The End of the World?

...or just the turning of a calendar page? That's right (in case you haven't woken up yet from the lingering effects of too much...sparkling cider), 2012 is upon us. And whether or not you give any credence to the Mayan predictions of impending doom and gloom, it looks like--for right now at least--we all have a fresh new year to do with as we please. Team WestEnders welcomed 2012 by taking a trip to Deep Creek Lake, where some friends own a vacation home and had invited us and one other family to stay for a few days. Hmm, let me consider for a moment...change of scenery, visiting a new place, interacting with nature, hanging out with special people...these are a bunch of our favorite things, count us I-N! All we had to do was pack our bags, and we would be off on a Winter Adventure! Easy-peasy--after all, we've done it a million times, right? But do you know what I discovered in a hurry? Unlike a carefree day at the beach, cold weather fun requires an awful lot of gear for four people. There's the boots and the snowpants and the coats and the long underwear and the wool socks and the fleeces and the hats and the gloves and the...other stuff (yes, I mean "more layers for me"). For the first time ever, the boys "helped" with their bags: "Mom, do I need pajamas?" (Um, absolutely.) "Should I bring my charger for my DS?" "How many pairs of underwear would be good?" (at least in this case there was no question as to the non-negotiable nature of said item.)

Finally, after we had assembled and stowed an enormous mound of luggage, and were ready to hit the Open Road. We pointed the Subaru westward and headed into the mountains of Western Maryland. Just short of three hours later we approached the stunning resort area, where we could watch the sunset over the lake as we wound our way up the incline toward our friends' house. Fortunately, the temperatures had been solidly in the 50s all day--downright balmy for late December; unfortunately, this meant that most of the ski trails we passed  were decidedly..."green and grassy" as opposed to the preferable "covered in fluffy white powder". (More on that later.) We joined our hosts and the other guests at Snack and Cocktail Hour (perfect timing or what?) The total attendance was as follows: 6 Adults (3 Moms, 3 Dads), 6 Kids (5 boys--ages 8, 9, 9, 11, 11; and 1 girl--age 7). And yes, as you can imagine, chaos ensued. (Well, more specifically: the grownups chatted in a civilized fashion while the overly-excited children ran amok.) The celebratory weekend had begun!

There was much serious discussion among the Parental Set about what course of action we should follow the next day. As previously mentioned and observed, the slushy, patchy conditions were...not so favorable for skiing. Especially since most of the visiting offspring had never tried it before. Over breakfast the next morning, however, it became clear that the point was moot, since it had not only rained sometime during the night, but also was now so foggy you couldn't even see Chairlift 7...which lies approximately 100 yards from the house! It was drizzly, it was windy, it was a downright miserable day for outdoor activities. What should we do? I know, let's go for a hike! (Hey, we didn't pack all that darn waterproof clothing for nothing!) So we piled ourselves into a couple of cars and moseyed our way to a nearby State Park, where we followed a muddy trail through the woods to see some really gorgeous waterfalls. (And the kids got to leap around on huge rocks--like spastic mountain goats--so it was all good.) When we returned to Home Base, it was decided that in lieu of skiing, we would all partake of an alternative activity offered by the resort: Tubing. Evidently many, many other people had this exact same brainstorm, as the first available tickets we could secure were for 7 p.m. So, Night Tubing, whoo hoo!

Thus we layered-up on the warm apparel and stormed the hill. Well, kind of...here I have a small confession to make: standing at the bottom, looking straight up at the steep, bumpy, icy tracks, I felt a twinge of trepidation. Sure, I ride roller-coasters, but they strap you into those suckers very securely. Sitting atop a slippery round cushion, whizzing down a wide-open slope...it looked potentially nerve-wracking. Of course I kept this to myself, and settled for a silent pep talk while we rode the people-conveyer-belt to the top. And guess what? It ROCKED!! Sooooo much fun, such a rush! Those tube-thingies spin around (at least for me) and pick up speed and bounce over the moguls and give you one heck of a wild ride. Altogether an outstanding way to experience the little amount of snow they were actually able to make at this point in the season. Then we reconvened at the house to while away the last few hours until the New Year's countdown. The adults competed in a rousing game of Jenga (punctuated by copious amounts of trash talking) while the kiddies watched a movie. And for the first time yet, Derek and Riley made it to 12:00. Of course, Riley was so wiped he couldn't manage to drag himself from his sleeping-bag cocoon to join us for the official toast. But Derek did participate in the clinking of glasses, with a festive splash of Cranberry-Pomegranate juice.

On New Year's Day (accompanied by much yawning) we thanked our hosts, wished everyone a happy, healthy start to 2012, and set out for home. It was a wonderful way to end one year and launch another--in a lovely location, surrounded by family and friends, with fantastic food and lots of laughter. Now just give us all a nap, and we'll be ready to tackle whatever the next year brings!