Split Boards May Be the Only Way to Ride

Friday – A New Way to Ride

Our adventures in Breckenridge continued with PJ giving skis a try—a split board approach. We spent a little time on Friday getting him acclimated to the skis and a couple of runs down the bunnies’ slopes before Jess and PJ’s friends, Ryan and Lindsey, joined us.

While Jess, Ryan and Lindsey gave PJ some further lessons—without the pressure of future in-laws around—Cheri and I headed up to the top of Peak 10 and made some runs down the expert trails…and yes, I did take another spill while making my way down one of these trails.

It wasn’t much longer before we had PJ out on some intermediate and advanced slopes…he took to the split boards almost naturally.

Our day was spent primarily on Peak 9 with all of us getting in some good runs. Then it was back to the condo to unwind (although who needs to unwind from skiing…it was actually sitting in the hot tub and working the soreness from some of the muscles).


You can see where everyone settled in to text each other across the room (Jess had just put her phone down), but it wasn’t long before we tucked into a wonderful stuffed manicotti dinner that Cheri had prepared the night before. A couple of glasses of wine, a few rounds of the game Taboo (another game for us to try at one of our get-togethers), some tiramisu (also made by Cheri), and we were all ready for bed…so we could do it all again the next day.

Saturday – Back to the Slopes

Another day with all of us on split boards. We settled into what was becoming our routine—ski for 2.5 to 3 hours in the morning, settle down for some homemade lunch with a libation to wash it down, and then get in a few more runs in the afternoon.

While the sandwiches all tasted good and were very much appreciated, you can see that they sometimes got a little squished riding in the backpack. Cheri would say I was pushing back against the backpack while riding the chairlift, but I contended that I was just trying to get the cheese to blend in with the cold cuts.

We did ski our way across the peaks that make up Breckenridge—Peaks 7 through 10—and finished, once again a little sore and out of breath.

It was back to the condo and where we were joined by Jess and PJ’s other friends, Jake and Jessica. Ryan and Lindsey made up the main courses for dinner and we all snacked on various finger foods that everyone made. We taught the group how to play upstairs – downstairs (the card game) for a few rounds and then a board game (Quelf) before Cheri and I headed off to bed. The “younger” crowd stayed up playing some more Taboo, but we didn’t hear them up too late…more of the soreness and out of breath.

Sunday – 12,650 Vertical Feet…Before Lunch

PJ had to be out early on Sunday morning so he could be back in Denver saving lives in the ER by 8 am. Ryan and Lindsey were also on their way early Sunday morning, and we got to see Jake and Jess for a few minutes before they too headed off to family commitments.



Cheri, Jess and I got a little bit later start, but we were soon making our way quickly up and down the slopes. We hit a few expert trails on Peak 10 and then decided we’d work our way across the peaks. As we skied across the mountain we kept coming to trails that we’d previously looked down, but not skied and thought…what the heck!

After one great run we were back up Peak 8 and decided to take the T-bar to the upper slopes. The T-bar brings you to the upper bowls and expert terrain. There is one lift that will take you higher, but the conditions were not good enough for us to give that a try. At this point we had an outstanding view back over the village, the valley and the surrounding peaks. You can see Cheri and Jess on the T-bar approaching the top.



Then it was down a steep, heavily moguled expert run. I skied down a ways and you can see the pictures I took back up the slope of Jess and Cheri working their ways down.




The picture gives you a little feeling of the trail, but doesn’t adequately show the steepness or the moguls. It was a challenge, but great to say we did it.



Our efforts (and the lack of having to wait in lift lines) had us skiing 12,650 vertical feet before we stopped for lunch. After our normal break we hit the slopes again and managed to get in 20,779 vertical feet for the day…our original goal was to get in at least 14,000 vertical feet, so we excelled on this day!

Monday – Sometimes Split Boards are Meant to Be…

PJ rejoined us Sunday evening and we all headed out for a day on the slopes Monday morning. Although he enjoyed the skis, PJ was back riding his board this day…at least for a couple of runs. Then he broke on of the bindings on the board and instead of renting another snow board he went back to skis…hmmm.

I commented to Ryan earlier in the week (and he is a great skier) how much I enjoy watching Cheri ski down the slopes. She is fluid and graceful in her skiing and makes it look easy. It was likewise fun to see Jess following in her footsteps and starting to ski like her mom.


Similarly, it was gratifying to see PJ on the split boards working his way down the trails. He undertook any of the challenges and was skiing like someone who had been doing it for a couple of years instead of his first time out.  You can Jess and PJ skiing down one of the slopes  and that is me in the background with the backpack.

Tuesday – Wet Snow and Tired Legs…Then a Jack-ass Dinner

This was our last day on the slopes and it was warm early…which meant many wet snow areas. We did get in several runs before Cheri said she’d had enough and was heading back to turn in her skis. Jess, PJ and I made a few more runs and then we also worked our way back across the mountain to drop off our equipment and head back to the condo.

After picking up and finishing packing we headed back to Denver. Maggie was picked up and we got back in time to relax (or nap) a little before heading out for dinner.

Jess and PJ wanted to take us out to Pinche (Mexican for Jack-ass) Taqueria for dinner. Pinche started out with a taco truck and expanded to include this sit-down restaurant (and they still run the truck as well). We had an outstanding meal tapas style—many small servings that we shared—including small flour tortillas served with carnitas (pork), lengua (charred beef tongue), pork rind, guacamole, and fresh vegetables. It was wonderful and worth the wait to get into the restaurant. It was early to bed since we needed to get up for an early flight back on Wednesday.

In the interest of full disclosure…because I know you really want to know…I ended up falling four times over the six days.  Three of them on expert trails…one on a yellow patch of ice where trails merged (not an excuse…just a fact).  Plus, there was one incident getting off the chairlift.  Some contend that the individual on the snow board next to me may have pushed me, but I can neither confirm nor deny…it did seem more like the chair hitting me in the back of the legs before everyone cleared out, but since no one actually saw it …it may not have happened at all…I may have simply taken my skis off to get back with the group easier.  

What do you think…Another wonderful adventure…including our daughter and future son-in-law?
 

13,196 Vertical Feet Later…

Today the Adventures continued with an outing to Breckenridge, Colorado.  We actually began on Tuesday by getting up early, heading out to T.F. Green airport in Providence, and flying out to Denver.  Jessica met us at the airport and brought us back to her place for the evening.  PJ joined us at a local Mexican restaurant for dinner and our trip to Colorado officially began.

The next morning we took our time to get some shopping done, Maggie off to visit some friends for the rest of the week, and loading Jess’ car up for the trip to the mountains.  From the amount of baggage you probably think we are moving up there for a month, but since the weather is a little unpredictable this time of year we needed to pack for both cold conditions and Spring conditions.


We moved into a condo right in Breckenridge Village and proceeded to set up house.  Some other friends of Jess and PJ are coming to join us this weekend so Cheri set right in to making some meals so we could just heat and serve…leaving time to visit and play some games.
















Today we walked over to the Quicksilver lift serving Peak 9 and began a day of skiing.  The sky was completely clear and the weather was perfect for Spring skiing; we were on the lift at 8:53 and on our way.  We decided to take a fairly easy run first to shake out the cobwebs.  I haven’t skied in a couple of years, Cheri only a few times in the last couple of years, Jess once this year and PJ not at all this year.

The groomed snow was corduroy-like so early in the morning; softening up on the side of the trail in the sun and still crusty on the side in the shade of the trees along the trail. I haven't fallen skiing in over seven years--a combination of not skiing the last two and then several good years of being lucky--so I made up for it by moving over to the shady side of the trail and catching an edge. Good to get it out of the way early...the rest of the day was not a problem.



We skied fairly hard for much of the morning, moving across the mountain from one peak to another.  Finally taking a break at 10:45.  Since it was afternoon someplace we thought that a cold beer would be okay or in Jess’ case a Bloody Mary and Cheri drinking water…we did need to keep fluids in us to combat altitude sickness. 
     
The altitude did effect us a little—the base at Breckenridge is at 9,600 feet (2,926 m)and the top summit at 12,998 feet (3,962), although we didn’t get to the tip-top today—so the air is a little thinner.  Although Cheri and I take spinning classes or run several times a week, it didn’t help with shortness of breath…and the quads (thigh muscles) started to feel it as well.  By early afternoon the snow was getting to the consistency of mashed potatoes, which is also tiring to ski through.  So by mid-afternoon we called it a day and headed off the mountain…after having skied 11 runs totaling 13,196 vertical feet (the type of ski pass we have keeps an electronic track of what you did for the day).

We enjoyed some time in the hot-tub at the condo and a pleasant dinner.  A great way to end the first day of this adventure.

Southwestern Flair…

A short blog…but an update none the less.  We didn’t get the cameras out often enough (plus I forgot mine in the hotel a couple of times)…anyway, on to the blog…

The beginning of March was a time for us to head to the Southwest.  I Chair the jury process for the American Society of Hospital Engineering / Architectural Institute of America Vista Award which is given annual to a Health Care New Construction project, a Renovation project and an Infrastructure project; all of which have displayed teamwork between the Planners, Designers, Contractors and Owners in delivery of the projects.  The annual Planning, Design and Construction Conference was being held in Phoenix…in March…so you can understand why Cheri joined me.

Besides some time in the temperate southwest, this trip gave us an opportunity to meet up with Jess and her fiancée PJ (they flew in from Denver), and even more importantly for us to meet PJ’s parents, Larry and Ditas.

We arrived in Phoenix on Friday the 2nd at a time that seemed continentally late for us (with a 2 hour time change…it was 7:30 there), so Jess and PJ picked us up at our hotel and we were off to dinner at a southwestern restaurant.  It gave us a chance to visit and catch up.

Saturday, we were up fairly early (the 2 hour difference again) and we used the light-rail system to take us downtown.  That way we could scope out the convention center where the conference was being held and then we set off walking around the area for about ninety minutes.  It was a beautiful day, obviously low humidity and the temperature was very comfortable.

We did work our way back to the hotel so we could shower and change before heading over to Larry and Ditas’ house for a family gathering.  Many of PJ’s cousins and their families live in the area so this was a chance for Cheri and I to meet the larger family.

 
It seemed that everyone kicked in on the food preparations so we had a wide range of home cooked southwestern fare.  The food was all outstanding and we very much enjoyed meeting so much of PJ’s family.



In the top photo are Cheri, myself, Jess, PJ, Ditas, and Larry; then in the lower we added PJ’s sister Veronica, her husband Matt, and their daughter Ana.

Sunday evening just seven of us—Jess, PJ, Larry, Ditas, PJ’s niece Ana, and two of us—went to Lon’s at the Hermosa Inn for dinner.  We were able to eat under the stars (and a propane heater for Cheri…it gets cool in the evening in the desert) with some live cowboy music—Shenandoah, Home on the Range, Tumbling Tumbleweeds…you get it—to round out the mood; a wonderful evening to get to know Larry and Ditas even better.

The conference went well from Monday to Wednesday—I presented the awards during the opening plenary session and then had the rest of the time to attend the conference.  I heard some very good speakers and presentations and came away with some useful ideas.

We did have one other time on Tuesday for the six of us to get together…and if you can believe it we were eating again.  Jess and PJ were flying back to Denver that evening so we all went to a diner that is featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Dives, and Drive-in’s (Chino Banditos...we went once before with Jess on an earlier trip to Phoenix).  Another great evening before we all headed our separate ways.

More Adventures…and some weddings to come!

The Long Awaited, Much Ballyhooed Return…

of the Swenson Adventures Blog.  What could be a more appropriate return than our Annual Valentines Day dinner.

This year was our celebration of the 25th anniversary of these “get-togethers”.  In case you haven’t followed this adventure in the past, this event is a chance for us husbands to show a little appreciation for our wives…who mean so much to us.  What started out twenty-five years ago as a single evening out is now a full weekend event.

Friday evenings have become a bit of a guys evening…often accompanied by beef and some libations.  This year, as a slight change…and because of the Saturday evening menu…we did a little pork-on-pork on the grill. The basic premise of pork-on-pork is to flatten out some boneless pork chops, smear on a little cream cheese, add roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, sliced jalapenos, and roll it up into a cylinder wrapped in bacon—that’s what is in aluminum foil in the picture.  It all goes onto the grill, and ultimately it gets sliced into medallions for an outstanding meal.

While food was cooking, James started some of the story-telling that is such a part of our gatherings…

Next to the grill we had a fire in the chimenea, so it was comfortable to stay out on the deck while getting the meal ready…then it was time to eat.

While we lived in Texas we continued the Valentine’s Day tradition with a collection of our neighbors in The Woodlands—growing at one point to ten couples.  During one of those events we had a narrowly averted catastrophe.  While carrying dessert over to the host house—a creme brulee of outstanding potential—it slipped off of the carrying basket and landed upside down on the street.  Fortunately I had made a second dessert—chocolate ganache with a cream caramel sauce—that was enough to fill the void, but we began a small custom of having a moment of remembrance for the “missing creme brulee.”



In honor of our 25th year, we further remembered the creme brulee by making a more than reasonable facsimile.



Saturday morning had a slow start, but once we were all on the move the ladies went in one direction—to Hartford to tour Mark Twain’s (Samuel Clemen's) House and Museum—and the men off to Wine Nation (for some exploring), Carl’s Diner in Oxford (for a ‘huge’ lunch) and Park ‘n Shop (for last minute shopping).

The men got home in the early afternoon and started the dinner preparations.  To celebrate such a milestone anniversary we asked our wives to pick a favorite main course from our many times together—typically the meal is a surprise menu.  I used an on-line pair-wise comparison tool where our wives rank the relative choices against each other…and we came out with a clear favorite.

Since numbers, design and analytics were playing such a role in this year’s meal we (the men) decided on a theme of “Love Designed to Last”—combined we have over 102 years of marriage…as the same couples.  To get ourselves fully into the roles we decided to dress as stereotypical designers—nerds or geeks if you’d like—with black pants, white shirts (with the sleeves rolled up), ties slightly askew, pocket-protectors filled with different pens, mechanical pencils, and pen lights (thanks Dan)…all the way down to white socks.

     

Our wives wanted to keep in the spirit of 25 years, so we each found a gift package that included the ESPN 25 year collection of highlights and the Suddenly Silver edition of For Better for Worse. They also gave us individual lists of the 25 Reasons they love us.

We decorated the dining room with design and measuring devices (much thanks to James who takes on these decoration responsibilities every year).  There are drawing aids, erasing aids, slide rules, duct-u-lators, measuring scales (metric, engineering and architectural), compasses, protractors…Cheri separately had the idea of small white lights under a white cloth on the sideboard and it worked out well for displaying the tools of the design trade.

James also made a cranberry and white light wreath that goes well in the dining room decor and it fit well below the Happy Anniversary sign.


The menu for the evening was laid out on engineering graph paper in the form of a design specification with various sections and sub-headings.   
 
 
It was an outstanding meal, enjoyed by all…with a little bit of elk roast and purple mashed potatoes left over for another time.  After the main course was completed the clean up crew did a quick turn-around so we could reuse the plates for dessert by the fire.

We could not have had this event for 25 years without a few things having gone wrong—the aforementioned creme brulee, broken bones, career challenges, illness knocking a host from the party—but the most memorable, most remembered item was at the first gathering of the three couples for Valentines Day.  There are many variations on this story, and Dan will state, “It could have happened to anyone”, and it goes along the lines of:

At the first Valentines Day dinner Dan was responsible for providing dessert (he may have had salad duty as well, but that would just be a red herring).  As the event got closer and Dan’s work and Rescue responsibilities built up he found himself on Saturday afternoon without time to make the cheesecake dessert he had planned.  Being industrious and fortunate to have some very good bakeries nearby, Dan went out and picked up a bakery made cheesecake.

The meal went along very well with appetizers, salad, and a main course all accompanied by some good wine.  Then came dessert.  Dan plated the cheesecake and we all sat back down to enjoy some final time of the evening together.  We must have all been fairly full from all we had eaten previously, because the cheesecake was getting more pushed around the plate instead of eaten.  Some of us even moved on to after-dinner drinks instead of filling ourselves more.

After the evening ended and all of the couples went their own ways, the conversation within each of the couples came down to basically, “That was the worst cheesecake I have ever tried to eat.”  It turned out that the bakery had mixed up some proportions (most likely left out the sugar) and all of us were too polite to comment on the taste during the meal.  If Dan had actually made the cheesecake the issue would have been avoided…Dan has not lived this down.

But, for the 25th Anniversary we decided to let him make some amends…
 
and the cheesecake was wonderful.  It won’t stop us from telling the story again (and again), but it does soften it a little.

The Adventures go on…


   

“On the Road”, Off the Road…Odds and Ends

You take a week off from writing...then two...then it's a month...then two, but now I am back...at least for this edition. Plus, this keeps my editor from reminding me, “You haven't written in awhile.”

One of the on the road, odds and ends of the summer was the decision to form a small Roadsters group. It turns out that among the usual suspects (see some of the Bunco Night activities) we have owners of three British sports cars...and a Miata (I know, not quite the same, but we are an open minded group...we would even let a Fiat join us). The object is to enjoy our sports cars together, not to be snobs...but sometimes we can't resist.

On a couple of occasions over the summer we got the group together for an outing—this usually means driving back roads and eating together. Our first outing had us meet at the Cimochowski's for a cook out and then on the road to Preston, CT for ice cream desserts.

We lined up the cars...

Nowak's Miata Swenson's MG Midget Bottieri's MGB Cimochowski's Triumph TR6

and headed down the road. There were many waves,flashing headlights and tooting horns along the way, and the cars turned a few heads when parked together at the ice cream stand. A great outing!



A few weeks later we decided to follow up with a trip to North Charlton, MA for a seafood dinner at a well known clam shack—not so much a shack now, but the food was great. And once again the cars all looked good lined up together...although some people wanted to know if the Miata was along as the chase car. Is this a commentary on the reliability of British sports cars or a dig at the Miata...hmmm.



If you have been a follower of the blog you will recall the minor adventure of putting the new dock in place at The Cottage. At the end of the lake swimming and boating year it was time to find out if it came out as easily as it went in...and it did!

We stacked all of the cedar plank sections onto a trailer to make moving them easier and then it was fairly simple to raise most of the legs and wheel the aluminum frame out of the water. Much easier than previous years and ready to go back in come Spring.

One other Fall item related to The Cottage was the decision to replace the power boat that had served us well for 23 years. Papa did some online research and through Craig's List found a possible replacement at Lake Mascoma—just up the road in Enfield, NH.

Scott and I reviewed the information online and then I was able to make a quick Saturday trip up to look at the boat before we made an offer. We now have a “new to us” boat that should last us another 20+ years...plus Papa went onto Craig's List again and sold the old boat within a week! What a successful Adventure!

In the early Spring Stephanie Gosselin contacted us about jointly bidding at a fund raising event. The item was a day of sailing around Providence / Newport on an old wooden boat and the day included a lobster bake on the beach. We won the auction and tried all Summer to find a time that worked for all of us—the Gosselins, the Greens and ourselves. Finally we were able to arrange for a mid-September sail and had a wonderful time sailing the upper reaches of Newport Bay and enjoying a day on or near the water.



Now Cheri and I have been back "on the road"—in Denver visiting Jess and PJ (and Maggie the Lab of course). We arrived late (as in after 11pm MT) on Thursday following an uneventful series of flights, and forgetting nothing except the key that Jess had mailed to us so we could get into her condo on arrival (she and PJ were at a concert that evening). Fortunately, the concert got out and they arrived before we did so Jess let us in...instead of us sitting on the curb with our luggage waiting for them.

Friday morning we got up to enjoy bagels and coffee together and then headed out to Fort Collins, CO and the New Belgian Brewery for a tour. It would seem that if you have once toured a brewery then there really isn't much to learn from touring another. On the contrary, there is a big difference if you take into account the ownership, the employees and the social consciousness of the company.

It is an outstanding tour filled with the history of the brewery, the founders, energy conservation processes, employee ownership, giving back to the community...and oh yah, beer samples...all for free. This company is the Ben and Jerry's of the micro-brewery world. There is even some fun along the tour with an opportunity to use the company slide to go from one level to another.  We had a great time and had a built in designated driver with Cheri not being a beer drinker (although she gamely tasted a couple of different samples).

Cheri drove us back to Denver (with Jess and PJ snoozing in the back seat...sunglasses on...heads back...light snoring...yah, they were asleep), and we stopped for an early dinner at the Bar D restaurant (known for their desserts). Dinner gave Cheri a time to sample a local lemon-drop martini (we seem to have a lot of pictures where she has one of these in her hand)...a nice dinner...and then some great desserts.



We made it back to Jess' early enough to play some cards...where I lost both times—and Cheri won both times...before heading to bed early so we could be well rested for a day of hiking on Saturday.

Saturday morning we were up and on our way to the Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Backpacks, water, snacks, and Maggie were all loaded into Jess' new Subaru Forrester and we were off.

Hiking in the Rockies is a little different than the White Mountains—here you start at 8,000 feet and climb up (the White Mountains top out at just over 6,200 feet). The air is a little thinner so you breathe a little deeper, but fortunately Cheri and I have been spinning enough that our leg muscles didn't bother us. We climbed along evergreen paths, aspen meadows (where many of the leaves have already fallen), and rocky outcroppings. Besides the thin air the views were also breath-taking.

It was a fabulous time and we were tired by the time we got back to Jess' place. She cooked an Alton Brown recipe for us Saturday evening and we settled into a little more card playing before settling into bed.

Let the Adventures continue...