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January 30, 1947
Dear Mother and Daddy,
Now comes the story of my skiing week-end. I am sure that if I live to be a hundred I shall never have such a wonderful time. I know that I have said that before, but I am absolutely convinced that this last one was it. We drove up Friday afternoon about three in the afternoon, and got up there about nine. We drove up with Ned Gates. About ten girls from the house went. Ruth, Dilys Jones, Sally McAllister, Jeanne Maynard, Phyllis Talmage, Jean Crowell, Carol Chase, and me, and then a B. J. Elliot and Frances Smith, who don't live in the house but whom we know quite well. Of course there were some boys up there that we knew too, including Art and some of his friends and some S A E's. In fact about one hundred and fifty people from Stanford go up every wee-end. We sang all the way up, and by the time that we got there we were so hoarse we could hardly ask for our reservations. We ate on the way up at a place called Mereed Tiny's at Merced, and we all had hamburger steak, a little tradition we established for three nights in a row. After we got there we went over to the Awahanee Hotel and used their loby, but since no one else was using it, we didn't think they'd mind. It is the most beautiful hotel I have practically ever been in - the loby is very large and high and there are two huge fireplaces at each end and fabulous chairs that are all around. We didn't stay there too long though because we were quite tired and so retired to our little cabin for the night. I was in a little cabin with Ruth, Jean Crowell, and B. J. Elliot. It wasn't as nice to stay there as in the Dorm. because there wasn't any stove excpet a wood stove. But I didn't have much trouble because when I got there on Friday night, Ruth and Jean had the fire going, and in the morning B. J. had to make it because her bed was right by it.
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Saturday morning we got up early and had breakfast and went right up to Badger Pass. We skied for about five hours, and I really feel as though I learned a lot. The snow was a little icy since it haddn't snowed in quite a while. But I figured out that it was really safer to ski on icy snow because even though you are apt to fall down more, there isn't as much of a chance to get hurt because there isn't enough to dig your skis in. Anyway Ruth and I started out skiing together, but in the end we were skiing with all the boys. There was only one really good place to ski and they all had to ski there. Ruth and I felt just wonderful to be able to ski with them because all the other girls had to either take lessons or go on the beginner's hill. Ruth hit it off quite well with a boy named Buck Brownson, who is a very good friend of Art's, and the four of us had the most fun skiing together you can possibly imagine. We must have gone up and down the hill fifty times. Buck isn't really a very good skier; Art is pretty good, but neither of them were good enough so that they were slowed down any by our skiing with them in fact we sometimes reached the bottom before they did.
That night we had a little party at his little place just outside the park gates. I bet there were more Stanford people there together than anywhere down on campus. They didn't have any normal records there, but just schottisches, and polkas, and a Virginia Real, and a little place called Put Your Little Foot which had a special little dance all its own. We did these little dances all evening, especially the last one, and every one danced with everyone else; and it was just the most fun you can possibly imagine. Sandy Power was there with a guitar, and he played anything anyone wanted to hear; everyone sang along with him. And then of course there were all the local characters around the place.
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We got up fairly late the next morning - that is late for a skiing morning; we checked out and got the car all packed ready to go home. Then we went up to Badger Pass and skied from twelve to four. It was so much fun skiing up there and there were such nice and interesting people with us that I just hated to leave. We left from Badger at four and came right home, getting here about ten o'clock. We ate on the way. We came down the mountain just about sunset and it was simply beautiful. There was snow all around on the ground and trees, and the sky was filled with low misty clouds that were all pink and purple. I think that I slept most of the way home - I was so tired, but I don't think I had ever made myself tired so nicely. It was the most perfect way to spent a week-end that I can possibly imagine.
Love to all,
Mary
