This was the NSC Potluck weekend. Unlike the previous trip two weeks earlier, the roads were clear, so the trip went quickly. The back of the bus is where the party was happening. As usual, that’s where most of the members of the Monterey Ski and Social Club sat – coincidence? – You decide. Grady was our driver again and he did an excellent job of getting us to our various destinations, quickly and most importantly safely.
After eating dinner on the bus, we were able to watch a movie on board. On the previous trip, the video player wasn’t working. Also working this time was the light in the bus lavatory, which made using the facilities much easier. After arriving at the Sands in Reno about 12:15 am, most people went straight to bed.
The next morning, the bus left at a bright and way too early time of 7:45am. After breakfast was served on the bus and money for lift tickets was collected, we arrived at Squaw Valley at about 8:30am. We were soon on the slopes.
After a full day of skiing and an après ski spread back at the bus, we headed back to Reno. After showering and getting changed, it was time for the NSC potluck dinner. The event was held in a couple of NSC members hotel rooms. There were variety types of food and everyone ate their fill. There were plenty of leftovers for a couple of days of lunch!
After the food was put away and the clean up was done, the club played Left, Right, Center. It’s a dice game where each participant starts with $3 in one dollar bills. They roll the number of dice equal to the number of dollar bills they have in their hand, up to the maximum of the three dice that we were using. Each die had sides representing LEFT, RIGHT, CENTER, and push (i) f the shooter rolls a Left or Right, they handed a dollar bill to the person to the left or right respectively; if it said Center, the dollar bill went to the pot in the middle. And push (i) meant nothing happened to that dollar. Even if you didn’t have any money left, you weren’t necessarily out, since the person next to you could still be forced by the dice to hand you one (or more) dollars. After many noisy rounds (which included a visit from hotel security to tell us to quiet down), I ended up the big winner (winning $90) by virtue of being the last one standing. This was better than being downstairs at the casino.
The next morning with the time change (daylight saving time started Sunday morning), the bus left very early for Northstar. It was another quick trip. Breakfast was served on the bus again. After a full day of skiing and beer and snacks at the end of the day, it was time to head back to the Bay Area. Once again the roads were clear, with just some traffic in the Sacramento area. Dinner and a movie on board and pretty soon, Grady had once again safely delivered us to our destinations. Thank you NSC for my winning weekend.
