I have to say though, it has been awesome to reconnect with all of my old friends at the River. They are all still there and they are so fun to hang out with and ski with. I love it. That has made the switch much easier!! Even though I do miss riding with Skip.
I had to make a post about Skip because my Colorado friends have heard so much about Skip but don't know what he looks like. A little background about Skip and why he is my Buddy. I met Skip about 9 years ago when I went to visit the hometown of my then boyfriend, Erick. My first impression of Skip was, "who the hell is this guy?". He has messy crazy hair, sometimes a huge beard or no beard at all...when I met him, he had a crazy beard like in this picture....(it is his winter look). He wears Carhartt overalls, plaid button down shirts, always has a PBR or a beer of some sort in hand, he smokes AND chews, he is loud, has a plethora of boats and cars parked in his, "shop / garage" area across the street from his house, works for the Bath Iron Works as a Machinist, knows EVERYONE, what else can I say, he is a true blue, "Maineah".
The thing about Skip that I LOVE is when you meet him, you will instantly notice his energy. He is the most hyper 45 year old I have ever met. This guy goes to the gym at 4:30 - 5 am, works out, is at work by 6:30 am, works until 3:30, goes home and does 1 million things, (works on a home project, go weld something for someone, scuba dive for someone on their boat to fix something, mow the lawn, go help a friend with something, etc.) after all of that, he will hit the local bar for a nightcap, go to bed and do it all over again.....but that is just during the week. On the weekend when he doesn't have to work, he gets up at 6 or 7, has breakfast, if it is winter, he will snowboard, if it is summer, wakeboard, hit happy hour at the marina or at the resort, party ALL night - like a 20 year old and is still able to get up early the next day to do it all over again!!! Crazy!He has the same attitude that I have in that we both try to do as much as we can all the time to pack in as much fun and adventure as possible. This is why we bonded the way we have. There was a time when he and I were side by side all summer long and all winter long wakeboarding, boating, skiing, etc. It is hard to find another person who can or wants to go go go all day long with activities. It was actually kind of humorous that we both were married and our spouses didn't want to participate in any of this, so we ended up doing it all together. There was a time when I was sharing the ski house with he and his family, that his daughter Megan would call me Mom and people we bumped into on the mountain that knew Skip would ask if I was his wife. LOL! No, no, we are just buds.
Skip is just a ball of sass and energy and really fun to be around. I laugh all the time when I am with him. When I first met him, I had no idea that he and I would become such good friends. He is a rare breed, that is for sure. It has been a bummer since I moved away to Colorado then New Hampshire that I haven't hung out with him as much as I used to. It was fun to see him on Sunday.
There is a woman sharing his ski house with him this year named Rebecca, "Becca". I have been getting to know her little by little over the last year and I really like her. I have hung out with her here and there in Bath, (Maine) and at the ski house last year. She is a lot of fun. She is my age, a single Mom with 3 little ones, (she recently got a divorce, around the same time I did), she also has a lot of energy and is really funny. She snowboards as well. I was speaking with her this weekend about her schedule. I have no idea how she does it. I mean, I feel like I burn the candle at both ends sometimes, but she has a CRAZY schedule. She is in a masters program for occupational therapy, she has three kids, works and still has time to go snowboarding and working out at the gym. Holy crap! Kudos to her! 
I had a lot of fun riding with Skip and Becca. Some of my friends from Sunday River were up to check out a different mountain for a change of scenery so we hooked up with them for a few runs. I actually hooked up with them at the Widowmaker, (which is a bar at the resort) on Saturday night as well. They had 1 friend with them that I had not met before who was completely trashed. He ended up getting kicked out eventually which was not a pretty scene. I swear, it seems the older I get, the less my tolerance is for drunk people. I really hate being around it. That really bothered me on Saturday night. I feel bad that people do that to themselves. It is so stupid, all you end up doing is spending all your money at the bar, getting drunk, maybe even throwing up, but definitely making an ass of yourself and feeling like shit the next day. I don't know, call me crazy, but that sounds like a wicked good time.
I digress......
The conditions on both Saturday and Sunday were so good. Well, Sugarloaf was really windy, but it usually is. We were able to find plenty of powder stashes in the woods, we hit some nice groomers in the morning, it was a lot of fun. It was great to ride with Skip again.
This is Becca getting frustrated on a bump run.
Skip is notorious for making you go down bump runs with him. For some reason he loves bumps on a snowboard. I prefer woods, groomers, steeps, or back country style terrain over bumps any day, but that is what he likes. His thought is that he feels like he can spank you if he brings you on the bumps. He gets a lot of joy out of spanking people when they ride with him. But he needs to stop testing this theory with me because I seem to recall always waiting for him at the bottom of the run. DOH! (Sorry Skip, I had to do it!) ;-)
So....there you have it folks, a summary of my adventure at Sugarloaf and my friend Skip.
By the way, I noticed that Becca left a comment on my blog the other day - I don't have your email address so I will just say it here, you rip too Becca, I had a blast riding with you - come visit me at the River. I am sure I will see you this summer though!!
By the way, I made this South Park Character of Skip last winter.....isn't it hilarious? I think it looks just like him!!! LOL!
