A Fun But Exhausting Day With Leah

The Cross Country Girls

7:09

Despite being sore and tired, I had a restless night and gave up trying to get back to sleep at 6:00.  It's pitch black out, cannot see any fishing tents yet but I am sure they will be out on the lake shortly.  It's warmer than yesterdays 9º, a toasty 24º.  It looks like another fine day to be outside, with some sun later, temperatures in the 20's.  It' now 7:00 and nary a fishermen is out on the lake yet.  It's now 7:23 and the first tent has appeared, the sky a deep gray still, no hint of a sunrise.

Goofing Around In Panama

Yesterday I was out of the house early because yoga was moved up to 8:30 and since Leah was still sleeping, I decided to brave the cold morning, chip the ice off of the wind shield and drive to Lakewood.  Five others also braved the cold, for a rigorous class with Jen.  We worked on some breathing exercises to start class which were interesting.  Maybe they will clear my sinuses.  I did not tarry after class, wanting to get home because I knew Evie and Leah would be waiting for me.

Westside Overland Trail

We had planned on hiking, so when I got home, we gathered together our backpacks, water, skis and snow shoes and drove off to Panama, to the trailhead of the Overland Trail,  just west of the village. We have hiked this part of the trail before and I noted that it would be excellent for cross country skiing because the first mile is fairly level.  We had hoped it would be snowing but it was still wonderful to be in the woods of mostly pine trees, decorated with garlands of snow, the forest floor covered with snow, the trees like rows of pencils.  Leah seemed to enjoy it as well, as were out for an hour and a half, hiking or snow shoeing or skiing almost a couple of miles.  We were never cold despite the temperatures  in the teens.  And we never saw a soul, an animal or bird for that matter, something we always wonder about.  Where is the wildlife?  Do we scare them away?

Cross Country Skiing

Leah and Her Aunt Evie

Climbing On Dead Fall

Anyways, we were tired by the time we returned to the car, ready to head to the Ashville General Store for lunch.  It's a must for a visitor to the area, a real old time Country Store, untouched in and out for years except for adding more and more memorabilia.  It has a homey, cluttered, used, almost beat up look, with great food, and lots of aisles of goodies for browsing.

The Ashville General Store

 I ordered the Hijacker, the closest one can get to an authentic Cuban sandwich in the area.  Evie had chicken noodles soup, some of my sandwich, and Leah had a toasted cheese, tomato, and veggie sandwich.  Everything was as expected, filling and delicious.  Before leaving, Leah found a hard cider she liked, Angry Orchards Seasonal Cinnful Apple.  She and Evie were going to experiment not only drinking it but adding some to a cookie recipe. Neither one of those two are a good influence on the other!

When we got home, I read and took a nap while Evie and Leah baked cookies in the kitchen, using Leah's recipe for sugar cookies.  She had come up with a new cookie, sugar cookies frosted with a confectioners sugar with a 1/4  of cup Fireball whiskey added.  Needless to say, for anyone who is a fire ball aficionado, these were tasty, with a hot, cinnamon flavor.  Yum.

Nothing Like Cross Country Skiing As It Snows

At 4:00, it began to snow, so we gathered our skis and boots, dressed for the cold, and went out on the lake for an hour, skiing down to Wells Bay, back to the cam ground, in a fairly heavy snow.  It was glorious to be out on the lake in this snowfall, the various fishing tents smudges on the lake, Long Point disappearing in the snow all.  Leah had never cross country skied before but quickly caught on and we had a hard time keeping up with here. Evie loved it as well, her first time on the lake this winter, so it was a great way to end the afternoon for all of us.

Making Chicken Piccata, Chopping Spinach

When we got back, we all helped in the kitchen, putting together our dinner, Leah's favorite from the last time she was here, chicken piccata.  Evie acted as the coach, and showed Leah how to lightly flour and saute the chicken cutlets and make the sauce.  Meanwhile, I chopped the garlic and spinach, got it ready for our vegetable, and Leah made a couple of cups of rice.  Once everything was basically ready, we put it in the oven to stay warm, and sat down in the living room with a glass of chardonnay, some brie and crackers, and looked at the pictures we had taken during the day, some from our hike, others from our cross country skiing.  We then had our dinner, and Leah was a happy girl, enjoying one of her favorite meals.  After dinner, Leah wanted to take a bath, so Evie and I cleaned up the kitchen.

The three of us then watched some TV until 10:00, some Jon Stewart and American Idol.  Leah was tired by then and went up to bed.  Evie stayed up a while longer and I read until 11:00 when we went to bed. Both of us were really tired from our morning hike and  afternoon cross country skiing.

Yesterday I mentioned Leah was training for a bicycle race on May 2nd.  If you are interested in it, the race is called the Breathless Agony Ride, 114 miles, four mountains, 12, 000  feet of climbing, starting and ending in Sylvan Park, Redlands, CA,  just east of LA. It's May 2nd, so start training.