A Week at the Lodge

I took one of my longest trips to the Bradley Lodge this week, Tuesday through Sunday, and it was filled with lots of activity. The main reason for the trip was that my aunt, cousin and cousin's boyfriend were in California from Texas to look at colleges and to play in snow. On Tuesday night we watched American Idol and got ready for skiing at Bear Valley. Wednesday we all skied at Bear Valley, where I bought my 2009-2010 season pass (it was too good of a deal to pass up) and played games at the Lodge. Wednesday was another day of skiing for my aunt and me, while the other two decided to try snow shoeing and cross country skiing, they enjoyed both. Friday was another busy day, my mom, grandma and I went to Murphy's and Ironstone Vineyards to look around, take pictures of some beautiful flowers and look at their 40+ pound piece of gold and then we became members of the Stevenot Winery Wine Club before taking a scenic drive back to the Bradley Lodge on "Avery Sheep Ranch Road." Saturday, my dad and I went skiing, although it was colder than the last two days of skiing, it was still at lot of fun, I got in nearly 30 runs in about 4 hours of skiing, so there really weren't any lines. Saturday night we had lots of hail, before it gave way to snow on Sunday morning. As I drove the Escape out of the driveway there was about 1 foot of snow and it was still coming down, it was a beautiful drive and the Escape got to test its 4WD.

Flowrider Comes to Elk Grove

Some of you may remember that on my last Caribbean Cruise I and everyone that was with me had a great time on the Flowrider, well there is good news, the Flowrider has come to Dream Xtreme in Elk Grove, slightly closer than the nearest Royal Caribbean ship based out of Florida. The only problem, on the cruise it was "free" (well included with the food, hotel room and everything else) and in Elk Grove it costs $15 for 30 minutes.

In other news, the Escape has the ski rack secured and is ready to head up to Bear Valley on Tuesday night for some great skiing on Wednesday and relaxing through the weekend at the Bradley Lodge.

New Car

I got a new car this weekend. Goodbye 1996 Honda Accord and hello 2007 Ford Escape XLT. It's got a lot of cool features and only seems to get 2 or 3 less mpg than the Honda + it has all wheel drive which is helpful, since the Lodge seems to have gotten a few feet of snow in the last few days. Other than the whole, buying a car thing (and all of the negotiations and sleazy sales people), it was a great weekend spent with friends and family.

A great time at the Lodge

Although on a calendar it was only a few days at the Lodge (Friday through Sunday afternoon), it seemed like so much longer and that is a good thing. On Friday everyone arrived, my family, Luke, his aunt, two grandma's and great grandma, all of the cousins and Cortney. We ate some pizza and had fun playing games around the table before calling it a night. Saturday many of us went to Bear Valley for some skiing and snowboarding, while others hung out at the Bradley Lodge, relaxing, taking hikes around the neighborhood and playing with Luke. Saturday night we sat down to a lovely taco soup dinner, although "spud and tater" were in our thoughts as their mom flew to UCSF. We finished the night with some Scene It trivia and Imagine If. Sunday we ate (surprise, we are really good at that when at the Lodge, it's kind of like cruising without the chance of sea-sickness), cleaned and all had safe drives to our homes throughout Northern California.

Working on the Lodge

We drove up to the Bradley Lodge to install some new lighting and a new garage door opener this weekend. In addition to those fun projects, we got a few inches of snow on the deck! I'm looking forward to going back in two weeks for skiing (Bear Valley got 26 inches of new snow) and hanging out with friends and family.

Christmas in the Snow

We spent our second Christmas at the Bradley Lodge. We were welcomed by about 3 feet of snow around the property and on the deck and within about 24 hours had an extra foot of fresh powder as our Christmas present. My dad and I made it to Bear Valley to enjoy all of the fresh powder and a beautiful day (although very cold, with temperatures as low as -3). After hanging out on the slopes and seeing Erin and Eric, we played lots of cards, ate well and just had a good time relaxing.

Merry Christmas!

With just a few hours until Christmas I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. It has been a busy last few months and as I look back on it a great year. From going to Las Vegas and Florida twice and spending lots of time at Bayside, the Bradley Lodge and with my family on trips and vacations (like Christmas Cruise 2008), life has been great. Although the economy is depressed, there is lots to be happy and thankful for and hopefully 2009 will bring even more good times and fantastic surprises.

Track Santa

It's Christmas Time

Between holiday parties, getting snowed on in Las Vegas, scraping ice off my car in the morning and taking the time to "Experience Christmas at Bayside" (service times now through Christmas Eve) it truly is Christmas time. With feet of snow forecasted for next week and plans to head up to the Bradley Lodge and ski at Bear Valley it will continue to be a magical holiday season.

101st Post - 22 hours in Las Vegas

Well after being in Sacramento for 19 hours after flying back from the cruise I was back at the airport and went to Las Vegas for a quick business trip. A co-worker and I headed to our hotel and then went to the Rio Carnival World Buffet (she had never been to a buffet in Las Vegas) and then lost some money at the slots. Today we both had separate events in Las Vegas, crazy to have two different events on the same day in Las Vegas, but hey, that's the life we lead. Although parts of Las Vegas had snow today, my partially outdoor event just had rain and lots of people braved the storms to come and see me. After our events we went to lunch at Gordon Biersch, our traditional after Las Vegas event restaurant and then it was off to the airport and back to Sacramento. After being in Sacramento for a total of about 50 (probably less) hours since before Thanksgiving, I think I will actually be in town for an entire week until I go to the Bradley Lodge for Christmas, simply amazing.