Abetone

We visited Abetone, Italy, for 3 days of skiing at the beginning of February (I'm that far behind on my blog!!)

I've never been skiing and I'm not one for cold and wet, so I wasn't really super excited about this trip. And it had been sooooo cold in Italy-unusually cold--the coldest it has been here in years. Yep, the year we come to Italy, the coldest winter hits.

At the meeting to prepare us for going to Abetone, Kyle (the asst. director) mentions that if you get car sick then to definitely go to the "Farmacia" to get some travel gum. Well, I can get car sick going to Little Rock with Jim, so my first priority was to not be the one who puked on the bus. And let me tell you that the drive to Abetone was scary. First it was snowing; second, we are on the huge charter bus on tiny narrow roads; third, did I mention how winding the roads were? We made it safely to our cute little family run hotel called "Hotel Excelsior".

My first meeting with the ski slopes lasted about 10 minutes. My ski boots were a size too small and I could barely walk. I decided skiing wasn't for me, but Jim pushed me to try the next day with bigger boots. It was a much better experience. Kids did ski school that day and they were both completely at ease and loved it all. I managed to get down the bunny slopes and did have fun. Our last day there, Jim talked me into doing a blue slope and I reluctantly agreed. It was pretty scary and Kyle had to help me down all of it. I have determined that I am able to ski, but I don't just LOVE doing it.
We had a great time though and Grant was so tired that he fell asleep both nights during dinner. He's been a trooper with our different schedule!