quarters at the hotel!  They had a Monopoly pinball machine!  This trumps the Ms. PacMan machine for my loan cash dollar. After ordering to the pinball machine I went! The pizza arrived and was delicious. After dinner we walk back to the hotel and venture back to the pool.  We don’t stay long so we can get to bed and rest up for Sunday’s adventure. Stay tuned for more.