Cindy's first solo sail!

Well it finally happened. Cindy kicked me out. No, not out of the house, out of the boat LOL! Last night was Cindy's first time to sail the boat all by herself without me in it. We will call it her first "assisted" solo as I actually started and ended in the boat with her but for quite a while she was the sole occupant of the boat. I guess in a way she stepped down from being the Admiral to lowly Captain status as she tacked back and forth out in front of me while I took pics.
 I had been wanting to get pics of the boat with the new sails as the old sails just looked horrible. So we took Ding Dong, our inflatable dinghy I made, to the lake for her test pull and I thought that would give me a great platform to shoot some pics of the boat while Cindy sailed her.
 Cindy did awesome although she did not understand the "need" to take the pics. It wasn't a need as much as a want. Luckily she humored me and was a good sport about it . So we heaved too so I could hop into Ding Dong and off she went!

She looks totally in control, which she was. I knew she would have no problem handing the boat under sail as 95% of the time we spend on the boat she is on the tiller and mainsheet.

 Even with the new paint last year, the bagged out old sails looked horrible. It is like washing a car but not cleaning the windows, it still looks dirty. We both think she looks much better now plus she sails so much nicer with crisp tight sails.

I nearly got myself ran over taking this series of shots. I am not sure but I think she was aiming for me ;-)

Someone is no longer afraid to heel the boat over.

Cindy buries the rail with the best of them now!

As much fun as it was motoring around in the dinghy I was ready to get back aboard. But trying to catch Cindy under sail just wasn't going to happen. Ding Dong would keep up with her but that was it. She had too much of a head start on me for to catch her unless the wind died. With only 25cc pushing the dinghy it just did not have enough power to go any faster. Never thought I would see the day come I would say that we had a fast boat, but at least that day, the Memory Maker was the fastest. Luckily Cindy heaved too and let me back aboard the boat.
 Ding Dong worked out very well considering what she is. I am going to make a modification to her and move the tow bridle d rings further back and down lower to help get her bow up. As we pulled her along above 5 mph her bow would dig in and she took on some water. I had no prior experience setting up a dinghy so I just winged their location, should have winged them a bit further back. Other than that it worked great. We even anchored and took a dinghy ride where were able to see a deer down getting a drink.
 It has been our goal from the very start of our "sailing journey" to get Cindy to where she can sail the boat own her own. I knew she would have no problem sailing the boat under sail as she now has several seasons of experience under her belt. Now the next big step will be docking solo. That might take a bit more practice ;-)
 We only have 26 days to go till the wedding and our honeymoon cruise on the North Channel! We are both really looking forward to our big day and exploring the islands in the Memory Maker and Ding Dong!

Only 30 Days to go!!!

6-14-16

 I know it has been a while since I have posted anything to our blog but we have just been so busy getting ready for our next adventure that I just haven't had time. Well today I am making time as today is a special day for us. As of today we only have one month to go before we start off on our next adventure, our adventure of a lifetime.
 It isn't that we are off to some far off wild location, but instead this adventure will be the joining of two best friends into husband and wife. Cindy and I have been together for 4 and half years now and things have never been better. I would truly be lost without my bestie and cannot wait to take that walk to the bluffs her and make her mine forever.
 As I think back over the last four and half years with Cindy is almost all seems like a blur it has gone so fast. It doesn't seem like it has been that long at all. We have done so many fun things together as we have worked on finishing our house(delayed only because of all the playing we have done along the way) all the while continuing to grow closer together with the passing of each day. It truly hurts me more each day to leave her in the morning than it did the day before. Cindy is the only person who I have met that I honestly could and would spend every moment of every day with. She is unlike anyone who has ever walked the face of this planet before. Just so beautiful, easy going, full of life, and fun to be with that she has created an addiction in me so much stronger than any drug could ever have dreamed of creating.
 In addition to becoming husband and wife on this next adventure there is also this little trip to sail the North Channel in Lake Huron that we have been busy preparing for. Not many women, ok, none that I can think of, would ever suggest spending two weeks on a small sailboat in the middle of no where off the Canadian shores of lake Huron. I told you she was unlike anyone I have ever met. Doing something like this for the honeymoon is probably close to a lot of men's dream. The best part of is not only is this a "dream trip" for me but I get to spend it with a lady who is beyond my wildest dreams in so many ways. If you asked Cindy I am sure she would tell you I have a very "vivid" imagination. Even with that the life I get to live with Cindy is so far beyond anything even my "vivid Imagination" could have conjured up I am still half wondering if this has all been just a dream. If it is I hope I never wake up from it!
 The actual wedding will take place at sunset on the second day of this adventure on the bluffs south of Empire Michigan that overlook Lake Michigan. Cindy has her dress, that she won't let me see, and we have our rings. We will send off our application for our marriage license next Monday and pick it up the day of our wedding. It is going to be a very casual, low key wedding. That was my only real request, demand, in the process. I feel like weddings today have just gotten totally out of control, both in cost, scale, and stress levels and I did not want that. The past 4 and half years it has just been Cindy and myself, and really that is how I wanted to get married. Cindy's daughter did ask if she could come as she really wanted to be there, so how do you say no to that? So she, her husband, and two kids will be there. We needed two witnesses anyway. Beyond that it will just be us, the officiant, and photographer. I have gotten the feeling several times that this is "too simple" for Cindy as she is probably more used to the traditional style weddings. My thoughts have always been to keep things as simple as possible for maximum enjoyment. I asked Cindy to marry me as we stood on cross country skis, in a dark woods, at midnight on New Years eve, during a snow storm in the UP of Michigan, and neither one of us had showered for 2 days! It doesn't get much simpler than that and it was, in my mind, perfect. I am really hoping I go 2 for 2 and she says yes one more time!
 As far as the trip goes, when this all started I never dreamt it would have take so much preparation. I have spent countless hours reading and researching the area, what we will need, what the boat needs, what to expect and do, etc. I spent as much time this spring making modifications to our boat as I did last year repainting the whole boat! Not all the changes I made were necessary but I wanted Cindy to be as comfortable as possible on this trip so I felt them to be "necessary" in order for that to happen. With now just 30 days to go we have started packing some items like our dry foods stores as we will be spending up to 4 days on the boat at a time with re provisioning. It is our hopes that I can catch our dinners out of the lake, especially since I just spent 80 bucks on my Canadian fishing license! But knowing that there is no guarantees to catching our dinners, I want to have food on board as a back up. Since we have never spent more than 24 hours on the boat at a time, mostly due to our schedules and not because we did not want or could not have due to the boat, this trip will be a new experience in a lot of ways.
 Knowing the possible pitfalls we could encounter with trailering a boat that far I have made modifications to the trailer and boat to hopefully prevent as many problems as possible on the journey there and back. I have installed new radial tires on the trailer that will run cooler and carry more weight. I repacked the bearing, again, and installed double lip garlock axle seals. I fabricated a motor mount on the trailer that the outboard motor for the boat will ride on keeping it out of the tow vehicle and adding some more tongue weight to the trailer. I have made new supports and holders for the mast to better protect it for it's long journey atop of the boat. I have redone the wiring on the trailer and added a storage tube to the trailer for our mast raising equipment. We are renting a new 3/4 ton quad cab truck from Enterprise truck rental. There is no way to prepare everything that could possibly go wrong but no one can say I did not try.
 Once we get on the water we plan on going which ever way the winds carry us. We can go east to the Benjamins or we can go west to Long Point cove and stop at anyone of the hundreds of islands along the way. We are both so looking forward to just be able to totally relax for a change. To live our days, if just for a short time, with no time schedule. We look forward to hiking on the islands, exploring the islands in Ding Dong (the dinghy I made), picking fresh blueberries, naps in the cockpit under the cockpit tent I made, bon fires on shore at sunset, staring off into the stars, and peaceful nights sleeping as the boat bobs up and down on the hook. As lovely as that all sounds we have also had to prepare for the flip side of that as the weather on the channel can become quite treacherous at times. So if we get stuck on the hook for a day or so till calmer conditions prevail we have the Fire we can watch movies on in the cabin between naps and, well, you know. It is our honeymoon ;-)
 Cindy's only real request or stipulation for this trip was that we get to shore every 3rd day or so which I was totally agreeable to. How could I not have been as she was the one who suggested this idea to begin with. I have made reservations for two nights at a B&B just up the road from the Spanish Ontario Marina where we have a slip reserved for our boat. I hope it is nice as that is about it for accommodations in the area. Remember when I said the middle of no where? So we will break up our sail with a night at the B&B then refresh ourselves there before we head back to the States.
 Once we cross back to the US, we have a couple of options. Cindy thought it would be neat to sail on Lake Superior as well so if the weather and time permits we may launch into Waiska Bay on Lake Superior and sail there for the day before heading down to St Ignis where we plan to spend a couple of days sailing around the Mackinac area. We both look forward to sailing under the Mackinac bridge and over to the island. I originally hoped we could get a slip at the island but our visit just happens to coincide with the finish of the Chicago to Mackinac sailboat race and the yacht club hosting the race has all the slips reserved. So we have a slip at St Ignis reserved for 3 days. If we can't get one of the few visitor's slips on the island we will just take a ferry across to the island and spend a day exploring it as I am sure Cindy would really enjoy seeing it.
 If this all sounds like a lot of work to you then you are absolutely correct. We will rig our boat maybe 4 times on this trip which while I have made it as easy as I can it is far from easy. I can totally understand why more people do not sail. It is dying sport for a reason, because it is so much work. Most people today do not want to expend that much time, energy, and thought on their off time. That is a shame too because when it all works as it should it really is a thing of beauty. The fact that I get to enjoy with me incredible lil Admiral Cindy only makes it that much better. There is nothing more relaxing or enjoyable than being able to set the sails for a nice 5 mile run down the lake, then leaning back into the rear pulpit, and having Cindy lean back into me as she snuggles up for a relaxing trip back to the slip. Almost magical is how I would describe the sensations of being pulled along by the two large sails stretched out on opposite sides of the boat with only the sounds of the water burbling up from behind the stern breaking the silence as I soak it all in with my soul mate in my arms. With us sailing with the wind behind us we loose reference to the speed we are traveling and it is like time is standing still when in reality we are actually moving along at a pretty good clip.  Moments like that make us forget all the work it took to get there as we just enjoy the experience and each others company. Sadness typically describes my feelings as we near the slip and we have to return to manning the boat in preparation for docking. Moments like that never last nearly long enough. Maybe I am just greedy. Even if the run was 500 hundred miles instead of 5 I would probably feel the same way as I could hold Cindy in my arms forever!
 I just want to say thank you to you, Cindy, for making the last four and had half years the best ones in my life and I am so looking forward to spending the rest my life with you as my wife. Soon 30 days will have turned into 30 years or more and I hope when we get to that point we can look back on them all, in each others arms, and say what and adventure we had! I love you Babe!

Back to Michigan x2!

2-19-2016

 I finally got a chance to sit down and catch up on our blog. Where to begin. It  has been a very busy month with two more trips to ski in Michigan. So far this ski season we have managed to ski 8 1/2 days, 6 of which were down hill. I only counted our trip to Michigan in November as a 1/2 because we only got to ski about 3 hours before the snow got too soft. I don't think I will get anywhere close to last years 19 days but considering how much driving we have had to do this season I will take all that I can get.
 Three weeks ago we started planning a trip to Bittersweet in Otsego MI. I had puppy care and mom care arranged, just needed the weather to hold out. Well, it didn't. By Wednesday of that week it was clear that they were going to get rain and be warm for the days we would be there. Well crap. So I canceled the trip about noon. About 6 that evening I got a text from Captain Scott who was going to go up to their cabin on Bear Lake MI to check on things. He invited us to come up and crash with him and then go ski at Crystal Mountain. At first I did not think we could since I had just cancelled everything but after thinking about it for about a minute, I made some frantic calls and was able to un cancel our puppy sitter! We were going to Michigan!
 I had everything loaded up Friday morning and dropped my lil Lady off at work then went to work myself. I had to fly but was able to get back to still pick Cindy up as soon as she released the buses. Off to Michigan we went. Bear Lake was about 3 hours further north than Bittersweet so they were not forecasted to get above freezing and no rain. the drive up went well and we rolled in to Scotts Cabin about 10:30 or so. We stayed up and talked till almost one before we all crashed.
 Up early the next morning not wanting to let a minute of our time in snow country go to waste I headed over to the local restaurant and brought breakfast back for everyone. With full tummies Cindy and headed off to find Crystal Mountain. It was a short 20 min drive before we pulled into the parking lot that was already quite full. It had only been open about 10 mins so they must have a lot of snow lovers in the area. We wasted no time in getting suited up and ready to hit the slopes.
 We skied over to the closest lift and waited our turn. This was a new setup for us as there was a magic carpet that you slid down onto and then it took you to where the lift chair would pick you up. Luckily with two other couples in front of us we were able to watch them and see what to do. All went well but I did notice the chair was really low. Not thinking anything of that we proceeded up the hill. Well the low chair would wind up having the last laugh as when I stood up to ski away the low chair had sat down on top of the back of my ski boot. I leaned forward to take off but went no where, except down. AS I laid there on the ramp I could hear Cindy talking to me as she thought I was right beside her. I tried to roll out of the way fast enough to not have them shut the lift down but it was too late. The operator must have seen me go down and hit the stop button right away. He stuck his head out and asked if I was ok to which I had to stop laughing long enough to assure him I was.  Back on my skis I went in search of my playmate.
 We took a few runs to try and figure out the lay of the slopes. The snow was great and the runs were really nice. Crystal Mountain has 55 runs versus the 8 we are used to back home at Paoli so we worked on hitting them all. It took a little bit to figure out how to navigate around all the different lifts but we soon had the front side figured out about the time the back side opened up at 10. WE alternated back and forth between the front side and back side run the rest of the day. While it was busy it was by no means overly crowded. We were able to go from area to area and for the most part did not have to wait very long at all for a lift chair.
 While there were a lot of different runs to choose from the ones on the back side were not very long in length. That is just part of skiing in the Midwest. We both felt like skiing at home on the ice at Paoli was good practice as neither of us really had any issues skiing at Crystal Mountain.
 Cindy did take a nasty tumble on one run on the back side that while not extremely steep was very lumpy for lack of a better term. It almost seemed like it had not been groomed for a few days and was like skiing moguls at the top. I went down first and once I got out of the rough section I pulled over and stopped to wait on Cindy. I could not see the start due to some trees so I waited and waited. then I heard someone ask if they were ok. I heard Cindy reply yes. Not good. She finally made it down to me and had snow packed in the vent sin her helmet it was sitting lop sided on her head. Never a good sign. She said she took a hard hit and from the looks of things she did. Cindy wanted to take a break which was probably a good idea but by the time we got back up the lift she was ready to try it again. Really should have taken that break.
 We really enjoyed the Cut Off run as it was a pretty run down through the trees on the front side. It was not extremely difficult other than it was very narrow. It was probably the tightest run we had been on to date. We both did fine our first time down which looked like this when thing go as they should.

 Well our next trip down that run Cindy took a pretty good spill. She was fine but left a pretty good divot in the snow. The next pass down she made the mistake of pointing out where she wiped out at on the previous run. This is what happened.

 I got laughing so hard I feel over backwards! Sadly I turned the camera off while I helped put Cindy back together again. I took a gnarly spill at the bottom when to avoid another skier I turned right with out enough room and my right ski shot up the hill towards the trees. I had no idea my leg would go up over my head, but now I do. It was one heck of a wipe out!
 We continued on even though I think both of our legs were starting to wear out. Seemed the spills were coming with a bit more frequency than they did earlier in the day. Cindy had a head ache, still suffering from her first spill on the back side. Here is a collection of a few spills we took.

 As we are still laughing it is all good. I wonder if matters if the person laughing is not the person on the ground? As long as one of is laughing it's all good LOL!
 After that last spill it was time to head to the bar. We headed back to Bear Lake after having a refreshing beverage in the bar. It had been a great day with almost non stop skiing. Other than a break for a coke and cookie we were on the slopes.
 We enjoyed a nice dinner in Bear Lake with Scott before going over and playing cards with afriend of theirs. I am proud to say that Cindy and I are now the Winter 2016 Bear Lake Euchre champs! Still waiting on those t shirts to get here.
 I  don't think either one of us moved during the night, either from being too sore or very tired, either way I slept like a rock. After saying good by and thank you to Scott we headed north to Empire MI where were will be returning to this July to get married! We wanted to get in a early wedding practice. After a short 30 min drive we arrived at the parking are for

  It will look a bit different when we return in July, as in no snow! We brought our snow shoes in case we needed them but there had already been people walking the trail so it was packed down nicely. Our snow boots would be all we would need. We came to the first overlook and had to stop and take a few pics, like we always do when we stop here. Here is the view of Empire beach with Southbar lake to the right and Sleeping Bear Dunes in the background.

 Of course it was a prime spot for a selfie

 Cindy is so photogenic. Never seen a camera that doesn't love her. Funny thing, Cindy commented that she did not think they had much snow. Well this bench is buried so I would say they had 20" of packed snow right there.

 I would kill to have 20" of packed snow at home! We continued on the path and soon we were at the overlook where we will hopefully be married this July, weather permitting.

 Here is Cindy braving the wind as she looks for the benches. they have to be around there somewhere. Thy were buried as she was standing over them on the snow! Here is the view from our wedding spot.

 It is much prettier in the summer when the sun is setting. We walked back to the car talking about how the next time we walk back to the car it will be as husband and wife!
 It was time to head home so we pointed Pearl south and headed for home. Like every trip we have ever taken to Michigan, the worst part is leaving. Luckily we would be back the next weekend!

Michigan trip #2

 The week between our trips flew by and before we knew it the time to pack had arrived again! Once again I dropped Cindy off at school and went to work only to return a few hours later to pick up my lil Lady and head north!
 We were heading back up to the Higgins Lake area to cross country ski. We had hoped to finally get our good friends Bill and Libby on the snow and to XC Ski Headquarters as they have not been either this season but due to weather they were not able to make it. So we soldiered on without them. This drive was a bit more time consuming than our last trip up due to bands of lake effect snow that came and went. We made one stop for fuel in Fort Wayne and made it the rest of the way nonstop. I had given Cindy her Valentines day gift early so she was being entertained by movies on her new Fire tablet. The drive wasn't bad till the last 10 miles or so when we ran into snow covered roads and blowing snow. Even then it wasn't bad till some impatient arse had to pass everyone it the left lane. It left us with zero visibility. Luckily I had given the car in front of us plenty of room as I had no idea where he was for probably 15- 20 seconds.
 We rolled in to Higgins Lake with 20 miles range left on the gas gauge and 15 mins left to get a pizza at the Streamside restaurant. I called to place a order to go only to learn they had closed early that night. ARGH!!! They told me they stayed open till 11 when I called earlier. Must have been a slow night. We were not starving so we just decided to wait till breakfast.
 Jim left our key in the room and had the heat on for us when we arrived at the North Winds Lodge. The wind was still howling and it was cold out so I made quick work of unloading Pearl and shutting the door to our room. Cindy turned the tv to HGTV which is where it pretty much stayed the whole weekend. We went to sleep watching house flippers.
 I woke up early the next morning and ventured out to get gas and pastries for breakfast the next day.I could tell by the sharpness of the air that it was cold but fortunately the wind had laid down. The thermometer in Pearly said it was -15. I won't lie, it was cold, but there was no wind and the sun was out. This was going to be a great day to xc ski!
 Back in the room I broke the news to Cindy who shivered and said BRRRRRRRRR! I told her not to worry as I had a game plan change. We would go say hi to Donnie and do some shopping at XC Ski Headquarters, then go do the breakfast buffet at Fred's Place, then go ski at North Higgins lake state park after it warmed up a bit. She was good with that so off we went.
 My legs were cold by the time I walked from the car to the front door of ski headquarters. After saying hi to Donnie the wonder dog, I went in search of real xc ski pants as I was basically wearing warm weather running pants. I found some that fit and along with new sock liners I was ready to brave the cold. Cindy found a few items and we were on our way to Fred's.
 Breakfast at Fred's was awesome! The French toast was to die for and the hash browns must have been fried in bacon grease they were soooooo gooood!!!! Yes, we ate like pigs, but we were going to work it off skiing. At least that was our logic. After waddling to the car we headed off in search of the park.
 We arrived at what we thought was the spot but it turned out to be the Higgins lake winter festival. Once we found out we were on the wrong side of the road we put our skis back in the Skybox and took a quick look around. It had not started yet but they sure had a beautiful day for it. They were going to have snowmobile drag races, broom ball, ice skating, and a ice fishing tourney. There was a chili cook off at the conference center as well.
 After a short drive across the road we were at the trail head for their ski trails. We geared up and headed out into the woods. XC skiing is much different than downhill in that you actually burn calories xc skiing. As you burn calories you generate heat. While you may start off all bundled up you have to remove the layers as you heat up to keep your sweating under control. If you don't you will wind up drenched in sweat and then freeze when you stop. It was not too long into the trail that I was skiing in in just my sweater and base layer. It was up to a balmy 3 degrees at this point but the sun was overhead and there was no wind. It was really nice skiing. We had a note on our car when we go back that said "Please don't walk in the ski trails". Lets see, we had a skybox on the roof, ski tracks all around our car leading off to the trails. What part of that made her think we were walking on the trails???
 From Higgins Lake we headed east to find the trail head for the Mason Tract trail. I have read about it for about 5 years now and Jay has skied it several times. I have been wanting to ski it for quite a while but it just never worked out. Well today it was going to. The wait was worth it as it was a very pretty trail. Probably not the best skiing conditions as there was not as much fresh snow on the trail and someone in snow shoes had walked on the ski track but the beauty of the trail made up for it. I referred to it being a very intimate trail in that it was a single track trail and the pines and cedars gave it a warm cozy feeling. Even though it goes along side the Ausable river you only catch glimpses of it due to the thick pines and cedars. It felt like skiing in a natural Christmas tree farm.

Here is Cindy on the trail just before she disappeared into the pines. We skied up the trail from the south till we got to high spot where the wind was now blowing. Between the wind and the fact that it was getting late in to the afternoon we turned around and skied back at this point. We stopped along the way to go down and check out the river.

 The Ausable river is known for its great trout fishing and it looked PRIME! With its shallow waters and rock bottom I could just imagine hooking into a rainbow or large brown. We will definitely have to venture back up this way in the summer with fly rod in hand!!!
 We headed back to the room to change and get ready for dinner, again at Fred's Place. It is really the only place to eat in Roscommon. Luckily it is really good. But before we could eat we had one more place to ski!
 We skied at Hartwick Pines State park the last time we were up here and noticed they had lanterns for night skiing. Well, as luck would have it, tonight was the night for it! So off we went back to the northeast to ski the lantern trail. The moon was out when we got there and between the moon and the lanterns we did not even need to turn on our LED headlights. It was very pretty but hard to capture in a photo

 The lanterns were placed about every 100 yards  and the moon was casting enough of a shadow that we could see just fine, even in the woods. It was very pretty. There is just something magical about being in a snowy woods during the night. I remember a cold but magical night in the UP where we were out skiing on dark trail and came upon a pine grove where the trail was being lit up by a bunch of tiny tea lights. As Cindy stood there with most surprised look I have ever seen her have on her face, I drooped to one knee and asked her to marry me that night as the wind howled through the trees tops above us. Hard to believe that was over a year ago now.
 Cindy was getting cold by the time we finished our first lap of the lantern trail so we packed away our gear and headed back to Fred's for our Valentine's day dinner. TO say that it was packed was an understatement. I think all 450 residents of the town were there. Lucky thing I made reservations.
 We finally got our table and were informed that they had a pipe freeze under the building and they were having to use plastic silverware and plates. Pretty cold when pipes freeze in MI as they are supposed to be used to the cold up there. Dinner, like breakfast, was really good and we waddled out of there one more time.
 So far the worst part of every trip to MI has been leaving and once again this held true. We ran out of the snow cover about 45 minutes south of Roscommon and drove in brown till about Fort Wayne, IN. Cindy amused herself with movies on her fire but had to cover up to shield her screen from the sunlight.

 By the time we got close to Muncie IN the snow was coming down pretty good. We had slowed down to about the speed limit LOL but  few others did not see the need. I really wish I had video of the truck in front of us as he lost it and fought it as it slid across the road 5 times. Luckily there was enough room between him and us and the semi beside us that we were able to give him all the room he needed. We still don't know how he kept from collecting the guard rails on either side of the road but he finally got it slowed down and off to the side where he got it under control. He got in the right lane and drove 45 mph till we passed him. We gave him two thumbs up for the show but he had a death grip on the wheel and probably skiddies in his undies!!!
 The snow was stacking up and I knew it was just a matter of time before someone screwed the pouch and the interstate was shut down. This is Indiana. Sadly there are more idiots on the road than proficient drivers, it just happens. I got off as soon as I could which was south of Anderson and we came down county roads till we picked up HWY 9. It was a good thing too as Indy was a absolute mess with roads closed and wrecks everywhere. We had no problems on the county roads as it was not that bad.
 We made it home about 7 and prayed for a snow day, which Cindy got! I took off work about noon and were off to ski again! This time down hill back at Paoli for what was probably the best conditions we had there all season!
 Sadly that was to be the last ski of the season. It turned warm and the rain came. Our schedules did not have room for anymore trips up north even though they continued to ski right up to the scheduled closing dates. In fact, Nubs Knob closed with all the runs still open! Were going there next season!!!!

 

 

 

 

First sail of the 2016 season!!!

 May 11, 2016

 Finally, were back on the water!!!!! It was a long winter and a busy spring getting the boat all ready to launch. With our up coming honey moon sailing trip to the North Channel there was a lot we wanted to do to the boat and it seemed like it took me forever to get it done. But finally, we hooked up to her and returned her to her summer home.
 Of course no boating trip would be complete without a long list of things that went wrong. It just seems to go hand in hand with boating. This trip was no different although I am proud to say we survived, no one got hurt, and we had a great time.
 Well to start with I had to work, imagine that. So right from the start I was behind. I finally got home about noon and picked up the tow vehicle. As I was heading up the driveway in the 4Runner the second little issue arose, or should I say fell?

 This large limb fell out of a large oak tree literally right behind me as I drove up the drive. Had I been just a few seconds later the 4 Runner would have been hit for sure. I wasn't so upset that the limb fell as much as I was that I did not have time for this. Back in the house to change clothes and then get the chainsaw so I could cut it up. It was about 12" round at the base so there was no dragging this one off to the side. Luckily I have been down this road before so I keep a chainsaw ready at all times.
 Cindy pulled up the drive just as I was finishing up and was curious why I had the chainsaw out when I was originally getting the boat ready to go. Once she looked at her phone and saw the pic her questions were answered.
 We finished loading things up and no sooner than we had the last of the gear on board the rain started. Of course it would rain. This is Indiana and it is May, or Maysoon season as I like to refer to it. Rain or no rain, we were going to the lake.
 The drive over was trouble free other than more rain. We stopped to get gas at 446 and 50. The chicken sandwiches are still as tasty as they were last year. As we headed north on 446 the sky was looking pretty ominous. It cut loose about 5 miles south of the lake. For the next hour we had a steady to hard rain but no real wind so it was tolerable. Luckily Cindy found me a  Frog Togg's rain suit so I broke it out as soon as we got there. I started rigging the boat in the rain and had the mast ready to step as it tapered off. Cindy ran to the restroom just as I was ready for her help. With the new mast raising pole I made I was able to step the mast all by myself. I was just putting the front pin in the mast base when Cindy came walking back up. What took me so long to make that pole???
 We finished rigging the boat and installed our new sails. It wasn't long before we were ready to splash her in. The launch went smoothly and I picked Cindy up at the dock. As we motored out of the ramp area into the main lake Sailing Season 2016 had begun.
 Then the next issue arose. Really it wasn't so much an issue but just more of how it is when you sail in Indiana. The wind died! I did all this flipping work, 1500 bucks in new sails, rigging her in the rain, and the flipping wind just dies.... Such is life. It was good just to be back on the water so we just motored out to the southwest as we tidied things up and got used to the new motor.
 We were down in the narrows when Mike and Kathy texted us. We decided to head back to Moores Creek to see them but got detoured when the wind started to pick up. It didn't last long but it was awesome as the new sails fill with air and the boat accelerated under sail. We played as long as the wind allowed before meeting up with Analogue in the middle of the lake. Mike had already dropped sails as the wind died and storms were coming. We followed them into anchor and prepared for the rain.
 Once tied up to the Analogue's starboard side I raised the pop top and installed the pop top tent I spent more hours sewing on that than I ever imagined it would take me. In less than five minutes the tent top was all set and we settled into the cockpit to catch up with Mike and Kathy. I still don't know how it got to be 11 pm so quickly but we were tired and we could hear the next storm coming so we said our good byes before heading off to the next cove to anchor for the night.
 It was dark but there was a lot of ambient light so seeing was not too difficult. Once in the cove I went forward to drop the anchor. But this year I did not have to drag the anchor, chain, and rode with me as I finally built our own anchor locker in the bow and man is it sweet!

 It was just a simple matter of getting it out and throwing it over the rail. No more accident waiting to happen scampers to the bow just waiting on the anchor to crash down on the deck or my foot, or worrying about falling in the lake because I had my hands full. It was so much nicer and safer.
 Once the anchor was deployed I had Cindy put the new motor in reverse with a simple flip of the lever and back us off the anchor to get the rode out. Once we had enough rode out I asked her to put it in neutral, and I went to tie it off to the bow cleat. Funny thing, as I was tying off the line I noticed the boat was moving forward again. So I had Cindy back us off again. Back to neutral, tie off the line, and again the boat is moving forward. Repeat. Again the boat is moving forward. After a brief discussion of how neutral is in the middle and how reverse is "Up??" when the lever moves forward and back I gave up and went to the cockpit to show Cindy that she was going to far forward with the lever and putting it back in gear. Back to the bow, back it down one more time and then into neutral. This time we set there as I went aft to set the stern anchor. All was good and no one was hurt or swimming.
 By now the storm is almost on top of us as we got ready to go to sleep. We had planned on watching movies on the Fire in the new mount I made for it on the back of the new anchor locker,

 but due to miscommunication, or just plan lack of, it was still sitting on the coffee table at home. Oh well, Mother nature provided us with a great light show! The rain came and came, and it was still raining when I finally succumbed to sleep.
 I awoke to a familiar sound about 6 am, thunder. It was not long before the rain started again and after looking at the radar on my phone I could see it was there to stay for several hours I curled back up with my lady and went back to sleep. To say that we sleep well on the boat is probably a understatement as it was 10:30 when we finally came to life! It was still raining but not near as hard as it had been. The pop top tent got a good first test and we loved it. I did need to respray the top of it with water proofing spray as it finally started to bleed through a bit but it was not bad. I had concentrated most of the can on the seams and barely misted the top of it. I am sure there were a few puddles on top that finally soaked through.
 It was 45 degrees with a breeze out of the north east so it was a bit chilly on the boat. We stayed warm in the night but now that we were up we were both wishing we had a heater. I fired up the cook stove to make some coffee and tea and it took the chill off pretty quick. Here is the slick little collapsible tea pot I got for the boat

It worked great and collapses down to about a 1 inch tall. Pure genius to the person who come up with this one. I made us a quick breakfast of eggs and sausage as the cabin continued to warm up from the stove. Were currently looking at our options for some sort of heat as Cindy doesn't like to be cold. Who does? I doubt we are out in weather much colder than this but it would be much cozier if it was a tad warmer in the boat.
 We did not have long to enjoy the morning as it was Mother's day and they were having a get together for Cindy's mom that we needed to get to. It was misting and drizzling so I put the rain suit back on and went topside to motor us to our slip. Mike texted and said there was a surprise waiting on us when we got there as it seems the geese liked hanging out on the slips when there were no boat there. Great, goose poop.
 On the way back I snapped a pic of a simple solution for where to tie the topping lift off while sailing. I wanted it close at hand so I could reach it quickly and decided tied off to the aft stay was the best place. So I wrapped a small Gear Tie around the aft stay and made a loop in the end.

 I had marked the aft stay with a sharpie so I knew where the loop needed to be. It worked great! I would be lost without my Gear Ties!
 I also snapped a pic of the tent top that we left on hoping it would dry out a bit. Cindy was down below staying warm in the cabin as I braved the cold

  It did not turn out too bad considering I had no clue what I was doing. I wish I would have sewed the outside of the zipper first as it puckered a bit when I sewed the outside but it still works fine. I rolled up the screen so Cindy and I could chat. Our new compass is just left of the screen in the bulkhead. Our gps/chartplotter is hiding behind the tent top. Normally the top won't be on when were moving but since it was still wet I was hoping it would dry off a bit on the way to the slip.
 We made it to our slip and Mike was wrong, there wasn't a present, there were lots of presents waiting on us!!! I had to really watch my step when I stepped off the bow onto the slip to tie the boat up. We added a boat hook to the boat but it was on top of the cabin under the tent top so I could not try it out. No issues though as we tied and up and then I washed the presents off into the lake with bucket I use to wash the boat. Much nicer after that was done.
  All in all it was a great first night on the water. All the upgrades we made worked great. The furler is so nice and I do not miss going forward to deal with the head sail. The new sails look so much nicer and I am sure once we get to try them in the wind we like them even more. The anchor locker, well, I love it!  The tent top give us so much more volume and Cindy can stand up in the cabin now. It is just so much nicer having the extra space. We even get a little extra storage space on top of the cabin right behind the mast that came in handy. The windex lights up nicely from the anchor light so we can see it in the dark very easily. I still need to epoxy the transducer to the inside of the hull but the chart plotter is going to see a lot of use.
 As far as the rain and storms, that is all part of it. You have to take the good with the bad or just stay at home.  I am just so lucky that my incredible lil best friend/fiancé loves storms too. Cindy was actually excited that it stormed. Not many women would be excited that it was lightening and raining cats and dogs outside while on a boat but my lil lady was!
 We are hoping to over night again this Friday and they are forecasting more storms. We can't wait!!!!

 

 

 

Surprise ski trip for Cindy!

1/18/2016

 Still waiting on the snow to arrive here in Seymour. We have had maybe a inch so far, 2 if you are really optimistic, but no where near enough to ski on. This winter is really starting to wear on me. Luckily, Paoli Peaks has been making snow every time the temp would drop down below 28 so they finally were able to open the slopes, all be it a few runs at a time.
 Last week Cindy had a snow day. Yes, it only takes a inch of snow to call off school around here. It was quite chilly so I checked and Paoli had most of the runs open. I took off a bit early and we ran down for a evening ski. It was the first time we got to use our skis I got us for Christmas so it was good to be able to check them out and make sure they were going to be ok. Everything worked great, other than the goggles I tried to modify to fit over my prescription glasses. After the first hour my head felt like the goggles were pushing on my frames so hard they were going to cut my head in two. Quick trip to the pro shop for a pair of OTG goggles and we were back at it with much less pain!
 What Cindy did not know was that I had been working on a secret plan for a surprise weekend ski trip to Michigan for us. She had said once several years ago that she had always wanted to be whisked away for a fun filled weekend and I never forgot that statement. I had actually tried to pull it off last year but just never could get all the pieces of the puzzle to line up at the same time. Well this year with our own downhill skis we really wanted to go up north and ski on real snow with our new skis so I tried again to get everything lined up so we could do that. I was really glad to get a trip to Paoli in before we headed north just to make sure everything was working as it should before we got to take a trip to Michigan.
 Back around Christmas I started watching snow fall totals up in Michigan and the long range weather forecast, i.e. the weatherman's best guess what it might be like at some point in the future. The unseasonably warm weather we had at Christmas was finally suppose to break and more seasonable temps were to move in towards the end of the year and continue into January. Finally, maybe we can get some snow. So I took a chance and started lining up the support staff I would need to pull this off. I first had to arrange puppy care for the boys. Got that. Then I had to arrange for mom coverage for Cindy's mom, incase she would need something while we were gone. Got that. Then I needed to arrange for Cindy to be able to take a half personal day off from work without her knowing about it. Got ahold of the school and shared my plan, they said no problem. Everything was a go, now all we needed was for the weather to hold out.
 Well as the trip approached they had just enough snow where I wanted to take her to xc ski but they were now forecasting a warm up with rain turning back to snow towards the weekend. Crap, just my luck. It had to be this weekend because that was the only weekend I could get puppy care and mom care to overlap. Reservations were already made so I had till 6pm on Wednesday to make up my mind. Needless to say Wednesday was spent checking weather every chance I could. By noon it was not looking any better so time to change the plan or scrub the trip.
 Originally my plan was to only drive 4 hours to southern Michigan, downhill ski on Friday night and Saturday, then xc ski on Sunday before we came home. After looking at all the forecast and models I took a chance that the rain would not extend up past central Michigan and made new reservations for Friday night at the North Winds Lodge in Higgins lake MI, 7 hours north. The new plan was to drive up Friday, let the rain pass and turn back to snow overnight, then xc ski on Saturday in the Higgins lake area, drive 3 hours southwest Saturday evening and spend the night in Allegan MI so we could be the first ones on the slopes at Bittersweet Ski Resort Sunday morning. A bit more driving, ok, quite a bit more driving, but I was getting desperate. Dam El Nino!
 Friday morning finally arrived and it was time to make this happen. Everything was going as it normally does till I left for work. Thursday evening I intentionally pulled into my parking place instead of backing in like I normally do so I could fake a dead battery. If Cindy asked why I just didn't jump it I could use the excuse of the yard being soft and getting stuck if I pulled around to jump it. I went back inside and told Cindy the battery in Trixie had bit the dust and asked if it was ok if I drove her to work in Pearl then used her car to get a battery. No problem and she did not suspect anything beyond that. Cindy was actually happy to ride to work as she napped on the way. She had woke up coughing during the night and if I was going to get any sleep she needed to get some too. So I gave her what turned out to be cough meds that made her quite drowsy. Took her quite a while to wake up. At least I got some sleep ;-) 
 I dropped my little lady off at work then raced home to load up all the gear and pack for both of us before returning in  few hours to pick Cindy back up. No problems installing the Skybox on the roof rack and getting our downhill and xc skis in there. Took all of five minutes to pack for myself as I keep my backpack ready to go for all seasons. Then I started packing for Cindy. Fortunately Cindy is very low maintenance but even at that, trying to think like a woman packing for a weekend ski trip and all the possibilities of what might happen was mentally exhausting. I thought I had a game plan but trying to find where she kept the items I wanted to pack for her was a real chore. Then came the search for her travel bag that she kept what I thought was everything she needed to get ready in the morning. She has taken that bag on every trip we have taken together so I just assumed it was like my back pack to her. Granted, I could not remember ever seeing a multi plier, a wine opener, fire starters, a gps, weather radio, or sewing kit in it but we all have different ideas of what is a necessity. I looked, and I looked, and I looked again all over the house for that bag and it was still MIA. Where the heck could she have put it. Back down to the basement, looked in all the luggage, nope, back to our bedroom, searched all over it, nope, searched the bathroom again, nope, upstairs to the spare bedroom closet where Cindy keeps her overflow, again nothing. Now I am really starting sweat it. I went back to here drawers in vanity and peered inside to see if maybe I could put together all the needed items. It took two seconds of looking at all those items for me to decide that plan was hopeless. Short of taking everything in the drawers I knew I better find that bag!
 I went in search of her backpack that she carries when we xc ski. I found it on the floor in the closet behind the wall that separates her side from mine. As I was raising back up I caught a faint glimpse of what I thought was the flowered material that I thought matched the missing bag. A quick dig through her hanging clothes ensued and there, hanging amongst her clothes, behind the dividing wall, was the missing bag!!! I breathed a sigh of relief, took two more Tylenol as thinking like a woman was really putting the hurt on my head, and went back to packing for Cindy.
 Being a straight man who lives in blue jeans and Life is Good shirts I was really struggling trying to put outfits together for Cindy to wear after we skied. I knew what I wanted her to wear, but that might not have been appropriate for all activities LOL. Just to be sure she had enough to put something together I packed way more than needed. I was still able to get the large bag to zip up, but just barely. Better safe than sorry.
 I originally thought we might just take the boys with us. They love road trips and it would have removed one key piece of the puzzle. Once I got all the bags with our clothes, our ski gear, our backpacks, down hill and xc ski boots, and four or five coats for Cindy all loaded in the car I was happy there was still room for us. Good thing I got puppy care.
 Soon it was time to head to town and spring the surprise. I made sure the boys were settled in and gave them a treat before I left. Cindy had been very quite all morning so I sent her a quick text asking if everything was ok. Turned out she was just very busy. Now I feared she might not be able to leave and I would have to wait for school to be over. Too late now, I at least have to give her the option. So about ten minutes till noon I walked into the school's office and asked Marilyn if Cindy was busy. She went to student services where she and Susan called her on the radio. After a few minutes still no Cindy so they called her again. Finally I heard her voice around the corner and they told her she had a visitor at the front office. Cindy's eye lit up when she came around the corner and saw me standing there as I very rarely go to her work during the day. Come to think of it, I had only been there once to pick up her running bag when she got sick, but she wasn't even there. Cindy walked around the counter to me and I asked her if she wanted to do something crazy? To which she replied with eyebrow raised, "How Crazy?" I told her I had the car loaded up with all our ski gear, I had everything she needed packed, we had hotel reservations 7 hours north, and I had already arranged her personal time off for the afternoon. Lets go chase the snow! Her eyes got real big and said "SERIOUSLY?? JB, the school's principle, walked by about then and told her to get out of there. From there it got kinda crazy with Libby and Sally in the office telling her they knew all about it and the wait was killing them.


 Cindy ran back to her office to shut down her computer and grab her stuff. Cindy quickly returned with eyes still as big as ping balls and off we went!
 So far so good. With my lady by my side I pointed Pearl north and off we went. I had two new magazines for Cindy to read and a beverage waiting in the car for her so she was set. We made really good time and luckily traffic kept moving the whole way there. I am always waiting on sea of read brake lights to appear at anytime when I travel on the interstate but our luck held out and we had smooth sailing. As we crossed the line into Michigan the rain kept falling and the temp stayed steady at about 40 degrees. I kept checking the weather at our destination and they were steady right at freezing. This was good and bad. I was not worried about freezing rain but if it did not turn colder pretty soon the chance of getting much new snow after the rain was fading fast.
 We pulled into the Higgins lake area just after dark in a cold fog. There were light snow showers but no real accumulation. The temp was dropping though so I was hopeful that maybe some lake effect would get cranked up and give us some fresh snow on the rain wetted snow they already had. After checking in at our hotel we headed back south a few miles to local restaurant called the Streamside Restaurant. It was very busy and we barely found a parking place. Either it was really good or it was the only place still open in the area. Luckily it was the first option as our food was really good. Cindy got the fish tacos and I went with the parmesan encrusted walleye. My fish was delicious! It was so good I would have gotten another order but between the fish and the bowl of clam chowder I had as appetizer I was stuffed. Darn it, hate to pass up good fish.
 The temp had dropped about 5 degrees while we ate but still no new snow. Back to the room in hopes it would snow overnight. After a bit of difficulties getting our tv to work we snuggled under the covers and drifted off to sleep. I woke several times in the night to peek outside but each time I was disappointed to see Pearly sitting outside our window with no new snow on her.
 It was about dawn when I woke up and peeked out the last time. Finally Pearl was starting to show signs of snowfall!


 It wasn't much but the lake effect was just getting cranked up. I got ready and headed down the road to retrieve some breakfast for us while Cindy got ready. We really lucked out in that the place we stayed was right between a pastry shop and the XC Ski Headquarters where we were going to ski first. I mean right between them. It was maybe a 1000 feet to either place. Talk about convenient!
 They were just opening up when I pulled into the Country Sweets so after telling them what I wanted I shoveled the snow off their walk for them while they finished icing our cream filled long johns. They were so fresh there was steam coming out from around the lid of the Styrofoam container they put them in when I walked outside. The fact that it was 11 degrees outside probably played a part in that too.
 Cindy was peaking out of the door at the snow falling when I pulled back up to the room. We curled up on the bed and watched the news while we ate some of the yummiest pastries we have ever had. We both had warm cream filling oozing down our chins as we inhaled our breakfast. I was left wishing I had gotten three more they were so good.
 We finished our packing while our Rudolph red wine warmed up on the dresser. It helps to be prepared for anything


 Doesn't everyone carry a camp stove and cook pot in their backpacks?
 After one last sweep of the room to make sure we had everything it was time to head to Ski Headquarters. It seemed like we just pulled out of one drive and right into another it was so close to the hotel. Cindy was laughing as she did not realize it was basically next door. Again, ideal location. I wish I had thought to take a picture as we walked up to the door as Donnie the wonder dog was inside, leaning against the glass in the door looking out at us. We met Donnie last year when we stopped in on our way back from out UP trip. He was just a pup then and I remember being so impressed with how laid back he was around all the people. Well a year later and he was even more laid back. After we scratched his ears and he sniffed all over us he went over to his spot in front of the wall furnace and just laid down.
 Cindy proceeded to seek out all the deals in their ski shop as they have quite a large selection of winter clothing. While Cindy shopped I got our trail passes and some replacement baskets for my ski pole that I broke a right after we got on our first trail last year in the Porkies. Cindy had fallen over in front of me and I tried to stop before I skied over her and in the process snapped the back half off a pole basket. Cindy decided she could not decide what she wanted so we went for a ski while she processed it all. Again I say, thinking like a woman is exhausting LOL!
 Their trails are really nicely laid out, very well groomed, and very wide with smooth flowing turns. Ideal for XC skiing. Snow was still falling which was good as the light rain they got the day before had wetted the snow and the tracks were frozen over making traction a bit hard to get. We had to stop by the Trapper's Cabin and take a pic to send back to the gang letting them all know we wished they were there with us


 Other than Cindy, there is nothing prettier than skiing through a pine woods with the snow falling down around you. We made a leisurely lap out the Manitou trail then went north on the Rolling Hills trail for about 5 miles total. We headed back across the road so Cindy could finish her shopping before we grabbed a bite to eat as today was wood fire pizza on the grill day! It was going to be a busy day for them as there people milling around everywhere when we returned to the shop. Donnie was making his rounds going from head pat to ear scratch to back rub with each person he passed. I think he knew what he was doing. I went outside to get a better cell signal and sat by the fire as I checked the radar in hopes our downhill destination was getting fresh snow


 My buns quickly got frosted sitting on the cold chairs so back inside to see if Cindy was ready to grab some lunch. We really lucked out and got two chairs right in front of their large fireplace in the dining area. After ordering our lunch we warmed ourselves by the fire and did some people watching while we waited on our pizzas to come off the grill.
 I know that ski lodges don't keep it very warm inside because everyone is all dressed for cold weather but I just can't sit by a fire and not feel the heat from it so it was not long before I was stirring up the coals and feeding it some more wood. The pizza soon arrived and other than the bottom of Cindy's being a bit charred they were really good. It was simple idea and one I hope to be able to try out in our fireplace at home soon.
 After lunch it was back to the shop so Cindy could do some more shopping. Seems she had some time to think as she ate. It was turning into a very busy day for them as the people just kept coming. We took one more lap on the 3.1 mile Manitou trail before loading up to head to another park with ski trails.
 Our next destination was a state park northeast of Grayling called Hartwick Pines. It was about 20 minutes from Ski Headquarters but as we discovered it was just far enough north to have not gotten the rain the day before. The terrain there was a bit more hilly with more mature pine trees. It was absolutely beautiful. The trails had really nice snow that the wax on our wood skis could get good traction on. We skied up on a couple with one very fuzzy Alaskan Malamute dog that turned out to be a rescue dog. They were trying to get him used to skijoring which is where the skier is attached to a lead attached to a dog. Needless to say you want to be attached to a dog you trust and one that listens to you. That counts out our boys. He seemed to be doing very well and was really having fun in the snow.
 The trails at Hartwick Pines pass through a 40 acre stand of large virgin pine trees that are somewhere around 300 years old. the snow was still clinging to there bows as we skied through them with the wind whistling through their upper limbs. It was truly a winter wonderland as the snow continued to fall down around us. At one point the snow came down so hard it was like we were in our own little snow globe that had now glass wall. It just went on and on. I really wish we had gotten there sooner with fresher legs as I would have loved to have skied all the trails there.
 We saw lanterns hanging on hooks along part of the trail and assumed they had a lantern lit ski the night before. Turns out it was actually going to be that evening but I had no way of knowing. I wish we had known as I am sure we would have been all over that!
 With a 3 our drive to our next hotel we decided to head south and get there early enough we could get rested up for downhill skiing the next day. Just so happened that we would be passing right by the Streamside restaurant we had eaten dinner at the night before. Did not take Cindy too long to catch onto the idea that I wanted more walleye ;-) Lets just say it was just as good the second time I had it as it was the first! If you haven't noticed I love good fish!!!
 We rolled into our second hotel about 8 and got all settled in. After a quick trip to the ice machine the cork got popped on a bottle of Black Berry Social wine from Lanthier winery in Madison. It was a nice way to end a really fun day on the snow. After Cindy laid her head on my shoulder it was just a minute or two at the most before she was out like a light. I continued to check weather and keep my fingers crossed for more snow. They were forecasting quite a bit of lake effect for that area but it was not really supposed to get cranked up till noon or so the next day. I soon dozed off myself staring at the live radar on my phone.
 I had set the alarm on my phone as I did not want to take a chance that we might oversleep by even a minute or two so when it went off I was up in a flash. Of course the first thing I did was peek outside. Darn it, just a dusting over night. Sigh... Sometime during my shower it started snowing with a bit more intensity. Things were looking up.
 Soon we were all packed up and headed to the slopes. With a quick pass through the Mc Donald's drive through with snow still falling and we were on our way. We pulled into the lot with just a few other cars there before us, which probably belonged to workers.



 We had a few minutes to wait before they opened the lift ticket sales counter so Cindy proceeded to do some more shopping. This time it was a bit more economical as it was through the glass windows of the ski shop.
 9 am finally came and with lift tickets attached to our coats it was time to hit the snow! This was the first time to downhill anywhere other than Paoli for both of us so it was neat to see how they do things at other ski resorts. The first big difference was that we had to ride the lift up to start where as at Paoli we ski down to the lift. This would turn out to be a big difference as we were about to discover.
 The second big difference was that Bittersweet has a high speed lift which is really sweeeet! Not only is it much faster to get you to the top, but the seats were so nicely padded it was like sitting down in a Cadillac compared to the lifts we were used to sitting on.
 So on the lift we went and while it starts out slow once it engages to the main cable it really speeds up. About 3/4 the way up not only did the wind really start blowing but we could see that where we got off the lift it was really steep for about the first 100 feet down. It was about then that we both started thinking maybe we should have rode one of the shorter lifts up a time or two before trying this run. Too late, the only way down was to ski.
 Getting off the lift we made the turn to the left and came to a stop just short of where the hill broke over. It was like looking out over a cliff. I had suggested we go to the far right as it was labeled as a intermediate run on the map. Well looking down the hill this was easily a Black Diamond run at Paoli. So there we were, first ones at the top of the hill, freshly groomed snow below us, and both of not sure we could make it.
 Being the man, or more like the idiot who had this idea, I went first. It took about half a second for me to realize that while it was groomed, it must have been groomed in the middle of the night as it was basically ice crusted snow! Gravity took over and the speed built quickly. I tried to cut right to bleed a little speed but one ski went right and the other one went over my head. I was just happy when I stopped sliding and I still had both arms and legs attached to my body. Cindy must not have waited to see my run as when I looked up she was sliding down the hill on her side pretty much like I did. We were both ok but both of us had lost one ski which were both some distance back up the ice slide. Dam gravity had to drag us that far down. I quickly gave up on the idea of keeping one ski on and making it back to my missing ski and just popped the remaining ski off and climbed back up to retrieve my missing apparatus.
 We both slid our way down to where the hill flattened out just a bit where we were able to reassemble our skis and poles. We both looked back up the hill and laughed. It would be a bit before we tried that run again. We finally made it down the hill and to a lift that stopped a bit further down the hill. A quick look at my phone and it had taken us 15 mins to get down the hill. Jay, my friend in Fort Wayne who suffers from the same debilitating snow addiction disease as myself, said he averages 30 seconds runs down the hill. I like to think we just get more time on the snow the way we do it LOL!
 The lift we skied to must have been the very first one built there in the 50's as it was a two person lift and quite slow. People must have been a bit smaller back in the 50's as it was none to spacious, especially when compared to the Cadillac we had just ridden up. The lift operator told us to slide closer to him. Once the vertical side bar nailed me in my spine I realized why. That was going to leave a mark!
 We made it back up the hill and were able to ski down with no issues this time. Did I mention it was cold? I think it was still in the single digits but the wind chill was brutal. Cindy had her goggles on and a buff around her neck that she pulled up to cover the lover part of her face but my face was bare below my goggles. Even though I had not trimmed my whiskers for a week my face was quite cold. I had to stop for a minute to put a balaclava on to try and stave off frost bite for a few more runs.
 We made several more passes down that run and we both felt like we were getting our ski legs under us. Cindy's buff was not helping much as her face was quite cold while mine was not too bad. My big issue is trying to keep my goggles from fogging. I quickly learned I could not have my nose covered or the ability to see was just something to be dreamt of instead of actually used.
 We took a break to get Cindy's cheeks defrosted and grab a hot chocolate. We perused the ski shop and pick up a balaclava for Cindy in hopes of keeping her more comfortable on such a cold day. We felt like we were a bit more prepared for the hill off the high speed lift, plus we really wanted to enjoy the soft cushions on it instead of the hard boards on the old lift. We were going to give the big hill another go! Here we are with out new look.


 On the way up the high speed lift we both noticed that if we came off the north side at the top it was not nearly as steep as the east side we went down first. Guess we should have noticed that on our first trip up. We both made it down the hill with no problems so now we were pumped. The rest of our time would be spent on the high speed lift as it was just so much nicer.
 We both made several more runs before the inevitable happened. I will confess, I am not the best skier out there. In fact, every run I successfully make is nothing short of a miracle. I seem to struggle making both skies do the same thing. I would soon prove this point. We both started down together but I wanted to stay behind Cindy, partly so I could help her up if needed but more so she could not see my goofs. Good thing too as I was about to bite it hard. I was cutting back and forth trying to bleed my speed to stay a safe distance back from Cindy. As I cut left my left ski hooked a really deep rut and I shot hard left like a slot car on a track! I had just passed someone on my left, or so I thought as I could not see them but OTG goggles are like wearing blinders. I never saw it coming but I sure felt it when we hit. I was on my face sliding down the hill with someone on my back but soon that was to change as we rolled and now I had a knee in my chest as I slid down on my back. We finally slide to a stop by the catch fence. I raised up to see my dancing partner a few feet from me staggering to his feet. He appeared to be maybe 12 or 13. I apologized and asked if he was ok. He spit out some snow and said he thought so. He apologized as well but I really think I took him out. We both limped our way back up the hill to pick up our missing gear and then brushed each other off. He was taking it well if nothing else. I was going to feel this one in the morning for sure!
 Cindy was waiting for me when I finally slid to a stop next to her. She could not help but laugh when I told her what happened. Who could have? Hell I was laughing. I straightened up my helmet and back up we went.
 We were having fun making pass after pass. Yes we both took a few tumbles but that is just part of it. You brush yourself off, collect your gear and keep going. We both had to take our hats off, not literally as it was too dam cold, to all the small kids we saw doing the big hill. The best of which was a mom with twin girls who were maybe 4 or 5. They were so cute in matching ski outfits and they were doing great. They were skiing down the biggest hill there and falling mush less than myself. Kudos to their mom as she was getting the real workout keeping those two right side up. They did fine coming down the hill but seem to struggle a bit moving along in the line for the lift. If one wasn't on her back the other one was. It was a hoot to watch them in line. My goggles got fogged several times from me laughing at those two and their mom picking one up them the next.
 We took a break about noon to warm up and get a coke. One benefit of the lodge at the bottom of the hill is that you can sit and watch the entertainment while you warm up. The mogul hill was right out the windows and it was a hoot watching little kids do them. Some of them were pretty good and some of them had a future in slapstick! Cindy really wanted to try them but I reasoned with her that so far neither one of was suffering from any injury we would not heal from in week or so I would really like to keep it that way. We did decide to break out the Go Pro, which I should have had on sooner. Sadly I have to report that due to a over sight on my part the battery was dead. I had double checked everything but that. It may have gotten turned on in my pocket or I forgot to turn it off when I disconnected if from the pc. Either way we were not going to get any video that day.
 Heading back out the snow was really coming down now. The line to the lift was noticeably shorter which made no sense. We drove all that way to ski in real snow really hoping we could ski while it was actually snowing. All the better for us. We decided to tackle the run that we both failed miserably at the first time up. We both faired much better this time as with all the people who had skied it before us an the fresh snow it was now loose enough I could get a bite with my ski edges and actually turn a bit to bleed some speed. Cindy came down behind me and sailed past me around the first turn yelling "Eat my dust!". It wasn't too far down the hill where little miss cocky got a bit too wide in a turn and was off in the rough where they had not groomed. She hit a small, and I mean small, lump that had her maybe 4" in the air but you would have thought she just nailed the ski jump at Lillehammer!
 On our next pass down I thought two can play this game. So I sailed past her yelling "Lizzard Lips!" Only problem was I picked the wrong part of the hill to pass her. As I went past her I cut left so I would not go too wide in the turn and suddenly realized I had cut left right on top of a hill with a abrupt drop after it. I really wanted to hit that going straight, not in a sharp left turn!!! Too late now!!!! All I could do was try to suck in my arms and legs into the fetal position and wait for the impact with the snow. I came sooner than later but happily it was not nearly as bad as I feared it was going to be. I opened my eyes when I stopped sliding and  was surprised to see I still had both skis and both poles attached to my appendages. Needless to say my cold hearted Fiancé was laughing her butt off when I got down to her. I think it was to safe to say I added another mark or two to my body after that one!
 We skied as long as we could before it was time to load up and head home. We were both pretty chilly by the time we got our ski clothes off and the skis all tucked away in the Skybox so we retreated back inside to get a snack and warm up before the drive home. Once again we lucked out and snagged a table by the huge fireplace in the bar!


 We were all the way to the left side of the fireplace but it must have been about 12 feet wide and two sided so you could sit in front of  it in the lobby area as well. We were just both very happy we were not by the doors that led outside as they wind and snow were blowing in and those people sitting over there did not look as comfy as we were.
 It had been a awesome weekend and Cindy was totally surprised! She told me over and over how much fun she was having and how awesome the surprise was. Seeing her eyes get big and the huge smile spread across her pretty face when I picked her up at school made all the planning and waiting totally worth while.
 Soon Cindy would be all settled into her normal travel position


 as I drove us back to the brown wasteland of southern Indiana we are forced to call home.
 Just like with every other trip we have made to Michigan leaving is always the hardest part. The snow was continuing to fall and they were forecasted to get up to 12" more lake effect overnight. Oh to have just one more day to play in the snow together!!!!!!