COLORADO

First off, I just want to say that if you’ve never been to Colorado, it is a MUST! Here’s a little on how our trip went.

DAY ONE:

We flew Delta Airlines into Denver, Colorado & with the pandemic that we have going on, I thought they did an awesome job practicing social distancing, requiring masks & providing individual snack packs. Jeff & I felt as comfortable as we could flying during the current times.

When we arrived to Denver, we shuttled to pick up our car rental & from there we began our venture to Vail, Colorado. Our hotel was about 2 hours from the airport, so we had a pretty scenic drive to Vail. Just seeing mountains in the distance was breathtaking. We stayed at The Sebastian- it was beautiful. We got settled in & went for a stroll through the village. They had shops all throughout- it was super cute! We were tired from our travels, so we called it a night & got room service for dinner.

DAY TWO:

We started this day early. We got breakfast at The Sebastian- which was out of this world! Jeff & I like to do one savory dish & the other sweet so we can share & have the best of both worlds. He got the french toast & I got the eggs benedict- SO good!

Before we hit the hiking trails, we walked through the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens- the highest botanical garden in the US. This is when the altitude kinda hit us. Just walking, you could feel that it was harder to catch your breath. We laughed because it made us feel so winded while hardly doing anything. But the scenery had me in awe the whole time- mountains in the background, water running through the creek, all the colors from all the flowers.

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From there, we walked to the Gondola One & bought a trip up the mountain. It looked much more intimidating from a distance, but it honestly wasn’t that bad. When we got to the top of Vail Mountain, we chose to hike Meadows Loop. For first time hikers, it was challenging but in such a rewarding way. When you reach the end point, you stand there & take in the beauty. It was just the two of us & so peaceful. Again, the views are out of this world beautiful. Once we got back to our starting point, we got a quick lunch & headed back to Vail. We did some more exploring of Vail & got room service again. We celebrated 11 years together on this day so it was a special one for us. We enjoyed reminiscing the past & just thinking about how far we have come, not just as individuals, but as a couple as well- it’s crazy.

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DAY THREE:

Today, we packed up & were headed to Denver, with a few stops along the way in Colorado Springs. We got breakfast, again, at The Sebastian. This time, Jeff got the pancakes & I got an omelette- SO good! We stopped at a cute coffee shop- Loaded Joe’s, for some lattes before we hit the road. We decided we were going to take the scenic route to Pike’s Peak. I didn’t know too much about Pike’s Peak so I went into it pretty naive. Pike’s Peak is a 17 mile high mountain that tourists can drive up & down. I was the one driving & made it up to the 14 mile mark- surprisingly! It was then, that I realized driving up a mountain, with VERY few railings, was quite possibly my BIGGEST fear. We had to pull over & I took a moment to regroup. I made myself capture a picture because I knew for a fact, that I would never be back- haha! I will say, it really was a scenic ride up. If that is something you are into, it’s definitely worth it. But if you have a fear of heights, probably wouldn’t recommend it. After Jeff safely got us back to the bottom of the mountain, we set out for our next stop- Garden of the Gods. It was another beautiful stop. We walked through, snapped some pictures & took in its beauty. At that point, we had been driving for quite a while so we were ready to head to our hotel in Denver.

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We stayed at Le Meridien, which is located right downtown Denver. The hotel was very modern & attracted more of a younger group. It ended up being a great stay. We got situated there & headed to Boulder- it was about 30 minutes from Denver. I will say, if we had to pick our favorite city in Colorado, it was definitely Boulder. We grabbed dinner at Bar Taco, which was another good find! We ordered some street tacos, shared some Mexican street corn & we each got a Mexican coke. It’s located on Pearl Street. It was a Friday night so it was pretty packed. People were out to eat, there was live music- it was a happening place!

DAY FOUR:

For our last full day in Colorado, we started our day early. We drove back to Boulder for breakfast. We ate at Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, which was AMAZING! Again, we did the whole sweet & savory thing. Jeffrey got the “pancake flight” which came with three different flavored pancakes & I got the “benny duo” which came with half an order of two styles of an egg benedict. After we devoured that, we were headed for more hiking- this was my favorite trail we hiked! On our way to The Rocky Mountain National Park, we stopped at the Stanley Hotel. The Stanley Hotel is one of the most haunted hotels in the US. It was the inspiration used for Stephen Kings “The Shining”. Jeff was looking forward to this; places like this always grab his attention. Once we got to The Rocky Mountain National Park, we took a shuttle to the Emerald Lake Trail. This trail was 3.4 miles round trip. It took us about 4 hours to complete. On this trail, we also passed by Nymph Lake & Dream Lake. I know I’ve said this a lot but when we got to Emerald Lake, it was BEAUTIFUL! The hike was relatively hard but once you’re up there, it’s the most rewarding feeling. We took a ton of pictures because it was just so breathtaking & picture perfect! Definitely worth hiking up!

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When we got back to our starting point, we stopped in Boulder, again, on our way back to our hotel & got a quick bite to eat at Pizza Colore. They sell pizza by the slice so, we got a few slices. Jeff was craving something sweet so we stopped at Ben & Jerry’s to get a scoop of ice cream- he was in heaven. We headed back to the hotel, got a good nights sleep & packed up for our trip back home.

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DAY FIVE:

We woke up real early & planned to grab some doughnuts from Voodoo Doughnuts. They are made fresh daily & have a huge cult following based on their unique & humorous approach they have with their doughnuts- a must try! From there, we headed to the airport to go home.

Colorado was one for the books! We will definitely be back. Being in the mountains & seeing the beauty that Colorado has to offer was just unreal. Until we meet again, Colorado.

The Sebastian Hotel: https://www.thesebastianvail.com

Loaded Joe’s: https://www.loadedjoes.com

Le Meridien Hotel: https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/denmd-le-meridien-denver-downtown/

Bar Taco: https://bartaco.com/location/boulder/

Snooze A.M. Eatery: https://www.snoozeeatery.com

Stanley Hotel: https://www.stanleyhotel.com

Pizza Colore: http://www.pizzacolore.com