Talisman Skiing

After a pretty normal week back home in Goderich, I took off again on Friday morning.  I picked up Mike bright and early at 5:50 am with two half coffee, half hot chocolates and it was off to Brookside Public School.  30 kids were making the sojourn to Kimberly, Ontario to tackle the Talisman ski hill.  I would chaperone with 3 other of Brookside's finest; Mike Beddow, Larry Grail and Kim Liddle.  I know a bit about skiing and a bit about kids....  I'd be a perfect fit in the mix.

All in all the day was another success and great fun.  Red Mountain would blow the brains out of the kids head's in terms of its terrain and excitement obviously, but Talisman is what it is, and for all intensive purposes, it suits the needs of everyone quite well.  I probably skied the least out of everyone.  I hung out in the lodge and tried to reach my goal of 4 of the above mentioned libations (half coffee half hot chocolate) and I scarcely saw students just hanging out or not having fun.  So there you go.

So I can't complain too much.  I got to go skiing and hang out with great people.  Sure, I didn't hit Powder Fields or Booty's (or Prison Break = Joel) but no broken bones and lots of fresh air. 

Oh, the Bruce/Huron County Allstar Ski team had its team challenge and I got some superb footage:

Home Sweet Home

The story does not end - But it is dam nice to be back, truly back home.

Andy and I woke up early on Friday morning and went for a run.  It was dark, but about 12 degrees centigrade.  Pretty warm.  Anyway we had a fantastic run and got back to the house.  As Andy and Kate's day started with young Max, I just poked around the house and leisurely got myself ready for the easiest 275km of driving yet to do.  I packed up and had a bite to eat and pushed off.  Thanks again Kate and Andy for the harbour.

I got into Goderich and went straight over to my mom's office and we went for lunch at Bluewater Pizza.  It is a bi-monthly tradition of sorts for us.  I hadn't seen my mom in about 3 months, but she was well aware of the events and happenings, of course, of the days gone by.  So even though there was a lot to chat about, it wasn't like she was incognizant of my Rossland adventures.  She was mostly keen to hear of news from Trevor and his family.  So I filled in any missing bits of information I could offer.

After lunch and that visit I stopped into my grandmothers for a hello.  Not being as computer savy, she wanted to hear more news and information because she hadn't really been on the blog.  No matter.  I filled her in with the tales and highlights of the trip.

I pulled a ringer around the square in Goderich and saw Brittany.....  And I thought maybe, just maybe my buddy Steve might be at work.  Sure enough, I walked into the OPP detachment and the first feller I saw was my trusty running sidekick and confidant Beaser.  He was pretty busy though, so I stayed for a quick 10 minute hello and we will resume our ramblings until another time....

So I guess I have seen pretty much everyone except for the cat Mango = And my sweet, sweet, sweet baby Shelly.  Mango ran away when I walked into the house to unload my stuff and hid under the bed.

I walked over to the high school and met up with Shelly after 3:00.  It was great to see her.  The last time I saw her personally was on New Years Eve day = I dropped her off at the Kelowna aeroport to fly home.  A few high fives later, we were back together like peas and carrots.  It was like I never left..... 

So the story does not end = I have lots of stuff to add and I will keep updating the blog.  I have another 6 months off with my sabatical!  There is a new house purchase to write about and add pictures of.  I have some more travels and adventures.  Two more ski trips for sure.....  And who knows what else news.  I'll make something up if I get in a dry spell.

Holy Crap!

La Salle, Ontario baby!  Thursday night at 7:30.....  On Wednesday I hit about 1,400 km.  I got all the way to La Crosse, WI.  It was fantastic driving throughout the day.  But the last 3 hours wasn't that great = dense fog.  And today I only had 1,000km to get to Hahner's and Kate's.  Awesome.  Beers.  Pizza.  Close to home.  Katie.  HAHNER!

Very, very glad to get here safe and sound.

There isn't really anything profound to mention about the last 2,400km.  South Dakota is hilly in the west, but flat as you get east.  Obviously not rockies hilly, but rolling hills.  The pavement was smooth and true.   I was really happy to see signs for Deadwood and Yankton because of the HBO series I have been watching called Deadwood.  It reminded me of Joel.  I also stopped at this neat store called Wall Drug in Wall, SD. 

Minnesota was forgettable and didn't leave an impression on me.

Wisconsin reminded me a lot, a lot of southern Ontario.  It is appropriately called The Dairyland State.  There was lots of farming and corn fields.  Very flat.  Pollitically, there is big news from the govenor taking away the right for civil servants to collective bargain.  SHAME!  Schools were cancelled because a large number of teachers had rang in sick in protest....   13,000 people were at a protest in Madison to voice their disappointment.  Good luck brothers and sisters in Wisconsin.

I drove through Chicago right at noon and there was no problems.  The traffic was heavy, but I stayed the course on I-90, paid a few tools, and drove through without any problems.  The problems did occur once I got into Indiana.  I got wheeled by a cop.

The cop came to  the window and got my ID and said why don't you come back to the car.  I did.  I didn't care.  I wasn't speeding, following too closely, or anything....  So I was in the drivers side of the cruiser and he was just doing his job.  We engaged in chit-chat.  He was really interested about BC bud (weed).  He said he saw a program on television and everybody smokes it.  I told him he shouldn't believe everything he saw on TV - Come on.....  I gave him the 2 cent version of my story....  He listened attentively.  It was actually more like the 5 cent version as I had just been solo in the car for the past 3,000km = I was dying to talk to someone.  After it was all said and done he let me go without a warning or a charge or anything obviously and said two things. 

1.  I should have been a teacher.
2.  Are you sure you don't have any BC bud.....

What a guy. 

The real bad news east of Chicago was a 2 hr traffic tie up on I-94.  I went 10km in a shade over 90 mins.  Oh well.  I was glad I wasn't in it.  Perhaps that copper wheel'n me and chatting me up for 15 minutes as he ran my vitals saved my skin from a potential accident.  Who knows.

But by 7:30 I was over the Ambassador Bridge and into La Salle finding my way around .  It is difficult in the dark, but doable.

So I will be in Goderich on Friday.  Excellent.

Homeward Bound

The best I could do with a picture of the four kids was as follows....  Oh well.  Cole just wasn't in the mood.

But we did manage a picture with all of us - Tara and Jeff were both working, otherwise I am sure they would have loved to strike a pose with the rest of us.

A lot of good-byes and see you laters lately.  I had a terrific send off dinner with Joel, Trista, and the family.  An awesome roasted chicken with all of the fix'ns.  But there was a catch; they loaded up the truck with some unused and unnecessary gear which can be sent back to Ontario.  No problem guys.  Enjoy the rest of your time out west.

I also said my good-byes to Tara, Trevor, and the boys.  Hanging out with them really did supercede the sum of everything else.  Cole and Grayson are very sharp, but they won't really remember their time with Uncle Awesome after a few weeks pass.  But I will think of them often with very fond memories.  I won't forget.  And hopefully we can all do it again in a few years.  Take care you animals!  I'll be back!

So I am 1,200km into the trip home - Probably more like 1,300km.  I am in Sheridan, Wyoming.  It is along I-90, past Billings, Montana by 200 miles or so.  I left Rossland super early this morning.  I was just keen to get going.  I don't want to have regrets, but I pulled the plug on a mini journey up to Golden, BC for a stopover and visit with Jay and Tiffany and their families which I am a bit regretful of....  Sorry guys if you are reading this.  I hyped it up a bit to them, but when the time came, I changed my mind wanting to cover some mileage more directly home instead. 

The first 300km this morning was awful.  Terrible border guards, it was very dark, cold, icy roads, deer, construction, then slushy roads with lots of traffic, and so on.  But after that it was mostly blue skies and sun in my face.  I pulled over at 8:00 local time.  Another thing that got me going = My fm transmitter for the IPOD isn't working!  It is like the heated grips situation from the fall all over again.  It has worked all winter, and today, nothing.  I have 400 songs on that thing, a dozen Stuart MacLean stories, and a few novels to listen to.   The radio has been terrific though.  Southern Montana on I-90 is a heck of a lot nicer to travel across then northern Montana on HWY 2......

Anyhow - I have many more pictures of the past few days and I will post them.  I will have a few less stories to write about I am sure.  Mostly I am just concerned about getting home safe.  Oh my god - Deliverance just started on CMT = That might be a bad sign.

Some Video

Just some parting video from last week of Joel and Trevor.  I am going to miss skiing with you two on Tuesdays.  Be safe out there boys.  It has been a lot of fun this year.

All Together

The whole fam-damily has got together in Rossland, BC.  The Ontario group of dad and Wendy made it to the Castlegar aeroport on Thursday while the Georgia group of Marsha, Jeff, Locke and Alden made it to the Spokane aeroport.  Trevor, Tara, Cole, Grayson, and I all met up at the Lodge.  Unreal.....  It is virtually impossible for us all to pose for a photo together.  It has been fun trying!

I don't know who has been the ultimate child-minder with 4 kids under 4.  Well, I do know it hasn't been me.  Tara got plenty of looks walking around the base of the hill with Alden as such.  Twin boys on both hands and this busting out of the down jacket!  She saw a few friends who wondered where this extra appendage came from.....  Marsha, Trevor, dad, Jeff and I skied for a few hours as Wendy and Tara reared the young.

The condo is really nice at the lodge.  It has three full bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a big living room and a nice deck with a 6 person hot tub.  We are cooking all of the meals here and eating lunches and breakfasts too as it has a huge kitchen and dining area.

I tried to get Locke into the picture as well = but alas....  Kids can be fickle as I am learning quickly out here.  Grayson is on the left, Cole is on the right, and Alden is smack-dab in the middle.

Father and daughter - at the base of Red Mountain.

Poetry

I have been thinking about Valentine's Day, my first one as a married man, and I got thinking about a poem I was first introduced to back in the early 2000's.  I just liked the poem and it has stuck with me for a long time.  Since I ate tacos on Tuesday night at Kuk's in Northport, WA and Shelly loves animals, it reminded me once again of February 14th.  Get thinking about Valentine's yourselves and get that special someone a little something-something.

It is called Valentine for Ernest Mann by Naomi Shihab Nye.

You can't order a poem like you order a taco.
Walk up to the counter, say, "I'll take two"
and expect it to be handed back to you
on a shiny plate.

Still, I like your spirit.
Anyone who says, "Here's my address,
write me a poem," deserves something in reply.
So I'll tell you a secret instead:
poems hide. In the bottoms of our shoes,
they are sleeping. They are the shadows
drifting across our ceilings the moment
before we wake up. What we have to do
is live in a way that lets us find them.

Once I knew a man who gave his wife
two skunks for a valentine.
He couldn't understand why she was crying.
"I thought they had such beautiful eyes."
And he was serious. He was a serious man
who lived in a serious way. Nothing was ugly
just because the world said so. He really
liked those skunks. So, he reinvented them
as valentines and they became beautiful.
At least, to him. And the poems that had been hiding
in the eyes of the skunks for centuries
crawled out and curled up at his feet.

Maybe if we reinvent whatever our lives give us
we find poems. Check your garage, the odd sock
in your drawer, the person you almost like, but not quite.
And let me know.

- Naomi Shihab Nye
  in The Red Suitcase, Brockport, NY: BOA Editions, 1994.