Skiing and Snow Boarding

We live in such a diverse area. We have the ocean, the bay, wonderful rivers and even mountains all within a 2 to 3 hour drive for most. I am grateful for the opportunity to get away every now and then. Seeing new things, having that change of scenery...it really is good for the soul.

This past weekend, Helaine, Philip and I went to WISP in McHenry, Maryland for some skiing and snow boarding. It's a haven of recreation that's not even 3 hours away. It's about the same time from DC to Ocean City.

I'm old school, a skier, but Philip wants to snow board and Helaine is happy in the lodge with a magazine. I'm not always the smartest guy, but having him take lessons at ski school was clearly the intelligent thing to do. You know that kids and parents don't always listen to each other but they'll follow the advice of a total stranger without hesitation.

The really cool thing is that most parents have their kids taking ski lessons and not snow board lessons. Philip has been the only student in the snow board class every day he has taken it, so that 1 on 1 attention has been fantastic.

On his 3rd day, he was already on the chair lift and going down some intermediate runs. To be young and fearless....remember those days? I get to live vicariously through my son. I also can't wait for him to get a little better so that we can just go together

without the instructor and just have fun.


By the end of his 4th lesson, he was trying a little jump. I caught him catching some "air".

Speaking of snow boarding, some jerk teenager is flying down the mountain while I'm just doing my thing. I barely hear that scraping sound on the snow that the board makes before I am taken down. He did have the courtesy to ask if I was OK, but he was clearly out of control and fortunately, I was uninjured. I did fantasize about beating him with my ski poles upside his head, but I restrained myself and just said "I'm fine". It was a little terse, but that's as much as I said.

Speaking of terse, Pam Harrison from Oxford, MD sees me on line waiting for the mountain coaster and starts giving me the business about standing on the right side of the map, blocking much of the Eastern Shore.

Pam, like me is a former New Yorker, so we had a connection right there and we became quick friends. Helaine took the picture of all of us and this is what Pam e-mailed to me:

"It was fun talking to you today at WISP. We love Channel 9 news and weather despite my kidding you! The names in the photo are, me, Pam Harrison, Jacqueline Harrison, in the black jacket, Lauren Harrison, and in the end orange jacket, Natalie Furey. We were all at WISP for the Country School of Easton's 8th grade ski weekend. We had a blast--hope you did too!!!! "

I'll try not to block the Eastern Shore as much and I now have a new weather watcher in Oxford that will keep us posted as to any extreme weather events that may occur over there.

And just to prove that I actually can ski, Helaine took a photo of me. I have to thank my friend Joe Murgo and his wife Mara. Joe is the Chief Meteorologist at WTAJ in Altoona. Besides being a great weather guy, he's also a great skier as is his wife. They are both ski instructors and they were there this weekend. Skiing with 2 instructors, as long as you're willing, can really elevate your level. We also did some tubing and it was great hanging out with an old friend and his family.

I went skiing, saw some friends, saw my son excel and I didn't hurt myself...it just doesn't get much better than that.