28th Feb 2008
It was the best of times
I apologize in the lack of blog posts but it has been quite a season.
Christmas time was a awesome. Amanda rented a house on South Padre Island and we all went down to hang out. We had a blast there. We ate and drank generally were merry. My Uncle put on a wine tasting contest in which I did very poorly at. It was just putting the wines with the labels but i didn’t get a one right 
. Linda did better with a few matches, but my sisters new boyfriend did the best with 3 out of 5 matches. We always shower each other with as many Christmas presents as we can and i wound up with many great items including a pice of furniture from Crate and Barrel my wonderful G/F! The whole time we were there everyone worked on a Christmas puzzle that my sister had bought. Hands down the hardest puzzle I had ever done. Sadly, it never got completed. We got to see our friends that still live down there and I had a chance to grill out for everyone one night. The weather was awesome and it was one of the best Christmas times ever. Enjoy some pics from down on the island:
http://picasaweb.google.com/spaceghost65/Christmas2007
A couple of Saturdays ago I had the opportunity to put on an evening which included pizza and beers from one of our favorite spots, The Parlor on North Loop, all of our friends including buddy Alex, Phillip and his G/F Katie, Linda and her daughter Amanda, Mike Z, and Milhouse Jonathan who we had seen down on the island for Christmas, and a little local metal band known as The Sword. Everyone met up at the parlor and we got nice and full of pizza and big pitchers of local beers. Then we all trekked downtown to Emo’s to partake in the metal fest. The opening band was terrible , but the singer of the middle band – Trigger Renegade had pipes like Rob Halford from Judas Priest. They were quite good. Then The Sword came out and dominated everyone’s face off. 2008 is the new 1066. All Will Fall.
My buddy Abraham and I have reserved a space at the Republic of Texas motorcycle Rally to park an RV for the week. Hopefully the Airstream that is kindly being restored by my family will be ready in time for use. We are so excited that we went down tot he convention center to check out exactly where we will be located. Keep in mind that as i write this this rally is 104 days 12 hours and 34 minutes away. Check out a post that Abraham did about this whole deal.
http://abraham.dizandat.com/2008/01/yellow-d116-all-day-long/
We just got back from a ski trip to Lake Tahoe! It was an awesome trip that I was looking forward too. 4 couples took off for a long weekend trip to the Lake Tahoe area for some excellent riding and skiing. Phillip and I were given some free flights on our parents Southwest rewards card so we set off to Lake Tahoe on Valentine’s Day. Don’t worry because Linda and I had a great pre-Valentines meal at Shoreline grill and her flowers were delivered to the office personally before we headed to the airport that morning.
Phillip and I actually got to Reno a day earlier than everyone else due to flight times and we stayed at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino. It was very nice and for 25 bucks for the night it was a steal. We ate in the food court and avoided the gaming tables because we wanted to save our cash for skiing.
The next day everyone began showing up at the airport and we rented an SUV and a hawt red mini van and made the hour trip to Lake Tahoe. We checked in at Lake Tahoe Keys condos and saw that we had been transported back to the 1970s, complete with wood paneling and a fireplace with cushioned seating around it. Other than that it was a great place and quick trips to many of the ski mountains in the area. That night we rented our gear at a local ski shop. This would be the last time I rent a snowboard as I think i need my own now.
Our first mountain was Sierra Mountain. It was a smaller resort with a few trails. It was quite nice and a good place for everyone to warm up. Most of the folks that went with us were beginner snowboarders and skiers so everyone had lessons that morning. Phillip, Nick and I headed up the mountain to do some boarding. I quickly became separated and spent my time taking it easy and working on technique. I checked in with the ski school around lunch and learned it wasn’t going so well. I didn’t realize what kind of lessons these were but they were not the best is all I have to say.
The next few days for me were spent at Heavenly Ski resort which is the big one in town. The have many blue runs to try but many catwalks which is bad for boarders because we don’t have poles. There at Heavenly I gave Linda my own ski lessons and we practiced on a learner hill that its own simple tow line. Just perfect for beginners. Check out Linda tear it up for her first time on skis right here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKsrFl7lFn8
Night times were fun. We made dinners at the condo and had beers and drinks. Other times we would hit up touristy type restaurants along the main drag through town. One night some of the other folks hit up the Harrah’s Casino just on the Nevada side of town for a night of fun.
Our last day on the mountain Nick and Myself took off on our own to ride some of the more advanced trails. We had an awesome time and i had my tunes with me which made me a little more aggressive, which makes me fall a bit but i learn from each time. We covered just about all the blue trails on this map and even a few black ones.
Linda took the day off to explore the South Lake Tahoe area. Sadly, around lunch time that day Katie got run into by an out of control snowboarder and injured a rib. Yep, the snow patrol, toboggan, snowmobile, mountain clinic, and emergency room were all visited. Here’s to a speedy recovery! In all, a great time and looking forward to more ski/snowboard trips with this group. Check out some pics right here:
Wow! Yummers!
Duly noted, next time I find a grill and a deck, I’m doing this ; )