Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival: Sunday

We arrived back at the fairgrounds Sunday morning around 8:30, unsure of whether the gates were going to open at 9 or 10. You would think the Sheep and Wool Festival's website would clearly announce the times of the event, but even on Ravelry, I found that many people were having this same issue as me. Anyway, we showed up hoping to be able to enter at 9, but soon realized the gates didn't open till 10. Instead of being miserable in the cold, we camped out in the car for another half hour before braving the chilly line. While we were passing time, we looked at the program we received on Saturday which come to find out, clearly states on the front cover that the fairgrounds don't open till 10 on Sunday. Go figure!

Once we entered the festival, despite the freezing temperatures, I could already feel like this was going to be a much better day. Don't get me wrong, I loved being there on Saturday, but there were easily half the amount of people there than there were on Saturday. It was so much easier getting around and we were able to spend a lot more time in all the booths without getting pushed out of the way. This made for a much better experience.

Since we really didn't see any of the animals on Saturday, we spent all of Sunday morning petting and taking selfies with the sheep. I surprised myself by enjoying this so much. The barn wasn't that crowded, and the sheep had such big personalities! A lot of the sheep came right up to us, begging to petted.

Even though we loved the falafel the previous day, we decided to try something different for lunch on Sunday. Another vendor offered a grilled tofu banh mi and pumpkin soup that were both labelled vegan. I knew that if I didn't at least try the sandwich, I would regret it. At this point it was snowing a tiny bit and we could no longer stand sitting in the cold. We thankfully found a small bench right inside the entrance to one of the warehouses and ate our lunch there to stay warm. The sandwich was pretty good, although the pickled fixings should've been drained more before being added; the bread was a little too soggy for me. I could've done without the pumpkin soup as I was expecting it to be savory, and was really surprised when I tasted my first spoonful of sweet soup. In my opinion, the falafel was the best vegan meal at the festival, but I really appreciate having multiple options.

After lunch, we did some shopping. We spent the previous night going through our Ravelry queues figuring out exactly what we wanted to knit so that we could purchase yarn for specific projects. I knew I wanted to get enough yarn to knit a sweater, and after seeing everything at the festival on Saturday, I decided that I wanted to knit a cabled, loose-fitted pullover sweater. I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to buy my sweater quantity of yarn, it was just a matter of choosing the color. I really liked the "Twist of Fate Spinnery" booth because their yarn offerings seemed simple, in a very good way. I was into their natural colored yarns, which made picking out my exact skeins even more difficult. For most weights of yarn, you had the option between 100% wool, or 50/50% wool/alpaca. Per Lauren's advice, I picked the worsted weight 50/50 blend in a medium gray colorway. Even though they don't raise their own sheep (which would've been awesome!), their yarn was super soft, clearly labelled, and relatively affordable. I don't have a specific pattern picked out yet, but I'm really excited to knit a true Rhinebeck sweater!

On Saturday I also found sparkly sock yarn that I was pretty sure I wanted to buy, I just needed to decide on the color. I've been skeptical of sparkly knit-ware, but I figured socks are the best way to get a good feel for the trend. I picked a skein from the Starry Skies Collection in the Purple Dancer colorway from the Carodan Farm Wool Shop and was even happier when they added a free mini wooden ruler with my purchase. It's the little things in life!

For the entire weekend I had been contemplating buying a pen and ink print from Gene Matras to add to my slowly growing art wall. I loved his work, but my favorite prints were those of sheep. Although I like sheep, I love pigs even more and he just happened to have one pig print. Then again, I also really loved his Winter landscape prints. There were just so many good things to choose from.  After going back and forth for so long, I finally decided to go with the pig print and I'm so glad I did! I've already framed the beautiful print and I'm anxiously waiting to hang it up!

We planned on leaving by 3 PM to make sure we returned the rental car on time. Since it was so cold and we saw and bought everything we wanted, we left even a little earlier than that. Thankfully there weren't many cars leaving at this time, and we were able to quickly exit the parking lot. Driving in the daylight was much more scenic than the previous morning's dusk experience. I loved seeing all the red and yellow leaves!

I had an amazing weekend in Rhinebeck and truly loved every moment. Since it was so cold, I even got to wear both of my sweaters at the same time, fingerless mitts, and a shawl! I hope that I'm able to attend the festival sometime again in the future, and thanks to this trip, Lauren and I unanimously decided that we want to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool event in the Spring!

Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival: Saturday

Last weekend I finally got to experience all the glory of Rhinebeck! Lauren and I decided that for our birthdays this year, we would gift each other a trip to the Sheep and Wool Festival. I didn't do much research about the event prior to our trip, but I had been to Stitches West in the past, so I thought I had a pretty good idea how this yarn festival would be. All throughout the summer I had been looking forward to embarking on this trip, and the actual event definitely held up to my expectations and then some!

Basically, there were really only two big things we needed to figure out before our trip: transportation and lodging. Since neither of us brought our cars when we moved back East, we typically rely on public transportation or simply walking to get around everywhere. Obviously we couldn't walk to New York, and we didn't want to have to deal with multiple forms of public transportation and not having a way to get around once we actually made it to Rhinebeck. So, we decided to celebrate turning 25 and rent a car for the first time. As for the lodging issue, by the time we finalized this trip, all of the hotels in the area had been filled for months. Kind of as a last resort, we tried Airbnb and rented a room from a very nice lady in Hyde Park. Since we would only be there to sleep and shower (we arrived at 9 PM on Saturday and left Saturday at 8 AM), I was able to put most of the fear of staying in a stranger's house with the stranger there mostly behind me. As far as our stay there went, everything went well and I had very little contact with the hostess which was just fine by me.

Anyway, we showed up at the car rental place at 4:30 in the morning on Saturday. We wanted to get an early start with the hope of making it up to Rhinebeck before the gates opened. I was shocked at how many tolls there are in New Jersey, and stressed out about not having exact change. Luckily between Lauren and me, we managed to successfully pay all the tolls. We made a bathroom stop as soon as we crossed into New York, and loaded up on quarters for future tolls as well. Even though we had plenty of snacks in the car already(!), we just had to try Dunkin Donuts' hash browns at 6 AM. They were really delicious, by the way!

We made it up to Rhinebeck with plenty of time to spare. Our parking spot was even super close to the entrance, and we were easily two of the first 50 people in line. Although we still had to wait in line in the cold for an hour, it was worth it. Even tough we were some of the first people who entered, the festival grounds quickly became swarmed with people everywhere. Since we didn't have anything specific we needed to buy, we chose to start in the middle, and work our way back to the front. This worked well for the first half hour, but then there were people everywhere. It was so busy the entire day that it was difficult to get a good look at the booths. However, being the stubborn people we are, we made it through all the barns to complete our first look. I was in search of pretty, yet neutral colored sock yarn and a sweater quantity of yarn. Since nothing really jumped out at me, I wanted to look at everything first before deciding exactly what to buy. I set a budget for myself and I really wanted to stick to it.

Before going to Rhinebeck one thing I did research were the food options. Both Lauren and I were really excited to try Aba's Falafel, so it made choosing falafel platters for lunch a no-brainer. Although the line looked really long and many people weren't happy about that, the line actually moved relatively fast. Plus, I really don't mind waiting in line if I'm about to be rewarded with an amazing meal. The falafel was amazing as expected! Unfortunately, there wasn't any inside seating so we had to sit in the cold, shivering while polishing off our lunch. Honestly, the worst part of the entire trip was the weather. I wanted to show off my hand knit sweaters while I was there so I didn't bring a jacket. Although hand knits are warm, they aren't warm enough in 40 degree temperatures! Right after lunch we warmed ourselves up with hot apple cider which helped for awhile.

Afterward, we headed to the remainder of the buildings, which were basically warehouses. The first one housed random food/wine/non-fiber handmade items for sale. Reading reviews on Ravelry, I wanted to try maple candy. So as soon as I saw that booth, I made Lauren stop. They sold little packets with three tiny maple candy pieces. We each bought a little bag and immediately sampled one. We were hooked. If you ever get the chance to try them, you must! They melt in your mouth and are incredibly sweet, in a good way. Obviously I had to buy more for Christmas presents.

It was in the last warehouse that I purchased my first skein of yarn for the weekend! We walked by "Into the Whirled" and Lauren started talking about how cool their yarn is. I was easily persuaded, and had to find the perfect colorway. I picked the "Quoth the Raven" colorway in the Pakokku Sock base because I loved neutral black with little pops of blues and purples.

Lauren found the Amity Batik Farm booth that makes various sheep themed batik fabric and prints. Since she loves all things sheep, I picked up a note card to give to her for a future present with the cutest sheep on the front.

We stayed till closing as we wanted to soak in as much as we could on our short weekend trip. It was a mad house getting out of the parking lot though. Thankfully we had plenty of snacks to entertain ourselves while we waited. We also decided to grab dinner in Rhinebeck in the hope that most of the traffic would be gone, before heading over to Hyde Park for the remainder of the night. I never even thought to make reservations anywhere, and after being turned away from Aroi (Thai food), I was worried that this would be common at all the other restaurants in the area too. Lauren suggested that we go to the Japanese restaurant close by, so we quickly scanned their menu and headed in. I had high hopes for Momiji, but I wasn't that pleased with the service. The food was good; I ordered a cucumber roll and a sweet potato roll, and both were great. However, it took way too long for our order to be taken, and even longer for them to bring out our food. They weren't that busy, so it was frustrating having to wait so long.

After dinner we made the half hour drive to Hyde Park. I had a hard time finding the house in the dark, but once we were sure we made it to the correct address, we became acquainted with the landlady and went to sleep soon after. We wanted to wake up early enough to be back at the fairgrounds before the gates opened again. We had a lot more shopping we wanted to do, and we wanted to make sure we would plenty of time to see the animals.

Not your Typical Las Vegas Trip

A few weeks ago I flew to Las Vegas for a long weekend with several of my family members. No, I didn't spend the weekend partying like most people my age, but opted for more family-friendly activities. I didn't even gamble! Since we stayed at the Bellagio, most of the things we did that weekend centered around the hotel, for convenience.

* My siblings, little cousin, and I spent a lot of time in the kids' arcade, winning dozens (I kid you not) of stuffed animals.

* I enjoyed a relaxing pedicure with Marissa at Bellagio's spa.

* We went to Bellagio's buffet every night for dinner. I also snacked on some delicious berry sorbet for a pre-dinner treat.

* One evening we rode on the High Roller observation ride and saw the strip all lit up.

* We spent some time in the pools (and took lots of selfies).

* We walked along the strip for a little bit, but it was so hot!

* Watched the Bellagio water show several times.

* Picked up the Las Vegas "You are Here" Starbucks mug.

* Dined on steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar and berries every morning. I was just starting to get used to room service.

It's nice to be home and back into my normal daily routine, but I definitely miss the relaxation aspect of being on vacation!

Corvallis

Our drive from Portland to Corvallis was only about one and a half hours, but it still gave me a significant amount of time to work on my Summer Sampler cross stitch project. Hey, I'm only a year behind! The 18 hour car rides from Sacramento to Oregon and back home also helped.

Anyways, once we arrived in Corvallis and met up with the rest of Lauren's family, we went to dinner at Pastini Pastaria. I ordered the farfalle primavera with marinara sauce, no cheese. Well, they put cheese on pasta (nothing new, no big deal), but when they brought out my dish the second time, there was still cheese on it, and it was obvious that it was the same exact plate they initially brought out, and simply tried to scrape the cheese off. Not okay. The manager ended up coming to our table, apologized and comped my meal. I wasn't expecting this, but I greatly respect the manager's commitment to great customer service.

Despite the cold weather, Kevin's graduation went off without a hitch, although many people were upset that each students' name was not individually announced. Regardless, congratulations Kevin!

After his graduation we went to Laughing Planet for lunch in downtown Corvallis. We were all starving at that point and thoroughly enjoyed all of our food. I ordered the Che Guevara burrito and the Berry Berry Good smoothie, and appreciated the great quality of the food. Leti, Lauren, and I also picked up several vegan cookies for later. I demolished the vegan snickerdoodle in no time!

Lauren's grandma treated us to gelato and sorbet at Francesco's Gelato Caffe following lunch. I was stuffed at that point, but I quickly noticed the plethora of vegan sorbets! I tried some of Lauren's berry sorbet and it was delicious.

The next morning we all went to New Morning Bakery for breakfast. I had a bowl of mixed fruit and the vegan muffin; I'm pretty sure it was of the carrot cake-like variety. Initially I was frustrated that there wasn't a wider selection to choose from (I'm a little spoiled in the vegan department), but the muffin was really tasty and had a good consistency, so I was pleased.

So afterwards, we made the long drive back to Sacramento. A long road trip wouldn't be complete without several stops at Dutch Brothers (in the span of a week) and a stop at Taco Bell for some bean burritos!

Until next time, Oregon!

Portland

A few weeks ago I drove up to Oregon with Lauren's family for her brother, Kevin's graduation from Oregon State. We spent several days in Portland before heading back down to Corvallis for the ceremony. I mean, come on, Portland is the vegan capital of America, we just had to!

We went to my favorite restaurant in the world, twice! Both times, I ordered the chicken ranch burger with sweet potato fries from Native Foods Cafe. So, so good!

We also tried a new-to-us restaurant, Veggie Grill, all vegan as well! I got the grillin' chickin' burger minus the avocado (what is it with me and chicken burgers?), with chili. My meal was good, but what I really enjoyed was the sample of chocolate pudding they handed out. Ahhh, I want to swim in that chocolate pudding! They're opening up a Veggie Grill in Walnut Creek soon, which isn't super far from Sacramento, so that's exciting.

Craving donuts one morning, we had to try Blue Star Donuts. Their vegan donut was so good, probably the best vegan donut I've ever had, but there was only one vegan flavor. I really did like their blueberry vegan version, but I wish they had other vegan options as well.

Since we weren't full after our single donut, we stopped for brunch at Paradox Cafe. So many vegan options! I ordered the country comfort with tempeh, sauteed veggies, breakfast potatoes, and a biscuit with gravy. My meal was okay, but I really liked Lauren's order of french toast!

Because Dan wasn't with us on our last Oregon trip, we had to take him to the iconic Slappy Cakes for breakfast one morning. I'm thrilled they offer vegan pancake batter and even more amused that you get to cook your own pancakes at your table, whatever shapes/characters you desire. The wait for a table is pretty long, but you have to go here at least once, just for the experience.

After all of the food we consumed, we needed to get out and find some activities to do. Being the avid knitter Lauren is, we hit up two yarn stores where I scoured the shops looking to buy yarn from local dyers. At For Yarn's Sake, I bought Knitted Wit's sport weight yarn in "Hot Cocoa" and size 3 Cubics circular needles, and from Twisted I purchased Blissful Knits' sock yarn in "Platinum". Both are excellent yarn shops with friendly employees! I must say, these are my favorite needles I've knit with so far.

Since we were bored and in the mood to relax yet get out of our hotel room, we decided to see a movie, and I got to choose which one. I'm pretty certain that I'll never be allowed to select a movie again, as everyone was in tears throughout "The Fault in Our Stars". But, it was a good movie and an even better book.

Leti and I were also interested in hiking/running tails, and so we forced Lauren and Dan into it as well. Leti found the Tryon State Park and we set off there. I was expecting large hills and rocky terrain, like I'm used to running in the Sacramento area. The Tryon Trail we chose to walk however, happened to be mainly flat, which I'm sure Lauren was happy about. Despite its lack of mountainous terrain, this nature area was so green and beautiful, and it was nice to do some sort of physical activity.

After our Portland escapade, we made the one and a half hour drive back down to Corvallis for Kevin's graduation.

Philadelphia in May

So, I suck at blogging. Over a month ago, Lauren and I flew to Philadelphia with our moms to tour the city and take care of "business" for a week. We spent a few days sightseeing and managed to squeeze in several tasty restaurants as well.

Unknowingly, the week we decided to travel happened to be graduation weekend for many schools, so finding a reasonably priced hotel was nearly impossible. We ended up staying at the Sheraton in Society Hill. There was a "confusion" with our room reservation, so we were treated to a full breakfast every morning, on the house. Score!

Because we were only in Philadelphia for a week, we weren't able to do a lot of touristy things, but here's a list of some of the places we were able to visit:

* Eastern State Penitentiary
Leti is basically obsessed with prisons, so this place was obviously a must-see. I'm not the best person to travel with if you want to spend a lot of time touring historical places/museums...I had enough of that throughout my childhood, I'll meet you in the gift shop! But, I actually enjoyed this audio tour and learned some pretty interesting things. Like, did you know many prisons initially modeled their facilities after this one?

* Betsy Ross' House
We also decided to try the audio tour here, but it wasn't nearly as pleasant as the penitentiary because...school field trips! Being a home and all, there wasn't much space to spread out/walk, and all of the noisy kids really tested my patience, and I'm not one to usually be bothered by stuff like that. Since I do like sewing, it was however interesting to see a reenactment of where Betsy sewed the first American flags.

* Liberty Bell
I'm pretty sure this was Lauren's favorite part of the whole trip; she's seriously been so excited to see the cracked bell. Being a free exhibit, the line to see the actual bell was a little long, but if you're into the historical aspect of the city, then you have to go here. Fun fact: There were some tears shed as a result of the symbolic nature of the Liberty Bell (not by me). History can have that effect, you guys.

* Independence Hall
Like the Liberty Bell, this exhibit was also free, and since it's such a popular tourist attraction, you have to go to the visitor's center beforehand to get a ticket with a designated time for your assigned tour. I'll be honest, out of the four of us, no one enjoyed the tour. Our particular tour guide was a jerk to say the least. He rushed us through the tour, was condescending, and basically acted like a "know-it-all". Not cool. But after talking to another guide and addressing our concerns, it seems like we weren't the only ones to feel that way about that specific guide. As long as you're lucky enough to get a better (nicer/friendlier) guide, I'm sure you'll enjoy the tour.

* Reading Terminal Market
Basically, this is a large indoor daily market with dozens and dozens of vendors. We went on a day where the Amish were absent, but if you plan it right, you can buy bread, produce, jams, or crafts from the Amish. So cool!

* Philadelphia Mint
We didn't have much time to enjoy this attraction; I needed several more hours here to take it all in. I think I spent an entire hour reading a timeline about the history of the United States. I definitely want to come back and finish my self-guided tour. Who wouldn't want to learn about how money is made?

Now let's move onto the more important things in life, food:

* Blackbird Pizzeria
The whole restaurant is vegan! Such a bittersweet thing. So many things to choose from, but this makes deciding so difficult! I opted for the pizza and ordered a large one, thinking I'd share with everyone else. But it turned out that they were too full after their own meals, so I sadly ended up wasting a lot. I also bought an "everything but the kitchen sink" cookie to save for latter, and it was delicious!

 

* HipCityVeg
This is my new favorite restaurant on the East Coast. They have a small menu, but everything here is also vegan. I knew right away what I wanted to order. Three words. Chicken. Ranch. Burger. That is all. Oh, and a chocolate shake. This is seriously one of the best places for a vegan to eat in the entire world.

* Campo's
The only vegan item they had on their menu was a vegan Philly Cheesesteak, so I happily ordered that as I used to like the omnivore version. The sandwich was okay, but I don't think I'd go there again as the service was horrible. The cooks were nice, but the cashier lady was rude and ruined my experience.

* Reading Terminal Market
Yes, they have so much food here too! I order a falafel wrap and dolmas for lunch from Kamal's Middle Eastern Specialties. I'd pass on the dolmas next time, but the falafel was good. The best part of the market though is all of the vegan desserts. I got two slices of lemon bundt cake from the Metropolitan Bakery, and from the Flying Monkey Bakery I bought a chocolate chip cookie, chocolate cupcake, and a mini lemon bundt cake. All vegan! Oh my goodness, that mini lemon bundt cake and chocolate cupcake were to die for. When I'm in the area again, I'll venture to the market just for these two treats. So worth it!

We also added several mugs to our Starbucks "You are Here" collection: Nashville, Philadelphia, Denver, and Colorado. Layovers definitely count in my strong stance about only buying mugs from places I'm actually at.

I didn't pull out my big camera as much as I wanted, but at least cell phones now come equipped with a pretty decent camera, right?

San Francisco

In January Lauren, Leti, Marissa, Heather, and I ran the 15k Hot Chocolate race in San Francisco. We booked our hotel rooms about a month in advance and were ready to get our run on! Several days before our drive out, my aunt offered to put us up for a night in their fancy hotel suite, so of course we obliged. The way I purchased an overnight stay at the original hotel didn't allow for us to cancel our reservation, but we were able to change the dates, so another trip to San Francisco was made! Only Leti, Lauren, and I went on this trip...Marissa and Heather were able to get a refund for their reservation. It's been hard to make plans for the weekends due to training runs, but luckily we had the first Sunday of March off, so we decided to drive to the Bay Area that weekend.

We drove up to San Francisco on Saturday and made our first stop at my favorite fabric store ever, Fabric Outlet in the Mission District. They sell the best knit fabric there for the best prices. I actually didn't get any knits this time, but I did manage to purchase some black stretch velvet and floral rayon-like fabric.

This trip we had no real plans for our weekend in the city. Like I've said before, I love trying new vegan restaurants when I travel so that was something I wanted to do. Before leaving Sacramento, I'd been searching different places to dine in San Francisco. One of my many interesting hobbies. After Fabric Outlet we headed over to Source for dinner. We ordered spicy buffalo bites and source fries with rosemary sea salt and creamy Gilroy garlic sauce for appetizers. The buffalo bites were to die for and I loved the ranch that came with it. For dinner the three of us shared the awesome burger, smashed potato pie pizza, and siracha cluck teriyaki. The burger was good, different, but good. It was made out of beets so it was red/purple in color and I was not expecting that at all. It had good flavor and was filling, so I enjoyed it. I never had mashed potatoes on pizza, but likewise it tasted yummy, but could've used a bit more flavoring. The teriyaki chicken stir fry was also tasty, but it wasn't anything "special" that couldn't have been offered at most other restaurants with some alterations. For dessert we went overboard and busted our buttons. We devoured a chocolate covered twinkee, strawberry filled snowball, and a brownie bite. I've never been a fan of twinkees or snowballs, so I'm not the best person to critique those. I did try a few bites of the snowball, and to my surprise I enjoyed the cake-like outside as long as I didn't eat the filling. I've never been a fan of filled desserts. I know, I'm picky and weird. The brownie bite tasted like a chocolate brownie Clif bar cut up and doused with chocolate mouse. I didn't care too much for the brownie, but the mouse was good.

We spent the next morning at the Ferry Building as I read that they have vegan donuts! We stopped at Pepple's Donuts and bought a dozen donuts. I picked out the lemon, vanilla glazed, maple, and chocolate donuts. I enjoyed them all except for the lemon one...too tart for my taste buds! These donuts were definitely worth the weight...he he, get it?  I also tried a vegan steamed Chinese bao that was pretty good. I was just impressed they offered a vegan version.

Next we stopped at the ImagiKnit yarn store...Lauren loves yarn. As Stitches West was the weekend before, I was on a strict no-more-yarn diet and refrained from buying anything, although the Manos de Uruguay Alegria has been tempting me.

We made a stop at another fabric store...a huge warehouse that carried all kinds of fabric in large bolts. I purchased some plaid cotton, lots of muslin, and white/black striped knit fabric. San Francisco is my favorite place to shop for fabric, even though I've hardly used any of the fabric I already own.

Before driving back to Sacramento, we stopped at Source again for lunch. We had the buffalo bites (again), baked spinach artichoke fondue, peking quack spring rolls for appetizers. I've never tasted anything like the spring rolls; they were amazing! We each order our own entrees this time...I picked the crisp Caesar salad with "chicken". It was a good salad and I appreciated all the lettuce after stuffing myself the previous with everything but veggies, but the dressing didn't taste Casesar-ish. Don't get me wrong, the dressing was still really good, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

I don't have another trip to San Francisco planned just yet, but when I do go back I foresee more fabric shopping and an abundance of vegan food in store for me!

Lake Tahoe

This past weekend I went to Lake Tahoe with my family, Heather, and Lauren. It had been several years since I've gone to the snow and even longer since I went skiing.

I drove up Sunday mid-morning; the first time I've ever personally drove in the snow. It was a little scary when I wasn't able to see the road markings anymore, but at least I know I can do it now.

We spent the majority of Monday resting in the hotel. In the evening Lauren and I took Abby on the gondola down to the Northstar Village. By the time we made it down to the Village, many of the shops were already closed. Since it was freezing, we stopped at Starbucks and bought the Lake Tahoe mug from Starbucks' "You are Here" collection. I love the modernity of the mugs and want to collect one from each city or state I travel to. Exciting stuff right there!

On Tuesday we went skiing. I was hesitant at first as I haven't skied in 6 years, but the muscle memory quickly kicked in and I skied all day long without falling. I even got Lauren to enjoy skiing, so we're hoping to make another trip out before the snow season is over.

And of course, as soon I returned home I got sick and am still fighting a cold. As much as I hate being sick, I'm glad I wasn't feeling crummy on vacation.

Until next time, Tahoe!