"Ski" weekend...

We headed up north to Ohakune, the gateway town to the mountain/volcano, where you can ski/board in the North Island. There are two other ski fields/resorts around as well, but we have only ever been to this one, called Turoa. WE were invited by our friends Nichola and Duncan, who have just moved back from England to settle in New Zealand, and wanted a ski weekend away. Here's a pic of them (taken on my new camera/phone/coolest thing I have ever owned). A nice pic of them, but not the clearest image ever. However, it's still great to have a camera with me most of the time now.

Bryce was super keen to get some boarding done, since he got so buzzed up about it from the boarding done in Canada at Christmas, especially with Robyn and Lawrence in the Rockies, at Lake Louise. So we drove up Friday night and moved into our cute little chalet that we had rented: Nichola, Duncan, Nichola's sister Gemma, their 14 month old son William and us. It was a fun group to hang out with and in the morning, Gemma, Duncan and Bryce headed up the mountain. WE had been warned that the weather was not going to be great, but had woken up with a great clear view of the volcano, and figured it was worth a shot. (On another note, I am training for a half marathon and decided it was better to get a training run in, than stress myself out with a day of "learning" to ski for the 15th time. Nichola was going to take William up later in the day to play in the snow.)
Before I went for my run, Nichola and I noticed a weird sound coming from the lounge floor. Turns out, a pipe from the water cylinder burst, probably from serious cold and lack of use, and water was rushing out (like a full-on turned on hose!) from underneath the house. We called the lady who owned the place, who in turn apologized and just said, don't worry, a plumber will check it out tomorrow. Regardless of how we explained, "uh, it's A LOT of water coming out!", she reiterated that we should not worry and if we wanted to have hot showers, to find a place to have them and she would reimburse us the cost. WOw.
Meanwhile, the boys and Gemma got one run in before the weather turned horrible (it actually turned into a blizzard while they were riding the chair lift, and the chair they were on was blown out to one side from the insane wind!). The mountain was officially closed, and they all got their money back. So they came back, we poured some wine and played board games inside, while it poured rain from the sky, and poured water from the foundation of the house. WE all felt weird sitting around not doing anything to help the problem with the house, but the women assured us that we should just leave it be, and enjoy ourselves. Plus, none of us were volunteering to lie down in a massive freezing cold mud puddle, underneath the rotted poles holding the house off the ground, to slide under the house to "check out the sitch". It sure was nice merlot....
WE played this funny board game called SMuggle where one person is the customs officer and the rest of the players try to lie/or tell the truth about what cards they are holding and therefore what "they have to declare". The customs officer has to decide whether to take the money for the items declared, or call the person's bluff and hopefully fine them more money. It's pretty amazing how people you think can be so honest, lie to you without "blinking an eye". Shocking, yet very entertaining.
However, not as oddly interesting as what happened today. We went to an indoor climbing wall and played around on the walls, which was something we haven't done in a long time. Good fun and amazing to find out how fast your arms can become entirely exhausted. Mine felt like sacks of potatoes, trying to get to the floor before my feet could!. Here are some pics of the boys climbing.


Nice calves, eh?

THAT'S NOT THE INTERESTING BIT THOUGH.....

On our way back through town, some teens were crossing the road, but one misjudged that we were driving through (he was walking out onto a busy highway, in town, while two other mates were patiently waiting for traffic to clear). Bryce stopped the car/slammed the brakes and raised his finger to his head, as if to say "Use your brain" to the kid. His other friends took exception to Bryce's gesture, and banged/spanked? the back of our car as they crossed behind our car. They obviously has forgotten to read the rules of ski town etiquette and did not know it is extremely offensive to touch someone's car, especially someone's SUBARU. Bryce stopped the car in the middle of the road, and jumped out, upset that these kids were just going to act like that was okay. Bryce said, "what was that all about?" and two of the kids approached Bryce (hoodies over their heads, looking quite tough) and got real close to Bryce's face. I was not pleased at this at all, as you can imagine and fearing for the unpredictability of teenagers and Bryce's safety. The one kid then headbutts Bryce (like goat does to establish territory), so Bryce yells to me to call the police. I do so, and as I am getting the phone sorted, the kid pushes Bryce twice but backs away when he sees that I am on the phone. The whole posse walk away to the other side of the road and into the adjacent park to scatter like the vermin they represented. Keep in mind, I think teenagers are awesome and spend time with great kids everyday. These kids were not representative of teens and I don't think all teenagers are vermin. These ones were though.
So police were there within 2 minutes, caught up with a few of the "slower mice" and eventually got the "king rodent" with the "goat tactics" and locked them up until their parents came to the station to get them. Bryce and I had to give statements and it was all quite an interesting (and no longer scary, once Bryce - I felt - was no longer in danger) and educational event. The extra interesting bit of this was when the cop explained to us, after our description of what the person looked like and what they were wearing, that the king rodent was actually a 14 yr old female, Bryce was like, "uh, no. It was a guy". The cop assured us that others have mistaken her for a male before, we were shocked.
So, as I sit here, with a warm fire cranking, a hot chocolate, a pile of graded homework from lovely teenagers who will make the world a better place, and solid pipes in the foundation of our house (at least that's what we hope....), I reflect on how lucky we are and how others are less fortunate. When I told the policeman who was taking my statement that I felt sad for this girl who "assaulted" Bryce, the cop said, "Why do you feel sad? Those specific kids know exactly what they are doing. And they know that we can't do much to them." I still thinks it's a sad state though. Makes me feel like at least I hope I am helping other teens make better decisions than that chicky did today.
SO, was it a good "ski" weekend? Damn straight it was! No skiiing, burst pipes, customs smuggling, and a head butt to boot. But it was a great chance to get away, and also, I had been complaining that I needed some good stories to put on my blog, so "it's all good".

On another note, here's the wicked ski suit Duncan bought for $25. None of us lost the bets bad enough this weekend to warrant having to wear it out anywhere though...