What a great weekend I had.  The best part of having babies is having grownups twenty plus years later.  I had a wonderful time with Joe.  We started the weekend watching the Colorado Buffs-should-been-in-NCAA beat Cal.  Of course I have no beef with our Cal but hey, I was in Buffs territory and anyway I want to see them win the NIT.  Watching them play at Coors Arena got me ticked off all over again.  They are tough, aggressive, good shooters and generally are obviously NCAA tournament material.  Joe told me last night after they beat Kent State that “New York New York” was played in the arena.  They are heading to Madison Square Garden and whether it’s NCAA or NIT that’s gotta be a thrill for the kids. The rest of the weekend was all about the NCAA tournament, we burned up the TV remote changing stations back and forth between games.

Saturday we went skiing.  I said I was never going to breathe a word about this, but Joe understands that once I get on my blog I can only tell the whole truth.  I was happy in my new boots (well, they need a little adjustment, the toes falling asleep thing is always a drag) and my hot new cerulean blue helmet was great.  I didn’t need it though, I didn’t fall.  I took another lesson and after one run down an intermediate run the instructor recommended I head back down to the beginner class again.  I am not proud and was happy to do so – I am clearly still scared.  I enjoyed the rest of the morning.

I had lunch with Joe and his buddies (who graciously drove us up there) and then in the afternoon they guided me up to the top of the mountain where I could ski green trails (easy) all the way to the bottom.  They took off and Joe stayed with me.  Well.  Here’s the bad news.  Apparently the day before the slopes were quintessential Colorado powder.  Then it warmed up.  Things were fine at the bottom of the mountain, but at the top they had closed two lifts to the summit because of winds, but even where we disembarked it was wiiiiiinnnnndddddyyy.  And.  Icy.  Damn.  I have never actually been sailed down part of a ski slope before, and it was intimidating.  However I used the skills I learned in the morning and just took it slow.  Joe’s buddy told me he hadn’t seen conditions that poor in 10 years.  Can you say “Murphy’s Law?”

It wasn’t until I had finished skiing for the day, exhausted that I asked Joe our elevation.  10,000 ft. at the base.  This is perhaps why I felt like an elephant with cement boots on clomping around at lunch. Copper Mountain is a huge resort and to get from place to place you take a shuttle bus.  Walking to the shuttle was brutal.   Every step felt like the descriptions they have up climbing Everest – concentrate, breathe, step, concentrate, breathe, step.  Okay, I exaggerate, but I felt a little better once I knew the elevation.  10,000 ft are you serious?   Anyway, my worries that I was going to be “spoiled” by the Colorado snow were staved off until next time.  Back to the Sierra cement – at lower elevations – is going to be just fine for now.

I hated to leave as you can imagine. Colorado is a nice place to visit and I would be happy if he settled there.  But I think it’s mostly so nice because he is there.  Nice friends, cozy apartment, good life.  It’s getting to the point (he’ll be 26 in a few days) where I can’t take credit for his successes, but I can still be proud…