Thursday, Jan 21, was a day trip to Mountain Creek for the 2nd snowboarding trip this season. I bought a rental/lesson/beginner lift ticket combo in December to learn how to board properly. The lessons definitely helped, as I can use both edges, turn and link my way down the mountain. Of course, not without injury… my knees are a kaleidoscope of colors…
Stopping in Philadelphia to visit friends after boarding, a very bizarre incident occurred in front of Brauhaus Schmitz, a new German place on South Street. Three friends and I were heading into the restaurant, when a guy walks up to KC and I to ask, “Do you mind if I sing a love song to one you?”
We look at each other with incredulous looks on our faces and I reply, “Excuse me?”
The Guy: “No, just a verse. It’s for a scavenger hunt. It can be whatever song you want.”
At this point, two fellows ran up to join The Guy, apparently his teammates in the venture. They’ll be referred to as Guy2 and Guy3.
KC at this point had stepped off to the side, and I was like, sure, why not, it’s just a verse. The Guy then asks what I want him to sing. KC and I are laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and because I really don’t like the majority of the “love songs” out there. As it’s Philly, Boys II Men were mentioned by Guy2 and we settled on “I’ll Make Love to You”, even though The Guy protested that he barely knew it. (tsk, tsk, you’re a male from Philly and don’t know that song?)
So The Guy is standing in front of me, about to start, and then Guy2 whips out a cameraphone, and I exclaim, “You’re going to record this?”
Guy 2 replied that they had to for the hunt, and KC asked one of them if this was for a Bachelor party.
Guy2: “No, we’re on an amateur hockey team and doing this scavenger hunt.”
The Guy, apparently trying to be soothing and not lose his scavenger hunt point: “It’s just for the hunt, we have to prove that we actually did this.”
At this point, we had a nice little crowd around us, and I was still thinking, sure, why not. Guy2 had his cameraphone, and The Guy was about to start when he grabs my hand, gets down on one knee and tells me, “This will be a little involved.”
Involved? WTF? As I was thinking this, The Guy launches into the chorus from “I’ll Make Love to You” and starts ad-libbing choreography while singing. Seriously. Dancing, taking his jacket off and tossing it at me (I ducked – which is the natural instinct when something is thrown at your head!!!), dancing with me swinging me this way, twirling, and all throughout, singing. Yes, I’m participating in the debacle, laughing, considering that I’m already “pot committed”, so to speak.
And what performance is without a grand finale? At the end of the chorus, The Guy pulls me close (apparently close enough for KC to think, “Holy crap, is he going to kiss her??”), puts my arms around his neck, grabs my torso and then proceed to spin us around in a circle. And it’s not a singlet, but a continuous spin that’s fast enough to swing my legs out in a 30 degree angle!
The Guy finally puts me down, and I’m staggering as if I’m punch-drunk because I’m that disoriented from the spin. At this point, our other two friends come out of the restaurant, telling us there was a two hour wait for a table at the Brauhaus. Our group and The Guy exchanged some pleasantries then split. After, KC and I regretted not getting a copy of the recording. Oh well. Another random night on South Street…
Uncertainty can be happiness 
Snowboarding is a fun activity… if you pay attention to the weather!
Posted by quirksalight on January 2, 2010
Snowboarding during the week between Christmas and New Years.
Location: Mountain Creek
Got the Group?: Check
Housing: check.
Gear: all rentals, so check.
Lessons, lift tickets: Check
Transportation: Check
Food and drink: Check
Weather: Err….. maybe?
After several volleys back and forth within the group of friends, we decided that the Tuesday after Christmas was the best day to go in terms of scheduling, the rain on Christmas and the day after, and the forecasted snow on Monday. The forecasted snow didn’t appear more than a dusting and out came the gusty winds Tuesday morning. Whoops. AS and I thought about it, and felt that in some ways, we were pot-committed to the trip. (Also meeting GL and TH at the resort) So off we go, with the wind trying to push the car sideways on the GW bridge.
Arriving at Mt Creek, step outside the car, and immediately think “oh crap, it’s cold!”. Because there, the winds were sub zero and gusting around 20-30mphs. It was bad enough on the bunny slope where AS and I were taking our lessons, but after lunch, when we went up on the lift to the easy slopes, OMG…. so friggin cold! And the snow-makers were on, but I think they were shooting out ice pellets than man-made snow. Between the patches of ice on the slope, the wind, and the ice pellets that were being blown at your face by the wind, I was done at 3:30pm.
Lasting results: Windburn on my face and in my throat, a series of bruises down my right leg, and really hating the cold for two days.
I’ll go again, maybe next week.
Posted in adventure, amusing, ancedotes, annoyance, outdoors, snowboarding, Sports, winter | Tagged: commentary, winter sports | 1 Comment »