Stowe

Man, I have been completely lame about posting lately, haven't I?

On the bright side - it was about 60 degrees out early this morning when I went to the YMCA to work out. Wow! Felt like fall, almost. Gorgeous! I love cool weather... And I love that I'm starting to get back in shape (two kids and about two total sit-ups in three years = one very out of shape weaver). Here's hoping that this shapes up to be a fantastic ski season...

Ahhh. One of my favorite places on earth. Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont. Highest mountain in Vermont, gorgeous views from the top (yup, we've hiked up there, in the winter, no less, skis on our shoulders, ski boots on our feet, for some amazing back-country skiing...). Wonderfully challenging terrain for advanced skiers (especially off the beaten path and especially if you're not afraid of tree skiing), but also a really friendly beginners area on Spruce Peak across the street, where kids/beginners don't have to worry about being run over by skiers bombing down the black diamond runs. A really nice setup. So many ski areas just cut their green (easy) trails back and forth across the hard runs - not a nice learning environment at all. Which, since Ms. Bella will really learn to ski this year, is important to us!

Maybe I can talk Carlos into spending a week in Stowe this winter... Before we had kids we used to rent a house for the season and go up every weekend - sometimes longer (I spent one winter working as a contract attorney and could work from the house up there - hooray for the internet - so I spent 3-4 days there at a time...).

I really would love to live there someday, if we could figure out how (houses are *not* cheap in Stowe, but the school system is very good). Maybe when we retire, if we still have knees at that point, that is, lol.