Okay, I realize that 3,000 feet is nothing….but it can sure seem like something if the most adventure you’ve had in the last year is wandering into a different section of the library.

And I defy anybody who lives here in Central Maryland, home of the Two-Inches-of-Snow-School-Closures, to say that getting there was a snap. We’d taken the Jeep, which is sort of an adventure in and of itself, because first The Hub had to take out more tools than most men have in their entire lives and then reduce the air pressure in the tires because the jeep was then so much lighter. I told him that I’d try to be more high maintenance in the future and bring more stuff to weigh the jeep down. But the truth of the matter is that I can live for weeks out of two tote bags and a purse. The real truth of the matter is that I could probably fit every material thing of value to me in two tote bags and a purse, but that’s a different story for another time.

So, anyway, there we were bouncing along Rt.68 Northwest of Cumberland where the hills turn into mountains, and it began to snow. Then it began to snow hard, and stick, and blow around, which is to be expected, of course. That’s the point of locating the Wisp Ski Resort up there. But we didn’t know where we were going and we didn’t exactly know where we were and The Hub kept seeing signs warning people about black bears….which we don’t really have in The County, rural though it is.

“What are we going to do if we hit a bear?” The Hub asked.

“We won’t” I said.

“How do you know? It’s not like you could see it. It’s not like you can see anything” he said, and the last part was true. I’d say visibility was about 2 feet. It was after dark to begin with, so that didn’t help.

“They’re sleeping – hibernating. Remember? They won’t wake up for another couple of weeks.”

“Oh yeah.”

We finally located the B&B. The warm-hearted kindness and unbelievably good home made food more than made up for the wildly clashing décor of the place. After awhile I just kind of stayed in the room, fearful that, if left downstairs, I would start re-arranging furniture in a desperate attempt to corral the Oriental and Early American styles into separate rooms or at least try to use the scattered African-American and Egyptian art to pull colors together. I think the idea of the décor was “all are welcome” but I think everybody of any background would have felt better if there was just a sign on the door that said so. On the other hand, the people who own the place are from California, so maybe this is what goes out there, and my idea that Batik prints and Williamsburg style wallpaper probably don’t go together is just stuck up East Coast pretension.

Our dog sledding tour wasn’t scheduled until Saturday, so on Friday we went snow tubing at the Wisp Ski Resort. That’s supposed to be a fun, easy activity almost anyone can do. In fact, they even have this thing – I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes – like an escalator built into the side of the hill. Well, it’s more like a conveyor belt, like the thing that moves your groceries down the line. You stand on it with your resort issued, safety inspected snow tube and ride up to the top of the hill.

Riding that was the most challenging thing I did all weekend. It is not possible to tell you how difficult it is for someone with balance problems to step from an icy surface onto a moving surface while hanging on to an inner tube. It’s a wonder I didn’t accidentally injure somebody. Every time I got on it I flailed around like a bird with a bad wing trim and almost wiped out. Getting off an even worse disaster. Shooting down the Hmm-It-Didn’t-Look-Nearly-So-Steep-From-the-Bottom packed powder lane was not nearly so heart stopping. Though it was more fun. In fact, The Hub and I both enjoyed it a lot.

Oh, crap, I’ve gotta get back to work! So tune in tomorrow when we answer “the call of the wild”!