The Ski School

On February 9 I wrote that I had been staying in the town of Norden near Donner Pass. The night before I hung out in the common room at Clair Tappaan until midnight with guests. The next morning I woke to the breakfast bell ringing. After breakfast, I said goodbye to several guests who were heading home that day.

Then I got my stuff together and hitched a ride up the road to Sugarbowl from some lady from Davis to the ski resort and went over to find my kids with their mom at the ski school. Once we had gotten set up with our equipment, I took the boys to the kiddie slopes. One had skis and, as it was his first time, I got him a lesson with a novice level one instructor who was really great. My other son, who had been snowboarding before, got an intermediate lesson – level three.

I left the boys to go on a couple runs on my own but halfway up Judah Lift I discovered my lift pass had somehow been canceled. So, I ended up backtracking to re-authorize it. Later I headed all the way to the top of Disney lift to enjoy the view. I had recently taken a few trips to visit places I could see from the top during the previous summer.

Then I had a cup of coffee and took Christmas Tree lift to the top. Later I stopped at the coffee shop at the Village Lodge. I did several runs to get back to the kiddie runs but in the end I had to cut across a few runs looking for my boys.

On the one hand, I found that my snowboarding son was doing really well. However, my skiing son had also improved and was no longer lacking confidence. I took the boys to Judah Lodge and gave them chips before heading back out.

My skiing son told me then that he was content to ride the conveyor. However, my snowboarding son wanted me to take him on the White Pine Lift which was for beginners. So, we did that a few times but then I told him that I wanted to see if his brother wanted to do the kiddie lift too.

Unfortunately, I think he misinterpreted my words because he dashed off to speak to his brother and promptly disappeared. When I caught up with his brother I learned that he had taken his board off and walked to Judah Lift. Thankfully, I was on skis so I was able to chase him over to the lift. That was how we had a surprise trip to the top of Mount Judah. We had a fantastic run. I got pictures. It was awesome – my son said the run was awesome twice.

When we got back, I let the boys use the kiddie slope and conveyor for a while. Eventually, the three of us returned to the ski school to drop our gear off. Their mother found us as we walked to the lodge and I said goodbye.

I stopped at the bar in the village then before hitching a ride to the lodge. I made it with plenty of time for the dinner bell and ended up sitting with some new guests. In all there were about 16 people. After dinner we congregated in the common room where someone had built a fire.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

The Men’s Dorm

On February 8 I wrote that I had traveled to Donner Pass to the Clair Tappaan in anticipation of skiing with my kids. The night before I had had trouble sleeping because it was so cold and I had yet to acclimatize.

I got up at 7:30 am and had coffee in the dining hall. I sat with some the other six guests at the lodge. The chef had made us eggs and bangers with pancakes.

When we were done, I got ready to go and hitched a ride to Sugarbowl ski resort’s gondola and headed over to the Judah ticket office to skis and a ticket. They had trouble finding my reservation so I went to the ski school to learn more.

After that I got on the Judah Lift. I went to Mount Lincoln and Crows Nest after that. At Crows, I lost a ski and hurt my arm. I got coffee and rested at the lodge. I texted with a friend about it.

Later, as the resort wound down, I did another few runs and quit. I went to the bar and then hitched my way back to the lodge.

As soon as I arrived, I made arrangements with Hotel management to switch to the men’s dorm because it was warmer there. Then I sat down for a chicken sandwich with the rest of the hotel guests. I noted that the group is generally pretty gregarious and friendly.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

DHL Driver Picked Me Up

On February 7 I got up at 7 and took BART to Oakland and rode bike share to Emeryville Amtrak Station where I had a cup of coffee before boarding a Zephyr train for a trip to Truckee to meet my kids and go skiing. On the ride to Sacramento, I set up my computer in the cafe car to listen to a work meeting. After Sacramento, I did a couple more work tasks and then settled in for the mountain crossing starting in Colfax. Near Donner Pass, I put warm clothes on.

I went to get pizza in Truckee when I got off the train just before TART Connect arrived at the station to pick me up. It was a good thing that I had finished my pizza because I probably would’ve missed the ride.

While my TART reservation was only to Donner Lake Pub, during the ride the driver offered to drive me to my lodge near the pass. Unfortunately, the van’s all wheel drive wasn’t working well in the newly fallen snow so when we got to chain control they had to let me off – just a few miles from my lodge!

Fortunately, a DHL driver picked me up there and took me to Donner Ski Ranch, which was exciting. There I had a beer and talked on and on about my trip. After that I found another ride to my lodge.

When I got to Clair Tappaan I checked in and had dinner with the other guests. I took a nap, and then was alone for the rest of the evening. I was drinking tea and hot cocoa at the end of the day.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Castle Crags

On January 28, 2023, I wrote that the day before, I packed my cargo bike with my foldable bike and rode to Embarcadero. Then I rode the under ground to Van Ness. I went to the apartment and had a cocktail with some guests who were staying with me. They were preparing to go to the Edwardian ball.

Later I met a friend at Patricia‘s Green. We went to dinner and I was happy with the experience. We talked about birding. We confirmed that we would go on a bike ride the next day. We went to nearby bar and caught a five up to Divisadero. Later we hung out with her roommate at home

In the morning of the day that I wrote this my friend and I went to Masonic where we got coffee. Then we took the five to Embarcadero and ate crepes before getting the bikes out and boarding a BART train to Pleasant Hill. I showed her how to use my cargo bike and then we rode to Heather Farm Park.

The ride was perfect up to that point. We made a stop, and then we rode to San Miguel Park. After that we rode past the high school to the entrance of Castle Crags. Again I was totally surprised at how easy things were.

We continued to Mammoth Rock. The terrain had changed so she hiked and I put the foldable on the back of the cargo bike and rode with her. After sitting and observing Mammoth Rock we climbed up to look at the sandstone there. There are wind made holes in the rock which are very unique looking.

Later we walked up Buckeye Ravine and I made a mistake and we ended up walking up the Diablo Scenic Trail. It was ironic because it afforded us a great view but changed the outcome of our hike – I had wanted to go through Shell Ridge but it was late once we had gotten down to Elise Court.

So, instead of going to Borges Ranch we descended to Castle Rock Road and retraced our steps down Castle rock Road to San Miguel Park. As we headed back to Pleasant Hill we made a brief stop in Diablo Hills Golf Course where we found my hat which I had sadly left in Heather Farm Park.

From there we opted then to go to Zachary‘s for dinner. We rode the Canal Trail to the East Bay Municipal Utility District trails and then we rode into the business center where Zachary‘s is.

When we were done eating we went to Monument. I noticed that the ride to the BART station was really hard because it was dark and it was on a major road. However, we did a really good job. When we got to Pleasant Hill station, I packed up and, after a short trip, we said bye at Civic Center.

 
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Running to Bike Party

On January 16 I wrote that the previous Friday I went home and was worried about being alone instead of running to Bike Party but I made it out the door just fine. I had purchased some beer at Fred’s earlier. I saw a bunch of ride participants on Market. I rode BART to Rockridge with one of them and hung out under the freeway with a couple of others. I had took a few photos and shared them with people on social media.

The ride went up Claremont and doubled back on Keith. We then rode up to Lake Temescal. I hung out with the regulars plus a new reveler who I knew would be around a lot. I almost lost my gloves - which I actually needed given the temperature outside. I also had a hard time finding water.

We rode through Montclair. The climb was hard actually and then we ended up at the park in the center of town. I looked for water there too. I looked everywhere, and eventually bumped into a couple who was doing the same.

A short while later, when I finally found the water fountain, I saw the ride leader wearing waders and walking around inside the lake. I caught up with a few acquaintances and noted who was absent.

When we all got on our bikes again, the ride went down Moraga Avenue and that was fun, but very dangerous. I was riding with one of the ride volunteers for a while. We meandered along Piedmont and up Broadway to Lake Merritt for the final stop. I hung out with the core group for the ride there and later rode with them to Grand Lake for donuts

Sadly I had to leave quickly to catch the last Bart train. I saw a Bike Party acquaintance on the platform along with a few others.

 
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Hung Out at Boat Playground

On January 5 I told an acquaintance of mine that I would go on his bike ride later. I went home got my bike and some warm clothes and took BART to Glenn Park. Then I climbed Monterey and Hearst to City College. My host, the birthday boy, was with his girlfriend and neighbors. We rode Phelan and Holloway to SF State and then over to 45th avenue. I tried to stop by my father’s house but his light was off so I grabbed a beer at Gus‘s and the seven of us hung out at Boat Playground. We also went up MLK and hung out at Sunset Boulevard and later at the bleachers at Big Rec.

I left with a couple of other riders and we said said when we got to Laguna. I was alone until 11 and watched castle of Cagliostro until late after eating a frozen pizza.

 
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Route 20 to Larkspur

On December 10, 2023, I finished up the winter trip I had made to Marin County with my boys.

We got up at 8:30 at the Inn, went downstairs and ate the food in the dining room. We saw the host. The boys were really animated and I had to tell them to sit still several times. When we returned to the room they watched TV.

We were packed by 11 and went to the coffee shop to listen to live jazz. Later we explored San Anselmo Creek before we rode route 20 to Larkspur. We made a brief stop at Niven playground. After that we boarded a ferry to SF. I got the boys clippers.

I got coffee at the ferry building and we slow rolled home and the boys played video games.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.