Home Again, Home Again, Limpety-limp!

We just got back this morning from our trip to Nagano, with the esteemed Mr. Joustra and Mr. Baxter. It was a long and eventful trip, and we’re all quite tired, but glad that we went.

To be honest, the beginning of the trip wasn’t quite what I would call a good time. On Tuesday night, after a day of work, we got on a bus that took us to Nagano. What could have been a 6 or 7 hour trip took 10 hours, since we stopped every hour for about fifteen minutes; it seemed even longer with the unpleasant presence of a certain “friend” (as he like to introduce himself) named Jim who was quite drunk and quite fond of the ladies. In the end, we made it, a wee bit grumpy, but excited for the rest of the trip. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, buying breakfast at a convenience store, and getting our rentals, we headed to the hill.
My worries about being able to ski were well-founded, it turned out. I was never a good (or even passable) skier to begin with, but it seems that I got worse! The first run down was nothing but painful and embarrassing and frustrating. The second wasn’t any different (or the 3rd or 4th), but my attitude changed, and in the end, I can say that I had a good time. And, we were able to ski at a world-class mountain!















The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: a few more details about the trip...
-The bad news is that it took ten hours on the bus to get there (and back). The good news is that it ended.
-The good news is that it was warm on both days! (Even I managed to stay warm!) The bad news is that the “special snow” that the Japanese are so proud of felt more like skiing on a snow cone.
-The good news is that the first day was not only warm, but sunny! Brilliant and beautiful! The bad news is that we got sunburned…mine is so bad that my skin has blistered and my face is puffy (I can’t fully open my eyes, and I somewhat resemble a chipmunk).
-The good news is that I didn’t run into any fences or bushes! And, the lady that I hit ran into me, so it wasn’t my fault! The bad news is that I fell over a hundred times. (Not that we counted!) It was pretty painful to even get up at the end. The good news is that I have an amazing and uber-patient husband who stayed with me and encouraged me the entire time!
-The bad news is that every joint in my body is sore. The good news is that I have no broken bones or sprained muscles!
-The good news is that the green hills didn’t have moguls! The bad news is that there weren’t really any green hills anyway! Well, there were a few, but, the same run would switch from a green to a black to a green to a blue/red.
-The good news is that the view at the top was spectacular! It was such a privilege to be able to see what we saw.