Plugging in!

We've been ready for a new car for a long time. Over a year ago Elaine said she was ready, but somehow she listened to me when I declared for climate purposes we needed to get a plug-in hybrid for our next vehicle. The only problem was that the only plug-in hybrid minivan on the market was the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, and it was 2 inches too long to fit in the parking spot in our back yard. So we embarked on a major renovation of the back yard only to find out last summer that the 2019 Pacifica Hybrids were completely out of stock, and we'd have to wait for the 2020s to come out.

After what seemed like waiting forever, the 2020s were finally available, but there weren't any with all the options we wanted (advanced safety features, alloy leather interior, an exterior color we didn't hate, and a sunroof). Finally one showed up at the dealership in Silver Spring that wasn't an ideal color, and didn't have a sunroof, but otherwise fit the bill. So we decided to go up and check it out, with the hope that they'd tell us a sunroof model would be coming in soon. That was probably too much to ask for, but they gave us the option of ordering one with all the features we wanted, or taking a big discount on the red one they had on the lot without the sunroof. We couldn't make up our minds, so I split the universe. Now the quantum wave function has evolved so that we live in one of the many worlds where we own a brand new red Pacifica plug-in hybrid without a sunroof, and somewhere else in the quantum multiverse there are versions of us that decided to hold out for a sunroof and a color that maybe goes slightly better with our mural ;-)

7 Icy Springs

MLK day weekend, and Alison's birthday mean that it's time for our annual 7 Springs trip with our friends on the Hill. This year the warm winter we've had so far meant that only 12 out of 33 slopes were open, but at least they had a little snow as we arrived so it looked like winter. We got a little night skiing in on the first night and the conditions on the slopes that were open were better than expected.

On Saturday Owen, Hayden, Ronan, Adam and Connor all went off on their own, and Nora decided to ski with Elaine and me. We went up the Polar Bear Express lift first thing to ski the North Side, and ran into the boys over there. It was cold, and freezing rain was falling, so conditions were far from ideal, and Nora quickly decided it was time for a hot chocolate break, so we stopped in at Tahoe Lodge. We saw the boys heading back towards the front face as we stopped, but we couldn't quite flag them down (turns out Adam forgot some essential gear and needed to retrieve it to warm up). After our hot chocolate, Nora wanted to head over to the front face to see if we could find the boys, but before we got too far, I noticed the Polar Bear Express lift had stopped running. As that's the only way to get to the North Side, we decided to stay on that side of the mountain while we could. We got a few more increasingly open runs in on the North Face Slope (the only black diamond open on the mountain), but with the freezing rain icing over our goggles and gear, we decided it was time for lunch. Back up in Tahoe Lodge, we had the bizarre experience of having the place almost completely to our selves on a busy holiday weekend. Nora and Elaine called it a day after lunch, but I stayed out for a few more icy runs speeding down what seemed like my own private mountain.

For a trip with far from ideal conditions, we really made the best of it. The kids had a great time running around the hotel like they owned the place. Plenty of pool time, and even a session in the private outdoor hot tub. Nora blew all her money for the Bear Trap Fun Zone on the first night, so she decided to take up the treadmill for fun instead. The girls both got new pairs of goggles. We celebrated Alison's 50th. The only downer was Adam breaking his wrist, not on the slopes, but roller skating of all things. (Hopefully he'll be healed soon and ready to start climbing again!)

(click here for all the pictures)

My Fair Lady

We just went to see Peter Pan & Wendy last week, but knowing the kids' love of musical theater, we had to ask if they were interested in My Fair Lady at the Kennedy Center, and of course they were up for it. It was a loverly production, though we were all left wondering if Eliza walking off stage at the end really meant she didn't end up with Professor Higgins in the end of this version...

Peter Pan & Wendy

At last year's SWS school auction we focused our bidding efforts on experiences and won tickets for a whole series of plays and musicals. First up was the Shakespeare Theater's production of Peter Pan & Wendy. We bid on it without really knowing anything about the production, but with our date at the theater fast approaching, we were quite pleased to see it getting rave reviews! A wonderful reimagining of the classic Peter Pan tale, with Wendy and Tiger Lilly taking center stage, the production really flew beyond all our wildest expectations :-)