Thursday, December 28, 2006

Return from Mountain Paradise

What a great mini-vacation. The kids hardly ever see snow, and we got it, about 8" yesterday. I'd forgotten the magic of walking through a heavy snow (when I was living in it, it hardly seemed magical), and I was delighted to find that with purpose and discipline, this old man can still outpace two teenagers.

I got a chance to catch up on some reading, enjoy some good Cabernet and an excellent maduro and single malt, and just generally have nothing to do--which for me is an almost alien experience.

The drive back down was picture perfect. The road was plowed and the sky was blue, and the switchbacks hardly iced at all, even in the shade.

If I had access to the internet, I could probably find some reasons for never coming back down...

3 comments:

E. David Quammen said...

"...I could probably find some reasons for never coming back down..."

I regret the day that I ever did. Left "God's country" quite a few years ago, and have been stuck in the cities every since. Yearn, almost daily, to return to the true state of nature - internet or no....

Anonymous said...

Hey David, what kind of Single Malts do you like? I am a big Single Malt guy and prefer the Highlands, especially Speyside. Let's trtade tasting notes!

David Codrea said...

I had a flask of Glenmorangie on this trip. I also have a flask of the Glenlivet, and once shared an 18-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich.

So I pretty much have unsophisticated tastes, stuff you can get at Sam's Club, but I know what I like. And I'm a barbarian, because I like it on ice.

The 'gar was a La Gloria Cubana Glorias Extra, dark, oily maduro wrapper, with a 3/4" ash that was so perfect it felt like an act of vandalism to flick it.

The wine, this time, was an average Beringer Cabernet. I generally prefer either Mouton Cadet or this inexpensive Spanish wine I forget the name of, but the wife buys it and it's consistently pretty tasty.

No connoiseur here, but I enjoy myself, do it in moderation, and don't hurt anyone...:)