Playing in the Powder!

Getting out of Seattle for a long weekend was needed so my boyfriend and I headed to Colorado to play in the spring snow. It was to be my first time snowboarding and his first time in CO which promised to be an adventure. The weekend lived up to the billing!

We took off for the airport at 4:30 am with 6 bags for 4 days! Definitely have to love so much gear that 4 of the bags were completely bereft of clothing. :) We arrived just in time for our 6:15 flight and even managed to score exit row seats. The flight was smooth and quick as we arrived to clear skies and chilly temperatures in Denver.

After a quick nap, we headed out to my favorite Mexican restaurant in CO. The meal was fantastic although we took the recommendation of the waitress and ordered the special extra hot green chili which turned out to be a bad idea later in the day! Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, was our next destination. SafeCo Field in Seattle was supposedly styled after it so we checked it out to see how it compared. I love that field - hope I can catch a game this season.

As I had been talking up steak in CO, a good steak dinner was required! I had never been to Elway's but had heard great things about it so we gave it a try. The food was fantastic and dessert was a lot of fun. Do-it-yourself S'mores are definitely the way to go!

Not wanting to end Friday night at 8:30, my brother, his friend, Justin and I headed to Dave & Buster's. Basketball and skeetball were top of the list. Of course, Justin and I had to watch the end of the Sweet Sixteen games as well! ;)

We got up early the next morning to make the trek into the mountains. On the drive up to Steamboat Springs, we decided to stop in Silverthorn for breakfast. The snow was coming down and the roads were completely snow packed - the reason? The snowplow guys were having breakfast next to us!!

Gorgeous, fluffy snow was coming down as we walked to the lifts and assembled the boards. Thanks to my awesome friends, I had my own gear to use rather than having to hassle with rentals. After Justin put the bindings on the boards, we headed off to the lifts for my first real run ever. I managed not to fall off the lift but the rest of the first slide down was not good. We arrived at the bottom and I told Justin to go have fun on the rest of the mountain and I would play at the bottom. From there on out, my trips down the beginner slope were relatively good. I decided to go up the mountain and give a "real" green a go! The first run was so much fun! I did a lot better than I thought I would so of course I went for another try - even though the snow at the bottom was getting a little icy as the sun came out. 80% of the second run was fun however just before I arrived at the lifts I had a "garage sale" type fall. I have to admit few things have hurt as much. Luckily I was only a short distance from the bottom so I gathered everything up and walked back to the resort. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching Elite Eight ball with Justin joining me for the last game. A much needed soak in the hot tub was the perfect end to a day! We let the sore muscles soak before dozing off to movie.

Bluebird skies greeted us the next morning as we headed to the slopes! Justin took me up to a green that would traverse across the mountain so we could do a blue run. I admit that standing at the top of the blue and looking down I was a little anxious. I figured there was only one way down plus the awesome powder made it easier to control my speed and direction! It turned out to be a blast!!! I still can't do toe side but I had a ton of fun heel side and doing slow traverses across the run!! I was exhausted so Justin took off to play again and I finished off with a green. The afternoon was complete with more Elitel Eight basketball and some really close games. (Can anyone believe that only one #1 seed made the Final Four and that it was Duke?)

Another steak was in order on our last evening in CO. It didn't compare to Friday night but was decent. The chocolate mousse was really tasty though! After dinner, we attempted to go the Strawberry Hot Springs for a bit of a mineral water soak, unfortunately we got to the window a couple of minutes after they stopped letting new customers enter! :( So back to the hotel and the hot tub for us!

A lazy morning started off our long day of travel. We grabbed some lunch at a cute little restaurant in downtown Steamboat before searching out our souvenirs. Then we set off on the 3+ hour drive back down the mountain. It was a very, very long day of travel to end a fantastic weekend. It was a much needed block of rest and relaxation!

Rediscovering the joy of pedal power

After checking out the extended forecast and seeing a 60+ degree, sunny Saturday on deck, I decided I was going to break out a bike for a jaunt. The first half of the ride, I was trying to push myself as if it were a typical training session. Just a little before the halfway point of my circumnavigation of Mercer Island, it occurred to me that I should be enjoying the ride. There was no one checking my progress, expecting a certain number of miles or a better average mph. For the first time in years, I wasn't out for a training ride; trying to prepare myself to meet some self imposed goal.

I stopped and snapped a picture of Mt. Rainer at the bottom of the island. It was a blue bird kind of day and the peak's white top stood out majestically against the azure sky. I snacked a bit before resuming my ride. For the duration, I was smiling and noticing the scenery as I remembered just how much I loved biking. I ended up with a 32 mile ride in 2 hours and 26 minutes. Not too bad for my first "real" ride in about 6 months. The best part was, while I still put in a decent amount of miles, I felt great at the end! Oh, I will be sore, to be sure, however it's like the pleasant climbing session/volleyball evening kind of sore!

The theme for 2010: rediscover the joy in cycling. I used to look forward to a day in the saddle and it's time to get back there!