Colorado Vacation 2013

Day 4 we enjoyed a guided snow mobile tour up the mountain to the Great Divide.  It was SO FUN!!  This was my kind of playing in the snow.  We decided to just rent one snow mobile due to cost. :)  Michael drove and I was his passenger.  We started up the mountain and our guide was excited because we were headed into a snow storm.  WHAT?!  Yep, we got almost to the top and had to turn around and go back down because he was worried that some of us may get lost on the way down due to visibility.  It was snowing so hard we could hardly see our guide which was only 3 snow mobiles in front of us.  It was like fluffy, cold, white, cotton falling.  I kept sweeping it off of us to keep us as warm as possible, but it didn’t take long and we were covered again. 

I don’t have many pictures of this either because my hands were so cold I felt like my fingers were going to fall off!  HA!  When we got to the top of the mountain (or at least as high as we were allowed to go) I took my gloves off to get a few pictures.  Our handle bars were heated, but it just wasn’t enough to beat the snow.  It was COLD! 

There was mountians behind us but it was snowing so hard you couldn't see them. 

Our guide led us to a field and allowed us to all play on the snow mobiles.  When you get a bunch of men together on motorized toys, it can get a little CRAZY!  HA!  But everyone was careful not to wreck the machines because nobody wanted to pay for any damages.  We had LOTS of FUN!! 

Michael driving the snow mobile

Me posing for a picture...

When we got back we went to the Pizza Peddler for some lunch.  They were very busy…so we got it to go.  This was the best pizza ever!  If you ever go to Winter Park, Colorado I suggest you at least try the pizza from Pizza Peddler.

After lunch I decided to sit in the room, watch all the Mardi Gras celebration from the balcony and stay warm.  Michael went to ski for the afternoon before the slopes closed.  We both enjoyed our night together when the slopes closed at 4 pm.  We enjoyed our last night in the mountains by taking a stroll around the town in the snow.

 

We went back to the room and started packing up things that we didn’t need for the next morning because check out was at 10:00 am.  Our bus didn’t leave until 2:00 pm.  We had plenty of time to waste. 

Sunday February 10, 2013 was our last day in Winter Park.  We found a cute little restaurant in Winter Park called Goody’s.  Yummy to my tummy!  It was so good.  They had pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, and every crepe you could think of.  It was a family atmosphere restaurant that we enjoyed for several hours.  The restaurant had several games sitting around.  Michael and I started playing games for fun and to pass the time.

 

When it was time, we loaded up on the bus for our 2 hours and 30 minute ride down the mountain into Denver, Colorado.  I think the bus ride down was the worst thing about the trip.  It was long and boring.  We were also just ready to be home.  There is no place like HOME!  We boarded our flight for Nashville, TN and left the beautiful country side behind us. 

We had a great time in the mountains!              

Colorado Vacation 2013

Day 3 we started off on the small slope again because I was comfortable there.  After several times on the small slopes Michael was getting bored.  So I decided to go up the big mountain and ski down.  He talked me into eating lunch on the mountain at a little restaurant called Snoasis.  The only way up was the ski lift.  I have never been on a ski lift with skis on my feet that are about as long as I am tall.  I didn’t have any problems getting on the ski lift; it was the getting off that wasn’t so graceful!  Let’s just say Michael stood up and zoomed down the small hill while I was lying on the ground underneath the ski lift chair.  I thought the guy had stopped the ski lift and so I tried to get up.  Then I heard someone screaming at me, “STAY DOWN! STAY DOWN!”  He was a little late on giving me directions.  By this time I already had my ski pointed up and was trying to get to my knees.  I was in a very awkward position.  The ski lift was killing me as it was sliding over my back and trying to take my right leg with the ski that was up in the air.  My ski was under so much pressure from the ski lift chair it popped off my foot.  I think it tried to break my leg off at the knee.  I was pretty sure I might just die! HA!  Finally it passed over me and I was able to get up.  No thanks to the ski lift man.  HA! 

After pulling myself together from the fall, we headed down our first green slope before getting to Snoasis restaurant.  Michael was trying to coach me down the hill, but before I knew it I was out of control again.  I was flying by everybody and didn’t know how to stop or slow down.  I just remember praying, Lord, please let me stop!  There was a small flat spot at the end of the hill and a trail to the right and one to the left.  In the middle was an orange plastic fence, which I was scared of landing in.  When I hit that flat spot at the bottom of the slope I slowed down enough to stop.  Whew… Thank goodness I made it.  I was going to fast down the slope I had to wait on Michael to get to the bottom.  He was skiing normal with everybody else on the slope.  I was the only one speed skiing.  HA!    

We pushed ourselves over to Snoasis and had a nice little meal on the mountain top.  I am sorry I didn’t get any photos, but I was nervous that I would fall and break the camera.  So we didn’t have a camera with us. 

When we finished eating we got back on our skis and headed down the next GREEN slope called TurnPike.  The name should have told me to turn and go another way down because if you remember I cannot TURN!!!  I asked Michael about 500 times if he was sure that this was the easiest slope down.  He assured me that it was so we took off down the mountain.  I was doing fine until we got around the small corner and then it happened.  I was flooded with anxiety!  The TurnPike was a constant turn to the right that sloped down the mountain.  There was not a barrier on the edge of the mountain.  It was straight down into nothing but pine trees on my left.  I lost it (insert tears)!!! Michael stayed on my left side while we slowly went down the mountain.  As I was freaking out and slowly moving down the mountain the ski instructor and his class called the Bumble Bees (5 year old children) passed us and asked if we were ok.  Umm…Let me think…NO, I am not ok!!  HA!  But Michael told him we were fine, just moving very slowly.  He reassured us and kept going.  Yes, these 5 year old kids were skiing better than I was. 

I finally made it to the bottom of the mountain with Michael on my left side to make sure I didn’t get out of control and ski off the mountain side.  HA!  I was so happy to be back on flat ground.  Whew!  Skiing is stressful and hard work! 

After that I was done skiing for the day.  My shins were killing me from the ski boots that you have to wear and after my mini anxiety attack I was pretty sure I needed to rest!  HA!  I think the boots were worse on me than the actual skiing.  Michael let me rest for the afternoon and we made plans to go for a sleigh ride that night.

 

 

We had so much fun riding in the sleigh.  It felt like Christmas!  After the hour scenic tour in the sleigh, we went back to a small dining hall and ate a wonderful meal that was part of our package deal!  It was absolutely wonderful. 

 

 

It was a great ending to a very stressful day in the snow! 

 

Colorado Vacation 2013

Day 2, 3, and 4 was spent playing in the snow.  Day 2 was our first full day in Colorado.  We woke up without an alarm clock.  This is a big deal for me.  HA!  We got ready and went to get our skis.  I opted out of going to ski school because we only had 3 days to ski and because we had to pay for it.  I thought I don’t need ski school; I got this.  HA!  I thought I could teach myself by watching and practicing.  Ok… let’s get real, I needed ski school! 

The 1^st day wasn’t bad at all.  We stayed on the practice slopes where all the teachers and kids were.  So I got tidbits of information from just listening to the instructors teach other people.  Then I just practiced by going down the small ski slope.  (It was a very small hill)  I was doing pretty good, except I couldn’t STOP or TURN when I wanted.  I felt out of control!  I don’t like that feeling. 

I started to feel pretty confident on the small hill so I decided to go to a bigger slope.  It was still considered a practice slope, but I was told that all the green slopes (which are the easy slopes) were just like the 2^nd slope.  So here we go…

 

The first time down I did pretty well, except I went down WIDE OPEN!!  I was a little scared.  But it was fun so I did it again and again.  I started to try and practice how to turn while going down the slope, NOT a good idea.  I was headed down the slope and going straight for the ski lift which was going up the mountain.  I was starring straight at this woman.  I am sure she was thinking what is she doing?!  I thought I was going to take her out and ski right off the mountain.  I finally got going the other way and lost control.  The next thing I know I was sliding down the mountain on my shoulder and back.  When I finally came to a stop, Michael comes skiing up beside me to help me stand back up right.  Oh my goodness!!  I was a little embarrassed!  Sorry no picture! HA!

We skied a few more times down the small slope after my accident and then decided to go eat lunch and hang out in the room for a little while.  Only minor injuries this day! HA! 

After lunch we walked around the small town and took a ride on the gondola.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Look

I would also like to introduce my new blog face lift!!  I think it is very cute and it fits us perfectly.  There is a surprise coming soon that you may not want to miss that goes along with our new blog design. 

Hope everyone else enjoys the new look as much as I do!

Colorado Vacation 2013

Michael and I went on our first vacation together in 2 years without worrying about school work or assignments being due.  It was nice to just relax.  Well...not a lot of relaxing going on during this stressful vacation.  HA!

We traveled to Winter Park, Colorado to snow ski and see the country side.  Snow skiing was stressful for me, to say the least.  Michael loved it!  He has snow skied about 11 or 12 years ago.  Even though it was several years since he had skied, he picked it back up like a pro.  SEE...

This vacation was a surprise Christmas present for Michael.  I have been planning this trip for almost a year in advance.  It was horrible trying to keep it a secret, but well worth it in the end!  It was so much fun seeing his face light up.

Even though this trip was ultimately for Michael it was for me too.  We love to travel and see the country side, but have never been able to because of school and lack of time.  I was very excited to see the Rocky Mountains.  Almost my whole family has seen Colorado, but ME!  So I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.  Crazy, I know!  But Colorado really is something to see.  Just look at those mountains!! 

Michael and I spent the night in Nashville, TN Tuesday night because our flight left around 8:30 AM.  We had to be at the airport early for check in and security checks.  The flight was about 2 hours and 30 minutes.  Then we had the honor of riding a bus through Denver and up the mountain to Winter Park.  The bus ride wasn't that bad, just long.  It took us 2 hours to get to our destination.

Finally after we arrived we couldn't check in until 4 PM.  Ugh!!!  Well that didn't stop us.  We went straight to the hotel to drop off our bags and then to get our reserved ski lift tickets.  Our next stop was to rent our skis.  I was getting excited!  Oh, and did I mention that it was snowing!!  (insert scream)  It was SO pretty!  There was snow everywhere!

After we were completely ready for the next 3 days of skiing, we decided to take it easy in our room until day 2! That is when the FUN begins!