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Snow Tubing

~ thedailydish ~ Leave a comment

Friday we got another foot of snow.  Yeah, I thought spring was on its way too, but HAHAHHAHAHAHHHH!!  We live in Maine.  So yesterday (Saturday) we decided to put all this white stuff to good use. Via SNOW TUBING.  We drove to Seacoast Snow Park in Windham.  Only 25 minutes yet a world of fun away!

Here we are at the bottom of the hill.  When we first started we were feeling perky and WAY EXCITED!  So we hoofed it up the hill.  I overheard a family walking alongside us saying it was GOOD to walk, that we were all doing it the old fashioned way.  (Old fashioned = code language for WORK OUT)

Here we are at the top.  I cannot tell you how much FUN!! it was cascading down.  Snow spraying hitting your face, the wind in your hair.  I felt positively giddy.  As you can see, there’s not a huge wait for a lane.  This is b/c there are 12 lanes to choose from. And snow tubing sessions are divided into 2-hour blocks.  Only *so many* tubes are sold per session, so things keep moving.  Single riders can go in any of the 12 lanes, but if you want to link your tube up with other riders, you have to choose the proper lane: 2 riders, up to 6 riders, or more.

The four of us hoofed it up the hill once and rode down.  Then we hoofed it up again and went down again.  After this we were TIRED.  The hill’s not that high but it ain’t that short either. So we decided it was time to be carried.   That’s right; CARRIED!  Not on the backs of sherpas but via conveyor belt or rope tow!  The conveyor belt works just like you’d imagine.  You step onto it and stand with your tube as it whisks you up the hill.

Image: Seacoast Fun Park

We didn’t use the conveyor belt method. Mostly b/c all the double tubes had to be carried that way and the wait was much longer.  As we were all using single tubes, we opted for the rope tow.  The rope tow line was fairly short and the method more appealing.  You sit in your tube and relax.  A handle connected to your tube is looped onto a metal claw attached to the rope.  You and your tube are yanked up the hill to the top, where at a specified location you toss yourself off your tube and proceed a few steps to collect your ride.

Image courtesy of Geoff (maybe that's his kid?)

Here we are waiting at the bottom of the hill in the rope tow line.  You can see the mechanism to the left, pulling the happy tubers up to the top.  The wait was short and while waiting we listened to music over the loudspeakers.  They were playing “The Q” – the Top 40 radio station here in Portland.  Very toe tapping / booty shaking music, sure to put you in a good tubing mood.  My younger daughter is a BIG Q fan – but that’s for another post altogether..

Me & “Greenie”

Here we are back at the top, waiting in line for Lane 1.  Lane 1 is the best lane – single riders only – it’s curvy and has a mogul in one spot.  Worth the short wait.

After this I couldn’t take anymore pics b/c my iPhone camera stopped working.  Personally, I think it got jealous of the fun we were having and decided to stick it to me.  So I didn’t get any shots on the rope tow, or while tubing down any of the lanes.  But that’s probably for the best.  We went a total of 9 times in our 2 hour session, mostly linked together in a big mass of four tubes.  The added weight only served to increase our speed, velocity & fun — so together we FLEWWWW down the hill, Whoopping & hollering and having a BLAST!!  I’m glad I couldn’t take photos — for once I simply sat back and enjoyed the ride. 🙂

Love with a side of Mayo.

~ thedailydish ~ Leave a comment

When I met my husband it was love at first sight. Even though we were very different people from very different backgrounds, we didn’t care. Like a monster truck roaring down the highway, tossing rational thought to the backseat and empty beer cans out the windows, our love was YEEEEHHAAAWWW!!! Days flew into weeks, weeks into months, and before we knew it, we were getting married. Yet despite our commitment there remains one fundamental difference between my husband and I. Something few couples can resolve without tension, especially when children come along.

I’m ashamed to admit this, but for years I’ve tried to convert him. I know it’s wrong to foist your opinions onto anyone – let alone the person you hold most dear. But I simply can’t understand why he doesn’t feel the same way I do. How he can’t see the beauty in the light! The purity, the wholesomeness. The divine deliciousness of mayonnaise. That cloudlike concoction of whipped oil and egg, the condiment that elevates a humble sandwich to celestial heights. You wouldn’t think something so creamy could be so divisive. But when a person has devoted years of their life to something as important as a choice of condiment, it’s bound to cause trouble when the spouse isn’t on board. The problem? My husband HATES mayo. And I’m a homeowner on Hellmann’s Hill.

Ooooh how I LOVE mayonnaise! And have for as long as I can remember. The look of it, the smell of it, the touch and taste of it brushing past my lips to my tongue. Just thinking about it now is making my mouth water. Even on my low sodium diet, I simply cannot say no. I know I should, I try to limit my consumption. But whereas normal people keep a normal size jar in the fridge, this is how I roll:

GALLON SIZE, BABY!

Now don’t be a hater. If you, like my husband, don’t feel mayonnaise is pure ecstasy, that’s okay by me. Feel free to pass that little plastic cup of yours on over. I like EXTRA. When our daughters came along I wondered on which side of the fence they’d fall. And as luck would have it, we got one of each. My older daughter hates mayo with a passion. My younger eats mayonnaise sandwiches: mayo and bread. She may even like mayonnaise slightly more than me, but as a fellow devotee, I understand.

The reason I am writing this mayo post is NOT b/c we are out of mayo. Heaven forbid! No, we restocked last month and we’ve still got a little ways to go:

It’s because of this mayo “issue” between my husband and I. You see, he’s a mustard man. I like mustard, really I do, but it’s not mayo. And even though I know my husband detests mayonnaise, I am constantly trying to get him to fall in love with it like I am. So I try to slip it in things when he’s not paying attention. Today he caught me fixing some sandwiches for him and spreading the rye bread with mayo. Just a thin spread – almost undetectable – and only on the one slice, but he caught me. And yelled. And then stormed out the door. When he came back in I made my “sad face” at him and apologized. He hugged me and said it’s frustrating not being able to eat a sandwich the way he likes it. Especially when he’s told me, oh, 6,703 times he doesn’t like mayonnaise. But deep down in my heart I just KNOW he’ll love it.. one day.

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ thedailydish ~ Leave a comment

A package arrived yesterday… WHAT COULD IT BE ?????!!!!!

OH MY GOOOODDNESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone who knows me knows I have been wanting a Dutch Oven for YEARS.  I even had the gall to put a request on this blog (Stuff I Would Like to Have).  My mom surprised me with one 3 Christmases ago but the lid was chipped and it had to be returned.  The money from the Dutch Oven then went to pay for boots for my older daughter – b/c that is how life goes.  But many thanks to my amazing friend Magdalen, I’m now the owner of a beautiful blue Le Creuset!!!!

THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU MAGDALEN!!!!!!!!!  I AM ELATED! 🙂

PS: No give backs. Right?!