Sledtastic

Well clearly it's been a while since we've really updated. It turns out Dan does actual work in grad. school and ditto for me at my job. A real change for both of us. Kidding. (Sort of.)

Still, not to worry... I am now officially back, with all sorts of New Hampshire-related adventures. (I'm sure you were all worried.)

Anyway, onward and upward... Last weekend Dan and I were invited to a birthday party for a friend turning 28. As scary as it is we'll be attending a number of 28th birthday parties over the course of this year (including our own.) Ugh.

Of course, not many 28-year-olds host a sledding party for their big day. Definitely a novelty.

A few obstacles to me and sledding:

1. I haven’t been since I was ten. During that time I’ve become even LESS graceful (read: klutzy) and even MORE accident-prone.

2. No snow pants. When I was young and wanted to play in the snow I had all the appropriate garments: leggings, neck-warmer, snow pants, waterproof gloves, hat, scarf, socks, boots, coat (hood: up.) I looked like a human marshmallow, maybe, but at least I was warm. But, after something like nine years as a Virginia resident and only six months in New Hampshire I am sadly lacking in cold-weather gear. No snow pants. No waterproof gloves. Rain boots (with fleece liners, but still.)

Dan of course happened to have snow pants from a random ski trip three years ago. Waterproof gloves, too. Typical.

3. No sled. Clearly the biggest obstacle.

Still, we were determined to go because… sledding!!! So Dan loaned me some track pants (ok, I took them,) and I wore them over leggings and my super-fantastic SmartWool socks. (I only have one pair, but they're amazing.) Add to that all the UnderArmour I own and... close enough.

For the sled we tried Kmart, but shockingly they were sold out. (Most likely due to an impromptu run on sleds by the Tuck first year class.) So we found ours at Wall Mart, for $15.

Scene: "Excuse me sir (picture me, Dan - two responsible full-fledged adults with no visible children) do you sell sleds?"

Wall Mart Employee: "Um... in the toy section?"

So maybe our bright orange sled was meant for children half our size (and weight) but no matter. We stuck in the trunk and drove to the hill over by Ockham Pond. Now I grew up near a national park (Valley Forge) and by a school called Hillside (aptly named) - two prime sledding destinations in my childhood years. But this hill - the hill by Ockham Pond - was a good hill, both steep and long.

Saturday was one of those bright, winter days where the sun is almost dazzling on the snow. And there we were with families, young children, and maybe twenty Tuck students with a motley assortment of sleds, snow tubes, and trays.

The hill was difficult even to walk up, but we do. We got to the top and that was when it occurred to me that really I hadn't been sledding since age 10 and that really we were pretty high up. In fact, I wasn't so sure about sledding at all.

And that was when Dan decided to push me. Next thing I know I'm speeding down the hill on our orange Wall Mart sled, which no surprise promptly malfunctions and turns around so that I'm going backward...

The real surprise is that it was totally amazing. After a few rides we paused for hot chocolate and snacks in the parking lot (pretzels, cupcakes, etc, per a proper birthday party.) And, for the record, our sled made it more or less in once piece (other sleds did not fare so well...) and no one actually hit a tree (or broke anything.) BUT, in case you're thinking Dan got "away" with pushing me down the hill...

Not so. Having finished our snack, a friend loaned us a "better" sled which Dan was quite excited to try because "ours didn't go fast enough." Well this other sled went faster. Much faster. It looked fun, but I never got to try. After one run we had to take Dan home for ginger-ale because he had a "tummy ache." (Which is why you should never swim nor sled on a full stomach, apparently.)

I think I went to a birthday party that ended the same way when I was... 10, maybe.