Headed up to VT for the Annual Gathering of the Chiggalos hosted by Ronnie & Vinny and catered by the great folks at Cabot Cheese & Nabisco Crackers. It's always great to take refuge from the sales, sidecuts & side bends of life in the no phone zone of Vermont to rekindle our love of Franks Red Hot, Ice Cream Concoctions and of course, Snowboarding.
We stayed at the always charming Red Sled Motel. Although blasted on various websites from those expecting the Marriott Marquis, the Sled holds a place in our hearts for its no frills family owned charm. "We'll turn he heat on for ya. Key is in the room." The beds are super comfortable, the fridge holds all our snacks, there's wifi, a flat screen w/ cable but yeah, there's no soap. Whatevs, we're not planning a spa weekend anyways. No leave in conditioning treatment going on here.
Day one was fun although a challenge as the snowflakes kept dropping and visibility was minimal. But conditions were good, hill attendance was manageable, and we had a table reserved at the Partridge for lunch. Big thanks to Aaron for the EG1 hook-up. The rose lenses were a life saver.
Twas a fun day until I tried to get jiggy on an ill fated, ignorantly called "last run". Cruised through the baby park, tried to whip up a back lip on the close out, caught an edge, blew out my asshole, and re-tweaked my old ankle injury. Hit up the country store for more snacks and retired to our room for some proper chill time, exploring the depths of YouTube for more sparks of comedy from the greats.
Sorry no hill shots of gratuitous pow blasts. Twas trying to take phone days off on the hill but we did do some tech mapping. Sure do love us some apps.
D1 Stats:
Trying to relax was getting progressively uncomfortable so had to assess my old man injuries. Trying to chill them off wasn't really working. Thought I had a minor hipper, but stretching/ yoga wasn't easing the pain. Apparently, I bruised my cocxyx so had to throw together a snow lumbar pillow in a plastic bag to reduce the swelling on my low back. Ankle seemed ok until I tried to pronate, then the pain returned. It was ok for walking, but my left posterior tibialis the stabilizing muscle of my forward riding foot. It was gonna be a rough second day or I was just gonna have to ride switch for the most part. No butters tomm.
Woke up to 8-10 inches of new snow. My bruised ass & ankle reminded my of my age, but just sucked it up downing a few Aleves with my morning coffee. The conditions were too good and WHTCN family were planning to come visit us mid day.
Never do we claim super rider status. Riding for our crew is all about hitting the small fun stuff you find on the hill from the pow sidewalks at the side of the trails, Jersey curb cuts to the ice ledges. It's all good. Shit, we even rode through the boardercross run and skated it like a ditch doing lipslides & press pop ins. Sadly, our beloved rock quarter was dry; but Francisco, the village shop manager was kind enough to take us on a couple super fun runs hitting a bunch of different gems as well as taking out to brunch. Thanks Holmes. Norm & Lee finally made it around lunch to help close out our day. We hit the same runs Cisco took us took us to trying to milk the last couple runs before the lifts cut us off. So fun charging with the crew. All in all, a great day for the WHTCN family, rekindling our love of riding for the purity of it all and recapturing the fun riding with close friends can bring you. Nothing like it.
Stopped by Mulligans for another dinner of wings, a must for a table of Buffalo alumni. Good times yo. Thanks for coming through. It's been a long time since we had the family together.
Dinner was pretty mellow, more chatty than patties, so we hightailed it to the Friendly's in town to trump our sundae try out two days previous to tackle the infamous 5 scoop Reeses Sundae. A great reward for a full day of riding and just enough to knock us out for the night's chill sesh.
D2 Stats:
Yes, I'm entirely guilty of the aforementioned crime, but I myself read tons of food blogs and watch many hours to the food network; so I can't be totally retarded. People love food and love to read/ watch what awesome food there is out there. Shit, we could have easily rode anywhere but the allure of the Southern Vermont ski areas like Stratton is the access to some pretty stellar eateries.
Yes, eating is primarily a chore for most people, dining out can be an great experience if you can enjoy food. My friends and I do, as most self proclaimed "foodies" do, and try to locate the best every small town has to offer. If you don't like food go back to your corn flake breakfast, Chilli's chicken finger platter lunch and your Swanson's dinner, leave the rest of the good eats for the rest of us. You're one less person I have to wait in line for to get a table.
Woke up still pretty beat up on Day 3 so passed on a third day of riding as my wallet was crying for mercy as well. Stopped in town to try our hands at having breakfast at the legendary, "Up for Breakfast" restaurant. Many times before we would try to stop by only to be shut down since were way past closing time. Breakfast only.
There was only a small wait, so we perused the menu. Tons of good shit in there. We ordered some pancakes, sides and a coffee for myself. An incredibly proper cup although I prefer the sugar shaker. But the packets were fine. The real maple VT syrup was served hot and would be a great addition to my "Morning Glory" stacks.
Here we have some blueberry venison sausage and lamb hash. Stellar sides to say the least. I was curious about the "Wild Turkey Hash" entree which is a larger portion with poached eggs on top w hollandaise sauce. Looked amazing as the guy behind me was hungry. Next time for sure, but a bubble guts contender right there. Up for Breakfast is a must must stop if you are ever in the area.
The sugar and coffee helped me power through the four hour drive from Manchester, VT to lovely Bloomfield, New Jersey. As Sopranos fans, dinner at the diner from the last scene of the show was must stop.
Holsten's Ice Cream Parlour was host to one of the most controversial finales of all time. Here's the info. Make your own decision. Sad to see you go, Tony.
Holsten's is great as they only serve a few ice cream flavors at a time since it's all homemade. Good stuff. We enjoyed some Lemon Fizzes as we waited for our food. Milkshakes were amazing. Self pour so you can enjoy it ice cold straight from the mixer.
The menu is pretty basic as the restaurant is primarily known for their ice cream, but I did enjoy my Turkey Club. Olive toothpicks were a nice touch.
A side of some of the infamous onion rings. Pretty good.
Holsten's is great. A small slice of that small town charm. Exactly what Friendly's tries to be but genuine.
Time may lapse, but we do get some good days in. And as Tony says "Focus on the Good Times". Cuz you never know when you're gonna go. Thanks for coming through, Dan. Already looking forward to next years trip.
