Snowboarding 101

Saturday we headed up to Eldora with Maggie & John. It was the moment I have been waiting for. All this talk about snowboarding - I was so nervous! We left Ian in the ever so capable hands of the Courtney family. He loved it. He must have had a grand day because he was in bed by 6 PM that night. I wasn't far behind...

John and Casey hit the slopes while Maggie and I took a first-timers snowboarding lesson. It took us some time to get all our gear rented and on, so we arrived a few minutes late to our lesson. At first we thought we would be on a level playing field, but we quickly realized not everyone in our class was a first-timer. Annoying. There were 12 people total and I would say, including Maggie and myself, half were first-timers. The others were there for moral support or something. Who knows. We spent 45 minutes trying out some moves. My moves were mostly showing the group how uncoordinated I was. Just as I started to get the hang of it our instructor said, "Let's hit the lift." What?! Yikes! Maggie assured me it would be fine, but I was convinced this would be the beginning of the end. I was sweating, out of breath, hungry, dehydrated and trying to ignore the burning sensation in my right calf. Once I got over myself we headed to the lift. We strolled passed the ski school and the little kids were just too cute. That is when I realized how parallel my life was to Ian's at that exact moment. He spends each day falling, getting back up, falling again, getting back up and then resorts to what he knows best...crawling. I had to get myself in that lift chair and get back down the hill before I could resort to what I know best - any guesses? That is right - a beer.

I got onto the lift no problem. Getting off another story. Maggie and I both went flying despite our best efforts to be graceful. At least we could laugh about it. We spent the next hour trying to learn how to stop ourselves. Once I got up I was good and I probably could have made it down the slope without too much incident. But the point was to learn how to stop. I never did. Stopping with my tailbone hurt like hell, but it worked. At one point the instructor asked how I was doing and I told him that childbirth was easier. Don't get me wrong peeps - I am not saying I would rather give birth than go snowboarding, but seriously I was more exhausted after an hour and a half with that board strapped to my foot than I was during a few hours of labor. I hope I didn't just jinx myself for next time. Anyway, it was true! Casey and John caught up to us towards the end of our lesson and helped us down the rest of the slope. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We could not have asked for anything better!

Maggie & I decided we could not make it for the second half of our lesson. We needed a drink and food - stat! Plus, we had to get back and relieve the Courtney family so they could get on about their day. We were saving our appetite for Mountain Burger, so we headed to the Lodge for a drink. Casey hit a couple more runs. I am glad he had a lot of fun! He was so happy to be out there and I was happy for him. I definitely want to return. Perhaps on a weekday when there are less people so I can go at my own pace. I have the basics in place, now I just need to build on them.

Casey met up with us after his runs and we headed back to the truck. It was now time for Mountain Burger! Can I get a hell yeah? John grew up in Nederland and had told us about this burger stand in the local grocery store. We had to check it out. With the appetite we had built up there was no way this place could disappoint. Good call John - it was delish! Not evidenced by the photo below, however. Birmingham's still #1 in our book, but Mountain Burger is a close second for me.

With full bellies, we got back in the truck for a quick tour around Nederland. John showed us the house he grew up in and pointed out the local folk to us. Nederland is an interesting town to say the least. Every March they host the Frozen Dead Guy Days. A good time. You can read about it here: http://www.nederlandchamber.org/events_fdgd-home.html. Casey and I went the first year we lived here and had a blast. Casey is hoping to make it this year with some friends, but Ian and I will miss it due to our trip out East. Maybe next year! John showed us the Tuff Shed where Grandpa is housed year round. Too cool. He hangs out in the building to the left of the gray building. How cool - an entire town celebrates the fact that you are frozen and dead.

This brought our trip to a close. We headed back home - reminiscing about our day. We all had a great time despite how exhausted we were. I hope to head back again soon to give it one more whirl. Casey would go back every weekend if we could afford it. I can only hope that one day we will make it a family affair!

This is a short week for Ian and I. We are heading to Baltimore on Thursday, then road trippin' it to Pittsburgh with Liz & Colin on Friday. We will be back home the following Tuesday. It is going to be so great to see my 708 girls and for them to meet Ian. We can't wait to meet Sofia - the newest offspring! I also get to meet up with my best friend from high school. We haven't seen each other since 2004 I think. I can't wait! I will be back with photos and stories for sure.