Summer is Here! Lewes Beach Weekend

Summer is here, and the uberbuddies enjoyed the annual Lewes beach weekend. Frank and I started with happy hour at Mispillion River Brewey in Milford, DE, on Friday. Everyone converged at the house in Lewes on Friday night for a weekend filled with wonderful company as well as good food, a farmer's market visit, running, biking, walking, roller blading, beach time on the bay and at the ocean, and a bonfire!

Happy Hour at Mispillion River Brewing, Milford, DE

Frank, Kathleen, and Todd at Dogfish Head Brewery, Milton, DE

Lewes beach view

Shenandoah Spring

Before the start of Frank's new job, we headed out to the Northern and Shenandoah regions of Virginia's wine country. We enjoyed two days of picnic lunches with a glass of wine in the beautiful countryside and stayed at a lovely cabin with mountain vistas and rushing-river sounds. We are also fans of Shenandoah River State Park!

A beautiful and relaxing afternoon at
Glen Manor Vineyard, Warren County, Virginia
(We're looking up at Skyline Drive.)

The Shenandoah River from Culler's Overlook,
Shenandoah River State Park, Bentonville, VA

Day 3: Gatineau Park

With the assistance of an uber-helpful French Canadian, who allowed us to park in his driveway, we enjoyed a glorious and sunny 2+ hours of skiing on trails 5, 15, 27, 29, 35 & an unmarked connector. Whew! We were tired!

Lac Pink View from Trail 35

Gatineau Park, Views from Trails 36 & 50

Lac Meech, Trail 36

Snowy waterways, Trail 36

Susan and her Canada hat, Trail 36

View from the end of Trail 50

Ontario & Quebec!

It was a beautiful sunny, spring-like day in DC, and I was thinking, "Tomorrow, I'll be skiing in Quebec!"

Here we are in Gatineau Park, Quebec, which is just across the Riveriere Outaouais (Ottawa River) from Ottawa. In a skiing first for us, our lookout afforded views of a city. Look closely!

Frank & Susan looking out over Ottawa, Ontario

Gatineau Park has an incredible number of trails. In another first, park roads have been converted into skiing boulevards for nice, steady climbs and long, rolling descents. True to what we expect from Canada, trails marked green ("beginner") are really more intermediate. At the end of the day, we inadvertently took a red trail and had fun on the expert run. Once we retraced our steps, we tried a backcountry green trail with no tracks, and I wiped out three times. It's pretty hard to recover when your poles disappear into three feet of snow!

Winter Fun

Thanks to the super-frigid winter of 2014, we spent March 9-10 skiing at Lapland Lake Nordic Center in the Adirondacks. We found a great cabin with a friendly bear and enjoyed lots of relaxing time as well as a second run of Christiano's garlic knots and red and green pepper and mushroom pizza. 

Algonquin Lake, Wells, NY

Frank & Susan and our friend, the bear

Back in Wisconsin

After getting in some good work time in Chicago, it was time to head north for skiing over the weekend at Lapham Peak and Minocqua Winter Park. 

Susan at Lapham Peak, near Delafield, WI

Steeplechase Trail, Minocqua Winter Park, Minocqua, WI

Lake Effect Snow and the Adirondacks

So, after skiing at Osceola Tug Hill XC Ski area, Frank and I planned to drive on 81-North to Gatineau Park in Quebec, but lake effect snow east of Lake Ontario intervened. 

View after 2' of snow in Oswego County, NY

After our nice day of skiing on Sunday, we got snowed in Monday-Tuesday at our cabin in Orwell, Oswego County, NY. It was a déjà-vu-like experience (remember West Virginia 2012) when the forecast kept calling for more and longer periods of snow. Luckily, we never lost power and the owner of our rental cabin plowed us out on Tuesday morning! The lake effect band moved north, and we escaped 40 miles south to Syracuse, NY, which had almost no snow. Amazing! 

Snow in the Adirondacks

81-North continued to look like a bad idea, so we headed east to the Adirondacks and Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center. We've had two days of great skiing, including the novelty of skiing on a frozen lake - Woods Lake - see below!

Susan & Frank on Woods Lake at Lapland Lake Nordic Vacation Center

Snow in the East

View near Autumn Lake, Oswego County, NY

Frank and I headed north for our first skiing of 2014 on Saturday, January 25. Our first stop: Syracuse, NY. It was a nice drive up with plenty of good music. As we approached Syracuse, we hit some snow showers. We made it to our hotel okay, but when we left for dinner, the weather was markedly dicier. Dinner (and local beer) is important, however, so we ventured out and made it to our dinner destination, Syracuse's Empire Brewing Company. We sampled the Amber Ale, American Strong Ale, Winter Warmer, and Barley Wine (nice variety, but all a little too hoppy for me) and enjoyed tasty food and waited out the storm with a lively crowd. 

On Sunday, we made our way to Osceola Tug Hill XC Ski Center. It was a cold day, but once we got warmed up, we enjoyed skiing their trails, particularly Gliders' Delight, Rocket Run, Screamer, and Kamikazee. I had my most mogul-like experience ever on the Screamer Trail. That was exciting!

Today, we're working and enjoying beautiful snowy views of Oswego County, NY. See picture above. 

Down South Road Trip: Notable

Susan (and Henry VIII) at the Wicked Weed, Asheville, NC

It took a while, but I wanted to record some of my favorites from the trip down south!

Eating Out
Most unusual and delicious: Tie -- White Duck Taco's bulgogi taco (Asheville) and Tupelo Honey Cafe's (Knoxville) Venerated Veggie Bowl of grits, greens, black-eyed peas, Sunshot salsa, and fried okra
Best Biscuits: Tupelo Honey Cafe (Knoxville)
Best pizza: Asheville Brewing Co.'s Shear Delight and Badlands
Best beer: Asheville Brewing Co.'s Dark Farm and "Black Ink"
Just darn good: A Harvest Table's (Meadowview, VA) black bean and queso burrito with local apple salsa and the Hellbender's (Davis, WV) Gendarme burrito
Best Coffee: Local Latte from Fido (Nashville)

Eating In
Mom's spaghetti: nothing better post-hike to Ramsey Cascade
Family Sunday brunch: bacon, eggs, Mom's cheese grits, Terri's strada, fruit, and biscuits. Yum!
Pilar's mom's breaded cod with tomato, pepper, onion sauce. Delicious!

Other Fun Stuff
Quote: Don't say "stupid" or you'll be sent to the woodshed.... --Edwards Tate. (Very ominous, sinister, and foreboding sounding, but no one seemed too concerned....) 
Beer Cozy with Lionel Richie's face and the words: "It's me you're looking for."
"Trespassers may be shot" sign seen outside a home(?) near Love Park, Nashville, TN - Yikes!
Mom's lap harp!