Now You'll Never Believe Me

Once in awhile, in discussions of "hobbies" and/or "winter sports," I volunteer the information that I like snowboarding. The majority who hear this are incredulous; I assume because there is no topography around that lends itself to the pursuit, and/or because they have never imagined me as the sporty type.

The problem is, three of the sports that I enjoy (in addition to snowboarding: hiking and mountain biking) require serious or at least mild elevation, and that's something we are lacking here in Chicago-land. Another problem: I've been pregnant and/or recovering from miscarriages every single winter since 2002. Snowboarding and pregnancy are not compatible.

Imagine my delight and anticipation last month when we were in Oregon! Not only were we in Oregon, we actually stayed at Eagle Crest, which is within easy driving distance of both Hoodoo and Mt. Bachelor, for a whole week. Forgive me for my optimism, but I think I was justified in the months I spent looking forward to snowboarding.

Well. Once we settled in to those cosy and comfortable condos at Eagle Crest, getting out and on to the mountain wasn't the easy proposition I had anticipated. Having arrived on a Saturday, we finally made all arrangements and dragged ourselves out there on Wednesday, which was one day too late for agreeable weather. Instead, we were greeted with the conditions you see pictured above. Seeing as our equipment wasn't exactly top of the line, we chickened out and had lunch at Soba instead. It was OK, but not a satisfying substitute.

So now you'll never believe that I not only know how to snowboard, but I really like it and want to do it often. At least we got in an excursion to the Autobahn which kind of, sort of makes up for what I missed. This is the only case in which you'll hear me say that I am looking forward to next winter!