Although everyone seemed to enjoy the experience, I begged off the past three years, using the day to get things done in the very quiet library. But this year Paul is a Middle Schooler, and was both eligible and very eager to go. We decided to go as family, to drive up after school on Thursday so we could do some snow tubing at nearby Ski Liberty with some of Paul's friends and their parents, and then hook up with the school group on Friday for our ski lessons.
On the drive up, we realized that we hadn't had a family vacation since going to Maine. High time to break away from the daily business of work, school, and home and have some fun!
Here I am at the Ski Liberty snow tubing lanes, getting ready for my first ride. The covered walkway up the left side protected the "magic carpet" that moved people up to the top of the slopes. Since it was a late Thursday afternoon, the tubing lanes were very uncrowded, and the staff was very relaxed.
Here's the view from the top, a bit scary if you ask me! I had to take a deep breath, remind myself that I had survived the Howling Tornado at Great Wolf Lodge, and promise myself that I didn't have to do it twice if I hated it.
Not only did I survive my first tube ride, it was such a thrill that I went back for more and more.
It was great being with Paul's friends and their parents. After tubing, the adults had a nightcap in the bar, the kids had desserts, and everyone enjoyed each other's company. The boys then "hung out" together in one of the rooms (luckily not ours!) until they all went to bed at quarter to midnight. Here's Paul and Evan and Andrew:
After a late wake-up call and a leisurely breakfast, we went back for another hour of tubing. This time the scene was far more active, with lots of people tubing, including big school groups. Instead of rock music, you heard a safety announcement as you rode the "magic carpet." On Friday morning, we were braver and more adventurous, and lay on the tubes instead of just sitting on them. We decided this was even more fun and it allowed us to both steer with our hands and control our speed by dragging our feet. Here's Ben coming down.....
...and here's Paul.
When we got to Whitetail at about 2:00, lots of the school kids were just coming off the slopes. It was fun to see them out of the school environment and with their families.
Our ski lesson was at 3:30. None of us had ever done any downhill skiing, but we all took to it fairly well and liked it quite a lot. After teaching us the basics, the instructor took us up a ski lift and bang! just like that we were skiing down a little mountain slope.
What a thrill to be up on the mountain, in the midst of all that winter beauty! I found that an hour of lessons didn't make me comfortable picking up any speed, so I proceeded slowly, practicing the turning and stopping we had learned. It was fun seeing the others go faster, but I was quite happy going at my own speed, stopping quite often to soak in the wonder of being up there and actually skiing.
It was a great experience.
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