Um, it's a hard life sometimes ;)

Yes, Lake Placid is in the middle of nowhere. Yes, traveling here is long and painful. Yes, we live in the training center, where the primary activities consist of eating, working out, and playing video games. (No, I didn't say prison...)

But sometimes it had its perks. It's a very beautiful area, especially in autumn. And we have great company. And the perks of a training center, such as Sports Med where we can get our sore muscles treated every day.

And, once in a while, there's recovery Whiteface Lodge style!

A friend of ours was up visiting for a few days and stayed at the lodge, so in between races and training, we swung by to visit him and his wife one evening.

The lodge is quite grand, in the hunter/rustic interpretation of grandeur.


Yes, those are antlers of some sort.


Even the simple hallway lights.


And the art was...unique.


When we finished ogling and enjoying the decorations, we headed to their room. We didn't know there would be a theme....

But surprise! There were robes for all.


It's funny, you don't realize how tall Brad is until a moment like this. Notice that Morgan and I both have robes that come to our ankles.


But wait - these are one-size-fits-all right? Why then does Brad's come to his knees?


Oh, right, he's a giant.


The slippers fit me just fine, but, um, Brad's were a little small.


Then we set out on an adventure to find the pool and hot tub. Landon tried to figure it out.


Apparently, it required an elevator....that tried to make us feel like we were in the woods....


...then two flights of stairs, and a really really long underground tunnel.




At last we arrived. Part of the pool was inside...


...with a tunnel to the outside.....


...where the water was heated to 85 degrees.


We hung out in the hot tub for a while, and swam around, and then decided we needed some sustenance. No drinking since we're racing this week, so instead we opted for a healthier snack.

The lodge had a nice fire going, which we gathered around. Next to it was a basket with chocolate, marshmallows, and sticks.....here are the boys utilizing these tools.


To make the perfect:


Brad got a little overzealous with his s'more eating.


Mmmmm. And what better to go along with s'mores than a little music?


Kyle, and occasionally Landon, played a series of tunes for us. Who knew skeleton athletes had so much talent?


It was a lovely relaxing evening away from the training center, our minds on something other than sliding and the stress of racing. The next day I pushed two PRs in training, so it must have helped!

(PS - I'm writing this a couple days before it shows up on the blog, which means that as you read this, we'll have just finished our second Lake Placid race!!! And will be on our way to the Albany airport, heading home. The race report won't happen until I get home, due to the race delay making us go straight from the track to the airport. I'll try to have it up quickly though.)