Letter Response

I'd like to take the opportunity to respond to a letter I received this week and hopefully clarify my mission and purpose for writing this column.

The letter expressed concern that I have indicated a reluctance to explore Waterville assets such as the ski hill, grocery store, and restaurant options. This is certainly not the case, and I truly hope that nobody else has interpreted any of my column articles in that way.

First of all, for those of you who may be new to my column, I am writing from the perspective of someone who is living in a small town for the first time. One who never thought she'd move to a town so small and who brought with her many preconceived notions and misconceptions about small-town life.

Since moving to Waterville more than three years ago, I've developed a pride in this town and my hope is that, through this column, I can share with the locals my experiences and discoveries in a humorous way, while breaking down the assumptions and stereotypes, which I once held, for the benefit of readers living outside of Waterville.

In my article about the Waterville Family Grocer, I described how, at first, we avoided the store, having made poor assumptions based on small-town stereotypes, but we discovered that it was a actually a really great place to shop. Adam and I shop there frequently because it has just about everything we need and we love the fact that it is so close to home.

In my article about the Badger Mountain Ski hill, I expressed a fear of getting on skis after so many years, which is the primary reason I have avoided any and all ski areas. The intent of the article was to highlight the fact that we have such a fun recreational opportunity so close to home and to lament the fact that I've waited so long to try it out.

I've only written about one dining experience, the Shell Station, but that's not the only great restaurant meal we've enjoyed here in Waterville. Rest assured, there are more eating stories to be told.

There are so many things I have yet to discover about Waterville, not because I am reluctant to get involved or hesitant to support local business, but rather because of time restrictions. We live in Waterville but work in Wenatchee. We wake at 3am and try to be in bed by 7pm.

Nevertheless, I'll continue to write about my experiences and musings as I have them and I'll do my best to represent Waterville well. If you are a new "New Local" reader, I invite you to visit my blog and read about my journey from the beginning.

Have you been to the Waterville Hotel?

It was three years before I visited the Waterville Hotel, despite the fact that it is less than a block from my home.

My mom and my grandparents planned a trip to Waterville for my birthday in October. "GM" and "GP" knew that Adam and I only had one guest room so after I assured them that it wasn't, dirty, roach-filled or creepy, they decided to give the old hotel a try.

What a fascinating old building! Walking up the front porch steps felt like stepping back in time. The lobby is filled with historical photos, period pieces, antique furniture, and original wood doors and trim. There are old radiators, wood floors, live plants and a huge fig tree in the upper stairwell.

All of the rooms are uniquely decorated, including old iron bed frames (with comfy modern mattresses), '30s style sinks in the bedroom areas and claw-foot bathtubs. There's even a "shower down the hall," which I thought was pretty hilarious.

The place is so authentically old looking that it's almost surprising that they accept credit cards and have WIFI access. We were especially thankful for the WIFI because GM had to be able to play her iPad Scrabble games!

It's nice to know that if we happen to have extra guests, we don't have to offer them the couch or send them to Wenatchee. If you haven't been inside, I think it is about time you take a look!

Badger Mountain Treasure

Adam and I talk about hitting the ski slopes every year but, for some reason we never manage to get ourselves up to the Ridge. He has never skied or snowboarded and I haven't been on a pair of skis since I was 15. We've been considering learning how to snowboard together but getting started is a little intimidating.

We were aware that there was a little ski area on Badger Mountain but we didn't give it much consideration. We made the assumption that skiers had to hike their gear up the hill and we couldn't imagine that all that work would be worth a five-second downhill run.

Two summers ago, out of curiosity, we took a bike ride to the ski area to see just how small it really was and we were surprised to discover that it isn't just a bunny slope! There's actually a pretty good sized hill with rope-tows and even a little lodge! It looked like a great place for us to get started and we decided that we should definitely give it a try.

A year and a half later, we still haven't visited the Badger Mountain Ski Hill.

A few weeks ago, my dad called from Westport to tell me that he had heard about this great little ski area near Waterville. He had seen it on King 5's Evening Magazine and went on and on about how even he might consider skiing there. (He had a bad "human luge" incident at White Pass in the early '90s.)

As he described what he had just watched, I started feeling a little sheepish. Here we have a quaint, home-town, mini ski "resort," worthy of mention on the Seattle news, sitting practially in our back yard and we've never bothered to try it out! Unfortunately, the snow melted, prompting the closure of the ski area. It doesn't look like we're going to get anymore snow, so we'll probably have to chalk this up as another missed opportunity. Maybe next year!

You can watch the Evening Magazine feature on the King 5 website:
http://www.king5.com/on-tv/evening-magazine/Badger-Mountain-113078914.html

Plan ahead or suffer the gas bill!

Something I've learned since moving to Waterville: 40 minutes is a long drive when you forget something. It doesn't happen very often but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. I have implemented some strategies in an effort to counteract my absent-mindedness, such as sending myself e-mail reminders, creating electronic calendar alarms, writing notes on my hand and even placing things I need to remember in the middle of the doorway. Somehow, though, I still manage to forget important things and usually, by the time I notice, it is too late to go back home.

I've gone to work without my computer, had to attend rehearsals without my clarinet and/or music, driven all the way to Wenatchee without my purse and on more than one occasion, I've forgotten to unplug the iron.

Last week I had a completely new forgetful experience. Adam and I were kicking back at home, enjoying a lazy day off. We had a friend over for some computer games when I received a call. Caller: "Hi Angela! Are you coming?" Me: "Uh... what time is it?" (stalling) Caller: "It's about 4:10." At that moment it dawned on me. I had a rehearsal at 4:00! I was already late! Me: "Oh my gosh, I'm still in Waterville!! I'll be there in... uh... about 40 minutes!"

I can only assume that there are other commuters out there who can relate to this situation. I can't be the only one who's had to make a "quick" trip home from Wenatchee to grab something. Thank goodness Adam is nothing like me or there would most definitely be a lot more unnecessary commutes. Even this morning he had to remind me to grab my instrument so I could teach a lesson this afternoon. I think I'm hopeless.

Where's my snow?

I'm a little bummed out that the beautiful two feet of snow which had been covering Waterville since November, has dwindled so much so quickly! It is beginning to look like Spring and I'm not quite ready to let go of Winter.

I look at weather websites every day, hoping to see a glimmer of snow in the distance, but it really doesn't seem like it's going to happen. An old-timer told me recently not to worry. This is apparently referred to as "the January thaw" and it doesn't mean that winter is over. He said confidently, "there will be more snow."

I sure hope he's right. The warm weather has been very nice, I'll admit, but I could use just one more good snow.

Anyone with me? I bet those snowmobilers are!