Weekend Trip to Maine

Last weekend, our friends Felise and Nick invited us to join them at a friend's condo in Bridgton, Maine.  Since Panda was at her new home, we took advantage of the late season ski conditions, packed up our gear and headed out.

Nick grew up with family friends who bought a condo right across the street from Shawnee Peak, a downhill ski area.  Erica, one of the children in that family, was going up and invited Nick, Felise and any of their friends to come up.  We picked them up on Friday night and drove up to Maine in the rain and fog to meet Erica at the condo.

The next morning, we woke up to sunshine and were expecting temperatures in the mid-40s.  Erica and Nick got ready for downhill skiing at Shawnee Peak, while Dave prepared to snowboard.  Apparently the mountain was doing a theme day to encourage people to go skiing, so Saturday was "Retro Day."  Since Erica's family had the condo since the early 90s, she found the perfect outfit: a hot pink snowsuit, complete with shoulder pads, cinched belt and matching sweater.  Very hot.

Unfortunately, Erica was the only non-employee who was dressed and she still didn't get an actual prize.  Apparently the contest was rigged (employees voting for other employees), but the manager felt bad enough that he ran into the ski shop and got Erica a fleece scarf and glove set.  At least she got something out of it.

Like me, Felise doesn't downhill either.  So we went cross country skiing at a nearby apple orchard, Five Fields Orchard.  It was very cute and unlike any cross country trails I've been on, in a lot of ways.  First, the guy running the place (we didn't catch his name, so we called him Al) was busily painting and wood-working the trail signs in the hut when we arrived and was covered in sawdust.  He was really nice and showed us the trail map, making suggestions, and reminding us that since all the signs were in the hut, there wouldn't be much signage on the trails.  Al asked us to sign in, took our ten bucks and offered us free bottled water.  Then we went out on our merry way.

From the top of the hill at the hut.

The orchard is beautiful and sits on the top of a hill.  There is even a cemetery in the orchard (this became a reference point for us), so eclectic might begin to describe the place.  Unfortunately, the orchard isn't contained to just the top of the hill, and in order to get to the long trails, we had to go down.  A lot.  These hills were pretty steep.  Add to that, the rainy conditions from Friday made the snow very very fast.

One of the reasons I don't do downhill is because I don't like the speed nor do I feel like I have much control.   I could not stop no matter how hard I tried.  I had warned Felise of my propensity for falling, but this was a little excessive.  We had gone west across the orchard, and then started down the hill.  It was much steeper than I thought, so I tried, desperately, to turn and head back across the orchard to the east.  And I fell.  And then I was trying to get back up, but since my skis were still pointed down the hill, I couldn't and fell again.  Eventually, after several failed attempts, I got up and we trekked back to the other side, hoping for less downhill action.  It was better, but I still fell a few times.  The best however, was when I managed to fall on my butt and not my face, but still slid down the hill for a good 10 feet.  It was awesome.

Finally in the ravine, we managed to be successful and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Since it was sunny, the snow glistened and since it was late in the season, there was no one around.  In fact, it wasn't until we were close to being finished that we saw another skier.  We definitely enjoyed a peaceful and serene workout, even if getting back up the hills were killer.

Crossing the stream.  That's Felise way ahead of me.

We headed back and reported the conditions to Al.  He offered us suggestions for lunch and then I asked him, since he didn't give us trail pass tags for our coats, if we could come back later.  He said sure, we had the whole day, no problem.  I think that's when Felise noticed the sign on the porch that said, "If no one's here, just put your fee in the bucket and enjoy the trail."  Nothing like the honors system.  I figure, the skiing thing was just something this guy did to take advantage of his orchard being covered in snow.

We met Erica, Nick and Dave at the condo for lunch and then decided to head back out to the trails while they hit the slopes again.  It started to cloud up in the afternoon, but I was much more competent.   I actually only fell once and that was because I couldn't make the turn I wanted to and it was either fall or hit a tree.  I decided against choosing the tree.

I did however, manage to lose my pole randomly.  We were cruising along and I pulled up my right arm only to discover my hand was empty.  And I had a hard time stopping because I was going at a pretty good skate and was laughing pretty hard.  Once I finally stopped and regained composure, I looked back and there it was, sticking up in the ground.  Clearly the snow was much stickier this time around.  Or I didn't pull my strap tight enough.

Way back there in the middle of the trail is my pole.

Eventually we met back a the condo again.  We decided to go to Moat Mountain Smokehouse for dinner in North Conway, New Hampshire.  I'll admit, it was kinda cool going to Maine for the weekend, but then going to another state for dinner.  Only in New England.  That and it was 25 minutes away. 

Dave and I have been to North Conway a couple of times for winter trips and the last time we were there, we found this restaurant. It's awesome.  They do barbecue, pizza, burgers, and all kinds of yummy stuff, plus they have their own beer.  I suggested it and Erica was so excited because she hadn't been there in a while.  Felise and Nick had never been and it turned out to be a great choice.  The food was great and a perfect follow up to a long day of skiing.

For an impromptu vacation weekend, this was definitely a good one.  We had a leisurely Sunday, cleaned up and headed back home.  I'm glad we got out skiing again too, because it would have been a shame not to take advantage of the snowy winter we've had. 

Oh, and when we got home, Dave swears he saw a mouse cross the drive way and jump into the house were the siding meets the foundation.  C'mon, you'd have been disappointed if that saga had ended.