Good Things*

Hello!  How are you?  We are all jet lagged but well and happy and full to the brim with mac 'n' cheese and Reese's peanut butter cups.  At the moment we are in the stunningly beautiful Mammoth Lakes, California.  It's been lovely - blue skies, gorgeous views, the scent of pine in the air. 

I've realised that it's a bit tricky to ski with a DSLR hanging off your shoulder, so I'm afraid all I've got are a handful of iPhone Instagram-ed pics that in no way do justice to the sweeping majesty of it all. Especially as most of them are snapped in a haphazard, super fast manner so I can get my ski gloves back on before losing a finger to frost bite...

I've also realised there's an upside to jet lag.  Because it means all the non sleeping people get to sit up in the wee hours, and talk and laugh and watch TV - namely Animal Planet (I can highly recommend Gator Boys for late night viewing) and ridiculous tele-marketing ads (I think all of us now secretly want a RoboStir).

Anyway, Mammoth is amazing.  Fantastic food, fabulous facilities, friendly folk (too many effs, maybe?). This winter has been a bit mild, so there's not a great deal of snow.  We've spent a lot of time skating over rock hard ice instead of skiing (and panicking about snapping a leg in half due to the hard and fast snow conditions, though I have a feeling I'm the only one panicking...).  They're predicting one of the first big snow storms of the season to hit in the next day or so - just in time for our drive to Death Valley!  Oh weather, you fickle thing you!