Bonne annee avec ma famile!

The family on New Year's Eve, sans Joe.

SMS and I are a long way from Japan and is weather that will make Yokosuka feel balmy when we get back!  We are in Mt Tremblant, Canada on a ski vacation with my family. It's absolutely freezing (and colder!) and we're having a great time.

Everyone arrived on the 28th with SMS and I arriving the latest. We decided to get a GPS with the car since our phones are very expensive to use in Canada.  The GPS would cost $16/day and for the low price of $4 more/day, we could upgrade to a very nice car.  The counter person was an excellent upseller so we went for the upgrade and got an Audi A4.  Such luxury!  We also wanted the all-wheel drive and it ended up being a lot of fun to drive.  I don't think I would get one because it felt very low (similar to how I felt in the Ford Mustang rental a few years back) but I'm glad SMS and I got the experience!

The skiing was great and I had so much fun hanging out with our family.  It was very cold the first day of skiing and gradually warmed up over the next 2 days before snowing the last two days, 1-2 inches.  BTW, when I say warm up, it was still well below freezing.  I think the max temp reached was 20F.  Seriously, Yokosuka will feel like Spring!

Left: The sibs showing off the awesome Messmer frown- we miss Joe! Right: Our significant others, laughing at us

The condo had 3 bedrooms and a loft.  The couples (Ed/Meg, SMS/me, Mom/Dad) got bedrooms while Nicole and Brady shared the loft.  It was really nice to share one large building- it felt very homey.  A bonus was that Meg and Ed found a ski-in/ski-out path just across the street which was pretty awesome for the last three days since it meant a much shorter walk lugging equipment.  It's funny how graceful I can feel on skis but then so weighted down when walking in the boots and carrying the equipment.

Mom chose not to ski and instead, relaxed around the condo and cooked multiple feasts.  For dinner, we had an Italian "Chili" dish (28th), Shepard's pie (29th), Tortellini au gratin (30th), Leg of lamb (31st), cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese (lunch 1st) and refrigerator night (evening 1st).  I am still unclear if I will ever need to eat again.

NYE was celebrated in the village of the Mt. Tremblant resort with awesome fireworks shot off from the slope right above us.  It was cool to be that close to the fireworks since the last several shows that I've seen in Japan have been from a pretty good distance away (but still fun!).  We also went to the casino briefly which was fine.  I lost, won and lost $20 in roulette and it was fun to hang out with the group but I'm really not much of a gambler.

On the last day, I left the condo early to take advantage of the "First Tracks" pass we had received.  It was really nice quality, short lines and I got 3 runs in 50 minutes!  Nice!