Burst Pipe Adventure - Day 19

I was awake by 0530 but Eileen wanted to wait to get up.  She tried to sleep longer so I eventually (0730) took Mika for a walk out on Mirror Lake.  It was snowy and a bit cold by not as bad as the previous day.  On the way back, I picked up coffee for Eileen from the High Peaks Resort lobby and this made her happy.  We took our time getting ready and looked online to evaluate the weather on top of Whiteface Mountain (-10 degrees with 40 mph winds and snow).  Since I'm not as good of an uphill (or downhill, for that matter) as Eileen, our options for such a "varsity" hike/ski were limited.  Ultimately, Eileen told me that she wanted to make sure we could stay together throughout whatever activity we chose so we decided on another ski on the Jackrabbit Trail (west of town this time).  Eventually, we went down to have brunch at the Dancing Bears restaurant.  I got a “DB Melt” sandwich and Eileen had eggs Benedict (both had home fries).  We were done eating at around 0930 .  By that point, we’d started a political debate so it took a bit longer to get ready to leave the hotel...  Mika was very patient throughout the waiting period!  By 1030, we departed (to the west) on NY-86 and then used Whiteface Inn Road.  Eileen dropped me off at the Whiteface Club & Nordic Center so I could get ideas about opening times and rules.  After that, we drove a short distance to the nearby Jackrabbit trailhead.  There were two places to park but we chose the one with fewer cars.  By then, it was warmer (mid 20s) than yesterday and I felt tremendously over layered.  Still, snow was falling throughout our time on the trail and it made the air feel a little cooler.  Between 1130 and 1330, we skied uphill (northbound) to the Placid Lean-To - it was very hard to climb with skis but I never took them off.  We passed a lot of people who were having a great time too (most had climbed quite high on the ridge).  After resting for a bit in the shelter, we began our descent.  Mike didn't like that I started out in front (Eileen said her dog sees every outing as a race).  Only a little while later, though, stopped to give other people a chance to pass and ended up in the rear of our little trio.  From that point, we raced precipitously downhill.  I fell a few times but still didn't need to take off my skis.  I felt pretty happy to reach the car again and checked out a little section that we hadn't used initially.  After that, we headed into town and decided to stop for some food at Generations Tap and Grill.  We first arrived at around 1345 and were told we couldn't sit down until the lunch/dinner period started about 15 minutes later.  In the meantime, I got some Good Fortune beer (1350) and Eileen mingled with other waiting guests.  Starting at 1400 we ordered some Italian Wedding Soup (which we shared) and then Eileen had the Rueben sandwich while I had a delicious flatbread pizza (“The Boathouse”) with chicken and bacon.  We talked for a long time and watched the snow plows working overtime to clear the parking lots.  We could see lots of folks departing for home after their vacation and knew our own time would soon arrive for the same thing. Reluctantly, we decided (1530) to go back to the hotel but took our time moving in that direction.  At 1600, I got all my things out of Eileen’s car and we said goodbye.  She needed to head home immediately but I had another night in the room so I dropped by the lobby to make sure they had checked out Mika (to skip a second night of pet fee).  I found this area packed with people checking into the Resort but, fortunately, got my question answered quickly.  For the next hour or so, I spent some time relaxing in my room (reading mostly) and talked to Mollie on the phone.  At 1745, I went back to the hot tub for about 30 minutes of relaxing.  I then (1855) went for a walk on Mirror Lake and across the town of Lake Placid, mostly following the Jackrabbit Trail map.  It was still snowing and I began to wonder how Eileen's drive was going...  I got some good photos of the town at night but also noticed that it was mostly deserted.  Just as I was finishing my walk (2005), Eileen called to say she was close to her home (I was relieved).  Back in the room, I did some more reading and packing and went to bed at 2200.  The weekend turned out to be really fun and I hope we can have another adventure like this again soon!