This is Alta, Utah (with the best snow in the state with the greatest snow on earth). From the windows you'll see that there is fresh snow and it is a bright sunny day and, while late in the afternoon, the lifts are in fact still running. Any yes, that's our Andy, the one who insisted on leaving our home in Flagstaff so early so we could get to Snow Bowl at 8:30 to be sure to be first in line when the lifts started at 9:00 AM (even though the lifts really didn't get going until around 9:30 and at that time in the morning there was never a line), and the same Andy whose last run was never until after the lifts had stopped and the ski patrol was clearing mountain (and as for lunch and breaks, that's why you have big pockets to put granola bars in to eat while riding on the chair lift). Yes, the picture is true (no photo shopping), that's our Andy, sitting in the lodge at Alta while the lifts are still swinging.
Of course, Caleb was tired and a little cold and some time in the lodge was what was needed. Andy confessed to me later that he had thought about asking if he could leave Caleb with me while he made one last quick run, but then thought better of the idea. I agreed, but what I didn't tell Andy is that I had had the same thought (except with me making another quick last run), but also thought better of it (although probably for different reasons). Oh my, how age changes lives.
This picture is a tribute to fathers everywhere struggling to get little kids who won't stay still into huge ski boots while trying to figure out if the boot fits and the foot is in properly.
I think Alta is a great place. Apart from great snow and runs it has a very clever marketing tool. All the rope tows, which are at the bottom and for real beginners, are free all the time, and after 3 PM the Sunnyside lift (the main lift for beginner and some intermediate runs) is free. So the hill was full of people just like us -parents with little kids trying to teach them the basics of skiing (and some having a great time and some perfectly miserable and parents and kids all at wits ends or beyond) and then topping off the afternoon with a ride on the big chair lift and nice long runs down on easy trails. Of course, the kids will be back (again and again), but the next time they won't let their parents off with just the free stuff. (For perspective, an adult day pass is $72).
Andy already posted some pictures of this trip. Here are some more.
Our first introduction to In and Out Burgers was in California. We would stop at one in Auburn on the way back from skiing or some other activity in the Sierras. I didn't realize this, but Andy said he really liked In and Out, but associated it vaguely with nausea. Being tired from a long day skiing and sitting in the back of the car on the winding road down and the change in altitude, he always felt a little nauseous about the time we stopped at In and Out. I suppose that's just one of many things I didn't know in the front seat driving.
In any event, although Centerville has had an In and Out for some time, Aunt Marie had never been there (and in fact complained about the traffic problems it had caused and that she doesn't really like that kind of food anyway). We prevailed on her. This is a photo of Marie's first trip to In and Out. She didn't say too much about it, but she did in fact eat the entire hamburger and all the fries.
Playing Nerf darts with Caleb can be dangerous and requires appropriate personal protection equipment (and the person taking this picture with his phone was similarly equipped with Andy's helmet and goggles). I also think this may have had something to do with Darth Vader and Luck Skywalker, but I didn't always quite follow that part of the game.
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