Four Mornings in Maine

Did you ever read One Morning In Maine? It was one of my favorites growing up. I love Maine - the people are unbelievably nice, it's beautiful, and it's COLD! (I also spent an extremely happy 4 years at Colby). So when my Mom's planned ski trip was cancelled at the last minute, she asked if I wanted to join her for a weekend at Sunday River. Um, YES PLEASE!

I...er...dropped everything and hopped on a plane to NY. The following morning, we hit the road for Bethel. We found B.T.'s Smokehouse in Sturbridge, MA, on tripadvisor, as we were zooming up the Mass Pike. Oh, yum. I love the motto, below. The pulled pork was amazing (so much so that we had to stop on our way back down from Maine for a second lunch and to pick up dinner for my dad)! Thanks, B.T.!

The sign reads: 

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, rib in one hand, beer in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO WHAT A RIDE."

And then, snow. We arrived on Friday night, then woke up to snow on Saturday morning. It snowed all day and night Saturday, and all day Sunday. Fresh powder!

Our ski-and-stay package included our lift tickets and a daily clinic - our first day, we ended up as the only two in our lesson, and had a blast. I hadn't skied in 8 years, but it appears to be like riding a bike. Woot. The second day was even better - I was the only one in my lesson group (my mom stuck with the "light blue" group while I headed to "dark blue," and I had a super-intense lesson. I only wiped out once, and I am no longer afraid of bumps. Sweet!

Monday morning was a bit more crowded (it was NH school vacation week so EVERYONE had come up for the week to ski), and the lesson was a bit "meh," but the weather was absolutely stunning. Clear blue skies, temps in the 30s, and fresh powder? Why, yes, I think I will.

Here we are in the "oh dear, my ski jacket makes me look like a donut" picture at the top of North Peak.

And on the chairlift.

See that? Lift ticket says "Find your happy place." Thanks, Sunday River, we did! (And thanks Mom & Dad for the amazing last-minute vacation!) I am an extremely lucky person.