Ski Trip with the Grandkids

It's been a while since I was able to get here. December has been quite a month. If you haven't already, be sure to read about the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon in Las Vegas. The short story; Blues Brothers Band at the start, white tigers, show girls, and Elvis's falling from the sky. Radical.

From there is was on-the-road to Randlesman, NC for the 2009 Run to Victory. You can read about THAT event at: Victory for All.

And then the fun started. Jenny and I drove up to see my son and grandchildren and take them, the grandkids, on their first ski trip. We took them to the Wisp Resort in McHenry, MD in the Deep Creek Lake area.

One thing I need to get clear from the start, I am NOT a skier. I have never skied. I have never had much of a desire to ski. Jenny has done some skiing. Terry has done some skiing. I have NEVER strapped ANYTHING to my feet, pointed myself downhill, and thought that it was a good idea. I like things with brakes, like motorcycles and scooters.

So, you may be asking yourself; why would you take your grandchilden skiing. The answer is pretty simple really. I want them to experience the world more completely than I have. For most of my life I had only two interest; motorcycling and music. It wasn't until I was 43 that tried to encounter the world with my body. By then I was an overweight smoker. Not the best starting point for any athletic activity.


Last summer we took the grandkids on a road trip in a motorhome. The goal then was to show them what a beautiful country we live in and how many wonderful people there are. This trip was all about getting them out of their comfort zones and into a world that was foreign to them - as well as me.

It turns out that kids at that age don't HAVE comfort zones. The entire world is interesting. Every activity sounds like fun. Every experience is driven by their innate curiosity. What a great example of how to live.

As is so often the case, I learned much more from my grandchildren than I think they learned from me. I was trying to teach them that life should be lived without limits. They already knew that.

I learned that trying something new is a reward in itself. It doesn't matter if you're good at it [which, as it turns out, they were] The only thing that really matters is that you get out and try it.

The next time we go, I'm going to take ski lessons. It may look funny to see a 61 year-old grandpa swooshing down the bunny hill at the speed of molasses, but at least I'll be out there.

And if I'm very, VERY, lucky I'll be able to keep up with them until they turn 6.

Waddle on,