Skiing was one of my first thrills. Back then, in the early 1980s, I’d never seen snow skiing. Not that I was skier-hungry as a youngster — if I had been, I would have gone skiing as much as possible at the time. And to have your heart set on one sport, which was entirely foreign to me, made it even more impressive that it seemed so consuming. After all, my parents knew not to take vacations that didn’t include skiing.
Now, as parents, my husband and I try to fit in lots of vacations that are skiing. Then, my family vacations included the annual ski weekend with my father and three of his best friends, a family picnic in San Francisco, and a visit to Yosemite National Park. Our family vacations were just as great — maybe even better — than most. The ski family vacation included a five-night, three-day trip to Colorado with my husband and six-year-old daughter. They went on skiing all winter with us in the winter, and had the best skiing of their lives. To say they went from enjoying just spending winter on the mountain with family, to enjoying all-too-easy trips to Glacier National Park. The ski family vacation was just as fantastic as most as the most popular sports summer vacations are to our family today, but we still consider it to be more valuable.
As a kid, skiing played a huge role in keeping me fit as I grew older. I’d spend hours on the slopes with my mother and stepdad, who rode with me back and forth from Washington, D.C., where they lived, into Northern Virginia to take me all over the region.
The first time I skied was my 10th birthday, and as a kid, there were so many things to do. Now I’m doing my own things, but I still enjoy skiing. I had a lot of friends that I used to ski together and who would take me out to ice cream, and for me, skiing was just more for me, more of a weekend activity.
I just had a great springboard, lots of room and the idea that I could do what I loved, and ski. I found a hobby that appealed to me at that time. When I started looking for more winter activity, skiing turned into my go-to. It really helped me in terms of putting in those hours, and it is also where I realized my family background was pretty unique. When it comes to skiing, I really love to go all in when I come home