Happy New Year everyone!

We started the new year off right with our family and friends in California. Thanks to the incredible hospitality and generosity of John and Melissa, we spent a week in the mountains east of Los Angeles skiing, hiking, and dining like royalty. We stayed at the Switzerland house at the base of Snow Summit at Big Bear Lake, CA.We flew out on Tuesday morning after Gayle gave us an early morning (5am) shuttle down to Logan. By Tuesday afternoon, we were playing in the warm weather of Los Angeles. Although it was a couple days after Christmas, we were playing barefoot in the sand at the park, and making 'snow angels' California-style. Later that night, Jeff, Jeanne, and Jim arrived.

On Wednesday, Jeff, Jeanne, Jim, Gabe and I went on a road-trip down to San Diego to check out the USD campus because Jim will be heading off to college next year. It was a spectacular campus and we enjoyed nice weather as a compliment to the guided tour. The rest of the gang went directly to Big Bear.

Wednesday night we went to drove to Big Bear Lake to rendez-vous with the others at the Switzerland House on Switzerland Lane, directly adjacent to the resort parking lot. It was pretty convenient to say the least. We could wake up in the morning, have breakfast and walk out the door to the ski area. We could easily drop in for lunch at the house before going out for afternoon runs.

Thursday we all went skiing. Our start was delayed a bit because we lost our tickets and were glad to get them reissued. I started off skiing with Gabe, and later in the afternoon got to ski with Max.

Friday we did a second day of skiing, and I thought Gabe would do more, but he really wasn't up to it. The resort wasn't too kid friendly for a 4-year-old since you had to walk so far to get to the magic carpet. I wish I had thought to just ride the magic carpet in our ski boots and put them back on for every run. In the afternoon I hiked the .8 mile Castle Rock Trail (local hikes guide) with Gabe, Jeff, Jeanne and Jim. It was a great trail through boulders of all sizes, with lots of tunnels and crevices to crawl through.

Saturday, we hiked the 4 mile moderate to difficult Cougar Crest Trail which climbs to an elevation of nearly 8,500 feet, and connects with the 2,600 mile Pacific Crest Trail. John led the way accompanied by Jeff, Jeanne, Jim, Max and me. The trail had lots of neat rocks including some igneous-looking rocks that Max loved (we took a couple of small samples, but I convinced him that we couldn't take the bowling-ball-sized rock in our suitcase back home.) I think it was on Saturday that Melissa's friend Koreen and her husband Christophe joined us. For New Year's Eve, we enjoyed yet another delicious meal, and then a toast at midnight.

Sunday, New Year's Day, we hiked the Castle Rock Trail again. This time, it was Max, Gabe, Jim, Jeff, Jeane, Sheila, and me. Jeff, Jeanne and Jim left around dinner time to stay overnight in LA so that they could easily catch their Monday morning flight.

On Monday, Christophe and Koreen were the first to leave as we got packed up and headed home (to John and Melissa's) at 11:15am. It was storming and took 3 hours to get down the mountain.

Tuesday, John returned to work, while we went to the theater to see Chronicles of Narnia. At the end of the day John got home from work in time to see us off, and provided us with a limo to the airport. We caught a 9:30PM flight that arrived in Boston at around 5:30am Wednesday (because you lose 3 time zones). Poor Max got sick on the plane about 45 minutes before we landed, but was a real trooper about it and used the sickness bag like a champ. Exhausted, we were delighted to see Auntie Sue pick us up at the terminal. I went straight to work (in the home office) after we got home, while Sheila and Gabe got some rest. Somehow Max was still awake for most of the day and managed to break his cherished Red Sox Xmas ornament at the end of my conference call with work.