Ski trip

Our friends Carla and Jeff invited a bunch of us out to their family's cabin for some skiing over MLK weekend. Mark & I hadn't hit the slopes at all yet this season, so we were pumped to get out and "shred some gnar" as the kids are calling it these days! We left after work on Friday and packed up our gear, food, and the pugs. (Yay! It was pug-friendly getaway, since Carla & Jeff have two dogs too.)

Theoretically, the drive to the cabin would only take about 3-3.5 hours. However, [dramatic duh-duh-duh here] Mark's car began acting kinda funny as we headed west. His gut told him maybe we should turn back... but of course we just wanted to get out there and figured we'd get it looked at after we returned to the city. Just past Hancock, MD (~100 miles from home), we were driving up an enormous hill (Sideling Hill, that is), and the car was revving but not acquiring speed. When semis started passing us, we knew it was over and pulled onto the shoulder. The Acura reeked of clutch, so we figured that probably the issue. The more imminent problem was - what were we going to do now? Well, it really couldn't have worked out much better. Mark called AAA to send for a tow truck and shortly after that, our wonderful friends Tricia & Steve and Tiff & Jed, who were about half an hour behind us on the road, pulled up in their cars. We loaded up our skis and bags in Steve's car and we and the pugs hopped into Jed's (who is allergic to dogs BTW, bless him).

Uh-oh! Car trouble.

What could have been a disaster turned out for the best and the weekend was a ton of fun. We made it to the cabin at a reasonable time- given the circumstances, got comfy by the fire and had a few much-needed drinks ;) Saturday morning the Links prepared us some tasty breakfast burritos and we got geared up for skiing at the nearby Wisp resort. It was a gorgeous day and the snow was great - not too icy as it was the only other time we'd been to Wisp several years ago, and not too slushy. The eight of us skied together for a bit, then split off according to our green circle/blue square/black diamond abilities. After a solid day of skiing, Carla, Jeff, Tiff & Tricia headed back to the cabin to relax and check on the dogs. Steve, Jed, Mark & I tore up the slopes a while longer til it started to get dark. When we reached the cabin, we learned that Ryleigh and Caoimhe had busted out of their crate! Guess they couldn't endure the thought of being left behind. Fortunately they were not successful in breaking their buddies Thurston and Ruca out of their respective crates :P

The gang: Tricia, Jed, Tiff, Carla, Jeff & Mark (+ Steve and me)

Great view of Deep Creek Lake as you come down the mountain

Saturday eve was spent watching the Ravens lose a playoff game, indulging in a delicious pot of chili and enjoying adult beverages, relaxing in the hot tub, and resting our sore muscles. Sunday we hung around for a bit, then hit the road (or shall I say carpooled) back to B'more with the Links. Awesome weekend! Thanks for inviting us Carla & Jeff!

Hopefully we can get out on the slopes a couple more times this season. For another exciting version of the ski trip, check out our friends' (The Links) blog!

PS - The car problem did end up being the clutch. The local car shop in Hancock replaced it and Mark & I drove my car out there last weekend to pick up his car.