Nick and I got each other a weekend getaway at the Wintergreen Resort in VA for Christmas. We decided to take our trip on New Years eve weekend. What better way to ring in the New Year? Since Mimi's Christmas wish was extra time with Camille, we didn't want to disappoint her :) So Mimi had Camille for the whole weekend- a first for us! We knew she was in great hands. MawMaw & PawPaw even made a visit to Camille too- so she had lots of good care while we were away.
Nick and I loved the 4hr drive to Wintergreen. We took some back roads through many small NC & VA towns- which was so much fun. We were in no rush to get there, so it was very nice to go at our own pace. We got to stop for lunch in Lynchburg and found a great cafe in downtown. We were a bit worried about the temperatures since it was supposed to be such a warm weekend in Raleigh. Though the temps were warmer than usual for the mountains, they were still plenty chilly for us, coupled with the wind! Brrr!
Nick & I decided to hold off on the skiing for Friday, since we had to check in, get situated and scope everything out. Our accomodations were so nice- we lucked up and got a condo right next to the lodge!! We could walk to EVERYTHING, including the slopes. Very cool! We did spot the ice skating rink, and though it was somewhat small and seemed to be the hangout for a younger crowd, we wanted to try it out. It had been a long time since either of us had skated. We had such a great time! We both picked it right up and had fun dodging all the kids learning to skate for the first time. After about an hour of skating, we were exhausted and sore and ready to call it quits! Since most of the local restaurants were booked for NYE, we decided to stay close and have dinner at The Edge.... a bar that overlooks some of the slopes. It is embarrasing to admit, but we didn't stay out until midnight... we wanted to hit the slopes early and were exhausted from the long work week :) Are we getting old?
We woke up early and ready to ski on Saturday!! We hit the slopes around 8:30am. Most of the other skiiers must have partied hard b/c we were some of the only folks out there! It was so nice to have the slopes & lifts to ourselves for awhile. The snow was fairly slick & icy since the weather had melted the real snow that was there. By mid morning, the ski schools had started up and folks started to come out from hibernation, so it got fairly crowded. After making sure we weren't too rusty.... we moved from the beginner slopes to the intermediates. It was quite fun until our last slope before our lunch break..... Nick had gone down ahead of me, so I got going and before I had gone a few feet down the slope, I had decided to slow myself down just for safe measure. Well... I turned my ski, but the rest of my body went the opposite way. Result- a bad fall at the top of the slope. Ouch!! I thought I broke my leg, so some extra prayers were said as I tried to figure out what to do. Nick was calling out to me, but I was in too much pain to get up. Someone flagged the ski patrol and I was Carroll's first accident of the season :) Lucky me! After some time had passed and I was collecting myself, I realized I hadn't broken anything and the pain was isolated to my knee. The ski patrol wanted to get me checked out and since I couldn't walk, I got taken down the slope in the ski patrol sled. Best part of that was they put me in a body bag looking thing to protect me from the snow. Boy that turned some heads. :) I then got taken by a snowmobile to the ski patrol building. I'm glad I hadn't broken anything b/c that was one bumpy ride. It is the ambulance of the slopes... they blow whistles and wave the ski poles and everyone moves aside. Ski patrol iced my knee and put me in a cardboard splint until Nick could get to me. They urged us to go to the hospital. I knew my injury wasn't an emergency and told Nick once he got me settled in our room, he could go back to skiing for awhile. I was certain nothing was broken so I figured what the heck. Nick got another 2-3 hrs in. I told him to avoid the black diamonds b/c we didn't need both us us layed up with injuries. While he didn't listen to that advice, he figured to call it quits once it got foggy b/c he could envision himself getting hurt and me not being able to do anything :) Good thing. We then made our way to the hospital.
The hospital is 20 miles away in Fisherville. We had to take these steep, narrow roads to get there. Again, glad it wasn't an emergency! We pulled up to the hospital in shock, it was HUGE! I guess I was expecting some small town clinic of some sort... boy was I wrong. We did have to go in the ER, which is always an interesting experience. The people waiting all seemed to know each other and had some interesting dialects. :) I had a guy try and tell me about the show "1000 ways to die"- nice ER conversation! I had some xrays done which confirmed nothing was broken, but revealed the swelling that I felt. The doctor was Dutch and very interesting- we really liked her. She was very honest and very personable. She felt like I had a bad sprain, but nothing torn. Only an MRI would confirm that, but she felt fine with seeing how I did over time before doing that. So, I got a brace & crutches- the unwanted memento from our trip. After getting released at 9pm, tired & hungry, Nick & I enjoyed a New Year's Day dinner at McDonald's. :) We'll have to make up the black eyes & greens later. Nick kindly reminded me that what you do on New Year's is a reflection of the rest of your year... I quickly came back with well, mine will be full of resting with my feet up :)
So, a somewhat crippled Mom is not what Camille was expecting when we got home. She kept pointing to my brace & crutches and then would hold her arms up wanting to be picked up. She was very upset when I couldn't pick her up, and is still angry today about that. Poor thing, can't understand why mommy is walking funny and not playing with her much. So, Nick is Mr. Mom this week :)
I shouldn't be out of commission for more than a week, so I am counting down and hoping for a quick recovery!!!
Oh no feel better soon!
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