Adventures derailed by snow

It should have been a good time to do a lot of snow venturing but over 100 inches of snow in three weeks in Boston was an adventure in and of itself. Adventures that I had hoped to undertake I couldn't access by car (my car was covered by a succession of snowdrifts) or public transportation (an entire city's transportation system literally derailed by all of the snow). Walking through the city over the past month has definitely made me think a lot about my dad, and anyone else that has their mobility impaired. It's hard enough for someone with full use of arms and legs, plus good quality snow boots, to get around the city. I really empathize with people who are stuck in their homes and unable to get out because of the narrow and icy sidewalks throughout the city. 

I'm hopeful that I'll get back on track for 12 brand new adventures as soon as the snow melts. In the meantime, I've been reliving past family events by taking on a photo scanning project to archive pictures that my grandmother had stored away. The picture above is me and my dad when I was probably 3 or 4. Both of us completely mobile, I was either coming from swimming or going to it with a side trip to play basketball somewhere nearby. I really love this picture. 

A Mini Adventure in VT

Last weekend my husband and I went to visit his aunt and uncle in northern Vermont for the weekend. The trip had three purposes - 1) to enjoy time with his aunt and uncle, 2) for my husband to teach his uncle how to brew beer and 3) to go cross country skiing. Their land abuts a large array of groomed cross country trails, so it is the perfect place to go skiing. 

I've been cross country skiing a number of times before, so in the rules I've set for myself on this Adventure, this didn't count. However, what I did realize was that I've never been skiing in Vermont. I've been skiing in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and even Michigan, but not Vermont. Given that, I figure I'd include it as a mini adventure as I strive to try as many new athletic pursuits as I can this year. 

The Mini Adventure
Our first full day in Vermont it was -10 degrees out during the day, so that seemed like a good day to brew beer since it would heat up the house and we wouldn't have to worry about getting frostbite if we were out too long. (I have no doubt that I wouldn't have lasted long in the cold, but the avoiding frost bite seemed like a better argument). I spent most of the brewing experience knitting and watching the process, but since it was cold enough for my husband and his uncle to try chilling the initial mixture in the snow instead of in a sink with ice, I had to take some pictures of it:

Uncle Ernie tamping down the snow around the container

Shadows of the brewers and the photographer over the chilling brew

The next day was AFC & NFC Championship football game day, so we knew most of the afternoon and evening would be spent in front of the TV. We got out to get our trail passes mid-morning with the air temp a balmy 35 degrees! Since my husband's aunt and uncle have land that abuts the groomed trails, they get free passes to ski:

The view from the trails was amazing - really some of the most beautiful skiing I've ever seen:

This is the view from where we got on the groomed trails. It was cloudy but still a beautiful view of the mountains. 

This is my husband silhouetted against some farm buildings near the trails.

The groomed trails were fantastic. After a fair amount of experience cross country skiing, I'm still not great at going down hills on XC skis so I fell a few times, but I'm way faster at getting up than I used to be. :) I would love to explore these trails again soon on skis, in addition to trying a new sport I'd never heard of that they offer on some parallel trails, which is fat tire biking:

This is a picture from the area where we skied but is definitely not a picture that includes me or my husband! At least not yet...

On to the next adventure!

Adventure 1: Snorkeling with Manatees

This year for Christmas, my sister, Jennifer, gave me and my husband an opportunity to "Swim with Manatees" when we went to visit her, her husband, their daughter, my dad and his wife in Florida. It was the perfect way to launch my year of adventures, as I've never snorkeled before, let alone snorkeled/swam with manatees. 

Our tour was with River Ventures in Crystal River, FL - if you ever want to try swimming with manatees, I can't recommend this company enough. They are very knowledgeable about what they do and care a lot about the manatees - our tour boat captain actually got into the water with us at every stop to check out the area and help us find manatees, since they can be pretty elusive. Unlike this pelican that was considering jumping on our tour boat as we left the dock...

"You guys got any spare fish?"

This is the best time of year to swim with manatees because the water inland is warmer than the Gulf of Mexico so they swim up river. Warm is relative, though - the water was 72 degrees, which for a New Englander is warm, but when the air temp is in the low to mid 60s, spending 3 hours in the water was pretty chilly. Hence the full body wet suits in addition to the snorkeling gear. 

Me and my husband getting fitted for snorkeling gear

Our first stop was in a quiet area up river. There are lots of roped off areas of the river where you're not able to swim, since manatees are still an endangered species.  This stop was in a large open water area between two manatee sanctuaries. Our boat captain, Laura, was able to see the back of a manatee floating just above the water, so she knew we'd see at least one, if not more. This was the first one:

Sleeping away (manatees sleep under water and automatically surface for air every 5 minutes or so)

 This was the closest I got to one (and I need to give photo credits to my sister, Katie for all pictures here - definitely make sure someone in your group has an underwater camera, or you can buy a CD of photos that the boat captain takes, but those include some goofy photos of everyone in snorkel gear). I was able to get close to one other manatee at this stop as well. They are unbelievably large (~10 feet long) and very serene. 

At our second stop there was only one manatee that came near - she was chomping on the ropes of another tour boat nearby then she scooted away once we all tried to get close to her. 

The third stop was up a more narrow and clearer, though also more built up residential area of the river called Three Sisters. We could see the backs of lots of manatees floating just above the water surface in protected waters nearby (the boat captain said the manatees are very attuned to where the sanctuary areas are) but the groups were at least 500 feet further down channels where you can't swim. 

We did end up seeing a couple of manatees in a small sanctuary area further up river where we could swim up to the edge and still see them underwater. Here is the one that was most clearly visible:

"Don't bother me. I'm sleeping in a sanctuary for a reason!"

 The upshot of this adventure? Snorkeling is way easier and more fun than I thought it would be. If you can see manatees while snorkeling, so much the better! 

Check back for Adventure #2, which is yet to be determined. 

The Details....

My dad was diagnosed with ALS in the fall of 2014. I remember him always wanting us to go and do some physical activity when I would visit him or he would visit me, since we didn't live in the same state. I never felt very confident about my ability to succeed at physical activity, but I ran and skied and hiked and skated nonetheless. I'm glad I did and I'm glad he did. 

To honor him, challenge myself and to raise money for ALS research, I've committed to trying at least one new adventurous physical activity each month of 2015. 

I welcome suggestions! I'm not super with heights, so my caveat is that skydiving and bungee jumping are out, but I'm committed to pushing myself out of my comfort zone, so feel free to post other suggestions. 

Hope you'll find inspiration to challenge yourself as well and, if you're so inclined, to contribute to the ALS Association. A link to my fundraising page is http://tinyurl.com/kdobnhq.