Unexcused Absences

The Contender

Beaver Creek closed for the season on Sunday, April 18th.  On Monday, the resort hosted an end-of-season party for the employees with free lunch, a big raffle and a pond skimming contest where clearly insane skiers and boarders attempt and usually fail to skim across a pond of icy cold water.  We rode the lift up to the Spruce Saddle amidst our reveling coworkers who, relishing the freedom on the hill, sported outlandish costumes, and (sorry ski patrol) took huge jumps off rollers where safety banners had been posted all season saying “Don’t Even Think of Jumping Here.”  We said our farewells and left Beaver Creek immediately after the employee lunch, missing the costume contest and the Splashdown.  I did manage to grab a quick photo with a costume contest contendor who captured the spirit of the event (that’s a NASTAR race number on his stomach).   We stuffed ourselves into the 4-Runner and departed for Virginia, officially ending the first of our Unexcused Absences.

A Very Full 4-Runner

Prior to departure, Kent accomplished a spectacular feat of packing engineering when he loaded the 4-Runner for our trip home.  In addition to all the items we brought to Colorado for the winter, he fit the additional six pairs of skis (read more about that here) and the extra bag of ski gear we acquired over the season into the truck.  The vehicle contained so much stuff I think we were dangerously close to compromising our oxygen supply!

Storm Clouds on the Plains

Staying ahead of a series of serious thunderstorms and even a tornado or two, we drove from Colorado to Virginia over three days.  As the landscape shifted along the route, it was as if we drove from from winter to spring.  Along the way, the weather warmed and the landscaped greened as we welcomed seeing the first the first redbud (Illinois), lilacs (Indiana), the first azalea (West Virginia) and finally our beloved dogwoods (Virginia).

Drivers Only Upstairs!

Full Body Massage Upstairs!

Along our route, I saw a few choice signs at a rural truck stop. We got a good chuckle out of the “Showers – Laundry – Cinema” combination. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader to deduce what sort of “Drivers Only” cinema activities might have happened at this place!

Coffee and Gooey Butter Cake Break

We had a welcome break as we passed through St. Louis. Kent’s cousin, Betsy, snuck away from her desk long enough to introduce us to a St. Louis specialty, gooey butter cake.  Thumbs up!  If you’re ever visiting St. Louis, be sure to enjoy a piece.  They serve something like 76 flavors of the dessert at Park Avenue Coffee, although they have “only” about a dozen on any given day.  The coffee’s good, too!  Over our treats, Betsy asked us if we were planning to continue writing our blog as we head out on the second of our Unexcused Absences.  In a word, Yes!  We’re enjoying writing the blog and plan to keep it up.

Pink Dogwood

Pulling into our neighborhood in the early evening reminded me of my favorite part of the Virginia climate, the warm evenings. I felt the velvet caress of humid air which smelled of greens and flowers against my skin. Dogwoods decorated the edge of the night like lace. As we stepped out of the 4-Runner, the neighbors called to us and invited us over for a glass of wine on their patio. We hadn’t even gone inside, but we were home!