1.07.2013

OUR TRIP TO SNOWSHOE, WV


I'm sitting here about to watch the premiere of The Biggest Loser {thank heavens Jillian is back..the show was hurting when she left-who's with me?} and am in somewhat denial that there's a full week of work ahead of me. There won't even be a 5 day weekend attached at the end...it's just so shocking.

Leave it to Sunday nights after a trip and the holidays to give me a big ole reality check! However, I'm actually happy about it. Not that I haven't fully enjoyed sleeping in, going on a trip, drinking hot chocolate with bailey's, spending time with family, 5 day weekends back to back, and so on {if you wouldn't-we can't be friends ;)}, but this girl is in serious need of an actual routine! One that actually involves work and staying on a schedule.

That's not to say Snowshoe wasn't a blast in a beer glass because it was. Literally. 
It was our first time to Snowshoe, WV but we had heard really great things about it and since Billy's family loves to ski, we were all about giving it a go! Billy's brother and Dad were originally supposed to come with us, but unfortunately couldn't make it at the last minute {another blood clot in the family-yikes!} so our Aunt JoAnne came with us, along with Billy's mom, twin sister {you knew Billy was a twin, right?}, and best friend Cory. We LOVED Snowshoe...it's like a big, gorgeous village with incredible views! We couldn't believe how huge it was and all of the restaurants and places to stay were so nice. We stayed at a part called Seneca that is really centrally located on the mountain and we had a balcony that you literally could walk off of and you were right at the top of the slopes to start skiing. It was awesome.
 
 {view right by our room}

the Village area....





{Seneca-where we stayed!}

{front view of it from the street}

{our balcony}

Here's some things I learned from our trip {lists are the most fun anyways}:

-I wanted to take a picture of every little thing covered in snow. Didn't matter what it was. Turns out the snowy mountains, the village, the trees, and the slopes are beautiful scenery. It was so white and snowy everywhere...our surroundings were absolutely gorgeous and a bit fake looking. Take a look...


-BIG fan of snowmobiling. In fact, I like it more than skiing. I kinda love it. Our first night in Snowshoe, Billy and I randomly booked a 1 hr snowmobile tour and it turned out to be one of our favorite parts of the trip. Something about being able to go 60 mph up the slopes, in the dark, and through the woods gives me a rush. Highly recommend snowmobiling friends. Fun times.


-The sunsets were some of the best I've ever seen.


-You haven't experienced cold weather unless you experienced Snowshoe mountain this past Friday. I thought I've been freezing cold before, but no, I was WRONG. It was 10 degrees and extremely windy...let me explain that to you: you couldn't walk outside without all body parts fully covered or you would freeze, burn, then turn into an ice-sickle in 45 seconds. I tried taking my gloves off outside to get a picture at one point {an innocent task I thought} and within a minute my fingers felt like they were being cut off. HOWEVER, I also learned you can still have fun skiing outside in this weather-you just have to wear 3,952 layers if you want to survive. It was funny because the other days it got up to 30-40 degrees and it felt like a HEAT wave. 

-Slopes with bars at the bottom are heavenly! Especially ones that served drinks in mason jars. ALL of the bars/restaurants at Snowshoe served their beer in mason jars, which obviously made the trip 3x better. You ski for a bit..get to the bottom of the hill..and bam-there's a BAR! Genius. Everyday our routine was to wake up, ski for a couple hours, get some beers/wine, ski some more, sit in the hot tub until we turned to prunes, and go out to dinner. It was perfecto {even in the cold temps}.

{this drink should be called heaven: hot chocolate, bailey's, peppermint.}

{his and hers winter socks and some tea by the fireplace}

 {also spent some time at night in the amazing, cozy lobby drinking wine while watching things such as Full House...}

{Billy and his best friend Cory}




-Skiing is a serious work out. Some of the slopes at Snowshoe are 3/4 a mile - 1.5 miles long and your legs definitely feel the BURN after many runs. Muscles I didn't even know I had are still hurting me....


-Having hardly any service the whole trip = a good thing! As much as I love my instagram {@katiewkrysh-find me!}, twitter, fb, texting, etc. a break is equally as lovely. There was only one area where we were staying that got service, so I made sure to only update on our down time. On the other hand, you really have to make sure you stick together as a group at Snowshoe because there's no way to call anyone if you get split up! 

-Hot tubs and sauna's on ski trips? Mandatory.
So are really awesome outfits on the way there.
Billy was my picture victim for this because mine was even more ridiculous.
Think: maxi skirt, snow boots, and a sweatshirt. Fashion at it's finest! 


the end!
*highly recommend heading to Snowshoe if you love to ski/snowboard! Thank you to those who recommended snowmobiling there :) Would love to make it back there again!

Back to the Biggest Loser thing....
I know a lot of people aren't big fans of the show {like my husband}, but you can get so much motivation for your workouts from watching it. Watch it for that reason alone! Some of my favorite exercises are ones that I've seen the trainers do on the show where I wrote them down so I could do them at the gym myself. They also give tips before and during commercials to help your diet. As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the show, but just wanted to go into a little bit more about why I am. It's incredibly motivating and reminds me to get my booty to the gym!

On a "I have better things to be doing besides watching tv but I'm going to watch tv anyways" note...
WHO is excited for the Bachelor tonight with Sean?

Yeahhhh! Report back tomorrow with your thoughts.

-Linked up with lovely Sami today for her weekend update blog hop-

xo.

37 comments

  1. I didn't know Billy is a twin - very fun! Love the Biggest Loser too. So glad Jillian is back. She is my fave and makes the show so much better. Beautiful pics. I hate winter/snow/skiing but seeing your pics has me thinking I would at least try to like it if it meant beer at the end and hot tubs! Ha!

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  2. Amazing pictures babe! i like the 1 where im in my swimsuit the best lol. we'll have to go back next year and as cory would say hit the pow pow or whatever he was mumbling. love you

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  3. Your pictures are amazing! Looks like such an amazing time! Snowmobiling sounds like something I would love!

    I've never been into the Bachelor at all ... but for some reason I kinda want to watch this one.

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  4. Your trip looks lovely! I especially enjoyed the cozy socks, hot cocoa-Bailey's and peppermint with Full House! Precious! :)

    XO
    Amanda @ Faith Love Strength
    http://faithlovestrengthamandajo.blogspot.com/

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  5. Awww love Snowshoe! We usually take an annual ski trip with a big group, rent a house, and have a long weekend with amazingly fun shenanigans. But this year two couples just had babies and one is preggers so no ski trip this year. Sad! But next year I'm definitely trying snowmobiling! Glad you had fun and love all the pics!

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  6. Some of those snowy pics look like post-cards! I think I need to book a trip :)

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  7. So much snowwwww. This post makes my Florida blood cold just looking at all of that snow! So pretty!

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  8. I am SO pumped about Bachelor! Woo hoo! And isn't skiing/snow the best?!?! I am going skiing again this week and I can't wait! Glad you had such an awesome time!

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  9. Great post!!! Beautiful pictures thanks for sharing really enjoyed reading this. It sure is beautiful out there!!! Seems to snowy for me though hehe!!!

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  10. beautiful photos - looks like an amazing vacay :)

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  11. Love your pictures! We went to your favorite place for a snow trip, Lake Tahoe...it was -4 at night. So stinkin' cold, but the beauty of the snow makes it totally worth it.

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  12. the middle part of your post (where everyone is drinking and warm and cozy) is my kind of vacation. I don't do snow very well .. or at all!
    love love, Nicole

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  13. Ok yall look like you had a BLAST! I've never been skiing on the east coast, but Snowshoe looks so much like Colorado. Skiing is one of my favorite workouts. It also justifies the food and drinks later :)

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  14. Looks like an amazing winter trip! I had no idea WV had such a nice ski resort tucked away! I will definitely have to keep that in mind next time we book a ski trip. As much as I love tropical vacays, I also love hitting the ski slopes and spending evenings by the fire or in the hot tub drinking hot cocoa :)

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  15. SO glad you had an amazing trip! The photos are so gorgeous! I visited Snowshoe one summer when I was a camp counselor in WV and it was beautiful then, but it's even more so with all the snow!

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  16. Skiing is not so much my thing...though you do make it look like a LOT of fun. Now hot tubbing, beers in mason jars and Full House I can get 100% on board with!

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  17. So I don't know how to ski...or snowboard for that matter, but I have always dreamed of going on a trip like this! The snow, hot tubs, and hot chocolate are all I'd need. Plus maybe a couple trips down the bunny hill. Great pictures! They should hire you for publicity.

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  18. I haven't been skiing in years, but that looks amazing!

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  19. I've only gone skiing twice (very unsuccessfully also) but this place looks amazing! So beautiful and the view from your balcony is amazing. And I totally agree about snowmobiling, it's my favorite thing to do in the winter, well.. when we actually get enough snow!

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  20. Looks like such a fun trip! :) Would you believe that I've never really been skiing?!

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  21. Love that Jillian is back...she is so motivating and intense! Can't wait to see how this season turns out. And I agree that the show is a huge inspiration to stay fit and workout! Also, your pics are gorgeous, I love skiing and all your pictures are so pretty and fun! Looks like you had a great trip!

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  22. the village is adorable! and you're right - those sunsets are gorgeous!

    love,
    elisabeth

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  23. Oh my goodness, it looks like you were in such a winter wonderland. How fun! Thanks for sharing :)

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  24. How amazingly beautiful! And you stayed warm in style!

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  25. I'm going to Snowshoe in February. I can't wait!

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  26. What a fun trip! You look cute even bundled up so I'm jealous obviously ;) Thanks for linking up doll!

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  27. Looks like such a fun time! I had no idea that place was in WVa. We might have to check it out sometime. I know Rick wants to go skiing sometime, but I am nervous I will be too cold and wimp out. I would probably want to spend all my time in the hot tub drinking spiked cocoa! Ha!!

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  28. Looks like a blast! Almost makes me want to try skiing again! ha :) So excited for the Bachelor tonight, I loved Sean last season!

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  29. OMG That looks absolutely amazing! And so excited for this season of Biggest Loser!! :)

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  30. I've been wanting to go snow mobiling! last time i was in Sun Valley, Idaho we missed out because it was too cold for us girls to go with our bfs.

    hope you had a great time!

    ~Danai
    www.lifeinmyfablane.com

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  31. So jealous!! Looks like you all had a great time!

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  32. I went to Snowshoe last winter with my friends and it was SO cold! The car temp. read about -11 degrees...just a little chilly. I was so cold waiting at the trolley stop that I felt like I was going to faint and sprinted in my ski boots indoors to sit down! The lack of cell reception sucked--especially since we weren't staying on-site so we searched for a while to find the rest of our group. It seems like your experience was a lot better than mine! Glad you had fun!!

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  33. what a fun trip! it looks so gorgeous there!!

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  34. Wow, what a fun trip! Looks like you had a great time! Snowshoe looks so beautiful, I loved all your photos...also if you think Tahoe is pretty in the summer, you should see it when it's covered in snow! Just saying! :)

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  35. Eeeek! This time next month we'll be at Snowshoe. I'm even more excited now! And I keep saying I want to go snowmobiling too. Now we're definitely doing that! Thanks for sharing all your pics :)

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  36. Oh my goodness, I always think of going some place "warm" for vacations, but this looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing all your pictures...I think I know what I'll plan to do for a getaway now!! :)

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  37. Girlfriend, if you think 10 degrees is cold you definitely should not visit Minnie in the winter! I'm not a fan of skiing but I LOVE to chill in the Chalet! Looks like a great trip and a beautiful place. And HEAD is a twin?!

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