The second time is kindof closer to the charm

I wouldn't say my second attempt at skiing worked perfectly. But it worked better.

Rob and I went skiing last night for Valentine's Day back at Wilmot. En route, we stopped and had a romantic dinner of McDonald's and Taco Bell at a rest stop. I also took advantage of the Starbucks there to buy some chocolate covered espresso beans for Rob. Rob made more of an effort for Valentine's Day because he actually planned in advance and got me a card. (A pretty darn sweet one.)

We hit the slopes a little after 7:30. I took on the bunny hill while Rob hit the real slopes. Then Rob dragged me up to one of the "easy" "mountains." We had to use a different ski lift this time, one that carries you over a very steep "mountain." So you end up a lot higher off the ground. I hate heights, but I've gotten good at wrapping my arms around the ski lift chair so I don't feel like I'm going to fall off at any second. At the really high parts I would start singing to myself as a distraction. Seriously.

My ski lift experiences were not entirely without adventure, as I lost a ski pole climbing onto the lift the first time. The attendant had to stop the lift and half toss the pole up to me. Thank god it was dark out. But every time save once, I managed to stay on my feet while dismounting the ski lift. On our last trip, I fell every single time while dismounting -- often requiring the ski lift to be temporarily stopped... so mortifying. But even the one time I fell this time did not require stopping the ski lift. Whoo hoo!

Even better, that was the only time I fell all day. Crazy!!!! I'm also starting to learn how to stop using my left leg (which you need to do if you ever want to turn right and then stop).

So for anyone out there who lacks athletic ability, is afraid of heights, is afraid at travelling at high speeds, and is generally all-around physically wimpy, take heart... it is possible to ski for a few hours without completely humiliating yourself.

As for Rob, he kicked butt once again. He even advanced to the "more difficult" slopes while I stuck to the "easy" ones. If you're curious about Wilmot, here's a slope map. We spent much of last night going up ski lift 1, and then going down "Fanny Hill." (The bunny slope is "Little Turtle." :) Rob also went down "Stateline," "Broadway" and "Paradise." "Stateline" goes right along the Wisconsin-Illinois border and is way, way, way too vertical for my taste.

All in all, it was a very fun and great Valentine's Day. We even got to drink some hot chocolate by the fire in the lodge. Awww. And Rob and I marvelled about how we spend all our time together and still haven't gotten sick of each other. Not that either of us can ever be annoying....