Colorado Vacay
Hey Y'all! We just got back last night from a fun, four day trip to Colorado. We visited Megan's sister (my sister-in-law, still getting used to saying that) and her fiance Mark (future brother-in-law). They live in Silverthorne, CO, which is about 1.5 hours west of Denver and near Breckenridge. We had a great time experiencing the wonderful views Colorado has to offer. Quick travel tip - the Denver Airport (DIA) is super far from Denver itself, and the airport is massive!
Emily and Mark just bought a gorgeous house with great backyard views including the foxes we saw three different times. It was great to be their first guests to stay with them and to see the life they've started to build together in Colorado. We can't wait for their wedding next summer! We also met a bunch of their friends and co-workers, which was super fun. They all embody the true Colorado lifestyle - being out in nature, outgoing, and genuine, along with some stereotypes like long-haired males, and Patagonia apparel. It was great meeting them and doing their normal events.
We also got to see Megan's cousin Katie and her brand new fiance, Ray, and some of their friends and family. Ray surprised Katie for her birthday with a stay in an AirBnB very close to Emily and Mark's house. We got together with them on Friday night for Katie's birthday and had a great time. Unfortunately, weather didn't work out on Saturday for the boat rental Ray had planned.
Colorado has great views, but does pose some challenges with the altitude. Brief exercise can catch you out of breath. I didn't think this would really matter, but was reminded of this when doing anything from a flight of stairs to a short hike. Summit County, where we stayed, has the highest average altitude of any county in the United States, ranging from 7,947-14,270' above sea level - fun facts from our driver on our airport shuttle.
Wednesday: We took an afternoon hike near their new house and checked out Angry James Brewery in the evening. We also played some Five Crowns, a new-to-us card game that 'isn't over until the Kings go wild!'
Thursday: We did Yoga at RMU, which is a bar and bike repair and rental store. Find that in another state. The yoga was on the back patio astroturf. After yoga we strolled downtown Breckenridge for coffee and breakfast, cookie shop and sightseeing. Next we went up the gondola to Breckenridge ski area for a great view and a brew. It started to rain/lightning so the gondola was shut down, but they immediately had busses to take us back down. Then we went to find this 'Troll' art structure. We weren't totally sure where it was so we parked, hiked and eventually got some help from a jogger for better directions. I'm not super into art, but this was really cool to see. It took the artist and a team of 5-8 volunteers per day, roughly 56 hours to build on site. After the troll hike, we went back to their house to relax a bit, shower up and head to a concert in the park that had about 1,500 people in attendance with a great band. Thursday was packed full of fun activities.
Friday: We were a little slower moving Friday. We headed over to Copper Mountain, for Mountain Melt - Mac n Cheese which is amazing! We met some of Emily's friends at HighSide Brewery, and they came back to see the house and play some Five Crowns. At night Katie & Ray showed up for the birthday surprise party - pizza, beers, and lots of very nice photos.
Saturday: We visited the cousins again for a bit before heading to Denver. We were a little early so we did the touristy things of visiting VooDoo Doughnuts, and another photo in Downtown Denver at Larimer Square.
When Megan and I travel, we love the earliest flight out of town to have a full day on arrival. Coming home, we typically try to find the cheapest flight and adjust our day accordingly - having an extra day there, or being home to relax after we get back. Our Milwaukee departure was at 5:45 am and we landed at 7:15 am Mountain time which was great. Coming home, we had a 5:50 pm departure so we got to hang out a bit on Saturday before coming home.
Our flight home was something else! We almost always fly Southwest because we love their customer service, ability to change flights (transfarency) and the amount of flights out of Milwaukee. Their staff last night was great, but we were a bit delayed due to weather. There was more movement from passengers (bathroom, luggage, etc) before the plane took off than during entire flights that I've experienced. There was a dog in a carrier in the row behind us. What we didn't realize was that it wasn't in the cage like rules require. When she was told to put her pet back in the carrier, she informed the flight attendant "That is not a pet. And I know this drink ticket is expired, but I'll use it for a Jack and Sprite." The flight attended replied, "Oh," then took the ticket and didn't address the person not following rules. I'm sure this was in response to the amount of recent support-pet incidents on flights. It was a test of his patience and decision-making and we thought he made a wise one as this lady was ready to make a scene. Her "non-pet" also 'didn't feel well' and needed to use the bathroom. Whoa.
We met our seat-mate (she looks like an Angel) next to Megan. Actually, she slept before we took off and most of the flight, woke up to take someone else's Sprite she didn't order, and then promptly ordered a Laguintas while reading/dozing off. Pretty solid flight for her. We felt like we needed to get a selfie with her! While none of these flight details were necessary, we thought it was funny and worth sharing as everyone has had those types of flights. Which airlines do you fly and why? Comment below!
Quick financial portion - we had budgeted a total of $500 for our trip including everything but flights and came in $120 under budget. It was great to have a place to sleep, which is often a huge expense. Most of our expenses were at restaurants, but this also included an airport transfer and our parking near Milwaukee airport. While we were there, Megan and I had brief expense conversations about purchases, but because we knew what we had budgeted in advance, we had flexibility on the trip and there was no guilt coming home.
We had a great time visiting Colorado, family, and meeting new friends. We're excited to go back in June, 2019 for Emily & Mark's wedding. Emily's still working on their hashtag.
Emily and Mark just bought a gorgeous house with great backyard views including the foxes we saw three different times. It was great to be their first guests to stay with them and to see the life they've started to build together in Colorado. We can't wait for their wedding next summer! We also met a bunch of their friends and co-workers, which was super fun. They all embody the true Colorado lifestyle - being out in nature, outgoing, and genuine, along with some stereotypes like long-haired males, and Patagonia apparel. It was great meeting them and doing their normal events.
We also got to see Megan's cousin Katie and her brand new fiance, Ray, and some of their friends and family. Ray surprised Katie for her birthday with a stay in an AirBnB very close to Emily and Mark's house. We got together with them on Friday night for Katie's birthday and had a great time. Unfortunately, weather didn't work out on Saturday for the boat rental Ray had planned.
Colorado has great views, but does pose some challenges with the altitude. Brief exercise can catch you out of breath. I didn't think this would really matter, but was reminded of this when doing anything from a flight of stairs to a short hike. Summit County, where we stayed, has the highest average altitude of any county in the United States, ranging from 7,947-14,270' above sea level - fun facts from our driver on our airport shuttle.
Wednesday: We took an afternoon hike near their new house and checked out Angry James Brewery in the evening. We also played some Five Crowns, a new-to-us card game that 'isn't over until the Kings go wild!'
Thursday: We did Yoga at RMU, which is a bar and bike repair and rental store. Find that in another state. The yoga was on the back patio astroturf. After yoga we strolled downtown Breckenridge for coffee and breakfast, cookie shop and sightseeing. Next we went up the gondola to Breckenridge ski area for a great view and a brew. It started to rain/lightning so the gondola was shut down, but they immediately had busses to take us back down. Then we went to find this 'Troll' art structure. We weren't totally sure where it was so we parked, hiked and eventually got some help from a jogger for better directions. I'm not super into art, but this was really cool to see. It took the artist and a team of 5-8 volunteers per day, roughly 56 hours to build on site. After the troll hike, we went back to their house to relax a bit, shower up and head to a concert in the park that had about 1,500 people in attendance with a great band. Thursday was packed full of fun activities.
Emily & Mark
Friday: We were a little slower moving Friday. We headed over to Copper Mountain, for Mountain Melt - Mac n Cheese which is amazing! We met some of Emily's friends at HighSide Brewery, and they came back to see the house and play some Five Crowns. At night Katie & Ray showed up for the birthday surprise party - pizza, beers, and lots of very nice photos.
Saturday: We visited the cousins again for a bit before heading to Denver. We were a little early so we did the touristy things of visiting VooDoo Doughnuts, and another photo in Downtown Denver at Larimer Square.
When Megan and I travel, we love the earliest flight out of town to have a full day on arrival. Coming home, we typically try to find the cheapest flight and adjust our day accordingly - having an extra day there, or being home to relax after we get back. Our Milwaukee departure was at 5:45 am and we landed at 7:15 am Mountain time which was great. Coming home, we had a 5:50 pm departure so we got to hang out a bit on Saturday before coming home.
Our flight home was something else! We almost always fly Southwest because we love their customer service, ability to change flights (transfarency) and the amount of flights out of Milwaukee. Their staff last night was great, but we were a bit delayed due to weather. There was more movement from passengers (bathroom, luggage, etc) before the plane took off than during entire flights that I've experienced. There was a dog in a carrier in the row behind us. What we didn't realize was that it wasn't in the cage like rules require. When she was told to put her pet back in the carrier, she informed the flight attendant "That is not a pet. And I know this drink ticket is expired, but I'll use it for a Jack and Sprite." The flight attended replied, "Oh," then took the ticket and didn't address the person not following rules. I'm sure this was in response to the amount of recent support-pet incidents on flights. It was a test of his patience and decision-making and we thought he made a wise one as this lady was ready to make a scene. Her "non-pet" also 'didn't feel well' and needed to use the bathroom. Whoa.
We met our seat-mate (she looks like an Angel) next to Megan. Actually, she slept before we took off and most of the flight, woke up to take someone else's Sprite she didn't order, and then promptly ordered a Laguintas while reading/dozing off. Pretty solid flight for her. We felt like we needed to get a selfie with her! While none of these flight details were necessary, we thought it was funny and worth sharing as everyone has had those types of flights. Which airlines do you fly and why? Comment below!
Quick financial portion - we had budgeted a total of $500 for our trip including everything but flights and came in $120 under budget. It was great to have a place to sleep, which is often a huge expense. Most of our expenses were at restaurants, but this also included an airport transfer and our parking near Milwaukee airport. While we were there, Megan and I had brief expense conversations about purchases, but because we knew what we had budgeted in advance, we had flexibility on the trip and there was no guilt coming home.
We had a great time visiting Colorado, family, and meeting new friends. We're excited to go back in June, 2019 for Emily & Mark's wedding. Emily's still working on their hashtag.
I am most definitely the angel on the flight... sleeping through pretty much every second. Nice work on the budget!! I have yet to come away from a vacay with that kind of discipline. Colorado looked awesome!
ReplyDeleteI sleep on most flights too! This pic was before we took off! It certainly takes discipline, but it helps when you do things in the evening like playing cards or going to free concerts instead of bar-hopping, hiking, etc.
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