One of the most entertaining weekends of our time at home was a five day trip to Lake Placid. Back in October, we had been invited to a surprise 30th birthday party for one of Sean's friends, Rick. Rick's girlfriend Susan had been secretly planning quite an extravagant party for him near where he works as border patrol in New York. With the help of Rick's very generous parents, Susan rented a chalet and organized all of the details for about fifteen of Rick's friends to spend a long weekend of fun winter activities and celebrating.
Though I was a little wary of spending five days with Sean's friends (they can be more than a little crazy at times) I ended up having a lot of fun and it will be a trip that's hard to beat. We drove to Lake Placid in a caravan of cars which was an adventure in and of itself. The chalet was the kind you only read about or see on girly movies; it had that rustic charm complete with a hot tub with a mountain view. Susan's ability to party plan was unparalleled and she had matching shirts and personalized steins filled with goodies essential for the weekend (hand warmers, chapstick, candy, airplane shots . . . etc.) Rick's parents went over and above as well and cooked us almost all of our meals as well as fancy snacks and drinks in between.
Lake Placid was a beautiful area that I had never explored before. The ski town itself was picturesque and touristy and offered many things to do. Our first day we all napped and then had mimosas in the hot tub. In the evening we went to dinner and waited to surprise Rick, the birthday boy, who had suspected something was up but had no idea just how big the plans were. The next day we went ice skating and dog-sledding and played lots of games at night. The following day we went skiing at the big resort on the biggest ski mountain I have ever tried to tackle in my life. After sliding down on my butt on the blue runs I quickly realized I could only safely and sanely handle the green runs and spent many happy hours on "Bear," "Fox," and "Rabbit."
The last day we went on a "Wolf Walk" which was my favorite part of the whole trip (besides the hot tub, naturally). During the wolf walk, the tour guide walked alongside an actual wolf while explaining to us some canine history mixed in with various political rants now and again. The coolest part came when the wolf started howling all on his own. The chance to see a wolf howl up close was pretty cool. Later on that day we added one more winter sport to the list and spent the afternoon tubing. Surprisingly, considering the crew we had, there were no major injuries to ourselves or other guests on the hill.
The next day we made the long drive back home in cars filled with stiff joints, sore muscles, sleep-deprived and slightly hung-over bodies and lots of memories. Thanks Marijo, Steve and Susan! It was a fantastic trip and one that will never be forgotten.
Wow! That sounds like an amazing time! Especially the dog-sledding and skiing
;-)