After our little trip to the mountains it was time, for me at least, to get down to business. Actually I got out of business first. I’ll explain. Since getting in shape (a shape other than round that is) I’ve been wanting to get into the fitness industry. I have my personal training certification but breaking into the business while living on the road just wasn’t practical. Since we are living someplace on a more permanent level I had the ability to break into a new career, and so I did.
I took the bold step to quit the restaurant (for a while anyway…more on that later) and take a position coaching gymnastics. Crazy plan? On the surface you might think so. I haven’t tried anything more advanced than a cartwheel in 20 years, and I’m not known for my comfort level around kids, but fortune favors the bold. Interestingly enough I like my new position as Coach Jesse. The kids seem to respond well to me and me to them. Speaking of boldness, I was dared to do a roundoff back layout by a fellow coach after a couple weeks on the job. Not wanting to look a fool to a 20 year old kid, I threw caution to the wind, warned the onlookers to have 911 on speed dial, and threw my 42 year old ass backward and skyward. As I’m writing this now you can tell I survived the attempt. In fact, I did more than survive, I landed the move and proved my metal to the other coaches in attendance. Lesson learned…when being peer pressured by someone half your age do a backflip…it’ll get’em every time.
As I embarked on a new career, and the long days of summer grew shorter, it was time to draw our attention to upcoming events on our calendar. Chrysa and I had a trip and a run to plan and train for. In October we would be doing the inaugural Back On The Ranch run in California. This would be a timed event. I would be running the 6 hour race and Chrysa the 12. It has been the case several times before that I have underprepared for a long race. By nature I am a middle distance runner and the thought of being on the road or on a trail for anything more than a couple hours sends shivers down my spine. I don’t have the mental discipline for distance runs so I needed to train creatively. I decided to run/hike the mountains that are our backyard. I diligently scrambled through the Wasatch on the weekends and did short runs on the road during the week. This method served dual purposes. One, it allowed me to get my training in. Two, it got me out of the house. As I’ve stated multiple times, Chrysa is a mountain chic, and I’m a beach bum. Chrysa views the mountains as a thing of beauty. I view them as an obstacle. I grew angry and frustrated sitting at home during my time off. I needed to vent my frustration, and I did so by conquering the trails. With training underway it was time to turn our attention once again to more leisurely pursuits.
Chrysa is always on the lookout for fun things to do here in Utah. She is currently signed up for a million races, runs with local groups, and has a whole calendar of events planned out for herself. I’m mostly hunkered down here (I don’t stray far from home) but she does hit on a gem for us often. One of those gems was the Oktoberfest at Snowbird Resort. Snowbird is in Little Cottonwood Canyon and is only about a 20 minute drive from our house. Being Oktoberfest there was going to be drinking so we decided to get a room. The hotel was lovely and the events were basically right outside our door (OK, there were elevators and maze like hallways too…but you get the idea). The first night we decided to simply enjoy the surroundings. The day’s events were winding down so we got diner and drinks at one of the hotel restaurants. The food was good and the restaurant was very pretty but the best thing was the view. The restaurant was at the top of the hotel and it looked out over the lower section of the ski slopes. Everything was green and lush. It was a refreshing counterpoint to the dry valley that is Salt Lake City.
The following day was all about the Oktoberfest itself. After breakfast we took the gondola to the top of Hidden Peak. Our ride was free with our hotel stay, so we couldn’t pass it up. The views from the top were spectacular! We walked around for a while and took it all in before heading back down to the party below. Word to the wise. If you get sea sick easily the gondola might not be for you. It’s basically a sky boat. I was already a little light headed and pukey from the altitude. Sky boat did me no favors.
Back on terra firma Chrysa and I threw ourselves headlong into Oktoberfest. Armed with beer tickets and cash we drank local, ate sausage, (though normally a vegetarian Chrysa decided to eat like a German for this occasion), and shopped at the many stalls lining the promenade. We had a great time!
After a full day of Oktoberfesting we got a snacky dinner at one of the resort bars and even drank a little more beer. It looked like the party was just getting started in the bar, but we had a full day. We retired to our room ready for the next event on the calendar.
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