Valentines Bus

Every year on the Thursday before Valentine's Day, my ski bus has a special "Valentines bus."  Our bus advisers decorate the bus, people bring special treats, and everyone is encouraged to wear red.  There are prizes offered for the man and woman who wear the most red.  And Dixie brings heart stickers for everyone to wear on their faces.  It is always a fun time!

John and "Dr. Barbara" model their heart stickers

This last Thursday was no exception.  In the morning, the man who won the "most amount of red" contest peeled off a couple layers of clothing, to reveal more red clothes underneath. (To the cheers of some of the women!)  We were a little worried when he dropped his drawers, but all was OK - there were red boxers underneath.

Doug painted a special Valentine's Day hat for the occasion

Doug, our resident artist, painted a special Valentine's-themed hat.  But Doug -always the jokester- didn't paint his hat for Valentine's Day - it commemorated the Valentine's Day massacre!

Mt. Hood framed by colorful flags

We arrived at Meadows to beautiful bluebird skies.  Mt. Hood gleamed a brilliant white in the sunshine.  The mountain had received eight inches of new snow a couple of days ago, and the temps remained cold enough to keep it soft and fluffy.  Finally some good snow to ski on!

Riding up the Cascade Express Lift

I teamed up with two of the Linda's on my bus.  I'd brought my alpine skis this week, and was ready to rock 'n roll.  We started out hitting the bowls and the steeper runs off of Mt. Hood express.  The snow was great!  We had a half dozen runs in before mid-morning.  I was having way too much fun.

The Linda's enjoying the view

Then the Linda's and I decided to head up to the Cascade lift to check out the snow conditions up there.  It was great!  The wind was calm, and the snow was very skiable.  And of course, the views were wonderful.  We bombed down a couple of runs in no time.

Cheers from the top of Meadows!

I thought everyone who skied regularly at Meadows knew of the Outer Limits run.  This run goes from the top of the Cascade lift, traverses across the top of the ski area, and drops you into the top of the Shooting Star lift.  The trail runs above the treeline, and on a sunny day, the views are breathtaking.  But last week, I introduced one of my Linda friends to this run.  She'd never skied it before.  Both my Linda partners this week weren't familiar with the run and wanted someone to show them where it was.  I was happy to oblige.

My skiing partners havin' a great time

Both Lindas loved the run.  We stopped at the top of the ridge to soak in the views and ran into three other ladies from our bus.  I whipped out my camera, and we held a brief photo session on the side of the mountain.



The women of the Love bus on Outer Limits

Since all three of us in our skiing group were named Linda, I joked that we each needed a number so we could tell each other apart.  Linda K. volunteered to be "Linda 3" and I nabbed "Linda 2."  We voted the other Linda to be "Linda 1."  Later, one of the Linda's ran into a friend on the slopes, and after introductions, he proclaimed our group to be "Linda cubed."

Creative liftie snow art

This little snowman was sitting at the bottom of the Cascade Lift.  He did have a hat and goggles, but someone took them off before I could get my camera out and snap a photo.  I just love it when the lifties get creative!

Killer view of my favorite mountain

The weather was great all day.  The snow held up wonderfully, and although it did warm up, the temps stayed cold enough that the snow never got too mushy.  The Lindas and I skied until 1:00, took a short break for lunch, and headed out again.  My companions skied until 3, and then I took a couple extra runs by myself.  It was such a good day, I wanted to stay outside forever!

But all good things must come to an end.  I didn't want the bus to leave me behind, so at 3:30 I reluctantly took off my skis and boarded the bus for home.

The trip home was lots of fun.  There was enough candy on that bus to feed a small country.  A couple of people got up and told jokes.  The beer and wine flowed freely keeping everyone in high spirits.  I got so busy talking to people, the bus was back in town before I knew it.  It's amazing how the trip home seems so much faster!

If you want a fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day, just book a seat on the "Love" bus.  Happy Valentines Day!