Fun in the Summertime

The excitement is really starting to build over the Vermont Symphony Orchestra event here on the mountain for July 6th. Just the thought of an outdoor concert perched at the base of the mountain on a hot summer night brings back some great memories of childhood.

Summer seemed to last forever. You never even knew it was just 2 short months. Life was simpler back then. Your idea to sell lemonade that morning pretty much became the neighborhood project for the rest of the day. When the group finally decides on lemonade (versus koolaid), the next step took hours - tracking from house to house collecting all the supplies necessary to pull this thing off. Then came product testing - because boy, after all that trecking around you get pretty thirsty. Setting up the card table was the next big project - followed by signage (perfectionists beware!) and picking a price. Before you knew it, you were ready to sell. Cups stacked nicely, napkins available for the next spill, found a ladel to scoop, a cooler for ice, a strainer to get that yucky pulp out for the finicky customer. You did it. Time for the money to start rollin' in. And just moments later you get the call... it's time for dinner. Did you really ever really sell anything? Probably not, but it didn't matter - it was the process. Good ol' summertime fun.

Fast forward to modern day summer. Oh my god, the kids don't have school. Now what do I do? Get up at 6. Throw in some laundry and pickup the mess you left last night. Drop the kids at daycare - or wait for the high schooler you hired to show up and hope they are as responsible as you think. Work from 8 to 6 (if you still pull off 9-5 good for you!). Pray the kids are safe. Call home a million times to check on them..."turn off the tv!!!" Are they really having a good summer? Get out of work, head to baseball. Run out during the 4th inning (just after he's up) to make it to dance. Back to the field, catch his last ups. Back to dance. Ugh 5 minutes late. 7:30 pm headin' home with kids that might die from hunger, literally. Throw in chicken nuggets, a little tv and voila the day is done. This is what I call fun.

I think my family needs a vacation at Okemo. Think they'll have lemonade at the concert?

Hey, Plan Man ...

All this talk of late, late, late spring skiing leaves me waxing nostalgic for a New Hampshire summer from not so long ago. It was July 2003 and a little ski area in the central part of the state was atwitter with a revolutionary plan that had all ski industry eyes squinted in skepticism.

I'll take "Unbelievable News Reports" for $1,000 please Alex.

THIS SUMMER'S SNOWMAKING GOT OFF TO A SLOW START.
A DOCKWORKER'S STRIKE IN NEW JERSEY DELAYED THE ARRIVAL OF THE NEW MACHINE BY A MONTH.
THIS PAST SATURDAY, SOME PEOPLE HOPING TO SKI OR SNOWBOARD WENT AWAY DISAPPOINTED

What is ... The Glacier - a snowmaking machine that would allow ski resorts to remain open year round.

I never actually saw the invention in action, but it was described to me as a giant, gurgling snowcone machine. A huge warehouse positioned at the top of a ski trail stored the substance described by a certain ski area GM as being "like corn snow," before it got spewed out through a clear, plastic tube. The real kicker, though, as I heard it, was it couldn't make snow in temperatures below freezing. A machine that can't make snow when it's cold - how funny is that?

It looks like we're in for some summertime sizzle over the next few days. Come to think of it, a giant snowcone would be pretty tasty right now. Cheers!