Fun, fun, fun!

This is a cross posting so if you’re reading both blogs, you can skip one or the other. I would’ve written a new post for this blog (since I decided I should post every day in March), but I’m dead tired so this will have to do for today.

I will add, before I do my copy/paste magic, that it was an incredibly fun day from start to almost finish (it’s only 6:00pm so we haven’t finished yet). Lots of spontaneity. Very exhilarating, all in all.

Well then, here’s the post:

(The 9-year-old me (on the right). 1967)

I had a great time today doing something I’ve never done before. I didn’t take the camera along, hence the blast from the past above. I suspect my smiles today were just as big as the smile in this picture.

In the eight years we’ve lived in the Bogs, M and I have wanted to try cross-country skiing. We’ve even signed up for lessons (something that has to be done weeks in advance), but the weather has never, ever cooperated. In fact, it usually rains on the days we schedule a lesson.

A nearby state park has cross-country ski and boot rentals, but they don’t offer lessons. Crazy people that we are, we decided not to let the lack of at least one lesson stop us.

M and I woke up to perfect conditions this morning. A good pack of snow already on the ground, a fresh 2-3 inches that fell overnight, and temperatures in the upper 20’s. Without giving it a lot of thought (or any thought, really) we made the decision to go for it. After a quick breakfast we bundled up and set out for Quail Hollow State Park.

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting this to be a successful adventure. After all, neither of us had any idea what we were doing. The woman at the rental shop gave us a few tips as well as pointed out the best places for newbies to get started. When we managed to get out the doors without hitting anyone or anything with our skis, I counted that as a major success.

I was a little wobbly at first. I almost fell down trying to clip my boots into the skis. But once we got started I was surprised and delighted to find I’m a natural at cross-country skiing. After the first few minutes of klutzing around, I found my center and relaxed into the gliding motion. The downhill parts were fun and exhilarating. The uphill bits required work, but it wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

Poor M spent a lot of time falling down. He stopped counting after about the tenth fall. I fell twice, and that was due to a not-so-bright decision on my part to try to turn around while I was half way up a hill. I should have continued up to the top and then turned around.

I had such a blast cross-country skiing. The whole day has been spontaneous, lively, and, well, the only word that comes to mind at the moment is merry.

I think every Saturday should be this much fun. 8)