This morning, Brandon & Alyse joined Jami and I for a bit of an adventure...of the ice climbing variety!  We'd scored a great deal through Living Social for a 2 for 1 ice climbing package at Northern Lights Rock & Ice in my neighborhood.  (Literally, I've run by it several times in the past 2 years!)  None of us were really sure what to expect (I, for one, was thinking it was an indoor waterfall...not sure where I got that idea!), but were willing to give it a shot since winter is a bit lacking in Vermont this winter. 

So...dressed in snowpants & thermal gear with gloves and a warm hat, I laced up my boots (literally), put on a harness, strapped on a helmet and did my best John Wayne impression while walking to the ice wall.  We found a piece of ice, grabbed an ice axe and began the process of learning to climb.  After a few swings, the ice axe wasn't too tough to figure out. 

It's the best we're able to muster in this winter that almost isn't in the wilds of Vermont...in fact, the PacNW is slated for some big storms this week that just may turn out to provide more white stuff in the West than we've seen in the snowy Green Mountains all season long.  *sigh*  And to think, I was ready for it to snow in October!

Anyway...Mary called us up this morning wanting to spend some time at Indian Brook with the dogs...all 4 of them!  (Actually, 2 are hers: Fisher & Casey; 1 is the neighbors: Sheldon; and 1 belongs to the Jergers: Sam.)  So...with our snow gear on and ready to battle the single-digit temps, we set out for a new-to-me path at Indian Brook. 


It was beautiful out there today...all snow-covered with blue skies and plenty of sunshine.  Only the sunshine wasn't warm.  It was freeeeeeeezing out there!  We hike along some of the outer trails until we met up with the circumferential trail at the Reservoir (where I usually go hiking)...we followed along that trail for a bit and then found our way to the Overlooks via another new path.  Crazy!  And incredibly beautiful...

 

And it couldn't be any better than hanging with friends and watching some fireworks!  Good times...

For 2 summers, I joined a women's running group, building up endurance, running with a schedule, and really working on my pace.  In 2010, after training for and running a half-marathon in November, I pretty much gave up running until spring.  This winter, I'm determined to keep running...though, lately, it's meant logging a lot of miles on the treadmill at the gym while staring at parked cars in the lot.  Not exactly my favorite running route, but...it works.

Anyway...Nike+ gave me a "Year in Review" for 2011 and even compared it to 2010...not too shabby, if I do say so myself.  (And I still don't really consider myself a "runner"...I go for runs, I choose to run, but I still don't really like it, if you know what I mean!)


And to compare with 2010...

I wonder what the next year of running will bring...

Snowshoeing & sledding in Underhill State Park; Y-Fit Training group; Jay Peak, Tara & I at Disney World's Magic Kingdom; Mandy & I at Max's bday party; Summit of Camel's Hump; Santa 5k; Snowshoeing with Jami; Leaf Peeper 5k; Epcot; Natsuko, Jami, Kristi & I hiking in Smuggler's Notch; Mom & I in NYC...just to name a few!

This morning, I was up bright & early and thankful that the snow has taken its sweet time arriving in Vermont this season as I was gearing up for the 1st Annual Santa 5K in Burlington, Vermont!  (Burlington, Ontario, has had a Santa 5k for a few years now...)  Jami, Tara, Kristi, Ginny,the Jergers, and Tammy joined in the fun; along with Beth, a coworker of mine!  We soon found out that we weren't the only ones looking to grab a quick run this morning...

There were over 1200 runners, all dressed in full Santa-gear for the occasion....and, as expected, some people took the outfit to the extreme...complete with jingle bells and even candy canes for the kids watching along the race route!  Crazy!  (But also an AWESOME idea for next year!)

At any rate, Beth and I ran the race together...and I finished in 35:27, or 739th...not too shabby considering I wasn't really trying to race! It was by far the most fun I've had running in a race to date...and while we all ate our Irish breakfast we made plans to repeat this performance again next year!









And, in case you're really curious as to how it looks to watch 1200 Santas race by...here's a little video put together by the folks organizing the race.  It's a bit of an advertisement, but you get the point!

http://youtu.be/xHTPIB2V7QI

After spending the past few days in the Florida sunshine, I was really hoping to return home to a winter-white paradise, perfect for the start of the holiday season.  'Tis not the case this year, apparently.  Instead, Kristi, Tara, Jami and I trekked out to Huntington to pick out the perfect Christmas tree this afternoon. Only, it felt an awful lot like a Christmas in the Pacific Northwest...especially in my fleece and sneakers rather than snow boots & mittens!

Thanksgiving just isn't the same now that I live 3,000 miles away from my family and Ray & Corinn have moved off to Rochester, NY...where's a girl to get leftovers to bring home?  So, somehow, I managed to convince Jami and Tara to join me on an little adventure to Orlando to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mickey & Friends at Walt Disney World!  Let's just say, it was everything we hoped it would be and more...much, much more!

After narrowly avoiding a missed connection in DC's Reagan National Airport, we arrived in Orlando just before noon on Tuesday.  Within a few hours (and a shuttle ride, a monorail ride and a couple of short lines), we were walking Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom.

We continued on our Asia trek and rode the Kali River Rapids, thinking we would be smarter today and ride the "water" rides earlier in the day.  Though it was a shortish ride, the signs leading into it warning "You will get wet, you may get soaked!" were certainly accurate. Lucky for us, we managed relatively unscathed, but others in our boat weren't so lucky!

We also trekked into Dinoland USA for "Dinosaur"...what a ride!  For me, it was incredibly similar to the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, but exciting nonetheless. Who would have thought I'd be chased by a t-rex?!?  At any rate, we putzed around in Animal Kingdom all morning and into the afternoon.

 


Upon leaving Animal Kingdom, we boarded a shuttle bus to Hollywood Studios...or, as I found it to be, Orlando's answer to California Adventure!  By now, having learned the beauty of the Fast Pass & Single-Rider lines, we beelined directly for the Tower of Terror to grab Fast Passes and then stood on line at the Rockin' Roller Coaster...we lucked out as the line was pushing 180 minutes and Fast Passes were sold out, but we managed to navigate to the single rider line once it reopened and we breezed through in about 20 minutes. 

So, the Rockin' Roller Coaster is a roller coaster of epic magnitude...not only do you go upside-down 3 times at a very high rate of speed, but most of the ride is spent in the dark with only occasional blacklight signs punctuated with a musical score courtesy of Aerosmith!  I was definitely taken by surprise.  In fact, the three of us met up with one another in the gift shop (as is the case with most Disney rides these days) and immediately got back on line to ride it again.  In all, we rode the coaster three times!

By this time, we were pretty much dead on our feet from all the miles and miles of walking, so we made our way to the Star Tours ride (where Jami was identified as the alien invader) and a few moments of rest.  From there, we joined the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular show to see how all those stunts are really performed for movies.  It was pretty entertaining, and certainly nice to be off my feet for a bit!

After dinner, we were off to the Tower of Terror, which we rode a few times, and then for a quick breeze through the Festival of Dancing Lights before heading home...this festival certainly got one in the Christmas spirit even though we hadn't even reached Thanksgiving yet!



Thursday morning, we opted to sleep in a little longer as our shuttle would be a tad later to Epcot...unfortunately, we weren't the only ones with this idea! Our hotel lobby was packed...so was the shuttle bus. We soon learned this would be typical of the entire day! Nevertheless, we made the most of Epcot, beginning with "Test Track" which came highly recommended by folks we chatted up while standing on line the past two days! Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed in the ride which simulated the tests a GM vehicle (advertisement?!) endures prior to being placed on the market. Don't get me wrong, it was a cool ride and a decade or two ago I would have loved it...*shrugs*



From there, we were off to grab Fast Passes for Soarin' (one of my favorite rides from California Adventure) which were already sold out (doh!) and a quick snack. Again, taking the recommendaton of a fellow park-goer, we went on Mission Space: Orange (intense training)...not exactly the best of ideas. This ride ended up being a simulator ride that used centrifugal force to simulate 2.5Gs of force!  EEK!  Needless to say, we ended this ride feeling just a tad queasy...and very glad we hadn't eaten lunch before the ride!

After sitting for a bit to get our bearings and grabbing a quick lunch, we stood on line for Soarin' Over California!  This was, by far, the longest line we stood in while at Walt Disney World at nearly two hours!  But, in true Disney-style, we were quite entertained while standing in line by the gigantic, wall-sized motion-activated video games that required large group cooperation to play and succeed at. It was hilarious watching hundreds of complete strangers work together to complete tasks on the walls. At least it made the time pass by more quickly...  Finally, we were Soarin'...and it was nothing short of breathtaking!

Next, it was off to the World Showcase...first stop: Mexico for margaritas...then a quick trip to Norway where we took a ride through Norse history...briefly into China, where we caught a glimpse of Mulan...and Germany for some tasty freshly made caramels!  Yummy!


In our wanderings, we happened upon a tasting station for Coca Cola around the world...it was an opportunity to sample drinks that pique the tastebuds of various cultures.  It was...um...interesting?! to say the least...


We continued our trek around the world, passing through Italy, America, Morocco, Japan, France, United Kingdom and Canada.  We meandered, mostly, through shops, but also enjoyed the architecture of each country...all while waiting for our dinner reservations in Morocco.  There was, as always, a bit of time for some antics, too.



Thanksgiving dinner in Morocco featured cous cous and belly dancers...mostly, we were just thankful for the opportunity to sit down!  By this time, we'd walked at least 2 marathons, I'm sure...and our feet were beyond tired.



This morning, it was another very early morning as we hailed our taxi to the airport for the reverse trip...luckily, weather was still on our side and while our connection at Reagan National airport was tight, it wasn't nearly as tight as the first time around. 

And now, I am happily in the holiday spirit...Disney-style!  I think "Destination Thanksgiving" may just be a new tradition...

Taken from my back porch just before I started making dinner...this is the Vermont I've fallen in love with!

The beautiful fall weather continued through the entire weekend and I wasn't about to waste a second of it...soon enough snow will be flying and sunshiney warmth will be something I dream of (or travel far, far away to find!)...so...off I went on another hike this morning.  This time, I joined Joe & Erik for a hike on Mount Hunger in Waterbury.  Erik's pup, Kima, joined us for her first "real" hike, too...only we weren't the only ones with this great idea...there were probably hundreds hiking the same trail, as evidenced by the tons of cars in the parking lot and make-shift parking lots alongside the dirt road leading to the trailhead!



The foliage was just a beautiful here as it was yesterday further north...and a definite reminder of why so many people travel great distances to see the colors of New England every fall.  The atmosphere seemed much clearer today, so the rest of the Green Mountains were much more visible from the summit...and Camels Hump is as distinct as they come!



We weren't the only ones enjoying the view, either:
 

  

And, before we started our descent, we were treated to several "fly-bys" of a glider...from the looks of it, the pilot was certainly enjoying himself!  (Though several of the dogs at the summit were confuzzled and found it necessary to bark warnings to stay away!)



The return hike, while just a busy, did allow for more picturesque views of the trees & foliage...it's what keeps me climbing mountains, for sure!