Andorra...and no, it's not a type of sweater

(Left to Right: "Crash" Lande, "Yeti" Perkins, Matt, "Chewie" Murray, & "Boose" Kellam) There are more guys in A-Flight--they were just 'lost' on the slopes!

Two weekends after we returned from our New Year's celebration in Finland, Matt and I re-packed our snow clothes and headed for Andorra. Matt really wanted to go on a "Martin Luther The King A-Flight ski trip" somewhere, so we decided to chart new grounds and go somewhere different. And different we found...Andorra. The principality of Andorra is tucked between the borders of Spain and France and is only less than 30 miles in diameter. Since Andorra is so small and there isn't really an airport there, our group of 12 (plus a pregnant wife and a 2-yr old)flew into Barcelona (Spain), rented cars, and drove 2.5 hours north.

We had such an amazing time in Andorra. The weather was perfect (in the 50s and sunny), the slopes we covered in powder, and since only us Americans celebrate MLtheK (no, it's not a typo--it is 'the King!') day--there was virtually no one on the mountains. Other than a few crazy Brits, we never had to share the lifts with anyone else. At lunch, everyone took off their coats, gloves, and hats and enjoyed the beautiful sunshine.

Given that our group was adventurous, we decided to take it upon ourselves to snowboard from border to border, meaning from France to Spain. It was a blast. The ski runs in Andorra allow people to do this, so it was a cool feeling to know that we had been to both borders.

After our first day out on the slopes, we ventured out into the various towns and found some fun markets and wine shops. We purchased 6 to 9 bottles of wine and brought them back to the hotel to conduct an A-flight Spanish wine tasting. The bottles ranged from .99 euro cents up to 20 euro and the tasting/testing was completely blind so no-one knew which bottle was which. It ends up, the .99 euro cent Don Simon BOXED wine won for the best wine. Who would have thought?

Matt and I have decided that Andorra has offered the BEST snowboarding in Europe. It beats the Swiss Alps, the Austrian Alps, the French Alps, and all the various mountains in between. We had a great time hanging out with friends and making fun memories that will last for years to come. We still joke about the Don Simon and A-flight has added it as its secondary mascot!