I would like to give my sincere apology for my lack of blog posts. My life has been quite busy, and honestly I forgot I had a blog for a little while. I always come across this dilemma - I go weeks with no posts, so I always feel obliged to write about something thought provoking or intelligent. And then I always end up writing about something random that comes to my mind. Which is why this post shall be about my 'adventures' at Deep Creek Lake.
First of all, why is it call Deep Creek Lake? To me, it seemed like more of a river. But according to Evan, it was a creek, just made into a lake via dam for purposes that I now forget. Something unimportant, like real estate or one of those random things.
Anyway, the drive to Deep Creek Lake/river whatever was ... interesting ... Lets just say I would have rather walked than have listened to Justin Beiber then entire time (not a fan, can you tell?) The view was amazing from the top of the mountains, though my ears were popping like crazy. And then we were chased by ominous thunderstorm-looking clouds that we ran away from. But it ended up snowing when we stopped to eat in Annie's Kitchen, which apparently is the place were all the old folk go, like they look forward to it every week - "oh boy, tomorrow's Friday night - party at Annie's Kitchen!"
Our cabins were cute, wooden, small and had an air freshener that 'puffed' every five minutes. It also had a very steep driveway that made it near impossible to climb up when wearing shoes with no traction, such as TOMS. And fitting 20+ people into the 'main cabin' which isn't any bigger than the other cabins is interesting. And hot.
Being sick all weekend does not make it a very pleasurable experience. Thinking that you're going to die is not fun either. At least I brought my Tylenol (that also helped cure the headache cause by the singing of Beiber's so-called 'songs').
Sleeping through breakfast on the first day is not cool. How I slept through everyone in my cabin going through the getting-ready-for-the-day process is beyond me. Thankfully Aaron saved me some bacon.
I would not advise skiing when you had a fever the night before. Or skiing with your friends who are just learning to snowboard. You will spend the entire time helping them up only for them to fall again in a few yards. Eventually you will give up and leave them halfway down the slope to fend for themselves, hoping they don't mow over some poor five-year-old, so you can have a little freedom.
If you are ever in the Deep Creek Lake area, I would recommend Brenda's Pizzaria. The pizza are huge and one slice is bigger than my face. I couldn't finish half a slice.
When driving back to the cabins in the dark, watch out for the 'CAUTION - BUMP' sign. When going over said bump at 50 mph, you will get air. Also when driving in the dark and looking for a church to go to in the morning, do not mistake the 'Dunkard Brethren Church' for the 'Drunkard Brethren Church'.
On Sunday morning, the one day I could actually sleep in, of course I wake up early. And wait ever so patiently for the shower, but people kept butting in front of me. Then all of a sudden "We have to be out of the cabin by 10". Its 9:48. And your belongings are strewn about the floor, under the bunks, in the bathroom, kitchen and loft.
After hauling duffel bags and pillows out of semi-clean cabin and up to the vans, be carefull to not slip on the steep driveway. Because apparently it snowed again. And I, being smart and not wanting to listen to Beiber all the way back home, chose to ride in a van with four other guys. And Miss Laura. It was awesome. (no sarcasm there)
The Drunkard - I mean Dunkard Brethren Church is the size of my living room and has a total congregation of 8. It was most definitely an experience I will not forget.
Here's my favorite part - Swallow Falls. Climbing up and down stairs and cliffs covered in thick sheets of ice to the point where you could slide all the way down on your butt is tons of fun. I would definitely recommend it. The crazy kayakers going over the waterfall in 40 degree weather when the water is probably more like 20 degrees were quite interesting. And they roused quite an applause when they flipped all the way over. By the time we walked to Muddy Creek Falls, I was seriously questioning whether this little expedition was safe or not. Oh, did I mention someone knew somebody whose some relation fell and died here? Yeah, guess I forgot to mention that... Literally, on one side was a cliff covered in giant icicles and the other was a sheer drop to freezing rushing water.
The ride home was ... well, peaceful - to a degree. I actually approved of the guys' choice of music over the girls'. Which says something, because normally guys are all screamo Disturbed headache kind of stuff. We listened to Phantom, Pirates, Beach Boys, Beatles and Monty Python. And some of Gavin's music that I'd never heard of. And Aaron's Celtic awesomeness. Of course, after enduring their music, I had to make them listen to some Regina Spektor.
All in all, it was a great retreat with a great message on defending your faith. I absolutely loved our speaker, Tom something-or-other (I wish I could remember his name because I want to friend him on facebook!) He was brilliant. I will definitely always remember this retreat, from drunkard Quaker churches to ice slides to waterfalls.
Quote of the Day
'Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple'
~Dr. Seuss
