An early start on Tuesday meant an arduous drive through Atlanta to the airport. Gina's dad kindly drove Paul, Gina, Traci and Rod through traffic the entire way. Slow trip but we got to the airport at a perfect time. Check-in and meeting the rest of the crew at the gate was a breeze. The flight to Denver was more work than vacation, especially flying over the incredibly flat and boring American Heartland. Spirits were up at the airport, and after collecting bags and Mini-vans, it felt like the vacation was about to start for everybody.
A stop on the outskirts of Denver before climbing the mountains afforded us time to have margaritas at On The Boarder which made it easier to stomach the $500 grocery bill incurred at Big 'Sooper'. We stopped at the liquor store for the standard stockpile, plus some roadies for the drive up over the continental divide. Wine out of a personal cask - yum! Weather was good and we had a safe drive to the cabin.
Tuesday night was a relaxing casual affair. We all snacked, drank and sat in the hot tub. A run through the snow in bathers to create a snow angel did result in mysterious cut up shins (from the ice?) for Rod. The snow angel in the backyard remained for the rest of the trip.
Wednesday was our first day of skiing. The gondola that took us up the mountain was only a short walk from house - prime location. Even with no crowds for the entire day, the equipment rental was a slow experience. Traci's first chair loading experience resulted in a near face plant and a stopped chair lift. Practice makes perfect. Traci and I stuck to the greens with Kat. It was an excellent re-introduction to skiing as it had been a couple of years since Lake Tahoe out west. Ski conditions were good but it was bitter cold at the top of the mountain and riding the chair lift. The cold air was sapping energy out of all of us.
On Thursday, Traci took intermediate lessons for the whole day. Rod ventured over the Peak seven which had no greens. In hindsight they were easy blues on that peak, but it was an excellent feeling knowing the greens were too easy. Rod did take a path down around the trees that turned out not to be a path and ended buried in last nights powder. It took Vince and his Man Purse of resources to dig him out. Today seemed even colder. Some beers at lunch made the skiing a little easier, maybe even forget the cold for a little while, but the cold did us all in. We had to pack up before close and head back home to the fire and hot tub. That night we all went to Fatties and ate way to much pizza, but at least we had lots of leftovers for the next few days.
Friday blessed us with excellent weather - it even approached 32 Fahrenheit. For something a little different, we headed down to Keystone to meet up with some of Gina's friends. Keystone was a fantastic set of runs. Very different from Breckenridge, with most of the slopes being more difficult than what we beginners were used for the last couple of days. Before lunch and with some boot mishaps for Traci we only got to do the beginners runs that was 3 and a half miles long! It was fun but unchallenging and somewhat crowded. For lunch we took the gondola to another peak to eat at the Outback Lodge. It was a better if not pricier lodge than Breckenridge.
After a full belly, we all went as a group to try some blue runs on the is peak. Started easy, but Traci and Rod were up for their biggest challenge yet. The blues seemed to be cliffs at some points. Thankfully the group was very patient as we slowly made our way down by at first falling and sliding, but with some help we both managed to ski down. It was exhausting tackling those slopes, but we both learned a tremendous about skiing, and was the one moment of the trip that we both went up a grade in our abilities.
The only unfortunate incident of Keystone was on the final run. With sore legs, Rod decided to split from the main group and take the long but easy green back to the base. On the final turn back to the main base, Rod went the other way. It wasn't until he got to the bottom, that he realized he was at another peak and the lifts were closed so he couldn't go back up the mountain and come back down the right way. With his phone not working, he waited for a bus to return to the main village. Almost an hour later, he returned to a crying Traci and supportive Kat and learned of them calling ski patrol (yes, he has black pants and a red/black/grey jacket and goggles - have you seen him?). Re-unitied, we all returned to Breckenridge.
Saturday was another excellent day of weather. We were very tired, but determined to make the best of the trip. Traci and Rod left the house first to get in line for ski rental. The first trip down the slopes was hard, but the second one was almost torture. We could feel all the previous days of skiing in our legs. Being Saturday we were also battling crowds for the first time which did not improve our mood. Before calling it quits, we went to the lodge to have a couple of beers and Advil. The rest did us good. We managed to fit in another couple of runs before lunch. We met everyone else, had some sandwiches (and beer of course) and hit the slopes again. It turned out to be one of the best afternoons. Not sure if it was the beers, or knowing that it was possibly the last time we would get to go skiing for a while, but all the runs were fun and relaxing for the remaining of the afternoon. Instead of going home early in the morning, we ended up closing the place down.
Sunday was a much deserved rest day. Even though the weather was good, we had no doubt about giving the skiing a rest. Before Superbowl Sunday started, we walked into town. Looked around the mostly tourist trap shops and had a quick look at the Ice Sculptures. Though it proved very difficult to find, we had a great and cheap lunch at My Thai. Little hole in the wall with cheap eats and cheap drinks. Another thing that is surprisingly difficult to find in Breckenridge is a good cup of joe.
Before the game started, Traci and I did a quick grocery store run to buy what we now know as a Colorado law, weak weak 3% beer. They can only sell full strength at bars. Note to self: Never buy beer at a store in Colorado again. Would explain why we had so much trouble getting drunk of that stuff. Superbowl was surprisingly fun. Ended up having allot of shots for some personal violation rule that was supposed to be rare. What is rare is people like me that do not know the sport to take advantage of. Doesn't matter, the football was fun.
Monday and the return to Atlanta. The weather was still perfect so no trouble getting over the mountains back to Denver. Second wind at the airport led to many pre-flight drinks. Excellent way to end the trip.
