HEAVENLY / TAHOE  FLORIDA  SKI  WEEK  JAN. 12 – 19, 2008

Trip Report
 

     Blue Skies, Deep Snow and Spectacular Views!!   That was the theme of the week for the Florida Ski Council’s trip to Heavenly / Lake Tahoe.  You could even add additional themes of no lift lines, sensational parties and exceptional accommodations.  All this and more contributed to one of the most exciting ski weeks in recent memory.

     The Space Coast Ski Club joined 15 other clubs from the Florida Ski Council to comprise nearly 600 people skiing and partying at Lake Tahoe.  And with a winter storm that dumped up to ten feet of snow on the mountains just days before our arrival, the conditions were incredible!    How many of us can say that we have skied seven straight days of sunny blue skies on unlimited amounts of snow.   Well………there are 30 members of the Space Coast Ski Club that can say……….”We Have!”

     Staying at the Harveys’ Resort and Casino was a spectacular experience.  With freshly refurbished and spacious rooms, around-the-clock gambling and entertainment and only steps from the Gondola, no one could ask for a more memorable week.  Highlights included a cold but sunny day at Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 Winter Olympics;  a raucous trip back on the Tahoe Queen Paddleboat where we danced to a live band and enjoyed a sumptuous buffet dinner;  and two big FSC Parties at Harveys’ where the theme of “California Dreaming” brought out a wild array of costumes featuring tye dye, beads, long hair and mini-skirts.

     One of the best highlights however was watching our own Ernestine Beattie, all of 71 years young, winning the individual women’s Florida Cup Race with the fastest women’s time in the entire Florida Ski Council.  She even beat all the twenty-year olds!!!  Congratulations go out to her, our Race Captain, Matt Bragaw, and all of the racers who braved the gates for the Space Coast Ski Club.

     And if having fun was not enough, the Florida Ski Council raised over $5000 in their Silent Auction that was donated to a local Tahoe charity for abused women and children.

     All in all, it was an ideal ski week that will be hard to duplicate.  Many old friendships were renewed and many more new ones were made.  That’s what makes traveling with the Space Coast Ski Club such a unique and memorable experience.

TRIP LEADER

ASSISTANT TRIP LEADER