Winter Weekend in Oz

It's winter here in Australia so we figured... why not hit the slopes?!  Yes, there is skiing in Australia.  More snowboarding b/c I think it attracts the surfers and it is super cool.  Why is ski gear so dang cool?  I love the cool jackets and pants with bright prints that don't match.  I am strongly considering buying gear and just hanging out in it.  A new theme party perhaps....think about it.

We got a super deal through this company called Oz Snow Adventures and for $120.00 AUD we received:

• Round trip transportation-Sydney to Thredbo (6 hr ride on the coach)
• 2 nights accommodation
• Ski rentals including ski pants and jacket
• 2 2 hour ski lessons
• lift pass
• free breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• free drinks on Saturday

This should have cost us around $600.00 but we made out like bandits.  The ski lessons alone were $120.00 never mind everything else.  I have to admit, I felt like I was robbing them blind but we all know that nothing is for free in this world. 

We had a blast on this "spring break" adventure but I have to say that I felt a bit....don't say it...I am going to say it...oh no...here it comes.... old.  Everyone was hammered on the bus.  Come to find out our bus was tame because a girl was throwing up and another girl had an adult accident in her pants...#2.  Yup. Gross. After 6 hours of the drunken debaucle we arrived to our modest accommodations.  I slept in Jane's cocoon sleeping bag in fear of bed bugs and tried not to move a muscle all night.  A diet of fried foods and brewskies is what I endured for the entire weekend which is why this blog entry is on delay.  Detoxing from the mania.  I was planning to stay in a hostel by myself in Cairns to go white water rafting but I am reassessing my accommodations after this trip.  Thankfully,  I was with fun, kind, and great co-workerbees so we made the best of it. Yes, Tricia is knitting...that may not have helped our nana cause but she is learning...god bless her. Isn't my hair getting long? All of a sudden it is like a weed. Perhaps it is the water...don't know.

Come to find out... I am not too shabby at skiing.  I am a demon for speed of course and I can be a bit reckless coming down the slope but that is part of the fun.   Check out my frigan' hat.  (Aussie's call it beanie)  It is Jane's and she said that is was so cool.  It is basically as cool as a telephone cord belt.  Once cool, now not.  I made the best of it. 

 We were doing so well that we decided to advance from the bunny hill to the green hill. 
I should have known better.  My previous ski experience (CC, Ash,...you remember)  we got too cocky and went from green to blue.  The next thing I knew I was going straight down the slope at lightening speed, tumbled, one ski popped off, and I was laughing so hard that I almost peed my pants.  I look up and there is Courtney screaming and crying at the same time doing exactly what I just did but she managed to stop by the grace of God.  Well, didn't learn from the time before.  When we got off of the chair lift there was a ledge (like the road runner on the side of the mountain) that you had to ski along for a half mile and then you hit a slope that went STRAIGHT down.   My dear friend Trish tried so hard to get down the hill but ended up hoofing it down. Me, I bombed straight down the hill non-stop and miraculously made it this time. It was awesome! Trish met me down the bottom and we embraced having lived to tell the tale.

If you look to the left, you can see Trish walking with her skis

 Here is a picture of Trish before...


Here is a picture of Trish after....

What did we do after that fiasco? Drink beer. naturally...

The bus ride home was a bit rough.  I had to pee so bad and they refused to pull over for anyone because it was spring break and everyone was too cool for school.  I told the kid that I was pregnant.  He looked at me like I had 6 heads.  I said, I need you to pull this bus over right now.  He looked at me with pure terror in his eyes. "Are you really pregnant?" I said, do you really want to find out?  Guess you pulled over! I thought another fella on the bus was going to kiss me because he was 2 seconds from wetting himself.  Gotta do what it takes sometimes.  Disclaimer:  I am not pregnant, not considering pregnancy, and I don't think immaculate conception is going to have another bout. 

The next day we went up to the same slope on our ski lesson.  This time Renee, our Italian instructor above, was with us.  We made it down the mountain several times with very few wipe outs. Kiri tried snow boarding and Grace is the size of my left arm who tried both snow boarding and sking. 

I think I may try to go to New Zealand to hit the slopes there because this was so much fun! Seeing that I am traveling only to places where there is winter year round I mine as well embrace the dang snow. Check out some pics below:

Gotta jet!