12 Miles Uphill Both Ways Without Power, Running Water and Heat

Long story short, the same wind that bent the above saplings robbed us of power, water and heat for two nights this weekend. We survived off random stuff like left over high-fiber Triscuits, a tray of ice cubes and some Whiskey. Wind is totally fucked up. Along with downing trees and power lines, it also gives sensitive skin unsightly burns and can really mess up bangs, hair, outfits - basically your whole life.

Anne - where is your mind in this picture, little lamb? The Caribbean? A power plant?

Franconia, NH is Bode Miller's home town! An American Olympian born and raised just down the snowy street from where we were staying! We expected there to be some revelers due to his Olympic wins, but mostly there were just a bunch of homemade signs. Like this one. Oh and a white board that said, 'Welcome to Bodeville, USA.' More like Welcome To The Threshold Of Hell.

Italian showers at the Dutch Treat - the town's bar and grille. Everyone was so surprised by the fare we ate there twice in one day! And the fact that we didn't really have a choice was hardly bothersome.

Faking high morale in the parking lot of Walmart. We bought this crazy battery for $100 that looked like a big red stereo from the 80's and pretty much ran off that for the next 12 hours. I want one for my own home. It was really useful. Like a power, water and heat.

Also, at Walmart - BB guns for under forty dollars! Sharp shooting ensued. We had an epic afternoon charging our new battery. Because we had to run the car to give it juice, we spent the afternoon in Phoebe's front yard waiting patiently for it to charge. There may or may not have been some mild tailgating as well.

Guess what we all learned this weekend?!?!

It hath no seasons! Seriously, I can barely think of a better afternoon and trip for that matter. Thank you no power, water, heat for providing us with such a good weekend!

Saturday, when the skiing party had left, Anne and I lay sourly in bed, both silently plotting our escapes. I kept rolling over and trying to fall back asleep thinking the longer I slept, the less I would suffer (btw - a good strategy for all stressful situations), when suddenly the house turned on with an electric surge! Anne shot up out of bed as if someone had pushed an eject button on the mattress and screamed, "POWER!" Historic breakfast sandwiches, showers and episodes of Celebrity Rehab on VH1 soon followed. Spared from a Donner Party ending!