After years of hearing and wondering about Colorado, some friends invited us to visit Vail for the Thanksgiving long weekend. My husband I jumped at the chance and thought it would be fun to share a house or cabin in the Rocky mountains with some friends. We booked a home on airbnb and were set for whatever snow activities and lounging we can take in over the holiday. Skiing was on our radar, but in the end we didn’t ski for a few reasons. Most importantly, we couldn’t ski because the beginner runs were closed as there was not enough snow last week. We have been up to Whistler, BC several times and actually never skied there either. We just love to hang out in the village, stare at the mountains, sip on hot chocolate, people watch, and check out little interesting boutiques.
In Vail, we visited Beaver Creek, Vail Village, and Lionshead Village. Of the three, my top choice for just perusing through is Vail Village. All three have their own little charm though and if you travel like my husband and I do (short and sweet), you have ample time to visit all three in one day! All three offer ice skating, so if you do not plan to ski and you want an easier less expensive activity, this is it.
On Saturday morning, we left Vail at 7:30 am to take a drive to Aspen. The road trip itself was spectacular. The views of the mountains and the design of the road as it curved between mountains and the tunnels we passed through were all breathtaking. We arrived at about 9am and the town was quieter than we expected, which was likely because there was not a ton of snow there either. The shops are in the town with Aspen Mountain right behind everything. Here you will high end shops and luxury stores mixed in with local shops catered to travelers and local snow athletes. All the stores were scheduled to open at 10am, except for a few cafes. We discovered a cute place called, Aspen Overeasy (thanks to Yelp!). We both loved our breakfast and the hospitality. I highly recommend this place. We spend only an hour in Aspen as we dashed to get back to Vail to fly out at 12:30. It was jam packed morning and we covered exactly what we wanted.
Another moment to Thank God for the beauty in the world, the light, and life.
Travel n Inspiration 