Still no snow in the east

This blog will eventually be about skiing. My plan is to write about the small areas I ski at this winter. I would like to talk about the people I ski with, what we do in PSIA events I attend, what happens at races I go to, the people I meet along the way, the food I eat while trying to get there...whatever. None of this can start until we get some winter. In the meantime, I will just write stuff to help me pass the time and help me get ready. It is pouring rain here again. If you are in the northwest or northern Rockies...have a blast, you lucky devils!

I did have a nice trip to Cape Cod. I did ride the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard with my family, my sister-in-law and her son. It has been a long time since I was over to Martha's Vineyard. They now have Internet service on the boat. We proved, very well, that it worked as we adopted a puppy from the Ithaca SPCA Adoption Center while in route. My wife and I tried to pick up the puppy today but we have to bring our daughter and older dog to meet the puppy before they will release it to us. Hopefully tomorrow we will have a new puppy underfoot. I will not be telling you a cute puppy story every time you hit this blog. As I said, this will be about skiing but if something really good happens with the new dog, I will let you know.

We had lunch at the famous Black Dog in Vineyard Haven. The clam chowder was amazing with some great home-made croûtons on top. I also had a fried cod sandwich that wasn't amazing but really fresh.. no complaints. My wife and her sister started with an apple squash soup that might have been better than the chowder. There are probably a ton of great places to eat in Vineyard Haven but I have had such good meals at the Black Dog, I always seem to go there to see if it is still the same... it is. After lunch, in the Black Dog store, we bought a couple of Oval Black Dog stickers, one for my daughter's guitar case and the other for a spare. Other than that we just walked around Vineyard Haven looking a things and enjoying the afternoon. It is a great time to be there, most things are still open but most of the summer crowds are gone.

Tonight, I am picking up our "free range organic turkey" and putting it in the brine. Yep, Thanksgiving is at our house again this year. Tomorrow (in addition to the puppy thing) I hope to pick up our newly mounted skis. If I can't ski on them yet, I would like to at least look at them (and start waxing them). I have also downloaded the new PSIA Eastern Division Children’s Specialist 1 Workbook and will begin working my way through it; another way to get myself more psyched for skiing.

Have a delicious and safe Thanksgiving!