Travel

Arrived (to a Frozen Winter Wonderland!)

December 22, 2022

We made it!

I have to say: traveling with kids 5+ is a new world. A new world that I really really like.

We had fun on our flights even with a turbulent ride into Bozeman, and I read basically all of My Name is Lucy Barton and also watched 1.5 episodes of Severance. I sat between A & G and Genevieve rewatched Elf and The Grinch and took a nap and was generally quite easy, and A was super independent.

amazing views on the way down!
this pic does the landscape zero justice; will take more

When we landed it was -15F and OMG you guys. It was a level of cold I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced. Maybe on rare occasions in college. Despite suiting up (layered coats, mittens, hat, etc) just walking to get our rental car was a whole ordeal. I called the ski school and found out they were actually planning on suspending operations for today (Thurs) and they were super nice about letting us move lessons from today to Sunday.

Currently it is -29F (!!!) and the lifts are closed for at least the morning. But I’m feeling happy and grateful because a) we got here safely; b) the temps will be far better by mid-day tomorrow; and c) the ski school was so flexible.

And not gonna lie, I’m actually kind of excited for a lazy shut-in day today!!! We have board games, movies, easy access to food, etc – so I feel like this is best case scenario for the deep freeze.

wow guess the forecast was accurate

Lounging:

feeling right at home
excellent room service dinner!

17 Comments

  • Reply Emily December 22, 2022 at 8:13 am

    Omg that pic of G in the chair! And what did you think of My Name is Lucy Barton? Hope it warms up soon so you can enjoy the skiing but agree a cozy day to settle in first sounds nice. Have a great trip!

  • Reply Rachel December 22, 2022 at 8:14 am

    Once you’re back, I’d love to hear about how you picked this location and where you stayed!! Our son is 3.5 and still such a handful on planes, he won’t watch TV for extended periods of time and will decide he doesn’t want to stay seated at takeoff or landing (!!!!) So annoying and stressful, really hope he improves by 5 too.

  • Reply omdg December 22, 2022 at 8:43 am

    BRRRRRR!!!!!!

    Glad you made it there uneventfully, and it sounds like your trip timing was perfect after all!

    Dyl sat by herself on one of our recent flights and it was totally fine. She just needed some help getting her bag down at the end of the flight which her neighbors were happy to help with. Isn’t it crazy how grown up they are getting?

  • Reply Lisa of Lisa's Yarns December 22, 2022 at 9:11 am

    Good call to stay indoors and stay warm today! That is dangerously cold! We are having pretty awful weather here in Minnesota, too, but it’s not quite that cold! But with the windchill, it will be in the -30F range. Honestly once it’s below 0, there isn’t much of a different between -10F and -30F – it’s all horribly miserable. But I am glad that cold spell will be short-lived and the temps will be more moderate by tomorrow! It kind of works out well to just have a quiet day in the lodge today!

    Glad the flight went so well! When we went to AZ last Feb, Paul was almost 4 and was pretty easy to travel with since he was happy to watch movies/play on his iPad. We are debating coming to FL in April but I think our 2yo will be very challenging on the flight. He has NO interest in screens!

  • Reply Brittany December 22, 2022 at 9:18 am

    Looks so cozy!! Love hearing your contentment and satisfaction with the travel and the cozy day. Enjoy! I can’t wait to read more about the vacay!

  • Reply gwinne December 22, 2022 at 2:04 pm

    Sarah, I’m also reading My Name is Lucy Barton. (I read Lucy by the Sea first and really liked the voice…so working backwards!)

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger December 22, 2022 at 2:10 pm

      I read Oh William first 🙂 I guess they work in any order! Love the writing style.

      • Reply Helena Murphy December 23, 2022 at 8:01 am

        I also read Oh William first and then moved on to My Name is Lucy. Worked just fine! Love Strout’s writing and the Lucy character. I’m very curious to hear your thoughts on the series. I’m about to start Anything is Possible but deliberately savoring the anticipation. Luckily there’s also a 4th volume out!

  • Reply Elisabeth December 22, 2022 at 2:07 pm

    Brrr – yet, I think the idea of a day spent inside lounging and eating excellent food sounds like a great launch point for a family vacation.

    I’ll be so curious what you think of My Name Is Lucy Barton. I loved it – but it is a hard/sad read in some ways. I just finished Anything Is Possible (the second book in that “series”) and I found it too sad. I can’t decide whether I want to keep going or not?

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger December 22, 2022 at 2:11 pm

      I read Oh William first so I already knew some of the background stories … I totally know what you mean but I love how … REAL Lucy seem and the way it is written. Definitely going to read more in the series.

    • Reply Sarah K December 22, 2022 at 4:34 pm

      I read the Lucy Barton book recently and totally hated it. What did you think? Stay warm!

  • Reply CBS December 22, 2022 at 2:23 pm

    I love it! That sounds fab. We’ve tested negative so are flying tomorrow, thank goodness, I was not emotionally prepared for cancelling, not sure who would cry harder, me or my 5 year old. I think some times we are so busy on holiday and an “excuse” to have a lazy day is really welcome. T and I travelled this summer and it was so, so easy. Our only mistake was packing too many books in my son’s backpack, and he got tired.

    I was listening to Lucy by the Sea, which was beautifully done, until we got Covid and then it was a bit too close to home. Will finish it in a week or two.

  • Reply Lori C December 22, 2022 at 6:36 pm

    I love the updates! What a treat to reverse climate hop. It’s fun to experience such an extreme opposite! Am I the only one ogling your food? Haha! It looks tasty!! Take out or homemade? Where on earth did you go that has such a fun variety? (Burger? Salmon? Can’t tell what A has). Enjoy and stay warm! Put hot cocoa and a (short) winter hike on your list. I love hiking in the snow 🙂

    • Reply Sarah Hart-Unger December 22, 2022 at 7:28 pm

      It was the restaurant in the hotel’s room service :). definitely a splurge but cozy and delicious!

  • Reply Abigail December 23, 2022 at 1:07 am

    Glad you’re all cosy and happy. The extreme cold there is all over our news bulletins here in UK! Stay safe.

  • Reply Irene December 23, 2022 at 7:36 am

    My kids have food limitations (intolerances plus some pickiness) that make feeding them away from home the hardest part now. Last time I flew on my own with my two i was amazed how easy it was

  • Reply Michelle Boggs December 25, 2022 at 3:56 pm

    Our family recently went to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons this summer and flew in from Bozeman. The scenery from Bozeman to Big Sky was seared into my memory. Glad the freezing cold warmed to a more tolerable freeze.

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