ski West Virginia!

crowd at Timberline
Originally uploaded by slack13

Twice in three weeks I found myself just outside of Davis, W.V., ostensibly to ski but mostly to enjoy a weekend with a group of friends. The cabin the second time around - a couple weeks ago - was up to higher standards than the first. It had running water all weekend, for starters. And a hot tub, which was quite nice to sit in after a storm blew in - steam rose up and froze as the snow fell down, although the wind howling past marred the idyllic scene a bit.

The skiing itself became better as the day wore on once again. It was an odd day on the mountain - the sun was out when we started in the morning, and I didn't even bother to put on gloves or a hat for my first three runs. Then a storm blew in, the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees and the wind picked up at least 20 miles an hour. Where in the morning patches of bare ground and mud showed between the runs, by early afternoon those same patches had two or three inches of snow. That was the good part; the bad part was the snow was blowing straight in my face, and all I'd brought was a pair of sunglasses that started fogging up and freezing to my eyebrows at the same time. Thankfully, for my last few runs I borrowed some goggles from a friend who ended his day early, giving me a chance to enjoy the fresh snow (and the ice underneath).

The group I'd tagged along to West Virginia with was predominately made up of rock climbers, so we stopped at the Seneca Rocks on the drive home and walked to the summit's observation platform. Less than an hour and a mountain pass or two away from the ski area the snow had completely gone and we were back into spring.

That's all the skiing I'm going to get for some time, unless a very unexpected trip somewhere with more mountains or a different hemisphere happens to carry me away. It was better than nothing, but I'm already looking forward to getting back on a real mountain.

surprise

Saturday was perhaps the first true spring day of the year in D.C. With the sun shining and clear skies, we decided it was a good time to go check out the construction progress at the new baseball stadium.

We expected to take a look through the fence, walk around the perimeter and be on our way. As we came up to the main outfield gates, there was one other man standing there who had the same impulse. As construction workers walked around us, generally ignoring our spectating, one came over and asked if we wanted to see the view from the seats.

Turns out, it was Greg O'Dell, CEO of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission. He was out on a Saturday checking out the park (and, I think, waiting for someone with more clout than us who wanted a personalized tour). Apparently he had a few minutes of downtime, or he was hoping to build some PR karma, and decided to give the random fans a personal, comprehensive tour of the stadium under construction.

The view from the outfield seats turned into the view from the suites, progressing from the simple club level to the box suites to the super-exclusive club down behind home plate, complete with a lounge with one plexiglassed wall overlooking the players' batting cage underneath the seats and, in another area, the press conference room. Then down further, to an area without a field view. The locker room, the training area.

The stadium seems generally ready for Opening Day, although there was still plenty of construction debris to clean away. I imagine there will be slight odds and ends that don't quite get finished up by the first game, but the important stuff - the playing surface, the seats, the scoreboard - certainly look good.

I should be seeing quite a bit more of the stadium this year as a fan and as working press. The unexpected preview wasn't a bad way to spend Saturday afternoon.

spring, springing

Last week, for the first time this year, I woke up and heard birdsong. My brain translated the song into the knowledge it would be a warm day, which it was. I couldn't quite bring myself to walk outside without a coat after four months or so of constant coat use, but I didn't need it.

The days since haven't been quite as nice (although I had a nice day of another sort this weekend, when I again went to West Virginia for a ski weekend and watched as three inches of snow fell around me). The trees are starting to bloom, however, so the one nice D.C. season - spring - is about to take hold.

Zebra Crossing

Zebra Crossing
Originally uploaded by Happysmurfday

I want to stop for the people waiting at the crosswalks. Really, I do. But D.C. makes this simple act so hard.

One of the enduring mysteries to me as an American abroad in New Zealand was the actions of traffic. Drivers actually seemed to regard the road regulations as laws rather than suggestions. Merging was smooth, cars simply flowed around traffic circles, even two cars meeting on a one-lane mountain road generally flowed a quick, polite protocol, with one or the other backing up to a wide spot in the road so both could proceed.

But by far the most amazing act of all was the simplicity with which I, as a person on foot, could cross a street. If there was no dedicated pedestrian light, a crosswalk was in place at an intuitive place.

These were no simple lanes drawn across the tarmac to delineate a suggested path from one side to the other. These were full-blown crossings, with broad zebra stripes across the road and bright orange orbs atop black-and-white poles to draw drivers' attention to the fact of the crossing's existence.

I have no idea what the penalty might have been for ignoring all these decorative signals. It never entered anyone's discussion. Unlike many other possible low-level transgressions, the casual cost-benefit analysis of risk/reward for continuing full speed through a crosswalk simple did not seem to enter anyone's mind. If there was someone about to walk, cars stopped. The equation seemed inviolable.

Quite the contrast to the situation for those attempting to cross a D.C. road. Getting to the other side is in theory and in law, just as easy as it is for those in New Zealand. In reality, however, it's not. It's not just that the crosswalks are ignored by drivers, although they are. It's that even if you, as a driver, feel generous to your fellow man unencumbered by a metal conveyance and inclined to stop for those about to cross, the very design of the streets and signs hinders your ability to do so.

In DC, if they really want you to pay attention to a crosswalk, you get this in the middle of the street. Of course, these are almost always placed in the center of a four-lane road. Therefore, if there is any traffic on the road with you and you happen to be in the inside lane, you can't possibly see if there is a pedestrian waiting to utilize the crossing. If you're driving in the outside lane, you don't get the benefit of the mid-street sign and often can't see the poorly-marked crosswalk until it's too late to stop.

Not that I really believe DC drivers would be any better at stopping for pedestrians if they had New Zealand-style bright, attention-grabbing orange signs warning them. Somehow, the down-under traffic courtesy will remain a mystery.