In the flurry of excitement that the announcement, “The college will be closed today” caused, I knew what was coming. 6-10 inches they said! Well… what we actually got was more like 3-4 inches with rain at the end (never trust the weathermen…), but most importantly, we got a break from classes for the day! What was really coming, despite the amount of snow we got, though a little more would have been appreciated Maryland, was sledding!!
Here at McDaniel, we seem to have a sledding tradition. Maybe it’s just my friends. Maybe it’s simply because we are taking a leaf out of Peter Pan’s book and don’t really want to grow up just yet. Maybe you’ve read Calvin & Hobbes and realize sledding is where one can do their best thinking (if you haven’t read this wonderful comic strip, do. It’s one of my favorites of all time). Or it could simply be the wonderful fact that McDaniel sits on top of a hill, which makes sledding an incredibly fun pastime on a snow day! Plus, it’s just fun.
Four years ago, my freshman year was the extremely exciting Snowpocolypse with some 3-4 FEET of snow. It was the best thing since summer vacation was invented: no school for a week, snowball fights everywhere, giant igloos in the Quad, hot chocolate, you get the idea. But this was when we first discovered the noble art of sledding at McDaniel, and specifically: sledding late at night on the golf course. This might sound strange at first, but by waiting until the evening after it’s been snowing all day you first of all- get more snow. Second, most people go during the day, so you (and your friends) get the hills all to yourselves at night! Plus, like tonight, there are generally some pretty sweet stars up on top of the Hill. Now, why the golf course? Hills! There is one section of the golf course, closest to the tennis courts, past the football and baseball fields which has a magnificent hill that goes down and down including some small hill that can get you some fantastic air. The only things you need to be careful of are the lake in the far left corner, and the occasional tree at the bottom. BUT! Steer carefully to avoid those, and you are in for a magnificent ride of speed and excitement.
Back in the olden days, we had dinning hall trays… which some people attempted to use to go sledding in (another tradition). As we no longer use trays in our dinning hall (sustainability, hooray!), we’ve since upgraded to actual sleds. And inflatable pool toys. You’d be surprised how well an inflatable floatie-chair works going down the hill- comfy too. Being given a snow day, we of course had to go out tonight with our usual gang and have a fantastic time and generally getting soaked with snow. Today was pretty wet snow, so while it made for excellent snow balls and snowmen, we had to seek out new sledding hill that hadn’t already become grass thanks to previous riders!
All in all, a fantastic night of remembering you are never too old to go sledding, make a snow man or get in an excellent snow ball fight- right in time for us seniors. Coming to McDaniel? Bring a sled.
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