Photo Finnish

The Man writes...in our latest attempt to find us some winter, the Girl and I today travelled about fifty miles north-east of Albany to Lapland Lake in the Adirondacks.

The Girl had been mainly looking forward to some outdoor ice skating, but even here the ice was covered in a layer of slushy water. So the day was devoted to cross country skiing.

The extensive trail system mainly passes through pine forest, but usually also ranges over a frozen lake, which wasn't really skiable today. On the other hand, the benign conditions - soft, wet snow - meant we were able to tackle even the most difficult "black" runs with ease. Although the Girl now prefers the speed and thrills of downhill skiing, to her credit she threw herself into the activity with energy and enthusiasm. On one occasion she stopped up ahead apparently for a rest or to let her poor Dad catch up. As I reached her I was greeted with a grin and an enormous snowball in the chest. At which point I realised she was probably having a good time

We ran into our next door neighbours and ended up having lunch with them. This seemed a big coincidence, but since they are avid cross-country skiers and there are currently no alternative venues closer to Albany it was maybe not so odd.  It is perhaps odder that Lapland Lake was so quiet in such circumstances, especially during holiday week, but maybe people didn't realise that it had plenty of snow, or just don't think about skiing when the weather is so spring like.