mountain excursion - colorado 2008

The weekend following our 3rd annual Mammoth trip, Andrea and I left the kids at my parents' house and headed off to Winter Park, CO for Andrea's cousin's wedding. I anticipated traffic so we left pretty early. Of course there was no traffic so we got to the airport pretty early, even with a gas station run for fuel and food. We sat in the parking lot and listened to talk radio for a while until we both had to go to the bathroom. Before long, Andrea's family arrived. Our plane rides were pretty uneventful. I don't suffer from motion sickness so my recap isn't as interesting as Andrea's.

Once we got to Denver, we had to get rental vehicles. We ended up with a Chevy Suburban and a Jeep Cherokee (I wasn't driving either one). I remember that it took forever to do, and that I was very hungry. Most people don't know this about me, but when I get really hungry, I get really cranky. I couldn't figure out what was taking so long. The cashiers must have worked at Target previously. We stopped for lunch at Qdoba. After that, we had a long drive up into the mountains.

I'd never been to the Rockies and quite enjoyed the terrain. It was interesting to drive through a bunch of really small towns that looked like leftovers from 150 years ago. The weather was kind of chilly. Sometimes it was refreshing, but sometimes it was just cold. The air was clear and crisp.

The actual facilities were pretty nice. We stayed at YMCA of the Rockies - Snow Mountain Ranch. The rooms we stayed in were kind of like a cross between a dorm and a hotel. There was a big cafeteria and a smaller grill where we ate our meals.

The first night there was a bonfire and we had S'mores. It was freezing. On the way there, we somehow became the leader of the caravan. This was particularly humorous since we didn't really know where we were going. Mike just kind of drove around and the five or so cars behind us just followed.

The second day people played games in the gym and just kind of hung out. That afternoon was the ceremony, held in a little chapel. It was nice and it was short. The reception food was good. Eventually the dancing started. I'm sorry, but the DJ wasn't very good. There were a ton of technical problems. Then two guys who were friends of someone (the bride & groom?) who were supposedly DJs stepped in for a few songs. At first I thought that if I was the "official" DJ, I'd be a little miffed. But they weren't any better (unfortunately). I was hoping for something cool, but it just didn't unfold that way. My ears were killing me by the time we left. If we had our own car, we probably would have left sooner, but since we didn't, our ears took a pounding. I think I already damaged my ears enough when I was young and playing in bands. These days, I can't take much before I start to hurt.

The next day we just kind of relaxed for most of the day and then headed back to Denver to fly home. We had lunch at Qdoba again. At the airport, I noticed the hideous Mustang by Luis Jimenez. Our flights home were pretty uneventful too. I had to fly by myself from Phoenix to LA because we changed our flights last minute. Andrea and I reunited in LA and then headed to my parents' house to get the kids. Then home, then bed.

3rd annual post-tax season mammoth trip

It's funny... Andrea didn't remember much about our most recent trip to Mammoth, and I don't either.

I know that there wasn't much snow, but there was still snow within a short driving distance. One afternoon we sledded a little. I took Trevor down a hill that was a little too steep. It was kind of narrow too, and there were trees at the bottom. This meant that I had to stop us by putting my feet out in front and running into the trees. The first run was actually okay: he enjoyed it and I was able to stop. On the second run, however, my feet caught some dry branches and sent them flying backwards. I know this because I caught a twig in the lip. I'm surprised (and relieved) that Trevor didn't get hit in the eye or something.

We drove our new van. I tried my best to employ different driving styles so that we wouldn't be sitting at 2000 rpms the whole way.

We went with my parents this year. That was cool. They had to leave early because someone (my Mom, I think) was sick. That wasn't cool.

One day we had lunch at Schat's. My sandwich was almost as good as the previous year's. I can't remember what kind it was. Andrea didn't like hers.

We got some clothes at the outlets.

We had dinner one night at Pita Pit. I don't remember what I got there either, but it was tasty.

Hmm... that's about all I remember. Oh, we also stopped at some random gas station in the middle of nowhere and got ice cream on the way home because the ice cream shop we visited two years earlier had turned into a restaurant. And on the way up to Mammoth, we got beef jerky from a really small stand on the side of the road. The shack employee (who may not have even been legal?) was listening to the Pope give an address of some sort.

Yeah, that's about all I remember.

2nd annual post-tax season mammoth trip (photos)

Here are extra shots from our trip that didn't fit in the narrative:

2nd annual post-tax season mammoth trip

In April (yes, last April... of last year... I'm a bit behind with the updates), we embarked on our second annual trip to Mammoth Lakes, CA. This has become our way to celebrate the end of tax season.

Our Jeep is pretty old so we opted to take the car instead. The seats weren't as comfortable, but the road noise was probably at least 50% quieter. My car also has an AUX in jack so I was able to use my iPod. The car doesn't have as much cargo room, however, so we were a little cramped. I had to load and unload the trunk a few times before I could get everything to fit. In my younger, band days (the Persecuted/die Verfolgten and 2 Many Daves/the Spectaculars), I was given the nickname of "the Pack Master" on account of the way I squeezed our gear into small spaces. I'm obviously way out of practice.

Ava did fairly well on the trip up, though we did have to stop a few times so Andrea could nurse her. If my memory serves me correctly, we were about 15 minutes north of Lone Pine when Ava decided she needed to eat.

Immediately.

I pulled the car around and headed south towards civilization. After a few minutes of screaming, I pulled over to the shoulder and then onto a gravel service road. As Andrea took care of Ava, I walked around to stretch my legs. I couldn't resist snapping a couple promo-style shots of the car.

We stopped somewhere for a snack on the way up. (McDonald's? We sat inside... I had a chicken sandwich... there were lots of high school kids inside because it was the only place to hang out)

That night we went to Berger's Restaurant (used to be "Berger's" but it was sold and rebranded "Burgers" which is really lame.). Apparently Thursday night is not a popular night to dine out, because we were one of three filled tables. I remember going to Berger's when I was younger, and this occasion did not disappoint. I ordered a Buffalo Burger (as in bison meat, not buffalo wing flavor) and fries. It was delicious.

On Friday, there wasn't that much snow on the ground, but we went out to play anyway.

We went to Schat's Bakery for lunch and had what we believe to be the best sandwiches we've ever eaten. I had hot pastrami with smoked Gouda and the works. The bread was incredible (no surprise). We also spent a little time at the outlets. Andrea got a snow jacket. I was really excited that the sporting goods store where she got the jacket was playing a satellite radio show of 90s alternative. I recognized Hearing Soundgarden's "Spoonman," Stone Temple Pilots' "Unglued," Oasis' "Supersonic," and Veruca Salt's "Seether" definitely brought back memories.

It snowed a little on Friday night; on Saturday, we got a chance to play in the snow. There still wasn't as much as last year (no sledding), but there was enough to enjoy.

That afternoon, the clouds kept rolling in. Could it be that lots more snow was coming?

We woke up to this:

We should have spent more time outside; we played for a few final minutes on that day right before we left. Trevor started crying when it was time to go because he was enjoying it so much.

Overall, a great trip.