Have you ever lost weight while on vacation? Well, me neither. But, at least this time I didn't gain any weight, either!! And, it wasn't for lack of eating. I was just burning so many calories trying to stay on my feet while skiing and getting up out of the snow when I didn't stay on my feet that I guess I burned off everything I ate!! Adam and I went to Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in California a few days ago and we really enjoyed ourselves!!! We got there during the height of the snowstorm that passed through earlier this week and that caused some problems in our making it to our destination on time. When we landed in Reno, it was blue skies and beautiful. However, going up the mountain was a different story. Fortunately, my friend Chris picked us up at the airport and drove us up the mountain. Otherwise, we would have rented a car and that would have turned into a disaster!! Due to the weather, it was mandatory to have chains on your car or have 4-wheel-drive. Chris had 4WD, so we didn't have to worry. But, if we had rented a car, Adam and I would have had to stop on the side of the road and buy chains from a chain installer and then pay them to put them on the car. Then, we would have been driving in snow and ice all the way up the mountain. Naturally, living in Alabama, we aren't accustomed to snow and ice. That's why we took Chris up on her very gracious offer to drive us up the mountain!!! So, we started up the mountain and it was no problem to begin with. We got into California and traffic was slow and it was snowing more, but there still weren't too many worries. However, it started snowing much more and traffic stopped. Chris kept checking the highway information line and found out that the interstate had been closed at the California/Nevada state line because there were so many spinouts and a "traffic hazard" though we never could figure out exactly what that meant. We were already past the state line, so we thought we'd be okay. We kept on trying to travel, though the spinouts ahead of us were causing major delays. Fortunately, Chris was prepared with bottled water in the back of her Jeep and I had snacks in my bag, so we were okay for a while. The snow kept getting heavier and several inches accumulated while we were sitting on the highway!!! Adam and I were both amazed at the snow and how heavy it was snowing and the accumulation. We just don't see that here. After 9 hours in the car, yes 9 hours, Chris decided that we were better off turning around and heading back to Reno for the night. However, her husband said that was a bad idea as it had already snowed about 4 inches in Reno and we had to go back down the mountain. So, we stopped in a little town called Truckee, California, for gas (we had burned half a tank of gas just sitting on the highway) and to use the bathroom (9 hours in the car) and that's when we found out that the interstate had been closed completely just 2 exits ahead of where we were. So, we decided to find a hotel room and stay there for the night. We found a little bar and grill that was open and still serving and we ate dinner and then headed to the hotel. We got a couple of nice rooms that had heat and hot showers and crashed for the night. Unfortunately, Chris had not intended to be gone overnight so she wasn't prepared. Of course, the hotel had soap, shampoo and conditioner and we loaned Chris an extra tube of toothpaste and a comb, so she made it through okay. We were fortunate enough to have our luggage with us, so we had everything we needed and Adam had just happened to pack his travel toothpaste and I'd packed our regular toothpaste. Anyway, we stayed the night in Truckee and got on the road again the next morning around 9 am. It took another hour or so to make it the rest of the way up the mountain. By the way, those 9 hours of travelling on Monday had only taken us about 26 miles!!! So, in all, it took over 10 hours to go what should have been 45 minutes up the mountain!! Chris was diligent and determined to get us there, though, so she got us up to Sugar Bowl on Tuesday morning. It only took her about an hour and a half to make it back down to Reno, but she said traffic in the opposite lanes (the way we were headed getting to Sugar Bowl) was backed up all the way down the mountain to Reno. Thank goodness we didn't turn around and head back to Reno like we'd planned! Or even stop for breakfast on Tuesday like we had discussed!! By that afternoon, the interstate was completely shut down again and we might not have made it up if we'd let anything slow us down. We finally made it to Sugar Bowl by mid-morning on Tuesday and we were skiing before noon!! I don't have any pics of us actually skiing yet as I haven't dropped that film off. And, the disposable video camera I bought so that we could get footage of us skiing died after only 6 minutes of use!! I did get a little bit of Adam skiing but it died before he could really tape me. It must have been too cold for it or something. Anyway, I'll post those pics and video when I get them developed. I do have some pics of our travels on I-80.
Notice this 18-wheeler's cab lights -- they're hidden under the snow!! Keep in mind, most of this snow fell while we were on the interstate! And, we saw lots of pick-up trucks like this one with snow in the back. It snowed so much, the bed of the truck was full and they leave it like that to help with the travel -- the weight makes it easier to stay on the road.
This is the hotel in Truckee. Check out those icicles!!! And that's a 20 ounce bottle of root beer Adam put in the snow to show how deep it really was. There's Chris on her balcony, just across the way from us.
These are cars parked in the hotel parking lot. Chris' Jeep wasn't that snowed under, but we'd only been there about 10 hours.
Here we are, finally at Sugar Bowl. Chris and I are standing in front of a huge pile of snow in the parking lot. Adam is in front of Chris' Jeep to show how much snow it had, even with us driving!! Thanks again Chris!!
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