Special Sight-Seeing

Last week, as we departed on our trip we had no idea just how long it would take us to get to our final destination.

We originally had a 5:30 a.m. flight out of Birmingham, AL and were scheduled to arrive in Salt Lake City, UT around 10:30 a.m.

We left our house at 3:30 a.m., although we had to turn around about a half a mile from the house in order to go back for Ryan's sunglasses (but he swears that didn't make a difference in our day).

We arrived at the airport around 4:45 a.m. We hustled to park and ran to the Delta Kiosk to print our boarding passes and check our bags. We knew we were cutting it close in order to get our bags checked prior to the 30 minute cutoff, however, the airport doesn't open until 4:45... so we felt okay about it.

Upon arrival at Delta's desk we realized a family of four children and two parents were taking up two kiosk and had a ton of bags. We waited patiently until it was our turn.

As soon as we stepped up to the kiosk we were informed we had missed the cutoff and would have to select a different flight. Also, that would be a $100 tacked on for good measure.

This is where Deidra, Ryan and I should have gotten mad. Mad because of the damn family taking up two kiosks, mad that we were there as early as we could be and got screwed, and mad because we had to spend more money.

But alas, we all took a "chill pill" (or Razzies as prescribed) prior to heading out so we absolutely didn't have it in us to get worked up. We took it with grain of salt. We were like, Dude that sucks. Let's get a biscuit while we wait. 

Rerouted through Minnesota and a 1:00 arrival time in SLC and we were on our way.

We got in to Salt Lake City a bit earlier than planned and our good buddy Mack (who kindly hosted us for the weekend) agreed to pick us up at the airport.

As we were leaving the airport we were all excited and chatting it up. At this point a few wrong turns may have occurred.

45 minutes later Mack asked nonchalantly, "Did I go east on HWY 80 or west?"

We had definitely gone the opposite directions than we should have for a close to an hour... but alas, if we had not gone that way we wouldn't have had a special sight seeing tour of the Great Salt Lake. I wouldn't have gotten to take these pics...

So it all worked out.

If Ryan hadn't forgotten those sunglasses, if we hadn't had difficulty finding a park spot, if I driven a little bit faster, then we would have never seen Minnesota from the air or The Great Salt Lake from the car.

Bright side people, bright side. Glass half full. Or maybe it was the chill pills/Razzies that gave us the illusion of not giving a shit either way.

I suppose the moral of this story is to pack your Maui Jim's next to the Razzies prior to travel.

Semi Shredding Success (a green run)

Deidra made a video of us shredding it up on the Ski Trip. Things you should know: we are beginner skiers, on a green run, but it was so fun. I'm in the brown pants attempting to be cool, Blair is the first person we pass (red toboggan), Deidra is in charge of the camera, and Ali is  the last person we stop by. 

Check us out:

Untitled from Jessica Toland on Vimeo.

THE Ski Trip has Come and Gone!

"The Ski Trip."

The ski trip started out as a simple idea being tossed around over a few cocktails back in May while sitting on the shores of Lake Martin. 

Clad in our bathing suits we chatted about the fact that we needed to plan a ski trip for the upcoming winter.

It was an idea that had been tossed around each year for the past few years. However, at the end of the day no one ever took action and made it happen. 

We were always big talkers and that's where it ended. 

But this year.... this year we made the ski trip happen. With one email stating the dates and location and a deadline to respond folks began booking flights and purchasing ski gear.

WE ARE ON THE SKI TRIP!!!

We ended up have 16 close friends commit to the adventure. People have told me that it's crazy that my core group of friends from high school have stayed so close throughout the years, but we have. We haven't always gotten along and everyone has grown and changed throughout the years, but at the end of the day we have maintained close relationships... and that's who made up the ski trip.. Class of '03, baby! (plus an addition who should  have been in our class).

This trip has been planned for months and for months we have discussed it at every get together. I can't begin to tell you about the number of emails that have gone back and forth. 

It was kind of surreal once everyone arrived. We kind of had a moment of WE ARE ACTUALLY ON THE SKI TRIP. 

To be honest,  the more I thought about the ski trip and closer it got, the more anxious I became. 16 people in one house for four days has the potential to result in a lot of drama. Also, factor in the fact that Ryan had never been skiing. I knew if he didn't pick it up it would be frustrating for him, which in turn would equal frustration for me. 

But as I sit here on the other side of our four day adventure to Park City, Utah I can say that it was a trip of a lifetime. Dramatic, much? Yes... but every. single. person. had fun.

Drinking local brew with arms are interlocked =Classy & Romantic.

A bear in town. 

All the beginners in the group picked up on skiing so easily. With a bit of guidance and practice everyone was ready and willing to conquer the mountain.

We skied Deer Valley each day and had more fun than you can imagine. Now, I've been skiing twice before but it was like something "clicked" this time. Maybe I had more confidence or maybe it's just that the third times a charm.... but I was really proud of my improved skills. 

It's been an odd season, in that they have not had much snow out West, but most of the runs were open. We skied from the the top of the mountain to the bottom and back again. 

We had spills, we made videos of our skills, we conquered fears, we laughed at each other, we helped each other up, and at the end of the day everyone came home in one piece (albeit sore). I mean, it could not have been better.

 

Knocking out "Success" 

One day while skiing a herd of deer crossed our path. It was so cool. I caught one on camera- look hard.

 The last night we were there we decided to go tubing. It was awesome.

At night we had dinner and drinks and laughed about the events of the day. The hot tub came in handy for our sore bodies and made for the perfect end to long days. 

I am so thankful that Ryan and I are fortunate enough to be able to take trips like this, but I'm even more grateful that we have such great friends to embark on such adventures with. The memories we made will last forever... and to be honest I can't wait for the next ski trip.  

It was a perfect! 

Warm feelings abound.