monkeybard | My Vacation Report, by MonkeyBard

12 Jan 05 ~ Arrived at the snow. Made a huge pot of soup that we shared with jenboo and N. Much leftovers.

13 Jan 05 ~ First morning at the snow. The man-cub (a.k.a. Nordic Boy) went skiing first thing. I stayed near the fire and did yoga. Most lovely.

We went for a walk in the snow in the afternoon and then headed over to join jenboo and N at their "cabin". (Call me crazy, but satellite TV and 'cabin" don't go together in my brain. More like "vacation home".) It wasn't too long before J&D arrived through the darkness and the snow. The satellite tv sucked us in for a while, but we managed to extricate ourselves long enough to enjoy N's fabu chili and jenboo's equally fabu rhubarb crisp. What a yummy evening!

The Snow Ninja and C arrived later tonight. Hail, hail, the gang’s all here!

I have definitively determined that -3F/-19C is the temperature at which nose-hair freezes.

14 Jan 05 ~ We went on a group snowshoing expedition today. I believe the high temperature for the day was 5F/-15C. My toes have never been colder, and I hope they never will be again. If not for that and the frozen fingertips, I’d’ve enjoyed staying out longer. As it was, jenboo and I returned to Base Camp first, turned on the gas fire, and generally defrosted until the others returned shortly thereafter. Nordic Boy, of course, stayed out for another 1.5 hours. (There's a reason we call him Nordic Boy.) Fortunately we had enough radios to go around, so no one was ever out of contact on their own.

D was newly christened "Technocrat" by C and me today. I don't know if he realizes how truly amusing that is, but he seemed to like it.

Ate soup for lunch. Still much leftovers.

15 Jan 05 ~ More snowshoeing today, but it got up to at least 12F/-11C, so it was positively balmy. We did some uphill, immediately followed by some downhill. D decided to to a bit of “offroading”…I think J was “more than a bit nonplussed”, as Bertie Wooster would say. Still, all survived and we met up that evening for dinner at the Winthrop Brewery and Pub. Most excellent grub, and even more outstanding bevvies! The Gruit Ale (several 100 years old in origin and completely hopless) was beyond description. According to the menu, it is an aphrodesiac and psychotropic when conusmed in great enough quantities. More on that later.

Nordic Boy, Snow Ninja, C, and I all went for a walk after dark. It had warmed up enough to snow a little, so we enjoyed watching the flakes fall through the light of our headlamps. We all had fun leaving random footprints and buttprints in the mounded snow, but I think the most fun was had by C, who enjoyed throwing herself over the mounds and landing in the thick fluff beyond. I know the rest of us found it highly amusing! :-D

16 Jan 05 ~ Headed home. Arrived in one piece. Discovered the kitty was highly displeased with our prolonged absence. Must contact pet communicator and have another “chat” with the kitty. On a cheerier note, the Gruit Ale: The Snow Ninja, noticing how I oooed and ahhhed over the ale at dinner, very kindly bought a jug for me and Nordic Boy and delivered it before she had even returned to her own home. I love the Snow Ninja. She’s fabu on so many levels that I just couldn’t begin to enumerate them all. {{{{{Snow Ninja}}}}}

Had soup for dinner. Still just a little leftovers. (I said it was a huge pot.)

All in all, I had a fantastic time. It was great seeing everyone out in the snow, and I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know C better. Let's go again next year!