It has been over three weeks since my last posting, here, and a great deal has been happening. Thanksgiving is generally my favorite holiday, and this year’s was easily the best one that I can remember. After pretty much being canceled, last year, it had that much more meaning, this year. From the Annual Turkey Bowl at Huntington High School, followed by the requisite gathering at Finnegan’s, to the Family Celebration at our house – it was all extra special, this time around. I think, collectively, we all felt truly Grateful.

The Schmitt Family, and The Football Family, back together again on Thanksgiving Morning!

The days following Thanksgiving were nice too. It was great having a full house, even if it was only for a few days. At least a couple of Turkey Bowlers (they shall remain anonymous) were nursing minor injuries, but even that did not dampen the festive spirit.

By Monday, I was making the four hour drive up to North Creek (some have referred to it as “Schmitt’s Creek”!) to meet with the Internet Technician from Frontier on Tuesday morning. Upon arrival, it was apparent that winter had arrived early in the Central Adirondacks.

I was amazed at how smoothly the appointment went on Tuesday. He arrived early and seemed to encounter no trouble. He was finished before 10AM. So I layered up and made the five minute drive to Gore Mountain. More than anything else, this was why we bought the Condo, and I was pretty excited to be getting such an early start to the season. Only one lift was open and very limited terrain, but the conditions were better than decent for November. It was cold (only in the low to mid 20’s) and I was overdressed and sweating most of the day. It felt great to be back on the Board!

Back at the Condo after a bunch of great runs, I quickly noticed that there was a red light on the new Router. I hoped that it was temporary. I got cleaned up and had some dinner before trying the TV. You guessed it. It did not work! I called Frontier and spent a long time on the phone but was ultimately walked through the “hard reboot”. And then there was an Internet Connection, but not for long. I tried the “reboot” a number of times. Each time it would work, but not for long. It would have to wait for the morning.

In the morning, I went through the whole telephone process all over again. This time the “Technician” stayed on the line after the “reboot” and once again the connection was lost. He went through his entire bag of tricks and was down to his last option. He got a different “technician” to remotely “strip down” the system and then “rebuild” it (I had no idea what he was talking about). I was somewhat shocked when it actually worked – after only an hour and a half on the phone!

So it was back to Gore for another day of early season Snowboarding! It was warmer out, so I went with fewer layers, and this time I was underdressed and a bit cold throughout the day. I will have to get this figured out. It was a sunnier day and the conditions were slightly better than the day before, probably owing to the cold overnight temperatures which allowed for more snowmaking, along with an inch or so of natural snow. It was another really good day.

The Internet Connection held up all evening, so I watched several episodes of “Last Kingdom” (which is very good, BTW). It was a bit tough to leave on Thursday morning, with a couple of inches of new snow on the ground. But I had an early morning commitment on Friday. So once again, I left North Creek already anticipating my next visit.