Snowboarding/Charming Weekend Away

J and I have been wanting to get back up in the mountains to go snowboarding since two winters ago when we went to Mount Turoa twice - once with Anna and Ollie and once by ourselves. Last winter we were busy with people visiting from the States and then us traveling to the States. We made a plan to go earlier this winter, but then J hurt his back, so we had to wait until it was healed. Well, last week we decided it was finally strong enough, so off we went to Mount Turoa for two days of snowboarding.

The weather was mostly cloudy and sometimes threatening snow, but we ended up being appreciative of that, because when the sun did peek out, it was too hot for us in all our warm gear.

We decided to start out just paying for the beginner slopes, since it was only our third time and we hadn't been in two years. Fortunately, the comfort and balance that we'd learned hadn't been forgotten, and we were able to get straight into it.

Unfortunately, this picture of J strapping on his board is the only one I have of him, because he did three or four descents without falling, and then had one fall that didn't look like much, but tweaked the same disc in his back and meant that any more snowboarding that weekend was out of the question. Crap. I felt awful for him, especially as he had been so looking forward to it!

Fortunately, it wasn't hurting too badly, and J was beautifully generous and hung out with me on the slope for a while so that I could get some snowboarding in. It was so incredibly sweet of him!

He even took a video of me from the bottom of the slope. It's hard to pick me out at the beginning, but I get closer, and please feel free to be impressed that I managed to stop without falling, because I maintain that that is the hardest part. Click here to see the video.

We decided that we were comfortable enough on our boards that the beginner slope was not challenging enough because we couldn't get up enough speed. So next year when we go again, we'll get the whole mountain pass and explore some steeper and longer slopes. And by then J's back will be in tip-top shape, and there will be no stopping him!

We decided to stay in the B&B we'd reserved, even though we'd just be heading home on Sunday, rather than back up the mountain. It's always nice to have a relaxing time together in a nice place away from home. We were very happy with our decision when we saw our beautiful B&B. It's called Llanerchymedd, and if you're ever in Taihape, I highly recommend it.

Plus, we were delighted to learn that the owners (who decided to use their huge, fancy house as a B&B when their daughters moved out) are named Alan and Jan, just like our Uncle Allen and Aunt Jan in Iowa! No wonder we felt so at home!

The kind hostess showed us to our room, which was basically a whole apartment, richly and comfortably furnished. We went out to a delicious dinner at the Gumboot Manor in Taihape, then curled up on the couch and watched Shrek. It was hilarious that it was one of the DVDs in the room, because I haven't see it since I was a kid and have been wanting to rewatch it. Jan also loaned us a nice heating pad so J could doctor his back while we relaxed.

We had such a fantastic night's sleep in this comfy bed, and slept in Sunday morning, which I almost never do!

The breakfast part of the B&B came in the form of a fully breakfast-ready kitchen, so we got up and cooked for ourselves in the morning. It was actually quite fun, as we never cook hot breakfasts at home.

Notice anything strange? Yes, a traditional Kiwi breakfast includes canned spaghetti in red sauce, which you put on the toast. I have no particular attachment to what foods are eaten at what point in the day, but I don't think even I had eaten spaghetti for breakfast, let alone on toast, before moving to NZ. J actually really likes it! Also, you'll notice that the bacon is more like ham, or Canadian bacon as we in the States call it. But here if you're offered bacon, that is what you will get. What I grew up calling bacon is called "streaky bacon" here, and is much less common. 

In conclusion, even though poor J hurt his back and we found ourselves not as focused on snowboarding as we had imagined, we had a wonderful weekend together, and came home happy.