Addicted to Snow
Well, I ended up with a minor head cold, but after tons of herbal tea and vegetables, I recovered fairly quickly.
Now, I’m having serious snow withdrawals! Alan, being from New York state, is having snow withdrawals just the same. I don’t have the excuse of being acclimated to the snow since birth, but I have spent a good deal of my time in the San Bernardino Mountains for the last few years.
I live about two hours from the closest mountain that allows snowboarding; but for the last three winters, I have spent at least 50% of my free time during the months of December-March snowboarding in Big Bear, CA. This year is the first year that I decided it was more important to save money and stay in North San Diego County, rather than renting a mountain cabin and buying a season pass in Big Bear. It’s not easy. Every day I wake up thinking that it’s that time of year to be putting on my snowboard boots and throwing my board in the car for a long day of riding. But the thought that I have a “family” now (even if it is just me and Alan) reminds me of the importance of saving money, reducing debt, and working more.
The up side to all of this is that we ARE reducing debt, SAVING is becoming a reality instead of a fantasy :), and we will be moving to Rochester, New York, in the near future, where there will be no shortage of snow, and where I can budget plenty of time for snowboarding. I am hoping to compete next season in the Western New York USASA series, and get some serious riding in. I love snowboarding, especially competitively, and I can’t wait to take it up again as a regular and favorite hobby.
Luckily, in the meantime, I was able to appease my “snow addiction” this last Friday with my best friend, Tasha. Tasha was the maid of honor in our wedding and actually taught me how to snowboard when we were in middle school, after convincing me that it was much easier and much less dangerous than my previous hobby of skateboarding. :) Friday morning, we woke up and went to the most local mountain, Mountain High (about a 1.5 hour drive from “The OC” where Tasha lives). Ironically, getting to Mountain High requires no actual mountain driving and has a fairly low elevation. Thanks to a recent Southern California storm, though, there was a good four feet of fresh snow on the hill! From the top of the mountain, you could see the deserts of San Bernardino covered in a thin blanket of whitey goodness. Tasha and I were so impressed with the Southern California landscape, since it rarely yields such a wintery glow. It was absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to share the experience with Alan, and I am hoping for more storms to come our way soon.
California’s climate is truly varied, and if there is one thing I will miss most about my home state (besides my family and friends), it is the ability to drive less than two hours to ride either my snowboard in the mountains or my dirtbike in the desert— all the while living within 20 minutes of the ocean. Amazing. Of course, my preference is snow, and I won’t mind having a surplus of it, especially when it’s in my own backyard rathern than a two hour drive away.
On an entirely different note, I must go wrap presents. I can’t believe Christmas is only two days away…
