Wausau Weekend

I won a weekend ski trip from a radio station just before Christmas which we decided to redeem this past weekend. It was for a 2 night stay at a Holiday Inn and 4 ski lift passes at Granite Peak Ski Resort. We were super excited for this chance. We had talked about trying to ski in Boone when we went to NC but it just didn’t work out. We really felt like God blessed us with this unexpected chance for a getaway and ski trip.

Last week was a rough week for me. I don’t normally have a lot of mood swings or get overly emotional but last week I was just a mess. My attitude seemed to be terrible all week. I was so easily irritated by pretty much everything. It didn’t help I couldn’t sleep most nights. I’m pretty sure that was a big part of the problem but it wasn’t a good excuse for my poor behavior. Anyway, that being said, this weekend getaway was so welcomed by us both. We determined that if nothing else we just wanted to relax.

We had lofty thoughts of skiing, snowshoeing, tubing, etc. They were great thoughts but didn’t really pan out. However, we did have a wonderfully relaxing and fun weekend. It all started Friday morning. We were able to wake up at home without an alarm and finish getting ready. We got on the road a little earlier than we planned for and settled in for our short (4.5 hour) drive.

We had already figured out where we wanted to eat at home. I am so the planner and like to know these things ahead of time. When we got to Wausau we ate lunch at the Wausau Mine Co. It was a really neat place. It’s shaped like a Mine shaft and inside is like you are eating inside a coal mine. There is running water and it looks cave-like. Their were lots sandwiches on the menu that sounded delicious but we opted for two of their specials. I got the messy meatloaf sandwich and John got some sort of buffalo ranch chicken sandwich. His was huge and I still don’t know how he got the first bite in. It tasted great though. Mine was good too! We definitely counted our first meal a success!

The outside of the restaurant

John's super huge sandwich. It was tasty though!

After lunch we headed to downtown Wausau just to check the place out. We thought we might be able to find a visitors center with info as well. We followed the signs but couldn’t find the center so we just parked in a parking deck and discovered a mall. I promise I had no idea it was a mall. However it turned out to be absolutely perfect which is how I feel like our whole weekend was. I feel like God delivered right to our hands exactly what we were looking for over and over again. So we started our walk through the mall and the first store we came to was a Packers store. This was good because our friend asked us to get him a shirt from the superbowl win. Check. We walked to the end of the mall and found another entrance. We thought we’d check out some shops that were outside. We walked a block and turned left and ran right into the visitors center. Wow. So we were able to gather lots of info and then headed back to the mall. On the way back we stopped at a bakery that we saw. (This was a God send too because I had mentioned that I’d like to find a bakery so we could have some cookies with our hot tea later). So we got a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake an a giant homemade oreo from Sweet Lola’s.

Our serendipitous downtown adventure was perfect in every way and to top it off, parking was free! We were cold and ready to settle in by that time so we headed to the hotel and got all cozy. 


We just relaxed. Watched some tv and checked email but that’s about it. Our hotel was right across the street from a Culvers so we headed there to pick up some dinner and bring it back. And after dinner we relaxed more in the hot tub. That was really nice other than the 15 or so teenagers that were down there. Luckily it was a nice size hot tub. After the hot tub it was about time for our gigantic cookie and some hot tea / hot chocolate. It was good.

We set our alarms for 7:30 so we could be up and eat breakfast before hitting the slopes. It was our big ski day. We arrived just after 9 and headed in to get all set up. We got our lift passes, our equipment and then signed up for beginner lessons. I had toyed around with not getting lessons but I think that was a moment of insanity for me to think I could do this without any knowledge. I have never skied before. John had once a long time back.

It's not the best pic but that is the ski mountain we were at.
We left our camera in the car for our ski day, so no pics there.

We found our group and began the lesson. It was going good, until we got to the second level. Wedging, the term used to describe what you do to slow down is very important and though I was getting it somewhat, it seemed to alude me when I would pick up too much speed. By the time we got to the end of the lesson I still had not made it down the 2nd beginner slope on my feet. I made it down ok but then when it says slow and I couldn’t stop I would just get low to the ground and fall so I didn’t run anyone over. John and I tried again after the lesson and after watching him I was able to get it much better.  We went down 3 or 4 times and I was able to control my speed very well and even turn some and stop when I wanted to.

We were feeling ambitious and a little more confident so we decided to hop on the lift and head to the top of the beginner hill. One of the “easy” runs. I think the only thing easy about it was sitting in the lift chair, at least for me. I should have known things were going to be a little rough when John and I both wiped out getting off the lift. In our defense they didn’t teach that in the lesson. We skiied around to the run and started our descent. At first it was going ok. It wasn’t too steep and I was having a nice time, but then as we crested the next hill I saw doomsday ahead of me. I know compared to the rest of the mountain this was so nothing, but to me it seemed hugely steep. We began our descent and whoa. Before I knew it was traveling so fast. I was trying to wedge to slow down but my skis just weren’t traveling how I wanted them too. I got scared I wouldn’t be able to slow down when i was supposed to and I went down. It didn’t hurt but it was scary. I somehow managed to get back up again and make it down the rest of the hill without falling but that was about it for me.

John went again and I decided to wait for him at the bottom. I had alot of time to think while I was waiting for him and I decided I don’t much care for skiing or snowboarding. I think I could get better at skiing with lots and lots of practice and instruction but I really have no desire. I don’t think I really like the speed of it. It might be ok if I was the only one on the hill, but I don’t like the fact that I could run into someone because I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t like the feeling of being completely out of control, gaining speed and not being able to stop or slow down fast enough for my liking. We took a break and then John went again a few times but I had my fill. By 3 we were done and headed back to the hotel.

On the way back we had decided we wanted pizza and were going to order it from the hotel but as we approached the hotel we saw some signs with an arrow saying pizza this way. So we followed the signs and ordered ourselves a pizza. 15 minutes later we had our pizza and some cheesy garlic bread and were loving every bite! By that time my muscles were getting really sore already and so after letting our food settle we headed to the hot tub again. It was much less crowded this time and felt soooo good after our rough morning. We capped of the night with our cupcake.

Slept in til 8 Sunday morning. It was so wonderful. Had breakfast and slowly and lazily got ready to check out. We left and headed to our first stop on the return journey, a cheese shop. Bought some unique flavored cheese and sausage and then headed to our next stop in Madison, WI. We parked downtown and walked to a local restaurant called the Old Fashioned. Everything on the menu is from local businesses. We had to get beer battered cheese curds and they were really good. We both got burgers and they were ok. I really liked the chips and dip that came with my burger though. We left very full and content for our journey back home.

The Capitol Building

Coming home is sometimes something you look forward to but this time I wasn’t so much. The weekend was so nice and relaxing and I was able to sleep so well. I am hoping I will continue sleeping well and continue letting God worry about all the stuff going on in life instead of me worrying about it. I can get easily overwhelmed and then subconsciously it weighs on me. I am trying to not let this be the case.

This weekend was just another reminder for me of how God loves me so much and how many things he blesses us with. Sometimes we have because we do not ask. And sometimes he knows exactly what we need before we know. And always He knows best! I can trust Him!