Goodbye Winthrop, Hello Tahoe

Well, despite my best intentions, plane tickets, hotel reservations, a rental car and fully paid 3 days of ski camp, I didn't make it there today. I got in the cab at 7:55am, got to the airport on time, boarded the plane - pleased with my bulkhead aisle seat - and started knitting. Then there's this odd announcement about a - delay? What? It's sunny and beautiful outside! Ah, but not so in the pacific northwest. Apparently there was a crazy snowstorm in Seattle, replete with 0 mile visibility. Then I started worrying about this crazy storm and our 2 hour delay - since it was covering the 2 passes I would need to drive over. Washington was in the process of getting dumped on. I talked to some Washington locals who said I definitely should not try to drive from Seattle to the North Cascades today, so I looked in the Alaska Airlines magazine and lo and behold! They fly to Wenatchee. So I cancel my rental car in Seattle, buy a ticket to Wenatchee (which is only 2 hours from ski camp) and go about getting a rental car. Funny thing, there were none. NONE. Enterprise, Budget and Hertz - the 3 rental car companies in Wenatchee, had no 4 wheel drive vehicles. Shoot. I mean really none - none to the point of my asking to see if I could get one the next day they said there were none available until next year. ! They were trying to get some over from Spokane, but they just got 22 inches of snow in the last day or two themselves. Apparently they'd been getting totaled more frequently than expected.

So as my flight delay grows larger making my connection to Wenatchee look less probable I realize I am kind of screwed. No way of getting from Wenatchee to Winthrop. Unsafe travel conditions to go from seattle and at that point it would mean driving probably a minimum of 8 hours through treacherous terrain alone. Plus, it was looking a lot like I would need to stay the night somewher eon route - and what is the point of missing the first day of a 3 day camp?

Then there's the other reality that I have been dreading going! Once I heard the weather would be highs in the single digits the whole time I got a knot in my stomach each time I thought about it. I mean starting out at 8am when it's -2 outside without windchill? UGH. Not enjoyable! Not for me at least. There are some people who would either enjoy it or enjoy the challenge of it, but I am not those people. Especially in a coaching situation where you ski, get sweaty then stand around and *freeze* with chattering teeth and all.

So I said screw it at the very last minute (literally) that I could get off the plane, they somehow miraculously pulled my bags off and home I went, 4 hours later.

Luckily I remembered Tahoe - where I am part of a winter ski rental! So I ran inside, grabbed my ski wax, started the dishwasher, took my whole knitting needle bag, fed the cat and ran back out to drive up here. Unfortunately this drive was treacherous too - took 6 hours with a record 1 mile in 54 minutes (record for me that is) and was a bit white-out-ish at times near the summit - but I made it and I am now warm in the cabin watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with Gene Wilder), drinking whiskey and relaxing. Yeehaw!!

The skiing will be good - if not tomorrow then definitely the next day and it is about 20 degrees warmer than Winthrop. Phew!