Contrasts

We went up skiing this weekend with some friends who grew up here but are living back East now. We went to A-Basin, which is a much smaller place than Vail or the other upscale resorts. It was kind of a nice change, reminded me of skiing on Mt. Hood when I was younger – no high speed lifts, only one lodge, and you can park right next to the lifts, there’s no village to walk through or shuttle buses to take. It was a beautiful day, cold but clear, and not crowded. Perfect.

A and I usually pack our lunch in his Camelbak, since food is so expensive on the hill, and we had made our usual: two sandwiches and a ziplock bag of pretzels. We were put to shame by the lunch Chad hauled (in a cardboard box) out of the back of his car: bagels, bags of chips, boxes of Girl Scout cookies, clementines, cheese and sausage sticks, raspberry muffins, Reese’s peanut butter eggs, pistachios, bottles of Gatorade and water….. It was like the difference between backpacking and car camping. I kept expecting him to pull out a gas grill or an easy chair.  Of course, we tucked right in.