During Spring Break, I went to Colorado with one of my good friends, Angie, and we visited one of my good friends from college, Trixie. We had a blast! We went snowshoeing and snow tubing. I still haven't gotten up the courage to attempt snowboarding again or try to learn to ski. One day though I will.
Our Monday started with an afternoon flight to Denver. It was perfect because we didn't have to be up super early and we could finish running errands if we needed to, which I needed to because I spent my Sunday sick on the couch (blame it on dirty 5 year olds that have their hands in their mouth all day long even when told to remove them from their mouth because they are spreading germs). We landed and Trixie was there to get us. We went home and picked up her husband Ryan and also got a tour of their very cute little house. I love it! They have spent some time remodeling and they have done a wonderful job of making it a perfect home for the two of them. I love that they were so gracious to let us stay there with them even though they have very little space for guests. They blew up the air mattress and gathered all the extra pillows they could for us :)
That night we went to the Cherry Cricket. I think that was what it was called. It was a neat little burger place that I highly recommend. It was delicious but if you get the fries, one order is enough for at least 2 people. I had a ton left over. They did card everyone that went in so I didn't take offense when they asked for my ID. I know that one day I will be so grateful that I look very young for my age, but now, I wish I looked somewhat close to my age.
Tuesday morning we got up somewhat early....well about 7:30am. We got ready and got all of our snow gear and headed out. We first made a stop by a fabulous Denver breakfast hot spot. It was called Snooze. There are a few in the area. I had this french toast that was to die for! It had this gooey maple nutty goodness on top. It was so good that Angie and I ended up going back on Thursday before our day in Denver. So after breakfast we headed for the mountains. Trixie took us to a beautiful location near Copper Mountain called Clinton Gulch. I don't know if that is the given name for the place or the name they made up but it was beautiful. The snow was just like I remembered. We put on our show shoes and headed out. Snow shoeing is not for the out of shape. Yes, I am out of shape and yes I managed just fine but it was tough, especially when I fell in the snow and tried to put my hand down to get up and would just sink again. Or how about when my snowshoe came off and I couldn't stand. I had a few difficulties. We kept trekking until we got to a small little hill. That's where we decided to stop for lunch. We packed lunches...correction! Trixie packed our lunches. She made a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich :) We sat and enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us. It was so peaceful! We eventually headed back down and to the car. By the time we got back to Trixie's it was time to sit and relax a bit before enjoying some delicious dinner. I would like to mention that I picked up a new recipe while I was there. It is a super easy crock pot meal that I have already made once and I foresee making again in the future because it was #1 easy and #2 delicious! We were wiped out that night.
The next day we were on our own. Trixie had to work so she had one of her friends come pick us up so we could be at the rental car place at 9am. We got there and had the choice of a Versa or a Chrysler. I don't know cars so I didn't care. We decided that it would be best if Angie drove and I navigated because she doesn't read maps too well. I'm a map reader by nature so I had no problem figuring our way around especially with the trusty iPhone. The only problem is I should have remembered to bring my car charger. Anyways, that day we headed off to Keystone. I have been there before but to snowboard and I have horrible memories from that so I try to forget about them. We didn't make tubing reservations until we got there because we weren't really sure when we were going to get there but it worked out fine. We had to wait maybe an hour. It wasn't a bad wait and it definitely allowed for some fun people watching. So tubing was a lot of fun! We had an hour to tube and it was a perfect amount of time. It actually got hot up there tubing. You could do single runs or doubles or up to four people but obviously we kept it at 2 people since it was just us. When we were done there we headed over to Breckenridge. I'm pretty sure the place was over populated with Texans. They flock to that place apparently. It's a cute little town with lots of little shops that I loved. We were there for maybe an hour or so. Half of our time we spent in line at a little crepe hut. The guys had to have been making a killing on their crepes. The line was forever long and we waited. They were absolutely wonderful and had us googling crepe places in Denver the next day. So after our walk around town we were ready for our non-trafficky ride home. It was a nice drive followed by a quick fast food dinner and a nice quiet rest at home.
The next day was our last day. We spent the day at Snooze, REI, and 16th Street Mall.....all lovely places. We made our way back to the airport early and got to people watch and such. We had exit row seats on the way home and thankfully didn't have to step up and do anything. FYI, if you ever fly with a cold, BEWARE. Apparently you aren't supposed to. My ear got extremely stopped up on our descent down and I was in a lot of pain. It has just recently been relieved of all the pressure and I think my hearing is back to normal.
Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and great practice navigating for Amazing Race one day :) I even used a copy of a paper map to get us around at one point. It was perfect practice because I'm pretty sure they don't allow iPhones on Amazing Race!
I can't wait for some more beautiful Colorado time.....and of course fun times with Trixie. She is one of the best hostesses our there that I know. Oh and I can't forget her husband Ryan and their dog Nigel!
