Conquering Mountain High
There are few things more satisfying than watching not one but all three of your kids pick up on a sport or activity collectively – especially after you’ve traumatized one of them and she bounces back from it a couple hours later.
The setting was during a Spring Break overnight trip to Mountain High Ski Resort in Victorville. The kiddoes would be taking just their second lesson ever (the first was an introductory group lesson at the smaller Mt. Baldy in 2015); but first, to kill some time before the instructors arrived, I thought I’d relay some pre-lesson tips from my many years of snow skiing and head over to the bunny slope for a couple of test runs.
Instead of using the people mover (think “tow-rope” from back in the day!), my brilliant plan was to introduce them one at a time to the easier of a pair of chairlifts. I would take Athena up first, ski back down the short distance to get the boys and we’d all ski down like one happy foursome.
Except it didn’t quite happen that way.
Yep, I accidentally chose the more challenging “beginner” chair and it was all downhill (pun intended) from there. Long story short, I ended up behind an accelerating Miss A yelling “Lay down, lay down!” before catching up to her and eventually side-stepping down together — about 45 minutes later — to the waiting and not-so-happy Troy and Xander. “Where WERE you?!” they screamed at me.
“Uh, trying to get Athena back down in one piece; sorry boys, we took the wrong chairlift!”
But as I already alluded to at the top of the story, this tale has a happy landing! Because when their actual lesson with an actual certified instructor was over, T, A & X were a sight to behold (especially Miss A what with having to overcome the horror of her maiden run!) Now they really were ready to take multiple chairlifts up to that very run. And Troy and Xander even summoned the courage to explore a more advanced trail by day’s end.
With my poles in one hand and my iPhone in the other, I followed behind them to capture a video of their shared triumphs:
Food for Thought: Raising the Char
Venison tartare with smoked egg yolk and charred parsnips
The creation of Michelin star chef Josiah Citrin (who also owns the landmark Melisse in Santa Monica), Venice’s Charcoal is “centered around fire-based cuisine.” Citrin was inspired by the weekend BBQs that he throws in his own backyard for family and friends so he opened this neighborhood spot in December 2015 (everything is cooked indoors over live fire – with charcoal or in the coals).
Celebrating our big two-oh wedding anniversary on April 4, Irene and I felt like friends of the family from the moment our affable server outlined our ordering options. We chose to go small-plate style and share a few dishes (not unlike the recipe that has made our 20-year marriage a successful partnership: always try new things and share, share, share!)
Miso cod and hanger steak
The Night Cap
First out of the gate was a mouth-watering venison tartare with a smoked egg yolk topped with charred parsnips. This dish was served with perfectly grilled slices of sourdough bread to hold a spreadful. Wonderful.
Next up was a trio of umami: roasted brussels sprouts, a Certified Angus Beef hanger steak, and a miso cod. The house-made condiments – a smoked paprika mustard chimichurri, a red wine chipotle sauce, a J-1 steak sauce, and a Basque vinegar – were the perfect dipping choices, while the cod’s flaky meat was infused with just the right amount of smoke.
Smoky drinks of choice were a Fumee Old Fashioned (Buffalo Trace bourbon, bitters, smoke) for me and a Venice Mule (Rain vodka, ginger kombucha, smoke, lime) for Irene. Keeping the sharing theme going, we also sipped on an espresso cocktail for dessert called the Night Cap. Great food and drink to mark an even greater occasion.
Pic of the Week
Was able to sneak up on this cool little guy literally seconds before it flew off of the herb planter it was perched on in our front yard. Zoom in for a closer look at the finer details!
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