Sea and Ski some more

On Thursday, April 14th, we went to the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show at Jack London Square in Oakland. The real reason we went was to listen to Larry Jacobson's talk. Larry talked about his circumnavigation aka around the world in 2070 days. It was also an opportunity to show off his book, The Boy Behind the Gate, about the trip. In addition to the talk we walked around the show and made a few purchases, such as cup holders that fit on the top of our winches in the cockput and a counterpoise for our single side band radio. Since the next America's Cup will be held in San Francisco Bay, they had the actual America's Cup on display, guarded by two gentlemen, in black suits, white shirts, dark ties, with little earphones similar to what the Secret Service wear (at least in movies). Rich and I each posed beside the Cup and we took pictures. The MIB's did not smile.

Friday afternoon, Pete and Sue, of SV Kiapa, picked us up and we drove to their cabin at Bear Valley. There is so much snow we had to ride on snowmobiles to get to the cabin. It was a fun experience to ride through the snow in the light of the full moon.

Saturday morning we drove to the village, again on snowmobile so Rich and I could rent ski equipment before taking the bus up to the ski area. The skies were clear, the sun was out and it was warm. Pete wore shorts and a Giants shirt for snowboarding. Rich was in long underwear and shorts. I was in fleece pants and jacket and way too over dressed and hot! Sue led us over various runs on the front and back sides of the ski area. Spring skiing, plenty of sun, nice, deep snow, you can't beat it.

In the afternoon they had pond skimming which was fun to watch. At the bottom of a long steep straightaway, they built a long pond about 15 yards long by 5 yards wide, 3 feet deep. The idea is to come down the hill with enough speed that you can skim across the water and continue skiing off the other side. Some made it and some did not with quite a splash. Many contestants dress up. We watched Gumby, a banana, a hot dog with separate ketchup, a cheerleader and other modes of fashion attempt to skim the pond. It was all in great fun.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast that Sue made for us. The highlight was Grand Marnier infused French Toast with Frambois Coulis. It was delicious! After reading and relaxing for a while, Rich and I walked to the village and back to get some exercise and some fresh air. The walk back was all uphill and the sun was bright so we would walk from one shady spot and rested then continue walking to the next spot. This morning we were up early for the snowmobile ride back to the car. The weather prediction was for rain and we were prepared for a wet ride. Instead we rode through the lightly falling snow.

It was a picture perfect weekend with fantastic hosts. Thank you Pete and Sue for the great weekend.