Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Just got back from a long weekend at Taos - actually meant to leave Fri am but left Fri afternoon, due to the huge amounts of planning and stuff that comes from packing a growing family into a car for the weekend. Fri am came and we had to call all around town for the proper food for him on his new hypoallergenic diet. The vet was closed or so we thought when they would not answer the phone, so it was touch and go as to whether or not we would even find him food til next week.
We stayed at Taos due to the ease in finding accomodations compared to Wold Creek, my first choice of ski towns. John is a huge fan of Taos and always has been since our first trip in the winter of '88 when we were still newlyweds. hasn't changed much except that one of our fave restaurants has changed ownership and is now a winery. Weather was absolutely to die for - in the high 40s and low 50s at the base, a bit colder higher up where John and Drew were skiing. This was the trip I awaited for 3years and it was finally here. On a budget now, having to pay for eating and skiing for four, we took a chance on an adorable little hostel we have driven past forever, and it was as delightful as it looked. Sure captured Drew's heart. he hung out Fri night around the pool table making friends and petting their adorable and loving cats. Neat for him to experience a cat who likes attention! There was a big fireplace lit with a gas flame and sofas pulled up to it and it was the most homey place. it was literally a moment in time - caught in the60s with teens playing instruments and relaxing with each other and it was a very liberal place, a very organic place.
No crib to lug around this time - YEAH!!!! In fact we stuffed everybody's clothes into a huge suitcase. Next time I will have to section off the suitcase so as to find everybody's stuff easier. We came down for breakfst at 7:45 and had toast and cereal and juice in the dining room and wahed our dishes. I will never forget the 'ooh' that came when we walked in the door Fri night upon arriving at the hostel, walking into the family rom and seeing all their twenty something faces look up from guitar playing and pool playing and one person went 'ooh, it's a FAMILY!' so we were shown to our room, a room with a double, single and 3 sets of bunks. cool. the kids LOVED playing onthe bunks. in the am we stripped the sheets and took showers.
wow, the trips it takes to get squared away - trip to the rental shop, tix booth, and bathrooms, I thought we would never reach the actual slopes. must have been about 1100 when we finally touched snow. I was so rady for a day full of teaching skiing but matty would not use the leash. I had it all strapped on jsut right but he kept getting afraid of skiing out in front of me and so he sat down in his trax. oh well....the best laid plans.....so we ventured over to the adult carpet upon suggestion of the woman in charge of kids' instruciton. unfortunately matt is not completely toilet trained so we could not enroll in 3 year old lessons. Since my feet stuck in ski boots kept cramping up teribly, not being able to move much, I needed to know what to do. she directed us to the adult zipper, the adult moving conveyor belt up the bunny hill. apparently they like to keep the kids' one for the kids in lessons only. so we hiked over there and found out matty likes his ski boots. a lot. He treasured them like a measure of his big boy-ness. I skied a bit with him between my legs but he kept leaning on me and it was way difficult on my back and he wasn't learning to ski taht way. so I taught him how to make a pizza - the wedge to stop - the snowplow - and kept having him ski down to me about 10 feet below him. John and Drew met us for lunch and we had a msot lovely lunch outside on the deck of the cafeteria. A woman working there had worked the hostel too. small town for sure. I had a most appropriate lunch of gren chile stew, Drew pizza and John tacos. wow, has ski food changed over the alst 40 years!
Matt was now skiing about 20-30 feet pretty well. Bunny hill was pefect for him and was even free - so I got a refund on my tix for tha day. matt was free - being under 6 - that was really cool.
Unfortunately the hostel only had our room for 1 night so we went to the El Pueblo for Saturday night's stay and it was fine but upstairs. I will always request downstairs now for having that huge suitcase. wow, matty had meltdown leaving the ski area whihc lasted for about 45 minutes. wow. he finally went to sleepa t 515. wow. now oftne he does that. scary. pure crying - all out crying.
My birthday came Sunday and it wa agian, perfect. pure sunshine but then NM skies are always sunny. Usually we prayf or rain. I got smarter and went in my apres' ski boots to the zipper with matty but he literlaly took one run - 50 feet and said in the msot pleasant and calm voice ' now it is time to take off the skis'. I did what i could to et him to practice a few mor etimes in vain. I ended up enrolling him in half day kid care an hour early and we had a snowball fight and tok him in. I went out skiing and looked all over the topfor Joh and Drew but it is a huge place. many chairs up top. We met for lunch - a delicious lunch of shell-less taco salad and hot cocoa and one of those ski area huge cookies. the mtn was practically deserted despite the wonderful weather as msot head to Wolf Creek and many are not into skiing when the late winter is so devoid of snow. hard to get in the mood I guess. so we enjoyed the short liftlines and sun. I am told though that Taos is persnickety about having short liftlines and works hardto avoid it.
Evening came and we stopped halfway to Santa Fe for dinner and the boys watched videos all the way home. Very cool ending to the day.
We stayed at Taos due to the ease in finding accomodations compared to Wold Creek, my first choice of ski towns. John is a huge fan of Taos and always has been since our first trip in the winter of '88 when we were still newlyweds. hasn't changed much except that one of our fave restaurants has changed ownership and is now a winery. Weather was absolutely to die for - in the high 40s and low 50s at the base, a bit colder higher up where John and Drew were skiing. This was the trip I awaited for 3years and it was finally here. On a budget now, having to pay for eating and skiing for four, we took a chance on an adorable little hostel we have driven past forever, and it was as delightful as it looked. Sure captured Drew's heart. he hung out Fri night around the pool table making friends and petting their adorable and loving cats. Neat for him to experience a cat who likes attention! There was a big fireplace lit with a gas flame and sofas pulled up to it and it was the most homey place. it was literally a moment in time - caught in the60s with teens playing instruments and relaxing with each other and it was a very liberal place, a very organic place.
No crib to lug around this time - YEAH!!!! In fact we stuffed everybody's clothes into a huge suitcase. Next time I will have to section off the suitcase so as to find everybody's stuff easier. We came down for breakfst at 7:45 and had toast and cereal and juice in the dining room and wahed our dishes. I will never forget the 'ooh' that came when we walked in the door Fri night upon arriving at the hostel, walking into the family rom and seeing all their twenty something faces look up from guitar playing and pool playing and one person went 'ooh, it's a FAMILY!' so we were shown to our room, a room with a double, single and 3 sets of bunks. cool. the kids LOVED playing onthe bunks. in the am we stripped the sheets and took showers.
wow, the trips it takes to get squared away - trip to the rental shop, tix booth, and bathrooms, I thought we would never reach the actual slopes. must have been about 1100 when we finally touched snow. I was so rady for a day full of teaching skiing but matty would not use the leash. I had it all strapped on jsut right but he kept getting afraid of skiing out in front of me and so he sat down in his trax. oh well....the best laid plans.....so we ventured over to the adult carpet upon suggestion of the woman in charge of kids' instruciton. unfortunately matt is not completely toilet trained so we could not enroll in 3 year old lessons. Since my feet stuck in ski boots kept cramping up teribly, not being able to move much, I needed to know what to do. she directed us to the adult zipper, the adult moving conveyor belt up the bunny hill. apparently they like to keep the kids' one for the kids in lessons only. so we hiked over there and found out matty likes his ski boots. a lot. He treasured them like a measure of his big boy-ness. I skied a bit with him between my legs but he kept leaning on me and it was way difficult on my back and he wasn't learning to ski taht way. so I taught him how to make a pizza - the wedge to stop - the snowplow - and kept having him ski down to me about 10 feet below him. John and Drew met us for lunch and we had a msot lovely lunch outside on the deck of the cafeteria. A woman working there had worked the hostel too. small town for sure. I had a most appropriate lunch of gren chile stew, Drew pizza and John tacos. wow, has ski food changed over the alst 40 years!
Matt was now skiing about 20-30 feet pretty well. Bunny hill was pefect for him and was even free - so I got a refund on my tix for tha day. matt was free - being under 6 - that was really cool.
Unfortunately the hostel only had our room for 1 night so we went to the El Pueblo for Saturday night's stay and it was fine but upstairs. I will always request downstairs now for having that huge suitcase. wow, matty had meltdown leaving the ski area whihc lasted for about 45 minutes. wow. he finally went to sleepa t 515. wow. now oftne he does that. scary. pure crying - all out crying.
My birthday came Sunday and it wa agian, perfect. pure sunshine but then NM skies are always sunny. Usually we prayf or rain. I got smarter and went in my apres' ski boots to the zipper with matty but he literlaly took one run - 50 feet and said in the msot pleasant and calm voice ' now it is time to take off the skis'. I did what i could to et him to practice a few mor etimes in vain. I ended up enrolling him in half day kid care an hour early and we had a snowball fight and tok him in. I went out skiing and looked all over the topfor Joh and Drew but it is a huge place. many chairs up top. We met for lunch - a delicious lunch of shell-less taco salad and hot cocoa and one of those ski area huge cookies. the mtn was practically deserted despite the wonderful weather as msot head to Wolf Creek and many are not into skiing when the late winter is so devoid of snow. hard to get in the mood I guess. so we enjoyed the short liftlines and sun. I am told though that Taos is persnickety about having short liftlines and works hardto avoid it.
Evening came and we stopped halfway to Santa Fe for dinner and the boys watched videos all the way home. Very cool ending to the day.
