Winter Celebrations

Imagine piling a dozen of your friends into a multi-car caravan and driving up to a cabin on a snowy mountain for a weekend. Pure chaos, you'd presume? Yes...and fun too! That is what I was up to last weekend, except I was actually with 13 friends who crammed into a 3-SUV caravan up to a townhome in Mammoth Lakes for an extended weekend.

This is an annual snow trip for us, designed to celebrate the approach of Spring and the end of Winter, at a venue still packed with snow and mountains we can speed down at unknown speeds on our respective boards or skis. Last year, 8 of us flew up to Reno for a weekend in Lake Tahoe, which is absolutely magnificent any season but particularly picturesque in the Winter. Our itinerary included three resort stops: Heavenly, Kirkwood, and Northstar. The conditions were not really favorable in terms of snow, but the days were pleasant and sunny, and we managed to get some good runs in. I personally liked the ambiance of Northstar, with the set up of the village and its super-cool terrain park. Lake Tahoe overall was beautiful and obviously a fun place to be year round, and a good time was had by all my travel buddies.

So back to Mammoth: There is nothing to prepare one for the enormity of this mountain. This was my first time there, and I believe my first words at the sight of this monster were "Holy Crap!" This place made the parks in Tahoe seem like hills. The timing of our trip could not have been any more perfect, too: Mammoth still had a significant snow base, we arrived shortly after a snowstorm, and there were more snow showers forecasted during our stay. The conditions seemed ideal, just what we had hoped for. We ended up experiencing a very warm day, a stormy day, a very ugly snow day, and ultimately one fantastic day of epic conditions.

This weekend served more than just a ski/snowboard purpose. We were also celebrating two of our friends' birthdays, one on Saturday and the other on Monday. With that in mind, you can certainly imagine what the weekend entailed. Here's a breakdown of how each day went: Wake up early, have breakfast, start drinking, gear up, take shuttle to mountain (which was only a few miles from our lodge). By the time we arrived at the mountain, it was usually late morning and the majority of us had a pretty good buzz going by then. "Spirited" beverages are the way to go in cold locations; they keep you warm and happy. After some runs down various trails, we would break and reconvene for lunch and cocktails, then return to the slopes for more action. Quick sidenote: There are a couple of great things to point out about our trip to this alp - first, the 11 of us who snowboard and ski stayed together for the majority of the time we were at the mountain. Usually, half the group would take off to tackle the more treacherous trails (which they eventually did), but we all ended up spending some quality time with one another. Another thing about Mammoth is that it is so humongous and the runs are so long, that it provides the variety many of us crave to get our snow fix.

Following a morning and afternoon of the slopes, with drinks in hand we would shuttle back to the townhouse, change into our swimsuits, and head to the hot tub. A relaxing soak is the best way to follow several hours of boarding, with beverages, of course. The 14 of us would hang in the jacuzzi until our beer-supply-in-tow ran out. There was always a well-stocked supply of drinks waiting for us in the townhouse. This meant that the drinking would continue through dinner, through after-dinner games, dancing, and various entertaining activities we would discover, until eventually we all passed out from exhaustion and/or drunkenness. For 4 days, we would wake up the next morning and start the cycle all over again, each day brought its own set of memorable moments, but all followed the basic routine.
One night in particular shall get an honorable mention here, at the request of my pal, Nita. After our first day of boarding, we returned to the townhouse to transition into our swim clothes. By this time in the late afternoon, I was very inebriated but still functioning normally. From what I can recall, I mentioned the possibility of soreness and pain as a result of our first day's activities, so a friend offered up a prescription painkiller as a preventative measure. I gladly accepted one, as did others, and downed it immediately with a beer. We then proceeded to the hot tub where we relaxed for a bit and continued on with pre-dinner cocktails. When we returned to the townhouse, I felt a bit funny, but blamed the alcohol. I showered and got into my pajamas, and figured I could just chill out before dinner. I ended up passing out on my bed. The last thing I remember is one of my friends picking me up from the bed and escorting me to the living room couch. Another friend asked me a question, and I mumbled back a reply incoherently (neither my companions nor I have any idea what I had said) and apparently ended up passing out again right there. Yes, it was another 408Down moment.

I was then escorted back to my room, where I slumbered for a good 13 or so hours. It was still the 6 o'clock hour early that evening when this all happened, so not only did I miss dinner, but I missed a whole night of shenanigans too. I awoke the next morning hungry and feeling like crap. I had only breakfast the day before, dozens of drinks, and a painkiller. I heated up a slice of leftover pizza as an appetizer before breakfast, and avoided my customary breakfast beers that morning. I continued to feel weird throughout the morning, but after a few runs on the snowboard, I was back in the game. I made sure to reward myself with my first of many bloody marys at lunchtime, and continued the cycle of fun again, minus the analgesic, of course. I learned my lesson...maybe. Ok, not. Hey, fun times make for good stories; drunk times make for great stories! Stay tuned!

*Photos courtesy of Todd Huish (You rock, man!)

It's Been Far Too Long...

Four weeks have passed since my last blog post. In fact, there are a couple of drafts sitting in my posting repository, both partially written during my travels. However, my days have been so packed that I had to leave them hanging. You know when you're on a roll and everything just flows as you're writing, but then that roll is interrupted and you end up losing it? That's what happened. I would go back to attempt to finish a post, and found that it lost its flavor. So then I decided to start a new post. Same sad cycle. I started writing today's post with the intention of finishing it, since I didn't want March to come and go with nothing but silence on "From the Mind of 408Down."

Work has been busy the past few weeks. Prior to my departure for my first trip a couple of weeks ago, I was all-consumed with real work (as opposed to perusing the web all day), and barely even had a few minutes to catch up on Twitter. I spent after-office hours scurrying around town on a virtual scavenger hunt for certain clothes in preparation for my travels. Not that I'm complaining about the shopping part, but overall preparation is exhausting. There haven't been enough hours in the day lately, which is ironic since the days seem so much longer since we sprang forward for Daylight Savings.

With two trips behind me, and two to look forward to, I figure that now is as good a time as any to recap where I've been and what I have been up to. Out of fairness to myself and to my readers, I am aware that our time is limited and I'm sure that I can only hold your interest for so long, so this recap is being broken up into installments. Here's Part One:

A couple of weeks ago, I took a weekend getaway to San Francisco. It was a true getaway in the sense that I desperately wanted a break from Sin City for a few days. The desert valley, brown terrain, flashy lights, and dry air tend to collectively take their toll on me over time. Foliage, fog, and beautiful scenery was just what I needed to find peace in this hectic life of mine. Debarking the plane at SFO, I was overcome with a feeling of being home as I always feel when I am back in the Bay. Within an hour, my group and I were downtown at a bar, enjoying complimentary cocktails.

Being from a party town, this concept of an "open bar" event was not new to me. The featured spirit of the evening was a vodka called 42BELOW, and it was served with tropical mixers. Quite tasty, from what I recall. Armed with a fistful of dollar bills for gratuity and an empty stomach, I proceeded to order drinks two at a time, namely a concoction on the menu called "Passion by the Bay," and henceforth I was known by some of my new acquaintances as "Passion." Luckily, the new moniker didn't stick. The last thing I need is another nickname generated from a night of excessive drinking. I did consume more cocktails than I should have that night, managed to send a few of my friends the customary drunk text, posted several drunk tweets, and took a bad spill on the dance floor that resulted in a hideous bruise on my knee. A late night (rowdy) stop at the popular Grubstake restaurant topped off that night. There's nothing like loud conversation about blowjobs and fashion over breakfast at 2am. I'm really surprised that we didn't get eighty-sixed from the Grubstake. Such nice people there.

Another day consisted of a trek to have some Dim Sum, which is oh-so-good in SF for some reason. My last trip to the city in the Fall had a Dim Sum stop included in the itinerary, but after hiking a dozen blocks, my travel companion and I arrived to find the restaurant closed - we had ended up eating pizza at the airport. That disappointment made this trip's nom session incredibly satisfying. Several steam dishes and a pot of tea later, my friend and I decided that a walk would be the best relief for our stuffed bellies. A quick drive west of our location brought us to Cliff House and the Sutro Bath ruins, where we strolled around admiring the glory of the Pacific Ocean and our surroundings until we could no longer tolerate the cold wind. Here are some of my fave shots from there:

On a different day, my friend, Jung, and I spent our afternoon at the California Academy of Sciences. Jung happens to have an annual membership there, which allowed her to bring a guest in for free each visit. If like me, you enjoy aquariums, natural history, and planetariums, this place is for you. It's sensory overload here. I felt like I was in elementary school again, on a field trip, except with no chaperons, the freedom to wander around, and the happy prospect of an afternoon beer. Even if I had to pay to get in, I would have most certainly got my money's worth.

My favorite exhibit was the Steinhart Aquarium. My love of the ocean and any large body of water has lent itself to my interest in the ecosystems they encapsulate and all living things in them. Lots of strange creatures live in or near water, and there were many to see in Steinhart. One notable tank was a large cylindrical one, about 3 feet in diameter that housed different seahorses. Some were recognizable, others looked like aqua-vegetation. They were so small and delicate that photography was prohibited at that tank since the creatures were sensitive to light. I dared not break the rules here for fear of killing a seahorse with my treacherous camera flash and anti-red eye light, so sadly I am without a photo of them. However, another favorite of mine were the Waxy Box Tree Frogs from the Staff Favorites exhibit, and I did get a picture of them to share (above left). These frogs were so cute and tiny, but they didn't move so they didn't look real. Only when you watched one closely could you see their little frog necks move from their respiration. So fascinating.

Jumping to Saturday night, three of us started the evening at the Orpheum Theater downtown to watch the musical Wicked, the untold story of the witches of the Wizard of Oz. The original Wizard of Oz movie was a favorite of mine as a child, so this musical backstory was a real treat. For those of you who haven't read or seen Wicked, don't count on me to spoil it for you on my blog. See the show or get the book. It's worth it.

That Saturday ended with the three of us theater-goers meeting up with more friends at an afterparty linked to the SF International Asian-American Film Festival happening in the city at the time. With drinks and dancing, you can all guess how this night ended...but no, I did not hurt myself this time.

So that sums up the highlights from San Francisco. Stay tuned for Part Deux of the Adventures of 408Down, March 2009 edition. It may be a day or two (or three) before you see the post, but I promise not to let this month go out too lame.