Practice makes perfect

We had purchased two Olympic passes yesterday for a variety of activities and discounts, well worth the price of $29.00. Yesterday, having taken the gondola ride up Whiteface Mountain as one of the listed discounts, we waited for the rain to abate today in the morning to try something else listed on our pass. There are quite a few things the discount pass gets you, too many to list here. The rain held off for the afternoon, and off we went to Lake Placid to see the ski jump that was used in the 1980 Olympics. A 45 min. ride to Lake Placid (from our campground in Peru, NY) gets you to the ski jump area. The drive on the way there is a Kodak moment every part of the way, mountains filling your front windshield, rushing rivers and streams and the western branch of the AuSable River off to the side of the highway. Our Olympic pass got us a ski lift ride up the mountain to the top (we remembered to put the holding bar down this time!), then onto an elevator to get up to the top of the tower. One of the photos shows the view of the tower AFTER you get off the ski lift! OMG, (ask any teenager about that), what an amazing feat these athletes accomplish to get to the point of jumping off that tower, which is 253 feet high at the TOP of the mountain, with an initial take-off speed of 60 m.p.h.! Unbelievable to be standing at the top of the tower, looking down on the jump! We also saw junior athletes practicing down below in the smaller jump area where they practiced flips, turns, etc., and then landed in a swimming pool for their finish. As we got ready to leave, inspired by the dedication and effort it takes to get to the Olympics, we saw junior luge/skeleton athletes learning how to maneuver the sled around much smaller curves and turns on a hillside nearby. So if you have a youngster in your family who looks for things to jump off from, ramps to fool around on, and engaging in other risky athletic endeavors, you may have the makings of a future Olympian! They have to start somewhere! Today, the ski jump, tomorrow the luge! Are you ready, Eldo?