Mountain Meanings and Nautical Nuances

I have now lived in Palm Beach for a year. I noticed some words that are used differently in the salty life than in the snowy life. I have put together a small list of terms to help anyone transitioning between the two environments. Just remember, this is all in fun and is taken from my own perceptions and certainly not from Webster's.

	Mountain Definition	Beach Definition
Berm	A pile of snow	A pile of sand
Coast	To drift on a bicycle, without pedaling, down a mountain pass at high speeds	Where the ocean meets the land
Clutch	A really cute purse	80-120 sea turtle eggs laid in a hole by a mama turtle in the middle of the night
Feeder Bands	Catering companies working with musical touring groups	The outer most rings of nasty weather from tropical storms. These babies can dump lots of rain and I guess, they feed the storms
Glory Hole	A reference to a place in a river in which the fish of a lifetime can be caught by fly fishing	A box in the boat, hinged to open on top, where ropes and tools are kept
Ground Scatter	The stuff on trees that turns brown in autumn and then falls to the ground	Images on a boat’s radar that are meaningless
Guarded Beach	Security Guards on Beaches? What?	Life Guards keep beach goers safe from marine life, rip currents and hopefully their own dumb selves
Heave	What happens when you drink too much alcohol at high altitude	The vertical  rise and fall of a wave
Slip	Made of silk, it is a piece of clothing worn under a dress so the static electricity doesn’t make the skirt cling and people don’t see your underwear	Made of wood, it is where you park your boat so people can get on and off and so it doesn’t drift off into the ocean
Spaghetti Models	Super thin fashion models OR The plates of display pasta you see at the Eat-a-Lot Corral	Lines shown on the Ocean’s map to attempt to predict a storm’s track
Storm Surge	The mass exodus to the mountains before a big winter storm hits the mountains OR the propensity to call in sick when the ski conditions are perfect	The advancing winds and water levels of a tropical storm or hurricane. Strongest in high tide and is often the most dangerous part of the storm
Wax	A substance placed on the bottom of skis to make them faster on the snow	(I had to look this one up) A substance placed on the top of a surfboard so the surfer doesn't fall off

I'm sure I missed a few. If you have a classic one (or one you just made up today) leave a comment...I'd love to hear it. See you soon, Eli

For more information check out The Nautical Dictionary, The Glossary of Rock, Ice and Mountain Climbing and for a really different set of vocabulary, a list of Snowboarder Tricks.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Jack-in-the-box!

Ever seen one of these? Of course you have. If you grew up some time in the 70's or 80's you might even remember this exact one. Funny thing about Jack-in-the-Box is that: Some people love'em. Some people hate'em.

You know, you turn the handle, it plays a little tune and at some point, the scary little clown comes popping up sending an adrenaline rush through your entire body.

Well, in Colorado, at altitude, we don't need no stinkin' Jack-in-the-Boxes, 'cause we got PILLSBURY!!

Those impossible cans of yumminess. Ok, so just like a Jack, you hold on to the paper handle, turn the can and although there may not be any music, the scary little biscuits come popping out with a mini explosion, sending an adrenaline rush through your entire body.

Guess what? That has not once happened to me at Sea Level. I'm waiting. I'm waiting, and NO POP!

I've had to take matters into my own hands. Looks something like this:

After you hold the foil-icious paper and twist the can, lay it on the cutting board and give the seam a whack with a wooden spoon...problem solved with control.

Next time you are out west, go to the mountains and go big with your adrenaline rushes: Pillsbury!

13 Year Ice Cream Cake

Well, my daughter just turned 13 and I know she loves ice cream cakes. She let me know "especially ones from DQ!" I couldn't just let that lie...let DQ show me up. This cake was 13 years in the making.

I spent an hour on Pinterest looking for inspiration and found some inspiring ice cream concoctions. You can look here if you want to see my "yummy" board.

In then end, though, I winged it! I thought you might enjoy checking out the process. First, I knew it needed to be peanut butter and caramel for the feature flavors.

Crust (I love how this turned out...a bit soft...even when frozen...easy to eat that way.)
2 Cups mini oreos
1/4 Cup peanut butter
1/3 stick of butter, chilled
Add Oreos to a food processor and turn to crumbs. Add 1/4 Cup peanut butter and chilled butter and process until combined. It will be fairly soft. Throw it in a spring form pan that you've sprayed with a bit of food release such as Pam.

Layer 1

Add 1/2 Quart of Dulce de Leche ice cream or similar flavor to the cake. I like to use a rectangular ice cream and "slice" it with my spade to get thin pieces to add to the layers.
Chop 30 small caramel filled chocolates and add to the cake.

Freeze for 2 hours

Layer 2
Add 1/2 Quart vanilla ice cream.
Add peanut butter onto top (I used a no-stir, natural peanut butter that was at room temperature).

Spread the peanut butter. It may mix with the ice cream, which is ok...

Chop 25 small peanut butter cups and add them to layer.

Freeze for 2 hours

Layer 3
Add the final layer of vanilla ice cream and pour caramel sauce on top.
Freeze for 2 hours or more.

Before you serve it, remove from the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Place the cake on a serving plate and take off the spring form side. Depending on how thick the caramel is, it will run down the sides...yummy.

Cover with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel. ENJOY! We sure did!!!

Ingredients
2 Cups mini oreos
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1/3 stick of butter, chilled
1/2 Quart of Dolce de Leche ice cream
1 Quart vanilla ice cream
30 small caramel filled chocolates
25 small peanut butter cups
Small jar of caramel sauce
Whipped Cream