The Gelvezon Brothers 2018 Winter Adventure
2-6-18: Well, we wanted to hit the road by 9am and we finally got on the road by 5pm! We drove until just after midnight & stayed at a Super 8 in Warrenton, Missouri.
2-7-18: We woke early & hit the road at 6am. The I70 is flat, but beautiful in its own right. I like that the speed limit is 75 & there isn't much traffic. You pass farms that once had families & have lots of stories to tell, but now sit empty & broken. Lisa mentioned this as we drove past one that looked like the barn had a smile on it. We also passed by the Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chief's, Kansas City Royals, & Denver Broncos stadiums. We arrived in Denver about 4pm & stayed at my friend, Jim Gardner's beautiful Victorian home in the Ryno district.This is on the east side & there are tons of killer urban street art spray painted on buildings. We saw some of Pat Milbery's murals. Danny Jones caught up with us & soon thereafter Jim & his daughter Violet. Jim took is all to the famous Casa Bonita restaurant, which is a quirky Mexican restaurant with cliff divers. Yes, indoor cliff divers. South Park had an episode about Casa Bonita & they even have a cave the kids can walk through.
2-8-18: We met Kyler Duncan & his Mom at Snarfs for a yummy sandwich. From here we went & grabbed some beers at Epic Brewery. Then we headed over to Jim's other house because he was Airbnb the other one. Danny & I went to change our oil & filter at Kyler's parents diy auto repair shop, while Lisa & Kyler took the boys to ride at Ruby Hill Rail Yard. A free public park that Winter Park puts money into. The boys had a killer time here & were ripping with Kyler. Danny decided to shoot photos. Next we went to have dinner & drinks at Recess. This is a place my soccer buddy Ciaran O'Brian opened. Pat met us here with his gf Hunter, there friend Alex & Boomer & Jamie. This group of people was networked through my soccer chapter & snowboarding parts if my life. This experience of meeting people throughout the trip will help them in life.
2-9-18: We got a later start to Loveland than we wanted too, but seeing everyone last night made it worth it. Today, we ride Loveland with the Capua family. We met them via Dave Adam's AT USASA Nationals. Their daughter Sophia shreds and won the overall for her age group last year. Her younger brother TJ has progressed so much since last year and was ripping. TJ is 5. Their parents, Pam and Trap are wonderful people. Trap was serving in the Airforce in Korea last year, so it was great to ride and spend time with him. The kids always have a great time together and ended the night playing UNO. TJ won. Jim Gardner also came up to shred. But his was our first time riding together and won't be our last. Dude always has a smile on his face and is stoked to ride as well. We drove to Dillon to camp in the pop up for the first time. Makai wasn't feeling well, so Lisa stayed back with the boys & watched the men's slopestyle qualifiers for the Olympics, while Danny and I went to meet Kyler at Jersey Boys for National Pizza Day. Of note, while watching snowboarding during the Olympics the commercials came on and we saw our friend Mamba starring in a diamond commercial.
2-10-18: We woke up after our first night sleeping in the pop up camper! Rode A Basin. We got some fresh pow. This was our first day riding on our Epic Pass. A Basin has a real good vibe. We found out that 2 Columbus policeman were shit and killed in a domestic violence call. Chad went to HS with one and Anthony played baseball with the other officer's son on the Diamond Dogs. I rode my Fly for the L first time and loved it. We ripped with Danny. Kevin Sayler and his friend Heather came to shred with us went from A Basin to Keystone for some nice riding. We at dinner with them at The Cala. An Irish pub. I felt like shit. I think the altitude got to me, or when I hit my snapped my head back coming out of the Kidtopia ice structure slide...lol.
2-11-18: Rode Keystone today. Great snow. Funny story is we are sitting upstairs next to the Last Chair bar and as I walk in, Callum has a grin from ear to ear mouthing something to me. I'm like, "What are you staying? Just say it." I turn and see a table of people and I think he's saying something about a family. I turn back around and I can tell he's saying, "Mamba's there!" I turn back around and see Mamba. Mamba is a ripping snowboarder the family met through So-Gnar. He was an Arbor rider that Pat had flown in for the Mad River stop and he was 1 of 18 riders that stayed at our house a few winters ago. His voice reminds me of Chris Rock and he's quite the character. I was on a business trip when So-Gnar was in town, so I didn't have the pleasure of meeting him. I walked up to the table he was at, which was surrounded by people and looked like campers and I said, "You don't know me, but I know you. You jumped on the trampoline at my house in Ohio!" Mamba, realized who I was and we were and we hugged it out...lol. I pointed over to the boys and he ran over to them and gave them a giant hug. He was there coaching a camp for underprivileged kids. It was a quick hello, as he had to get the campers back out on the snow. We look forward to seeing Mamba this winter and hope to shred with him. Tonight we head to Steamboat. A true ski/snowboard town, that has produced several Olympians. Oh yeah, here's that diamond commercial...
2-12-18: Rode Steamboat and this place is magical. This is a mountain town and has a wonderful vibe. It's not pretentious...yet. They have a tradition down Main Street, where they have cowboys on horses pull people on their skis/snowboards. There are also natural hot springs we are hoping to enjoy. I reconnected with my old friend Ed Johnson, whom I met over 20yrs ago through mutual friends during my time living in La Jolla. We went on an epic snowboarding trip to Whistler back in 1999 or 2000, which was my first and only heli trip. Ed is a ripping rider, skater, & good human who happens to be Burt Reynolds doppelganger!
2-13-6-18: POWDER Day!!! 10" Rode w/ Ed and hiked side country. "No Name". Callum went down some steep lines and followed right behind Ed. Ed was quite surprised, thiking, "what the f%$k are you doing here?" HAHAHA. He's been quite impressed with the boys riding. Lisa worked from the locker area under the gondola and we had the pleasure of meeting a guy named Bryce. Bryce is from Indiana and works in the kids program at Steamboat. I try to instill in my boys and friends that introducing yourself to people is a great skill and you never know who you will meet. This was one of those times. Bryce generously offered us his employee vouchers. He gave us 5, $25.00 vouchers. Super super cool of him and very thankful.
2-14-18: 3rd day riding Steamboat! We started our day off with Danny Jones asking us to be his valentine, as we took a shot of whiskey and cheered. Ed came over and went to the pool and jacuzzi. The jacuzzi was outside and we proceeded to have snow angel challenges, seeing who could lay in the snow the longest. Kevin Sayler came up to ride. We ended the night watching the Olympics, jacuzzi, and pool.
2-15-18: We woke up to another foot of snow. Insane snow magnet we've been thus far! Bryce gave me another $25.00 voucher. Danny and I headed to ride more insane powder and met up with Ed and his friend Clint. Super cool dude. Danny and I went to the Truffle Pig for happy hour after, even though it's really not a happy hour price, then headed over to town to meet up with the family. They rode Howelson Hill and met us at Steamboat Smokehouse for dinner.
2-16-18: Danny headed back to Tahoe today. Backcountry trip with Ed Johnson, Clint, Rob, Nick Moscia, & Mike in the Buffalo Pass on sleds. This was a dream invite I couldn't pass up, but I would be lying if I wasn't worried about avalanches. I've been on a heli and cat trip, but never a sled. This was the perfect blue bird day. We've gotten over 2ft of snow in the past few days. We went to 3 different spots and got up to 3ft of snow in areas. It was nice learning how to run things with sleds. These guys have it down, but there's always the fear of getting lost out there. The tree runs were epic and I was glad I'd gotten some tree days under my belt. Fitness felt good, but sore. Kevin Sayler took the boys to Howelson Hill and rode with them. Makai learned tame dogs, which is basically a front flip and Callum's been throwing big 3's on the last jump. Kevin is a ripping rider from our little place in Ohio, Mad River Mtn. He's always great to the boys and tries to progress their riding. We met up with the family here and the guys got to see Makai do his front flip. Lisa booked a room at the Bristol Hotel in town. This place has been around since the 1800s and we had a cool little family suite with 2 separate doors. Very cute. There was even ski/snowboard lockers in the lobby, a library, and super cool Jamaican ladies working there. The govt's have a work placement agreement, so there are quite a few Jamaicans in Steamboat. Lisa, the kids, & I went to the hot springs in town.
2-17-18: I woke up and realized I may have left my helmet, glove, and goggles at Howelson. We met Ed, Nick, & Mike for breakfast at Yammpy's, which is walking distance from Howelson. Makai and I walked over the bridge to Howeslon, to see if my stuff was there. Ed also thought he left his gloves (again, as he left them previously at our place). We got there, I checked the lost and found bins and there was nothing. I decided to look around the very small lodge and to my disbelief, all of my stuff was exactly where we were sitting the day before. My Patagonia jacket was even there, which I forgot about! My GoPro was in the pocket too. Yes, Ed's gloves too! My faith in humanity had been restored. We didn't ride today. We played tourists, walked around town, and ate lunch at a pub, watching the US hockey team get spanked by Russia. We then went to Strawberry hot springs. This is a 20min scenic drive, west of town and up a hill. This place has 3 separate large pools. hot, medium, & cold. I'm not sure how they control the temps, but it was really interesting going from both. Callum and I really enjoyed the cold. Makai mustered up courage to go in the cold, but he wasn't as comfortable as Callum. They also laid in the snow and buried their faces. Kids are allowed during the day, but it's adults only at night (clothing optional). Let's say the boys were very intrigued by this. We headed over to Ed's place, where we are staying for the night and met a 21yr old kid named Winston. Winston grew up in the Lake Placid area and used to race in skiing, but said he didn't quite make the cut to get to the highest level. Ed says he's a ripping skier. Winston's Mom was a Dynastar model. He raced on the New York State team. He now works for Super Feet & has been shadowing ski patrol at Steamboat, which is where his passion lies. Getting hired on as ski patrol at Steamboat is super hard, as is his job with Super Feet. He told us about his accident on a jump. He dislocated both of his femurs...ugh. He also told us about a kid from Boston, who double ejected into a tree today and shattered his clavicle. It took 5-6 ski patrol to get him out. We took Ed to dinner at The Ore House and stayed at his place.
2-18-18: Woke up to a beautiful morning at Ed's place. His apt overlooks Steamboat Springs. We are heading to Howelson today, as well as riding the rollercoaster at Steamboat. This is the longest mountain rollercoaster (2.5 miles). Our time in Steamboat is coming to an end and we are heading to Park City, Utah. They are supposed to get hit w/ a big storm tonight!!! Today was free ski Sundays at Howeslon, which is awesome. You start to understand why this place is called "Ski Town USA". Ed rode w/ the boys for some runs and was throwing some nice 360s off of a hip jump. They have an interesting lift called Poma and you have to put it between your legs. I opted to have both feet strapped in, which seemed to make it easier. It goes pretty steep to the top, but I got the hang of it. The guy handing out free lift tickets in the cafeteria was from Cincy. The boys took me on their runs and their riding has gotten more and more creative. I love it. We rode the Mountain roller coaster and it was a ton of fun. I rode w/ Callum & Lisa rode w/ Makai. The key was to not hit the brakes. I admit, I had to around some really fast corners. It wasn't the cheapest by any means. 4 tickets were $70.00 (2 adult, 2 kids). We then met Ed at an Irish pub, had dinner, said our "see you laters" and hit the road to Park City (PC)! Lisa opted to drive the 5.5hrs. We were leaving later than we should have, as I was in communication w/ Taylor Stalfort, who said it was coming down. Taylor is a very nice guy I met teaching at MRM. He's a Level 2 snowboard instructor and has taught at PC & is now an Amazon consultant. The last hour of our drive was insane. It was dumping and you could hardly see any tire lines on the road. Utah, like parts of Colorado don't believe in road signs w/ arrows showing you the future direction of the road, so it can get hairy. We averaged 30mph for most of the drive, but made it! There was one point when we were on the 40 and it said chains or 4x4 required. We decided to go for it, as we had faith in our Bridgestone Blizzack snow tires, which have been awesome. Thank you to Lisa for telling me to get them put on before the trip. I was leaning towards getting them put on in Reno at Costco. We stayed at a Wyndham property & finally rolled in around 2am, after getting stuff brought in from the van. I didn't get to bed until 4am & I was to meet Taylor & Brit Strahler, another MRM friend & instructor from MRM. Our room is a beautiful 1 bdrm. The property is only 3yrs old on the Canyons side & we have gondola (Frostwood) access right outside of our hotel.
2-19-18: What a beautiful morning of 15" of fresh powder! We have been blessed w/ powder. I think this was a record low for this area, in like 41yrs. How lucky are we? Lisa & I agreed to let the boys sleep in. I rallied and woke up, after 4hrs of sleep. I walked out to the gondola, expecting to get on & the line was 100 people deep & not moving much. There are only a few gondolas on Frostwood. I introduced myself to a Father of 2 boys from NY. His name was Finn & his boys were about 10-12yrs. Nice family of skiers. Finn asked me if it was just me & I said yes. He offered me a ride up w/ them to the village, where I needed to meet Taylor & Brit. His wife picked us up in their Suburban. Very nice lady, who graduated from Ohio Wesleyan. I got to the top & it was packed!!! I found them relatively close to the front, but didn't want to be "that" guy cutting. Brit came out & met me & offered to take my board back w/ her to their spot. I walked to the other side of the crowd & walked across to find them, figuring this would look like I was going back to my spot. Everything was great until I tripped over someone's skis, but caught myself! I said a quick sorry, obviously embarrassed & found them. We took the Orange Bubble lift up, which has an orange cover on it. We rode some awesome Aspen & Evergreen tree lines. There were a few spots that had some sluff, which looks like an avalanche, but isn't. The snow really moves through trees & down the fall line. I fell on 1 spot & hit my elbow pretty good, which was a wake up call, that this was the first true snowfall of the season & we should ride w/ caution. Lisa & the boys took the Frostwood up, then she put them on the Red Pine gondola, which I guess wasn't easy. They don't normally put kids on by themselves, but they let her, as I was waiting at the top. We continued to ride some nice powder & took a couple of bathroom/snack breaks, but really hit it hard. My Epic pass said I did over 15k vert for the day. What a great day. Brit & Taylor met us for dinner at a Mexican place called Billy Blanco's. Cool place w/ some older Chevy's on risers & a custom motorcycle behind the bar. The food was really good & we had some good laughs. We went back and jacuzzied. The boys went in the pool & threw the football w/ some nice boys from South Lake Tahoe. We met a nice family from Carson City, Nevada. They are owners in Wyndham. Lisa & I have an appt at 7:30am w/ Wyndham. 90min presentation & we get 7 nights/8 days at any property.
2-20-18: This AM Lisa & I went to the Wyndham presentation to get our free 7 night gift. We had no intention to become owners, but it just makes sense. We became WorldMark owners. The last call deals us what made this appealing to us. Because we can be nimble & travel within 45 days or less, we can book a hotel for the week for $300 or less & not use points. We were also given 2wks & 1 a 3rd week in the drawing. The boys & I got a late start snowboarding. We took the public bus over to PC & it too forever. We stopped in real quick to say hello to our old business friend Lange. He owns The Hungry Miner, which is a donut & hotdog shop in the village of PC. We had about an hour & the boys road the 3 Kings terrain park. We stopped in afterwards to get donuts & hotdogs from Lange. Later that night, we went to dinner with Taylor & Brit to get pizza.
2-21-18: We got started pretty late today, ate leftovers and packed up, to head to Charley Mashall's place in Sandy, UT. Charley is an old soccer friend from San Diego. We grew up playing for one of the best youth soccer clubs in the USA. Charley is now, Dr. Marshall & he followed in his Father Stu's footsteps, becoming an Orthopedic surgeon & works for a successful clinic. His wife Rosa is Korean & they have 3 good looking kids, Will, Annika, & Hunter. Our boys and their kids look related, being that they're all mixed w/ Asian & Caucasian. Charley is one of those friends, where it doesn't feel like it's been over 20 years since you've seen each other last. We caught up over some whiskey on ice and called it a night.
2-22-18: The boys started off their day doing some homework. We decided not to ride. They wanted to hang out w/ Hunter. I went w/ Charley to pick up Will at Alta. Alta is one of the rare places that will only allow skiing. We also passed by Snowbird. Alta has a nice family feel to it. We ended up taking the Marshall's to a Korean restaurant for dinner. It was yummy. The Bulgogi, or however you spell it, reminded me off my old high school friend, Albert Kim. His Mom used to make this thinly chopped sweet bbq. We went back to the Marshall's, after stopping in the Sierra Trading Post, which has some great deals. It's primarily an outdoor clearance store, but you will find random things, like a pair of Adidas Originals baby blue hi tops w/ a velcro strap.
2-23-18: Today we rode Brighton, but not w/o a slight adventure. Rosa informed us that 4x4 & chains is what would be required, Charley and I went and bought some chains at Les Schwab. Lisa is a rockstar & figured how to put them on. We then said our "See you laters" to Charley & family & hit the road to Brighton. They are off to Japan for a 2wk spring break vacation with the family. The drive wasn't bad, but we couldn't exceed 30 mph. Brighton has a cool feel to it & kids ride/ski free until they're 10yrs old. We ended up getting some pow & riding the terrain park. Our next place to stay is in Eden, which sits in the Nordic Valley. We are staying w/ the ex head of marketing at Mad River Mountain, Brian Papworth. Brian is now Head of Guest Services & Events at Snow Basin.That's where we are headed early manana! Tony Chen is in town with Angie, there daughter Leighton & some other families. We are supposed to see TC tomorrow & ride with him.
2-24-18: Today, we left the house at 7:45am, so we could beat the crowd into the parking lot. Brian was generous to give us one of his comp passes, as well as a 2 for 1. We were able to get 50% off a kids priced ticket, so at the end of the day it was $59 for 3 tix. Snow Basin got a major upgrade before the 2002 Winter Olympics. The lodge looks like something Nordstrom would have if they were in the snow industry. Today was a record day for SB. I believe I heard they had 7,600 people approx! Tony Chen, one of the original founders of Osiris skate shoes, was in town w/ his wife Angie & their daughter Leighton. They were in town w/ several other families. We didn't get a chance to see Angie & Leighton, but we did ride w/ TC. It was great to see him. At night, we sessioned some features in Brian's backyard and walked around his property. He has a cool archery set up. It was beautiful at night, as it was snowing & the moon was shining. We are supposed to get another foot of pow! Tomorrow, we are supposed to ride Powder Mountain (PM). I originally heard about PM from Livesay, Turp, Rock, etc...Billy owned a condo here, but sold it. I never got a chance to check out PM. Really looking forward to this.
2-25-18: We got to PM later than we should've. Callum was a sleepy head, so we let him sleep in. Finally got on the road for the short trek over to PM & parked in the lot directly above the snow school & a tiny building w/ a restaurant. There was a bus in the lot & not knowing the layout, I thought this was a city bus dropping people off. I had spoken to a nice lady named Melinda in the snow school, prior to getting to PM, regarding any PSIA discounts. When I got there I entered the building & introduced myself to Melinda. She's a very nice lady. She informed me that this wasn't the main lot & that it was above at the Timberline Lodge. We took the bus shuttle up to the top & entered the lodge. This isn't the place to come if you're looking for luxury. PM is a funky & unique place, that seems stuck in the 70's & 80's, which isn't a bad thing! Everyone was nice that we met & shared tables. They had hooks for bags above the tables, that people used. Downstairs is the Powder Keg. A place for locals. There was a jam band playing & the food here is on point. We ordered the wings & Lisa got some spicy Thai ramen. PM boasts 8,000 acres of terrain & they stop selling tickets at 1,500, which is one of the special things about this place, as well as the fact that they don't make snow here. It is all natural snowfall. Makai & Callum hit their first cornice jumps off of the Paradise lift, which they opened at 11am. We got some fresh deep powder lines. We also got some runs through the terrain park & found a valley w/ man made hits made out of logs & wood. The boys both hit this log feature through 2 trees. It was an absolute beautiful day at PM. I look forward to riding this place again. We came back to Brian's & played a horrible game of Chinese Checkers...lol. The boys played a fun game w/ Brian called Rebound. It's kind of like shuffleboard w/ little circular marble like pieces.
2-26-18: Brian hooked us up w/ another comp pass & a 2 for 1. We finally got out on the snow at about 12:30pm. Our cost was only $45.00 today for 3 tix! We rode the Strawberry Gondola today & Brian was able to ride w/ us for an hour. He took us over to the natural halfpipe, which we went down twice. It was long & awesome. The boys rode well today & we finished the day riding through the Blue Grouse Terrain park 3 times. Makai has his tame dogs down & Callum's been showing some nice style on the rails, vert wall, & natural jibs. We finished the day off w/ dinner at the Cinnabar. I'm not used to these places closing at 5:30pm, as Mad River is open until 9:30pm on weekdays. Lisa & the boys crashed out early. Brian & his brother Josh showed up later at night & had a mattress & bed frame, that Brian got from a friends parents for $75.00! Josh is in town from Columbus. He's a mellow and nice dude and looks like John Mayer.
2-27-18: We got up relatively early & everyone met Josh. We headed back to Snow Basin & Brian hooked up 50% off passes. The weather was perfect! Lisa had the boys do some school work & I got caught up w/ some work stuff & had some phone calls. The boys did laps on Little Cat & we let them go up Wild Cat, so they could hit the terrain park. Brian & Josh went up John Paul & hit the Allen Peak tram. I finished up work & took a Dad run w/ Brian & Josh. They took me up to the tram. The view is insane & we were above the clouds. They took me on a run, across the steep Allen Peak face & we dropped down into a natural halfpipe, then traversed across & dropped down into a banked slalom course. We then met up w/ the boys. I took Callum & Makai back up the tram & ran them through the same awesome experience. The top of John Paul is where the 2002 Winter Olympics took place for Giant Slalom. Brian had to take off to SLC for a meeting & Josh went w/ him. We headed into Ogden to check out historic 25th street. The 2 lane mountain road into Ogden is a little sketchy. We had dinner at a wonderful, family owned Italian restaurant called La Ferrovia. We then went over to Farr's ice cream shop, that has been around since 1920. Their tagline is "Farr better ice cream". The prices are super cheap & the amount of ice cream they give you is insane. Finally, we drove over to the pool that was in the movie, Sand Lot. We then came home & crowded around the small portable DVD screen, watching Daddy's Home 2. I fell asleep...lol.
2.-28-18: Another beautiful morning here in Eden, Utah. We are heading back to Powder Mountain for a blue bird day. I was able to get my PSIA/AASI membership discount of $29.00 & the boys tickets were $37.00 each. Not bad at all for 8,000 acres of playground. We didn't hit the terrain park once today & found some nice, untouched powder. We bought some killer ramen bowls to go, from The Powder Keg & headed back to the house, to eat some elk & salmon. The elk was hunted locally by Brian's neighbor & Brian caught the salmon back in September in Alaska. Lisa worked her magic in the kitchen & this was yummy! We went back to Powder Mountain for some night riding & only got a few runs in, but still fun. We are all pooped & tomorrow looks to be the day we head to Tahoe. We've decided to skip Idaho, as a potential blizzard is hitting Tahoe. Looks like the snow Gods are answering again. Surprise surprise!!!
3-1-18: Today is Tahoe or bust day. We left later than we wanted to and hit the road about 1pm. We stopped at the IFA feed shop in Ogden, hoping they'd have some Kinco leather mitts, which aren't overpriced, but they were all sold out. This was my first time in a feed shop and the boys were loving the little chicks & all the other feathery friends in their cages. As we walked in, there was a nice shovel and snow wiper w/ rubber blades. This would be perfect if we needed to dig out of a situation. We also stopped back by the pool where the Sand Lot was filmed and got some day shots. This was an 8hr drive & we stopped in Reno to decide if we wanted to head to the Village of Northstar in the Truckee area or head to meet Danny in South Lake. We decided on heading to South Lake & got a room at the Montbleau Hotel. Right as we turned the corner out of Reno, the wind was blowing crazy swirly & was whipping in different directions. There were signs that said no vehicles over 9ft. The van rocked it & the tires performed once again. Danny is staying at the Montbleau w/ his buddy Kyle Dreyfus. Kyle is a young kid in his 30s, whom met Kevin Sayler and Sayler introduced him to Danny. Kyle has a product called Shred Hook, which is a patented 1 foot product that allows a snowboarder to slide their back foot into the hook. The hook has a very thin plate that slides under the binding. This could be great for beginners getting off lifts, to freestyle rides like Scott Stevenson, who love to boost 1 foot tricks. There's a lot of potential w/ this product. We got to the hotel & as I was unloading bags out of the van, this guy bum rushes me & as I turn I notice it's a buzzed Danny. He scared the piss out of me & then intro'd me to Kyle. We got checked in, dropped the boys off in the room, & headed down to the hotel bar to have a few drinks & play some video poker. We then headed back to the room.
3-2-18: Today the boys shredded Heavenly w/ Danny & Kyle. They had a ton of fun riding pow. This is Kyle's local mountain, so he took them on some fun runs.
3-3-18: The boys headed to the pool. I got a text from Lisa telling me Makai had stepped on a piece of glass at the pool & that they were cleaning out the cut & bandaging him up. They had to close the pool to look for more glass & I found the boys in the arcade. I played some Galaga & loved it. That was one of my favorites growing up! I stopped by the front desk to see if they would comp any of our stay, due to Makai cutting his foot. They told me I had to reach out to security because it had to be run by HR. I called security & they told me they couldn't make this decision & that front desk shouldn't have directed me to them. They apologized for the run around. The front desk told me I'd hear back from the head of risk mgmt on Monday. We called down for the bellman to bring up a cart & got our stuff loaded. I headed down before the family, to dig us out from the snow that dumped on our minivan. I had seen how covered the van was from the window by the elevators & rushed back to show everyone. I took off back down & was so glad we bought the shovel in Utah! It took me a good 20min to get the snow shoveled & off the windows & Thule, before I could drive it to the front of the hotel. I even drove it down Stateline, to see if any would blow off. We drove along the east side of the lake it was beautiful. Memories of when I lived in Homewood back in 1993 were starting to come back to my memory. We stopped for lunch at a quaint little Mexican place called Las Panchitas in King's Beach. We then headed to the Village of Northstar and we finally made it to 1016 Martis Landing!!!
3-4-18: Today we had a great day riding Northstar. Danny went to Reno w/ Josh, to meet the guys from PA (Montage crew & Michael Lydon, who interned w/ Gilson) Lisa, Angie, & Styles also headed to Reno to get some groceries for the house, a space heater, towels, etc...Colton Bryan was in town from South Lake for USASA Boarder Cross. It was good to see and ride w/ his Dad Ryan & see Linda. They are a good family. Siggy & Karen showed up in the village to watch their friend play guitar in a band. They have a nice stage at Northstar, near the ice rink & their are fire pits lining the outside. At 4pm Smore's are handed out for free. We stopped by Frites to get some french fries & they had just closed. The guy at the shop said he could give us 2 things of fries for free. We devoured them! We took the free shuttle back to our house. Sam was our driver again. She's super cool. Lisa & the boys played some laser tag in the house to end the night.
3-5-18: The kids got up and did some studying, while I caught up on some work. Today is a beautiful sunny day at Northstar. We met Dylan today. Dylan is a chill guy, who grew up in PHX & has worked at few mountain towns. He's a lifty and Nate met him this season. We got up to the mountain about 2:30 & met up w/ Danny & the guys visiting from Montage PA. It's a group of like 10 guys. Mostly snow boarders. We took like 3 laps through the Pinball Terrain Park & the boys were killing it. It's nice to see their progression today. Danny says Makai did a frontside 180 switch tap revert & 50/50 whale tail down nose slide to completion & Callum was getting 360's clean & finding nice side hits through the park. We headed back to our place on the shuttle & chilled back at the place catching up on work. The boys were super stoked w/ their short, but progressive day. Lisa whipped up a yummy meal of steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus, & garlic bread. We then rushed over to Northstar Property Owners Association (NPOA) for a quick soak in the jacuzzi. The boys, Styles, & I did some cold challenges laying in the now & rushing back to the jacuzzi. Tomorrow, Lisa, the boys, Nate, & Dylan are to head to Kirkwood.
3-6-18: Today the boys headed to Kirkwood for the first time! It takes about 2hrs from Northstar and sits below Heavenly. Some say Kirkwood is like the Jackson Hole of Tahoe. I stayed back to work & went to lunch at the Red Truck to meet an old friend through business, Steve Tietz. The Red Truck is the restaurant at the Tahoe Truckee Airport. This is where private jets land. Steve's involved in a very interesting start up, using Emoji attributes, as a way to more efficiently deal w/ customer review interaction in any business, whether it be a restaurant, ski resort, hospital, etc... I then headed over to Tahoe Sports Hub, per Siggy's recommendation & bought a PIEPS beacon, backpack, shovel, & probe. These are tools to have on big powder days, when we have the boys in the trees. I now need to buy them each a beacon. They aren't cheap, but if they save one of the boys lives or even mine, then it's all worth it. I've been putting it off because I didn't think we needed them, but one wrong turn, avalanche, or tree well would really suck. Lisa has also been on me about getting them for the boys!
3-7-18: We got on the Vista lift just before Noon today and the plan is to ride park today. We are fortunate to be riding here, as Northstar has been rated as one of the top terrain parks year in and year out. It's also pretty cool seeing old videos of Red Gerard at Northstar, when he was 9 & 10yrs old. Today is a beautiful sunny day and the boys had a great day! Their progression today has been awesome. Their jumping & rail riding are really improving. They started on the small jump line & moved up to the larger jump line. Makai said he over rotated a 720 & landed a 900, touching his hand. Callum landed a FS/BS 360, tweaked Indy, 540, front board on a rail. Both boys hit the big pole jam, that's about 8ft high. I rode my powder board & took it in at the end of the day to get fixed. There's delamination happening on the tip of my fish tail. We ended the night at NPOA. We played a beer drinking ping pong game w/ Nate & Angie, while the boys played some games in the arcade. We then went for a jacuzzi.
3-8-18: We have been getting in a good routine of the boys getting their schooling in in the AM and then riding 3-4hrs in the afternoon. It was a bit windy today, but sunny. Spring conditions. The boys are wanting to ride the park the whole day, so it's been a bit of challenge to get them to other parts of the mountain. I told them we were getting in a "Dad" warmup line of my choice. I took them up Arrow, then to Comstock & we headed down the backside fast groomer, Challenger. It was a great run until we got near the bottom, where it was a bit sticky. It's nice seeing the boys get creative on the side hits & jibs. Nate joined us on his skis again. Nate's a really good boarder, so it's nice to see how stoked he is on learning skis. The boys got 4'Clock Smores again in the village, which is a nice Vail touch. In Beaver Creek, it's chocolate chip cookies. We went down to Provisions & got some nice snacks & beers. It's cheaper to go here, then some of the other establishments. A beer on the mountain is $10-11.50! Styles joined us, so Nate & Angie could go clean off the camper in Kings Beach. We went back to Rubicon for pizza, garlic fries, & spinach/artichoke dip. Ryane is on her way tonight & lands around midnight. It will be good for her to be out here She probably won't want to leave.
3-9-18: Ryane arrived late last night. Callum went to the Reno airport w/ Lisa & fell asleep on the way there & on the way back, after briefly saying hi to Ryane & giving her a hug. Ryane woke Makai up when she arrived & both boys are happy to see her. Ryane got up in the AM & we went riding together. Even though she was tired, she charged & went riding w/ me, which was great for her. I took her up Arrow & then to Comstock. We rode off the backside & went down Challenger. Ryane enjoys long groomed runs, so I was trying to find that for her. We also went down Zephyr & she took that lift up by herself for a few runs, while I went to meet up w/ Makai, Danny, & Michael Lydon from PA. Callum stayed home w/ a stomachache.
3-10-18: Danny & I got up early & hit the NPOA gym today! It felt good to get on the elliptical & they had a cool tread mill you could put in sprint mode jog/sprint for 1min 30sec. I lifted & did some pull ups as well. Ryane & Lisa went into Truckee today & got some mother/daughter time in. The boys & I rode Northstar. It was a typical busy Saturday. Someone got wrecked in the bigger jump line. Ski patrol was working this person for at least 4 lift rides up Vista. I headed over to see Siggy & Karen at their place in the evening. Their friend Dave was there, who is a kick ass guitar player. 9/10 times he will know how to play a song from any band you request. Karen plays as well. The girls were there as well & I got to say hello. Nice mellow night over there. Then I got back our place & it was quite the opposite! Not mellow, but fun. There was karaoke w/ Makai's microphone.
3-11-18: We got up relatively late. Danny & I waxed some boards w/ his BAF wax. BAF wax is enviornmentally safe & bio degradable. Callum, myself, Angie, & styles got to the mountain late & had about an hour and a half left in the day. Makai was out w/ Danny & Josh & as we were heading up Vista Express we saw the guys in the bigger jump line. It looked like Makai was trying a 720 & caught his edge, landing on his back. It looked like a hard landing. I called Danny & he said it knocked the wind out of him & that they were taking a water break. Danny was going to have Makai tone it down a little.
Everyone ended the night at jacuzzi. I stayed back and chilled, catching up on some emails.
3-12-18: Today was another gym day. It feels great to start the day off like this! It was also a special day because Lisa got back on her board and went riding for the first time in like a year & a half! It was a great day for her to go back out, as it was sunny & soft for the hard landings. I just wish she was able to get out earlier, so she could have more time, but there will be more days for her. Ryane rode w/ Danny & the boys & had a great day. She hooked up w/ her Mom & rode, which is great. I stayed back to workWe went to Provisions & had a Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpins, courtesy of Danny. Perfect beer for the end of a day. We went back to 1016 for a little bit & then went to Koi's all you can eat sushi in Incline Village. $32.00 & it includes appetizers. The quality of the food was really good. It's $18.00 for kids. This was the first time Callum tried sushi & he was brave enough to try Unagi (eel) & squid! He didn't like it, but at least tried it. Everyone was FULL. We came back to the house & I passed out on the couch!
3-13-18: Today was a rainy day & Ryane's last day here, before heading back on an afternoon flight back to Columbus. We are supposed to start getting the start of a lot more snow. Some say 100", which is twice the size of Makai...lol. I need to start learning how to use these 3 beacons I bought, so the boys & I can wear them. We didn't snowboard today. We just hung out & went to watch A Wrinkle in Time at the Northstar theater. It seats like 40 people. Lisa took Ryane to the airport, while we went to the movie. Our plan is to get up early and get the fresh powder that is starting to fall tonight. It started snowing in the late afternoon & then turned to rain, but most likely snowing in the mountains. We are trying to get out the door at 8am.
3-14-18: The good news is that reports are saying we got some fresh powder, but we didn't get out as early as we wanted to. We got out early, but not that early. HOWEVER, the conditions were EPIC & we got some fresh powder tracks. It was a foot in some areas. We rode the west side at the beginning of the day, which got better coverage than the east side. We did ride the east side & it was a bit bonier. You had to keep an eye out for rocks & stumps. Callum, Makai, Danny, & myself all hit things. Danny got the worst one on his shin. He tried to ollie a rock & his board got stuck in the pow hitting his shin pretty good. This was such a fun day & we were all hooting & hollering at some point, as we floated down the fall line. I ended up passing out early, while the others went to the jacuzzi. A group of Mad River Mtn instructors are out & staying in Homewood. They rode Homewood today, which is a great little resort. I used to live in Homewood back in 1993
3-15-18: Makai stayed back in the AM. He was having a rough morning waking up, so he stayed & did some school work. Danny, myself, & Callum went riding this AM & the conditions were still great. Powder was still to be found. We didn't get much more fresh snow, but it's coming. I rode a couple of hours in the AM & took off to get some work done, while Callum stayed out. Makai, Dylan, & Nate met us at the Summit. Callum & Makai came back about 2pm. It is starting to dump. Cat & Tyler are coming tonight & Lisa told them to get a shuttle, since the roads will probably be bad. TVB's coming in from San Diego as well & he's renting a car. He will be staying at Siggy's & heading back to SD on Sunday. I hope they don't have to stay the night in Reno. 80 is closed at the moment.
3-16-18: Cat & Tyler arrived w/ no problem from Reno in their Uber. The boys waited up for them, said hello & fell asleep shortly thereafter on the couch and floor of the living room. I have a feeling they won't be getting up early, which is fine because it is dumping snow. We woke up to 2ft of snow. All of the cars are buried in the driveway. It's a beautiful site! I took the shuttle & as I walked over to say hi to the neighbors, I slipped on the road & landed on my back...lol. I landed like a turtle because I had my back pad on, as well as my backpack. I'm really glad I have my Piep's beacon on, as well as shovel & probe. I met up w/ Siggy, Dave, & TVB at about 9:30. We had an awesome day & I rode w/ them until about 12:30. We went to take a break & I thought Siggy said he was going to the day lodge, but they ended up at Zephyr, so my day was done w/ them, but it was epic. We easily got 3-4ft in sections & rode some trees, but I was having goggle fogging issues, so I stayed in the groomer section, but it was powder everywhere. I tried to take my goggles off, but I could only do it for a little while, as it was too much snow. I rode by "feel" at times. Danny & Josh met up during this session & got some epic runs in as well. There were times when I'd carve heel side or toe side & it would be a complete whiteout. Danny & I spoke & we both felt like it was too dangerous for the boys to ride today. It would literally be over their heads in sections. Right at the beginning of our session & I got the bottom of Martis & hit this tricky lip section, landing on my face...DEEP. I could totally see how people could panic in this situation, as I snow in my mouth, but was able to roll over. I had 1 epic flip, as I hit something & completely landed on my back on a rock. Once again, my back pad/pack saved me. A bunch of the MRM instructors were here today, but it's very hard to connect on a day like this because your phone is in your pocket most of the day. I was able to meet up w/ Ed & Brit & got a few runs in. My day started to deteriorate prior to seeing them, as I had fell in a flat section & got stuck. I then proceeded to slow down behind Ed on another run, went too far to the left & got stuck in a tree well, standing up & literally kissed it. Both of these falls took 20-30min to get out of, so that was a bummer, but this stuff happens. I was able to see the rest of the MRM crew at Rubicon briefly. We decided not to head down to the Van's Hi Standard at Sierra at Tahoe because of the snowy conditions.
3-17-18: What a beautiful St. Patty's Day morning. It continued snowing through the night & the conditions were awesome. No goggle issues today & I met & rode w/ Danny's friend from Shasta, Jesse. Great guy & personality. Tyler also joined us, which was great. We rode some sick tree lines most of the day & The Fly board is magical in these conditions. The boys didn't ride for a 2nd day in a row & opted to go to the jacuzzi/arcade. I left Danny & Jesse about 2:15 & headed to Provisions. We got word that Jesse had hit something & landed on a rock fracturing his AC & separating his shoulder. What a bummer of an ending for his season, but man he was having a great day up until that point.
3-18-18: Today we finally shoveled our driveway. There was so much snow & all of the cars were buried. Tyler, being the much nicer human than I would be, stayed & shoveled w/ us, as did Cat. On their vacation! I can honestly say I would have been out snowboarding. It was a blue bird day as well. Makai ended up not snowboarding today. We finished shoveling about 2pm & Callum & I went out for the last hour of riding. We got 4 runs in through Pinball. Callum's rail riding & jumps were super clean today. We went for a jacuzzi at night, then came back to crash.
3-19-18: Woke up and went to the gym this AM. The boys went out riding w/ Danny, Cat, & Tyler. The weather was a perfect blue bird day in the 40's. Matt from BAF wax stopped by to meet up w/ the rest of the gang. He was attending a convention in Reno. He sells portable hot tubs called Soft Tubs. Lisa & I went to meet Cat, Tyler, & the boys at Provisions for lunch. Tyler got some good video of the boys today & it was cool seeing him go through video analysis with them. Danny & Matt also shot some video as well. Tonight is Cat & Tyler's last night. It's been great to have them out here. They are good humans & great friends. Patrick & Taylor showed up tonight. We first met them a few years ago at the Gilson Summer Snow Day in Winfield, PA. They are a super cool hippy couple, on their way to Oregon. She's an herbalist, who graduated from Syracuse & Patrick is a handy guy who graduated from a liberal arts school in PA. He's looking to get into Permaculture & gray water in Oregon. Tomorrow we are doing Squaw. I haven't been back in 25yrs!
3-20-18: Today Cat & Tyler left. Lisa took them to the Reno airport & Danny, myself, Nate, Callum, Makai, Pat, & Taylor headed to Squaw. As we drove in, things started to come back to me, like the Post Office, Squaw Creek hotel, & the many runs I used to go down. It was a trip to see the new Gold Coast gondola they put in. The gondolas are massive! The old gondola only seated like 4 people. These you could fit what looks like 20 people. It was nice to see that they kept some of the old buildings, like the Member lockers, but it was also a trip to see the massive village that used to be the parking lot. Heading up the gondola, it was really neat to see the same blue house that's always been there, right next to the famous KT-22 lift. We took the boys back to the Granite Chief lift. This is located in the back right of the resort & you head down Shirley Lake to access it. This is where I spent a lot of time riding w/ the crew we had back in 1993. It's a mix of chutes, cliffs, & steeper terrain. Tons of fun. I told the boys how I dropped a pair of brand new Arnette sunglasses at the beginning of the lift & raced down to get them, before someone found them. I crashed in the flat section, avoiding a rock I saw at the last moment. We had gotten 6" of snow the night before. I did find them, but man, I jacked myself...lol. It was pure joy watching Callum & Makai charge & jump off cliff sections or head down a chute! I myself was the scout looking for rocks. Nate & Danny were both charging hard as well. I thought Makai broke himself when he hit a lip midway down, but he got up. Everyone was fired up on the challenges. Initially, I think Nate thought it was lame terrain, but during & at the end he said it reminded him of Jackson Hole. We met Lisa, Angie, & Styles for dinner at the Golden Rotisserie in Truckee. I head to PHX super early tomorrow for a work conference until Sunday. I'm bummed I have to leave.
3-25-18: Got on a 9:25am flight back to Reno. This was one of the more bumpy landings I've had. I texted Lisa asking her if we needed anything in Reno & she sent me the Costco & Walmart list. Reno has a Roberto's Taco Shop I ran into. This authentic Mexican chain started in San Diego & is super yummy. They had a drive thru and I ordered the usual carne asada burrito & 3 rolled tacos w/ Guacamole. I was in heaven. It was great to see everyone & I chilled w/ the boys on the couch most of the night, watching Suicide Squad. Pat & Taylor were still here. The group convinced them to stay longer. Their 2 day trip turned into 5 days. It's easy to get stuck in the Tahoe vortex. Josh Wortman, Tanner, & Steve are in Tahoe for the Gilson Tour & stopped by the house. Great guys, but it was a bit awkward w/ the whole unnecessary situation w/ Gilson. It's great to see Scott & Cole again. They are from Ohio & we met originally at Mad River. I then met Scott & Cole a few years ago on a flight to Denver. I happened to sit by them on the plane flight & we remembered each other. I was heading to CA to see Raja & Laurel, my then business partners of ChargebackHelp.com/BILLAPAY.com & they were headed for a ski trip. I always introduce myself to people sitting next to me on a plane flight. You never know who you will meet. The 4 of us crashed in the bed & it was nice cuddling w/ them again. I know these days of cuddling could be gone in the blink of an eye, so truly trying to cherish these moments.
3-26-18: Danny, Scott & Cole Weaver, & the boys went riding at Northstar today. It's a beautiful sunny day. I stayed back to work & send out a merchant application. I also caught up on some other work emails & sent a couple of emails to Todd Covey. We have a t-shirt business idea, based around cannabis & universities. Tonight we went back to Koi all you can eat sushi in Incline Village. We all walked out of their a belt size bigger.
3-27-18: Today the boys got up & Lisa took them over to the NPOA recreation common center to study. There was no riding today.
3-28-18: Today, Danny took the boys & Cole to Northstar. It's a beautiful sunny slushy day. Callum worked w/ Danny 1on1 first. Danny told me he owed Callum $5.00. He paid him .25 for every rail he completed cleanly. I took the shuttle to Northstar & walked by Provisions to see if Lisa was there. She was w/ Makai & I could tell he was upset. He didn't want to ride w/ Danny by himself. He's so used to riding in a pack & he's still too young to understand the value of getting 1on1 coaching. Makai & I went out & he agreed to ride 1on1 w/ Danny tomorrow. Lisa, Angie, Aunt Michele, & Styles met us in the village, so the boys could play laser tag for Style's 6th bday. Angie cooked chili & hot dogs & they went to NPOA afterwards, so the boys could play in the arcade.
3-29-18: Today, Danny, Cole, the boys, & Lisa headed to Boreal/Woodward. Makai rode with Danny 1on1 today & Danny said he owes Makai $3.25. I stayed back w/ Scott & we got in a couple of hours. It was another beautiful warm day. Scott & I went back, got changed & headed into Truckee to eat. We then headed to Woodward to see the boys drop in w/ the snowboard skate, launching themselves into the foam pit. We then came back to 1016, had some leftovers & drinks. Josh Wortman & Tanner came over to chill for a few hours.
3-30-18: Today we headed down to South Lake to ride Heavenly. We got a room at the Tahoe Beach Retreat. This is the same place the Anslinger's wedding party stayed at when Bryce & Emily got married here in 2007 or 2008. Makai decided to take the day off & hang out w/ Lisa. He seemed like he was a bit droopy from having to get up early. Danny, myself, Scott, Cole, & Callum met up w/ Kyle & his buddy Eric at the California Lodge lift. We had a wonderful sunny day riding Heavenly. Kyle took us on runs & I remember riding a lot of the same stuff, when I last rode Heavenly. The views are insane of the lake. After riding, we headed over for awesome German food & beers at the place Kyle works at. It is called the Himmel Haus & the atmosphere is really cool. Walking there, I found a pair of Tortoise framed Ray Ban's partially buried in a dirt pile. We headed back to the hotel & had some drinks. Cole & the boys were in 1 bed & fell asleep. Scott laid at the foot of the bed & he fell asleep as well. Pretty funny site to see. Our plan is to leave by 9am for Kirkwood. I'm really excited to ride here, as it will be my first time there. Kirkwood didn't allow snowboarding back in 1993.
3-31-18: Well, today we got up later than we wanted to. We checked out of the hotel & headed down to Kirkwood on another sunny day. We somehow found a great VIP parking spot & snuck in, saving $25. The funny part was when Callum said out loud, "doesn't VIP mean Very Important Person?" Scott jokingly said, "Well, you can scratch Secret Service off the list." We had a wonderful day riding & the weather couldn't have been more perfect. The sun was out & it was blue bird day. Kirkwood is insane. Big mountain at it's best. Everyone rode/skied well & the boys charged hard. There were cliff jumps, steeps, & awesome natural halfpipes that I was carving frontside & backside, like I was surfing. There's even a massive ridge named "The Wave". I really liked the vibe here. We took a break at Sunrise Cafe on the backside & chilled on the chairs in the sun. At the end of the day, we listened to this wonderful band called Jelly Bread. We headed back to Incline Village & at at Lupita's Mexican restaurant, then we headed over to Diamond Peak, as the boys wanted to ride the full moon. When we got there, it wasn't bright enough, so we headed back to the house.
4-1-18: Today is Scott & Cole's last day here. Scott says this has been their best ski trip. The boys are going to be bummed when Cole leaves. It was a zoo today at Northstar. Danny said it was actually "National Gaper Day" today. The halfpipe was nuts. There were too many people in it at 1 time. There was group in particular that had like 15 people following each other & Danny avoided a female & then barely missed crashing into Callum. He tweaked his back pretty good. Lisa, myself, the boys, & Cole headed back to Woodward & they had a blast. They jumped & then spent some time dropping down ramp 2 (medium) & flying into the foam pit. Cole pulled his first backflips, while Makai did backflips & frontflips, & Callum did some stylish grabs. We hurried back & I dropped them off at the rec center, so they could take a quick jacuzzi & get showers. NPOA doesn't run out of hot water, like our house does! Afterwards, everyone came back & we had a chill night at the house. Lisa leaves at 6:30am to take Scott & Cole to Reno for their flight back to the Cbus.
4-2-18: Today the boys studied today & took the day off from riding. After getting their school work completed we headed to Woodward, so they could jump. They jumped the whole time & met a few other boys their age. Their favorite feature was a double blocks, that were about 8ft high & then they jumped into the foam pit. Makai was going double front flips & Callum was doing his backflips. Callum's getting really comfortable w/ his backflips. Brian Papworth stopped by w/ his son Grant & their friends Nikki & Lori from Utah. Brian's in town from Utah & they were at Squaw today. After, we were in search for food & headed into downtown Truckee. We at at Old Town Tap, which is know for their pizzas, but they ran out of pizza apparently. We let them order ice cream w/ hot fudge because they were so hungry. We also had cheese curds w/ pesto, which was yummy. Makai ordered the venison, yes venison & was really good. Callum had a caesar salad w/ anchovies, yes anchovies...lol. Lisa had a their yummy soup of the day, which was creamy asparagus. I had scraps, yes scraps. They did have a really good San Diego beer on tap. Modern Times Blazing World.
4-3-18: We headed back to Squaw today & ShredHook Kyle met us there from South Lake. It was his 1st time to Squaw & he loved it. It was a beautiful sunny day. Brian Papworth, his son Grant who turns 21 today, Nikki, & Lori also met us there. We went up the Tram & that's the first time I've went up that in 25yrs. It brought back more memories. I took my first lesson at Squaw back in 1993 & it took place at the top of High Camp. Every moment there triggers memories, like when we got to the top of Head Wall & traversed around the mountain top. Danny did some laps w/ the boys in the park & I headed to to ride w/ Kyle for a few runs & we met up w/ Brian & his group for a run, before the end of the day came to a close.
4-4-18: Today the boys rode Northstar w/ Danny. Callum's working on his technique for a Miller flip & Makai did a backflip on the quarter pipe, down near the bottom of Pinball. It's a 15-18ft quarter pipe. Danny made a nice corned beef dinner tonight w/ carrots, brussel sprouts, & mashed potatoes. Our plan is to get up earlier tomorrow.
4-5-18: We got a relatively early start at Northstar today. I joined Danny & the boys. We took a warmup lap through the Burton progression park & then some laps through Pinball. We then split up the boys. Danny rode w/ Makai to do some coaching & I headed off w/ Callum. Callum had some really clean runs. His riding is so smooth and effortless. He hit the babbling brook, which is a waterfall rail w/ 6 or 7 sections to it & glided across all sections, landing it & arms raised briefly in the air, showing that he conquered it. Later, I then headed to jump on a conference call & Callum joined Makai & Danny for some riding. Makai's really been boosting out of the 12-15ft pipe. Danny says he's gotten 4ft out. Callum's been getting out of it as well. We headed back to the house for a break, before heading to Woodward. Before heading to Woodward, Callum found $5 in his pocket & then when we got there he found a $100 bill in the parking lot by our van. Right in a puddle! Makai tweaked his back again earlier in the day on a side hit riding & you could tell he was hurting. He took it easy tonight & definitely needs a day off of everything tomorrow. Callum kept working on his backflips. They both jumped off the padded pole and have been doing flips/jumps off that into the foam pit. Makai ice'd his back tonight.
4-6-18: Today is a rainy day here, which makes for a nice school day. The boys are starting their day reading their books & next up will be there school work on their laptops. Our plan is to take the day off from riding & Woodward & head to a 4pm movie at the Northstar theater. We are going to see Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One. Really looking forward to this.
4-7-18: We decided to head to Boreal later today. There's rain & wind in the forecast, but not too bad. I headed up w/ the boys & Danny & Lisa were to catch up w/ us later. There was a Boarding 4 Breast Cancer event aka B4BC & Boreal built a specific feature w/ a cancer ribbon & other lumps throughout. The boys got a few laps & as I was waiting for them, I randomly ran into Shred Mamba again! I noticed his Technine gear. The boys came down shortly thereafter & took a lap w/ Mamba before he had to head to Reno. His energy is awesome. We then took a break & waited for Danny, Jen, & Lisa to come meet us. They all went out for a few runs before it started to rain & then we waited for the raffle ticket draw to happen. The boys helped pick tickets for the raffle. After we headed out the door to Woodward & they jumped for a few hours. We had a great day & night!
4-8-18: Lisa headed back to Ohio on a 7pm flight, so she could get back for Ryane's bday, while Danny & I headed to South Lake w/ the boys & stayed at Mont Bleu. We had a great day at Northstar. The weather warm & the snow wasn't sticky. The boys had a great time lapping Pinball.
4-9-18: Today is Ryane's 19th bday. Happy bday Ryane! She got an 11-11 tattoo on the underside of her left arm. We Skype'd her from the road, as Danny, myself & the boys headed to Sierra at Tahoe today. I was able to score a $45 ticket w/ my AASI membership & the boys tix were only $39. This place was awesome. Not huge, but cool parks & long runs. The lodge was awesome. All wooden, very cool bartenders & people. Gin was our bartender & she hooked Danny & I up. The prices were awesome. Not like Vail! We had a great sunny day here & lapped the park. At the bar, we happened to meet Nick Hill from OH. He overheard me say Seven Springs & then it turned out he was the Ohio State team manager for their ski/snowboard team in 2011. Callum got into his gear quickly & was able to get a couple of runs in w/ Nick & the rest of his crew from the area. Nice guys. One of them coached Ryan Bryan's kids Parker & Colton. Great guys & they were very impressed w/ Callum's riding. They kept saying this is the "future or snowboarding!". Makai stayed back to chill w/ me. We drove back to Northstar up the west side & this brought back a lot of memories, as I lived near Homewood
4-10-18: Today I caught up on work & Danny took the boys out for a few hours. Jannah rode w/ them. She's 23 & from the Bay area. She met Josh Wortman & Tanner at a Gilson demo. Really sweet & nice girl. I met up w/ them & we rode a flew laps together. Then we split the boys up for few laps through Pinball. Callum bet me $10 I couldn't hit the 2nd rail in the park, which is a 3 section rail. I hit it clean, but told him I wouldn't take his money. At the end of the day I had Makai & Makai & I hiked the rail section near the bottom of Vista. There's a C to S curve rail that's approx 30ft & Callum got it previously. Super technical & not easy. Makai was on his 6th try & got to about a body length at the end & fell off. 2 tries later he stuck the whole thing. I told him to visualize & re-emphasized what Danny was telling him to do. Not lean too far forward. He was so stoked. Callum actually hit the whole thing a few days earlier. This isn't an easy rail & humbles a lot of riders way older than them.
4-11-18: Today was another day of riding. We split the boys up for a bit. Rachel aka Rappa & her brother Kyle showed up about 9:30pm from traveling in Utah. Rappa was on tour last year w/ Danny. She's awesome & is from New York, but moved out recently to Oregon w/ her brother. Kyle is super chill & is a talented designer. They are both entrepeneurs & started unitedstickerco.com, which is a sticker company. "Stick together" is their tagline & they unite people through their sticker themes. We are to get some snow tonight again!
4-12-18: We got a 9:30am start today riding. It was another beautiful sunny day & we got about 6" of fresh stuff. The snow was really nice. The boys met up w/ us later in the day & I headed back to the village w/ Kyle because he was having a binding issue.
4-13-18: Got up & headed to Mt. Bachelor, so we could get their before registration ended today. We got their 10min before it ended & everyone was super nice. The schwag was insane. Patagonia Hawaiian shirts, made out of board short material, Rainbow sandals, Kind bars, wax, etc... Before we headed out, Callum said he heard a boy say Gerry Lopez was signing autographs. Growing up, Gerry was the style master of Pipeline. He has such a laid back style. I also remember him from being in the movie Conan w/ Arnold Schwarzenegger. We headed downstairs where registration was & we saw Gerry. He's a lot smaller in person, but looks very fit. I introduced myself & then introduced my boys. Prior to meeting him, my boys were aware that their Uncle Ukulele Bob had met Gerry in Cabo, while he was down there for a surf trip w/ Bob Rief, who knows Gerry. I mentioned that to Gerry & he said, "Oh, that's your Uncle? He had a problem w/ a 4 wheeler in the sand & it got stuck." I hadn't heard the story, but when I called my Uncle, he said, "Oh, he knew about that? lol". He then told me that he indeed got his 4wheeler stuck in the sand. It was hard to see today, as it was a bit wet & snowing. The boys & I took 3 laps in through the course & rode through the park w/ Danny. We only saw a fraction of the mtn today & really hoping it clears up tomorrow, as some say it will. At night, we headed back to our Airbnb. Danny, Kyle, & me headed into downtown Bend for the Liz Clark book signing at Patagonia. She's a young woman from San Diego who sailed around the world. Kyle & I got the last 2 copies of her hard back. Bend is a cool city.
4-14-18: Today we got up early and rallied to the mountain, so the 3 of us could make our heats, that started at 9am & ran until 11:30ish. We each got 2 runs & it was a blast. This unique contest blends surfing & snowboarding. It isn't about who can throw triple or quad cork, but rather, who has the best slash, line, or style to name a few. Both boys killed it on their runs. Callum showing style & Makai charging hard & throwing a tame dog off the spine. I rode much better than I had anticipated & fell once on each run, but played it off like I meant to do it, turning it into a trick. I met some cool people during the contest. I met some guys from the Dayton, Ohio area. One of them was 68 yrs old competing! The other was Adam. He's a veterinarian from Medford & had a boy & girl in the challenge. There was a super yummy Hawaiian BBQ being served with Korean short ribs, teriyaki chicken, rice, Hawaiian salad, etc... Bill Keale was playing some beautiful Hawaiian music in the lodge. Gerry gave a nice definition of Aloha to the crowd & awards were given out by the awesome sponsors for each division & separate awards for best line, best slash, best method, etc... Lib Tech gave out some sick surfboards & snowboards. Patagonia gave out their really nice waterproof duffel bags. This event is truly special & I am so glad we were all able to experience it. We will be back.
4-15-18: Rode & boys got sick after getting back from the Deschutes River. I demo'd Aaron's Pow Fish. I think it was a little too small for me because it slid out a few times. We headed back to our place & as much as we wanted to head out to meet Chris & Tammy for dinner, we were all beat tired. Chris, Tammy, & their other Ohio friends are from Mad River Mtn.
4-16-18: Today, Danny, Kyle, Rachel & myself got up early w/ a goal of making it to the 9am chair. Lisa & the boys stayed back to sleep in & hopefully get better. This was an epic day. We rode the Cloud Chaser chair to the left & then hiked the cone twice. I demo'd another one of Aaron's boards from Elevated Surf Craft. This time it was the Red Tail Hawk & this board suited me much better, as it is a bit longer. At the end of the day, I introduced Aaron to Danny, Kyle, & Rachel. Aaron ended up joining us on the hike up the cone & afterwards he said it was the best line of the day. How can you not like a dude, that names his dog dude...lol.
4-17-18: We checked out of our Airbnb. It was a great place along the Deschutes River. It was another nice day at Bachelor & the boys hiked the cone! Callum got up to the top hiking first & Makai was right behind. I was way back...lol. It was really cool seeing the boys earn their turns. Danny informed them at the top to not stop abrutly, but try and keep their turns nice & flowy. Stopping abruptly could cause an avalanche in certain conditions. We left Bachelor about 3pm & headed to Bend for lunch at Chicken Bonz. A yummy chicken strip or sandwich place. Lisa drove back like a rockstar. We got home about 1:15am.
4-18-18: We headed to Boreal today w/ our new friend Jannah. Today was $25.00 lift ticket day, if you have a season pass holder w/ you. I had to switch my bindings from my Fly to the Pioneer, so got a later start than the boys. As I was coming out, the boys were coming back in to eat, so I headed up by myself. As I was going up, I was checking out all of the new Pop Up Park features in the 12ft halfpipe. At the top, I took a pic of the pipe, as it had features on top, like rails, bonks, etc... I called Danny & sent him a pic, telling him he was missing out. One feature was a rail that launched you back in the pipe & onto a snow staircase that was made. As I was getting ready to launch into the pipe, I told myself to just chill & carve, which I was doing. The problem is I was only looking at the walls I was approaching them w/ my angles. I got to my backside and as I was coming down, I could see I was screwed & yelled fuck, before flipping head over heels I sat their dazed, but could move all of my extremities. My binding had a screw bust out on the smaller backfoot first. Long story short, I headed down to ski patrol & they had me chill for 20min, before releasing me. I decided to drive myself to Reno, per Charley Marshall's instruction. I went to the ER room of Renown Medical Center & Dr. Dubansky reviewed my Cat Scan & xrays of my thoracic area. All came out good & their was no skull fracture or CSF leakage, which was great to confirm. He prescribed me some muscle relaxers, which I picked up close by at the 24/7 Walgreens pharmacy drive thru. I finally got home about 3am & the plan is to head to Mammoth, until Monday.
4-19-18: I woke up sore today from my fall. We packed up & Danny drove our van to Mammoth. We stopped in the small town of Lee Vining, hoping to eat at a popular deli that Chris Morgan told me to stop at, but it's been closed for the season. I told Danny to head back into town & see if we could find a place. Everything was closed except for this old diner named Nicely's. Turns out this place has been around for over 50yrs. Callum ordered a strawberry shake & Makai had a butterscotch shake. The menu was awesome & the food very comforting. It was a throwback & reminded me of something my Grandma would make. They even had homemade pies. Callum had the blueberry pie w/ vanilla ice cream. Danny & I ended up eating most of it. Adjacent to the diner was their older style bar named the Sierra Room. We pulled into Tahoe about 4pm & we are staying at one of Toby Taitano's condos in the village. Chris Morgan, Natalie, & their boys are staying in the other one w/ Justin Stockton & his son Ryan. The plan is for me to teach snowboarding to all 5 of them tomorrow morning. We also plan on riding w/ Tenoa & his son TJ. We met them at Nationals last year at Copper.
4-20-18: We got off to an early start today. Perfect weather. Sunny & blue bird. We took the free shuttle bus & as we were waiting for it, Tanoa passed by in his red Subaru w/ TJ honking. We got up to the Main lodge & connected w/ Tanoa & TJ, re-introducing the boys, as it's been a year since they last met & that was brief. It's really cool that we can use our ikon passes now & what a deal it was. 1 paid adult pass for $599 & you can get 1 child pass for $150. Such a great deal & the ikon list of resorts is insane. They're definitely going to be competitive w/ Vail's Epic Pass. Morgan & Justin's crew are getting up a little later, which is great because I was able to get out w/ the boys, Tanoa, & Danny for a few sick runs on the mountain & through the park. TJ's having a blast w/ the boys & Tanoa says they were really looking forward to this. We are both stoked to get the families together. Really nice family & little brother Ziggy is going to be one to watch for in the future. Ziggy is 3 & TJ is 7. I then headed over to Chair 11 & met up w/ Chris, Justin, Chris' boys Sam & Max, & Justin's son Ryan. I was stoked to be able to teach them & try to pass on the stoke. Ryan had a previous lesson at Big Bear for 6hrs, so he wasn't a "Never Ever". By the end of the day Justin was able to connect turns & rode all the way down to the bottom, got the wobbles, & slammed pretty hard, but came up smiling. I was also able to take Natalie up for a nice run & get her on video. We ended the day w/ some drinks on the patio & then headed back to the condo for a jacuzzi & pool time. Perfect day, but I'm tired! The boys spent the night at the Weygand's.
4-21-18: The boys came back in the AM, but definitely got a later start today, which is fine. Another sunny day. The boys went out by themselves & I tried to connect w/ the Morgan's & Stockton's, but it was so nice on the patio, that Danny, Lisa, & I had some beers. I took Sam out for 2 runs & was able to get him on video. He was stoked to get those runs in, as was I. We headed back for a long pool day to cap the evening & jacuzzi. The highlight was all of the boys in the pool & Justin & Morgan throwing a tennis ball in the air & everyone trying to catch it. We used to do this back in the day. Nate, Angie, & Styles came down from Tahoe to stay for a couple of nights.
4-22-18: Happy Earth Day! Wow, another beautiful day in Mammoth. It's supposed to be 66! Tanoa brought donuts by & waxed the boys boards. Very nice of him! He plans on meeting us to ride later. I started the day off taking a few laps w/ the boys through South Park & Unbound (Main bigger) park. Raymond Valderrama & his daughter Maddy met up w/ us as well. We met the Valderrama's through the Capua family during Nationals. Very nice people. At the end of the day, we took an Ohana run from the top of the gondola. It was awesome. I tried to film w/ Danny's gimble. I definitely need time to get used to using it & getting closer to the rider. Prior to this, Tanoa & I were hanging out by Chair 11 & this lady came up asking if we knew where rentals were & that she had a bit too much to drink. I walked her to rentals & she mentioned ski patrol had taken her down the mountain. I also found out she had lost her son on this very day to mental illness. He had OD'd at 27yrs old. I stopped & gave her a big hug. She told me their last night together was at dinner & he said he was having the best night. I told her to hold on to that memory & other good one's. I got her to rentals & gave her another hug. She thanked me. We ended the night at the pool & jacuzzi. Tanoa & Turtle came over & brought a bunch of pizzas. Ziggy came over as well & is the cutest little guy. He loves being around the boys & likes Makai. Makai stayed at the Weygand's again & Callum stayed back.
4-23-18: Today we are checking out of Toby's place. This has been a such a nice place to stay at & I'm grateful for my network of friends. Thank you Toby! Surprise surprise, another sunny day here. We are now checking into the Weygand's place. Super thankful they've opened their door to us. We spent much of the AM getting packed up, as we had to check out at 10am. Of course that turned into 11am. Danny headed up w/ the Henson's & we caught up w/ them later.
4-24-18: Another beautiful day in Mammoth. The boys snowboarded & then, Tanoa, Danny, myself, & all of the boys headed to the Volcom Brothers skatepark. This park is insanely big, outdoors, & public. Makai was a bit rusty, but it was nice to see him knock that off for spring/summer. He said he fell pretty good in 1 of the bowls & had the scrape on his back to prove it. TJ is a little ripper & lucky to have this in his backyard. Ziggy had fun running around. I cruised around & after riding Tanoa's bigger board, know I need a bigger board. Danny cruised for a few runs. Tanoa as well. He has a nice fluid style. The big surprise was Callum! He skated, didn't want to leave & was the last one in the park from our group. We literally forgot about him when we were loading in the car. He was trying to grind a rail. We went back & had a wonderful chicken dinner Chelsea prepared in the pressure cooker. The sticky rice & salad were perfect. Yum yum!
4-25-18: Surprise, another sunny beautiful day snowboarding in Mammoth. After, Tanoa took us to the Shadow Creek golf course he works at & we got a huge bucket of balls & went to the driving range. The view you have hitting balls is insanely beautiful. Big snowy mountain ranges! The kids snowboarded in the parking lot afterwards & continued skating in the parking lot at the apartment complex, trying to ollie over a can. Old skool style. TJ got it easily & Makai could clear it easily, but the landings were tough, as he was landing to far on the tail, crashing out. Ziggy was having fun bum rushing the kids from the side & behind on his pushbike. He would roll up & put his foot on one of the big boys skateboards & bike away...lol. We ended the night putting on some epic "First We Feast" YouTube interview videos. Terry Crews & Charlize Theron were hilarious.
4-26-18: Beautiful sunny day. Boys went to the skatepark the first part of the day & then caught up w/ Danny & I. Lisa rode for the last 30min & I took her up Chair 1. She did great. We took the Weygand's to Burger's in the village & it was nice. I had a huge 1/2 pound Bison burger. We went back & watched "Wonder", about August Pullman, the boy with the disfigured face. It's a solid movie. Funny parts throughout, but also a drama w/ some teary eyed moments. In the end, a good movie for kids to see.
4-27-18: Today is our last day in Mammoth & staying with Tenoa, Chelsea, 7yr old TJ, & his little brother Ziggy (3yrs old). The weather is surprisingly colder today at the mountain, as it's socked in. Danny & Lisa headed up the mountain w/ the boys. TJ rested today & stayed home. Lisa is planning on riding again today, which is great. I headed up later in the day & took the public trolley 2 blocks away, which dropped me off in the village. I then walked through the village to get the public bus. All free & didn't take that long. Lisa & I rode Chair 1 together 1 time & then we headed over for a couple of runs on the beginner Chair 11. The boys got some nice laps in w/ Danny at the park. We then headed back to the Weygand's place to eat & pack. Chelsea made some nice burritos. Julian, the Kiwi Mammoth Snow School Director came over w/ his beautiful baby girl Eleanor aka Ellie. Julian had an unfortunate accident recently in Forest Trail Park at Mammoth & broke his back off one of the jumps. After giving our hugs & taking a Polaroid of the big boys (Ziggy just woke up & didn't want to partake), we said A hui ho'u, which means "See you later" in Hawaiian, as Chelsea stated, we hit the road. I don't like saying goodbye, as it seems very final & we will see the Weygand's again. They are a wonderful family & we are thankful to have spent some quality time w/ them. We got just after midnight & the plan is ride SquAlpine tomorrow. The boys stayed up most of the 3.5hr ride home watching a "movie". They were supposed to go to sleep after watching 1, but Lisa was asleep in the back of the van.
4-28-18: Today we rallied & went to Squaw. Nate, Angie, & Styles joined as well. The snow was in really nice spring condition. The highlight was that Lisa rode today! It was cool snapping a photo & some video of her w/ the boys on the lift & snow. The boys rode some park. Callum said he board slid the down, flat, down, flat, down rail. Danny, Lisa, & I were enjoying some beers on the patio deck of High Camp & all of a sudden the flags started whipping fiercely. We were seated along the window & the wind increased sliding a bunch of chairs towards us, as well as a trashcan! It was like we were pins on a bowling alley, barely missing us! As scary as it was, it was hilarious. We ended the day over at Alpine & got a few runs in from the top. The snow was a bit crispy in spots, but nice to get their for the first time this season & on the ikon pass!
4-29-18: Today is our last day in Tahoe. The boys stayed home & played w/ Styles, making a fort in the livingroom. Lisa spent the day packing up all of our "stuff". Later in the day, I headed down to Kings Beach to take a quick dip in the lake. It was cold. Not just cold, but COLD. I usually do really well in cold water, but the breeze & occasional cloudiness didn't help. It was refreshing! We stayed back & just chilled at the house. Makai & Styles played together & Callum watched TV. Danny made a nice fried chicken meal w/ mashed potatoes & salad.
4-30-18: I slept horrible last night. We woke up & finished packing. It seems never ending. As we were getting ready to be finished, Maggie, the Henson's dog starts barking. It turns out there were a few bears crossing through the houses a couple of houses away. It was pretty cool seeing that. Of course the boys walked over near the area w/ sticks in their hands. They were looking for the bears. Probably not the smartest. It also started snowing a bit! We ended up getting out of there, before Angie & Styles came home. Styles will be bummed, but I think he'd be bummed either way. We gave our hugs to Danny & Nate & said we will see you later. We all thanked Danny & the plan is Lisa will have the boys write Danny some thank you letters. We headed out towards Reno, got gas at Costco, & oil changed at Jiffy Lube. Lisa & I decided we were going to get a hotel room & take the boys to see Avengers Infinity Wars. They've really been wanting to see it. Veronica, the cashier at Jiffy Lube recommended we stay at the Nugget Resort, as they have a nice indoor pool. We got a room for $28! After the oil change, we headed for a short drive over to Roberto's Taco Shop, which is a San Diego fast food/sit down Mexican place. It's one of my favorite places to eat, so I was stoked to get my carne asada burrito & 3 rolled beef tacos w/ guacamole & cheese! Next, we hurried over to the movie theater & got there just in time. The movie was great & the boys loved it. Lisa was really into it as well & she encouraged us to sit at the end, in case there was additional footage. Mom knows best, & there was an extra seen w/ Samuel Jackson. We headed off to the Nugget & got their just in time to check in & get to the beautiful pool/jacuzzi for 15min. I was showing the boys how to swim like a dolphin, & like an idiot, I scraped my forehead slightly on the bottom...lol. We headed back to the room, got the boys settled in, & I headed back downstairs to get Lisa some wine & me a beer. I enjoyed a little time playing some Wheel of Fortune slots. That game is fun. Off to bed we go. Our plan is to get out sometime in the AM.
5-1-18: We got up & got on the road by about 10:15am. Lisa wasn't happy with the van. The valets were obviously ripping around & made stuff in the van move around all over the place. Lisa drove while I worked & it was a smooth drive. We watched the Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich semi final of Champions League & it was an entertaining match! We stopped to eat at a hole in the wall of a place called Bon Rico. The first time we drove by it we kept going because it didn't look like much, even though it got good reviews on Yelp. We headed to another place called Jodie's Diner nearby & we immediately decided to not go in, as it looked pretty run down. So, we headed to look at Bon Rico again & I went in. The menu was not cheap, but it looked way better on the inside & we were ready for a solid meal. This is a steakhouse that's been around for 30yrs & is quite popular during the track & summer. Makai & I split the ribeye dinner, while Lisa & Callum shared the salmon. After ordering I took the boys across the street to stretch their legs & walk around. There's a Chinese garden & gazebo. It turns out Evanston has some Chinese heritage w/ the Wing Family. Chinese immigrants worked on the railroads around 1800s in this area. After an awesome meal we headed back on the road & decided Rock Springs was our goal for the night. It turns out, Rock Springs was where the "Rock Springs Massacre" of 1885 occurred. Over 20 Chinese coal miners were murdered by white coal miner workers & their wives. The issue was that the white workers had been on strike numerous times over pay. The Chinese immigrant workers were okay w/ the lower pay by the Union Pacific Railroad company. The Knights of Labor started during this time. We ended up finding a discounted hotel rate via World Mark by Wyndham at the Baymont Hotel. We all watched "Forged In Fire" & fell asleep. Rock Springs is a growing community of new builds. We saw this because we got a little lost looking for the Baymont. I think there's a lot of money made in energy & fuel. We traveled approximately 10hrs today.
5-2-18: We got on the road by 9am & Lisa being the Rockstar she is drove again. Our goal is Kansas City, but there have been tornadoes & gnarly storms, so we may stop. Liverpool played Roma in the semis of Champions League & we watched it on my phone. Victory! So stoked they're playing Real Madrid in the finals! It's been over 10yrs since Liverpool has been in a Champions League final. YNWA. As we were driving today, we passed by some beautiful landscapes & tons of cows. Lisa asked how these cow owners keep track of their cattle, that spread out over large areas of land. Very good question. We know they're tagged & there's software, but it seems daunting. The Accuweather app's radar showed that we would be headed right into the severe storm, so we randomly stopped in Kearney, Nebraska. We got gas immediately & I looked on my Hotels Tonight phone app for any deals. It turns out, we were staring directly at the deal I was looking at at The Holiday Inn & there was indoor waterslides. This sounded too good to be true. I called the hotel & spoke to a guy named Jackson. He was able to give the AAA discount for $10 less. I said, sold & I would see him in 1min. Literally. I checked us in & we headed to Target to look for a soccer ball. We are getting back for 3 soccer games. The first being on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. Right into the lions den for the boys. So, I'd like them to get some touches in. We found a waterproof soft ball & got some touches in the hallway at the hotel. This hotel was great. We ate dinner at the attached restaurant called Sozo & the food & ambiance was great. The kids meals were free for dinner & breakfast the next morning. We had the crab bisque as the soup, which was super yummy & Lisa had the shrimp jambalaya, while I had a Wagyu burger. Makai had pizza & green beans, while Callum had the cheeseburger & fruit. Our waiter Micah brought the boys ice cream sandwiches. Very nice guy. We also discovered while at dinner via Wiki, that Kearney is where the publicly traded Buckle stores started. I would have never known that. I like to look up information on Google about towns we visit along the way as you can tell! After dinner we headed to the pool. This place was awesome & better than I thought. There were 2 30ft waterslides. One green & the faster one yellow. Super fun. There was a nice jacuzzi, but not hot enough for Lisa & I. It was empty & the boys played/chased each other at the adjoining smaller kids waterslide play area. They found a snorkel mask & Makai was trying to chase Callum down throughout & around this Octopus w/ a human face play feature. We headed back the room & I immediately fell asleep. The boys had on Men In Black 2, but fell asleep right after cuddling into Mom. We traveled approximately 11hrs today.
5-3-18: We got on the road by 10:45am today. Later than we wanted, but we did have a nice breakfast. The boys & I got some touches in w/ the soccer ball in the hallway. What's pretty funny is the night before I was looking for open doors in the adjoining conference rooms after dinner. Growing up playing for the Nomads soccer club, we used to find open ballrooms & play indoor soccer, keep away, juggling games, etc...Totally brought back wonderful childhood memories. I spoke to Chris Morgan about this the night before, because he had texted me, asking me where we were. So, I called him & told him what I was doing. We had a laugh. Lisa "The Rockstar" drove again & we headed off east. Today we had to stop in Coralville, Iowa. Lisa & I were going to start going over some health benefit info & as I was rifling through my bag, I found a letter from Chase bank I had forgotten we had to deal with. In a nutshell, Callum won a settlement from SkyZone sports when he was 2yrs old. This is a court ordered bank account & he can't touch the money until he's 18yrs old. Non interest bearing. Anyways, the account is never touched, but the letter states we need to either mail the letter, fax, or walk into a branch & let them know the account is not abandoned. If we don't get back to them by today, the funds will be handed over to the State of Ohio. This is an account owned by a now 9yr old...lol. Anyways, we stopped & I walked over to a Hilton Homewood Suites & Barrett the front desk person happily faxed it for me. Super cool guy. Coralville seems like a nice town. The outdoor shopping center is similar to Easton here in Columbus. We then headed off for 2hrs & we decided we were going to stay in Champaign, Illinois, the home of the Fighting Illini & Big 10 Conference member. We found a Hyatt on Hotels Tonight, I then called then directly & I got a room for $55.00! I'm a member & I was able to use points. I got us checked in, Lisa took some things out of the van, & got the boys to the pool before they closed. They have a nice little bar downstairs. I got Lisa a Malbec & myself a Two Hearted Ale. I then ordered a deep dish pizza from Papa Del's, as well as some garlic donuts. The food was great, but it took over an hour to deliver. We then crashed out. We traveled approximately 10hrs today.
5-4-18: I write this entry as we drive by downtown Columbus. It feels great to be back home. The boys anticipation is building & you can tell they are excited, but a nervous energy. Today we started w/ a awesome free & hot breakfast at the Hyatt. This breakfast would have been a nice paid breakfast. I had a couple of waffles w/ bananas foster comode. We have about 4.5hrs of drive left. The drive presented us w/ a lot of road construction. We entered into Ohio & I snapped a picture. Makai can't wait to see his dog Taj & even Callum wants to see him. I feel sorry for the trampoline, as it's going to get abused! The boys have their first soccer game tonight. It will be interesting to see how they do since they haven't played in 6 months. I just told them to do their best, out work their opponent & have fun.
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