One of the many benefits of snowboarding/skiing is meeting incredible new people. If you want. I mean, there are definite times for solitude on the slopes. But sometimes you just wanna be more social.

When you ride on days that are less busy (like I do — hitting the morning runs on weekdays), you can pretty much choose if you want to ride a lift by yourself, with friends you are with or add some new people.

It was on a social day that my friend Diane and I were riding the Berkshire Express (a six-person chair lift) when another woman joined us. We chatted as we rode up the mountain and long story short, she ended up taking a few runs with us. Like us, she had a love for mountains and the outdoors, and we also had a few other things in common.

The morning was so nice, we traded phone numbers so we could meet up again sometime possibly. That didn’t happen. But she did reach out by text regarding some local events. Last week we met for a bit of kayaking. Chris couldn’t come since he’s still recovering from his injury. (He is getting better slowly but surely — not up for kayaking yet, though).

She gave me careful instructions to her place, and I didn’t get lost. (I always get lost going places). It’s always very odd seeing people from the slopes without gear. We really don’t know what they look like without goggles and helmets and bulky clothing. Now I know what she really looks like, and she knows me. 🙂

The day was magical. We went on a small part of the river that was very squiggly. There were quite a few Canada geese along the way. At first that made me nervous. I’ve been chased by them more than once, and they can be vicious during mating season. Fortunately, as my friend pointed out, it was past that season so all was calm. In fact, they just sat there looking at us as we paddled past them and their babies.

We paddled for 90 minutes downstream, passing a couple in the midst of a fly-fishing lesson, then turned around to paddle back to the car. On the way back we passed a person paddling to a place where they stashed their bike. They were then going to ride back to their car. I was impressed by the different ways we all enjoyed the river.

With all the paddling I was pretty sure typing might be difficult for work the next day and was all prepped to take some Advil, but ended up not needing it. Neither of us got sore. Amazing. One of the interesting things I learned was that I paddled wrong. My tendency is to pull the oar that’s in the water. I learned that one is actually supposed to push the part of the paddle that’s out of the water. Go figure.

When we finished our river time, we went back to her place and relaxed by her pond for a bit. She has koi fish who come near the water’s edge when they hear her voice. I never realized fish could hear like that. We watched the fish feed on food she brought, and it was super relaxing.

Slopes to spring fun. I really love living in this area and meeting people who also appreciate playing outside in beautiful surroundings.