W.Va. Trip - Wednesday!!

The On-going Saga of the Golden Boys' Male Bonding Experience
Golden Boys Survive Deluge - Take on Snowshoe Mountain!
Snowshoe, WV (GP)

When it rains here, it REALLY rains!
It started last night at around 9pm...a steady rain...the kind you love to sleep with. It kept going...and going...and going. So, this morning, when the old guy got up (around 10am), he thought that it would be too wet to do much of anything. A couple of radar checks later, however, it appeared that there was hope for an outing after all. (Having technology in a cabin is really sweet.)

Lunch is good, games are good, movies are good, keyboarding is good.
We passed the time throughout the day. Steve figured out some new magic on his keyboard and has become quite the composer. Bob lives inside his word-finder puzzle book. He has done 9 so far -- likes words ending in "a...s...s." Well, he didn't get it from his Dad. We watched Sister Act 2 for the second time this week. We just love it (apparently). Bobby had his usual hot dogs and baked beans for lunch, Steve had ham on white bread with mayo, and Dad had a food sampler (whatever it takes to finish off used stuff).

Mountain Biking - Do We or Don't We.
Weather radar looked good, so off we went at around 3pm with a plastic laundry basket chock full of beach towels, dry clothes, an umbrella, water bottles, and, of course, our cute little $12 disposable camera. Twenty minutes later as we climb to the top of the mountain, the deluge begins once more. This is just grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat! :(
"Well, it's too late to turn back now, I believe, I believe, I believe I'm gonna get wet."
Hmmmmm, they should turn that into a song... :) So, we got our bikes, told the guy we were only riding for about an hour, and he sent us on the path to grunge-riding.

The Experience!
Within the first few yards, we were soaked, shoes, socks, clothes. The mud holes were full of dirty, red water (and, of course, you couldn't see how deep those holes were until it was too late). Bobby wiped out and "ate dirt" a couple times. The whining had begun. They both told the guy that they knew how to shift the gears, but we learned later that they didn't. Dad to the rescue. He had to get on each of their bikes, demonstrate to them that they weren't really doing what they said they were doing, and set them on the path to happy (well, happier) riding. This was quite the ride for all. It's kind of hard to describe, but try to imagine riding a bike on the roughest, rockiest, rootiest, wettest, muddiest, holiest (?), slipperi-est, steepest (ok, not really that steep, but challenging) ride you ever had. We did this insanity for an hour and a half. Try cruising downhill through all that muck while riding your brakes, hoping you don't wipe out. Bobby wanted to go back to the bike shop, but I told him the only way back was forward. A couple of serious bikers stopped Dad in search of directions to the real challenging paths, he opened his soaked, shredded map and together they eventually figured things out. Dad, Steve and Bob only made a few wrong turns, and only had to stop to catch their breath a couple of times. And, all this once-of-a-lifetime excitement for less than 50 dollars.

Back Into the Promised (Clean) Land
We dragged (not drugged) ourselves back into the bike shop. What a mess we were. We took pictures so you can know fer sure that we really did do this! Now to change clothes. No place to do that, of course, so we kinda "hid" behind a short wall. (We have no shame.) Wiped most of the mud off, put dry clothes on, loaded our wet stuff into plastic bags and left for the cabin. Passed by a guy who forgot that wet roads can be slippery (he rolled his Explorer). Now, to the cabin for hot showers!

Another Evening of Trout!
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, these things don't thaw very fast. And that smell gets all over your fingers. Yeccccccccccccccccccccccccchhhhhh! I am getting the hang of this, however. (Not that I want to do it on a regular basis or anything.) There are just way too many bones in these trout. We all got "stuffed" again.

Laundry and Dishes
Did the muddy load first, including the shoes. Talk about dirty water... The boys did the dishes (and we won't forget their newly-acquired skill either). I think we are going to make it through this. Off, then, to a good night's sleep for the big "travel day" tomorrow. We're headed to the New River for Friday and white-water rafting!

presents....