2010…..Already?

 

We gotta phone call on the 31^th of December from the Onondaga Ski Club Lodge.  Could we stop on the way up and pick up a couple of bottles of a particular wine that those already there seemed to enjoy.  Hmmm.  Sounds like another New Year’s party up at the lodge. 

 

 

 

With our list in hand, we hit the road.  After the obligatory stops for, well, you know, we made it to the little gas station/market/booze store in Pittsfield, Vermont.  There on a shelf were two bottles of the requested wine.  Bottles in hand, we continued north on Route 100 until the lights of the lodge came into view.  A light snow was falling, so emptying out the truck went without a hitch with help from Dick Lewis, Margaret Pawlyk, and Larry Howard, already in residence.  Once in the lodge, I took a look at all the stuff Marilyn and I had brought up, and once again realized we were good for at least a week, maybe more if we did a little “sink washing”.  I don’t know how we condense all the stuff into one bag each when we fly out west to ski…like we will be doing in February to the club’s Crested Butte trip.  More on that in March…or April.

 

Once we settled in, others started coming through the door.  Kathy and Jeff Jacobs, Karen and Phil Howard, Linda and Larry Knoble had been out skiing already.  Now we were ready to party and prep for our meal-of-the-year.  Beer and wine flowed very well as knives, forks, cutting boards, mixing spoons, bowls, roasting pans and such were all over the island.  It’s a good thing we have a big kitchen up there as a lot of people were in it doing their thing getting their specialty ready.  Ham, potatoes, salads, veggies, sweet potatoes, soup, cheese & crackers, chips, cookies, sausage, did I mention beer and wine???  I was wondering for a moment if we ought to open an “instant” restaurant for travelers passing by.  A fleeting thought, I grabbed my plate, piled it high, then found a place in the dining room and proceeded to consume enough calories to last two, maybe three days.  I think others did too, but as we all know, what happens at the lodge stays at the lodge, so we were in for a calorie-free weekend. 

 

After dinner and cleanup, there was a knock at the door.  We were honored by having the president of the Short Hills Ski Club arrive and formally invite us over to their lodge to count down to 2010.  Of course we accepted.

 

Someplace before midnight we all wandered down including late arrival members Dave Hill from Ithaca and John Nesbitt of Norwich who happens to be an ambassador at Sugarbush.  Once at Short Hills, we proceeded to mingle and dance away until it was countdown time.  Ten, nine, eight, seven… and since we weren’t so sure apparently, we did it again.  ….three, two, one…yeaaaaaaa.  OK, now we have to remember to write 2010 on our checks instead of 2009.

More dancing, then time to go.  We offered to help cleanup, but that club is so organized everybody has a specific task, and we were in the way.  A slow walk back to our lodge, the light snow continued to fall.   Back at the lodge, it didn’t take too long before silence settled over us as we drifted off to dream land.

 

Day one of 2010.  Surprisingly everyone got up and off to do something.  Some went to Killington, some went for a hike, some took the time to kick back and catch up on some reading.  Light snow continued to fall for much of the day.  People started coming back in the late afternoon (after the hot tub?), and we heard that skiing at the Kill was a bit crowded…but it always is.  Oh well, there’s always beer and wine at the lodge (plus lots of food from the previous evening), so all’s well that ends well (thanks, Will)

 

Day two of 2010.  Most headed up to Sugarbush this day where we found it no worse than Killington, and some powder stash thanks to John.  One thing that was a bother was the wind.  Marilyn saw some person on a snowboard not going downhill as the wind was holding them up so bad.  Fortunately for us we have poles, so did the cross-country thing in a couple of places.  Hey it could’a been worse.  It is great that the Onondaga Ski Club can get discount vouchers for this area (and others).  It’s a considerable savings, believe me.  Just be sure you have necessary sticker on the back of your membership card, and don’t leave the card at home!

 

Back at the lodge we again brought out the remaining food so nothing was left to take home.  I think we did finish off everything including most of the beverages over the evening too.  New arrivals Tim and John Hanna helped us in this endeavor too.  It didn’t take too long for all the tired bodies to get horizontal.

 

Day three of 2010, Sunday.  For most of us, it was time to head out, home or otherwise.  Clean, vacuum, load up and check out.  Some did head out to ski and would be coming back to the lodge, but as the last of the New Year’s group to leave, Marilyn and I locked it up.  Now we are planning for the next time we get to the Onondaga Ski Club’s lodge in Lower Granville, Vermont.  Have you made your plans yet to visit our lodge this year???????

                                                                                                Marilyn and Michael McCabe