Ketchum, ID: Day 1

I woke up on the plane that brought me back to the States. It was 8:00 in the morning when I got off the plane and found breakfast. There was a Dunkin' Donuts in the airport, so i seized the opportunity and bought a couple of donuts and a cup of coffee for $4. After breakfast, I got into the rental car that the airline provided me with, and I drove to Sun Valley Lodge in Ketchum.

Once I arrived, I made a special request for room 206 because it was once inhabited by Papa Hemingway. I checked in and paid my $129 visitor's fee. It was sort of eerie to be staying in the room where Hemingway stayed in the later years of his life. If I was superstitious, I would've thought that the room was haunted, but I never saw a ghost while I stayed there, and nothing terribly strange happened.

Later in the afternoon, I hit the slopes and gave skiing a shot. As it turns out, I am a terrible skier seeing as I spend more time on the ground than I do on my skis. After nearly two hours of letting gravity beat the tar out of me, I went back inside the lodge, and got in the hot tub to soothe my aching muscles. Afterwards, I sipped hot cocoa by the fireplace in the lobby, and I was in bed by 10:00 pm.