Breckenridge

A little catch-up from our holiday vacation...

The weather during most of the time we were in Colorado was bitterly cold, snowy, and windy -- not exactly ideal conditions for sightseeing and outdoor activities. It wasn't the greatest for driving, either. Several times we traveled by roads that were closed just a few hours later due to ice or blowing snow. Fortunately, Mike's brother Chris is an expert and confident winter driver. We did feel a bit like vampires, though -- when we went somewhere, we wanted to be sure to get back before dark, because then the roads were really likely to ice up.

Also fortunately, Chris and Jess's Breckenridge house is a great place to have to hole up in bad weather. If you tried to imagine the perfect mountain lodge, you'd probably come up with something much like their place -- cozy, but lots of big windows to see the snow and mountains; a basement for fun and games (in this case, Trivial Pursuit, foosball, and "jumbling towers" -- the generic version of Jenga, which is rather more challenging because the pieces aren't as smooth), and even a hot tub.

The house is at 10,700 feet, and the altitude did take some getting used to! (One great thing about Florida that I never appreciated before? The air is CHOCK FULL of oxygen!) Going up just one flight of stairs made my heart pound like it was coming out of my chest. I know I'm not in the best shape, but I'm not usually that bad! We had some altitude headaches as well, but Advil seemed to get rid of them fairly well.

Our nephew Cooper is absolutely adorable, but he's also a very serious child. If you're not 1) his mother, 2) a pretzel, or 3) his peek-a-boo book, you'll have a hard time getting a smile out of him. Grandpa usually did pretty well, though. I think the poor kid is in for quite a big shock when his little sibling arrives in a couple of months!


Downtown Breckenridge is a cute little town -- lots of unique shops and Victorian buildings. We went to the history museum there, which is small but quite interesting. Much of it has to do with how the mining industry that created the town also devastated the natural environment. Of course, these days Breckenridge is very environmentally conscious, because it attracts nature-loving people, and probably also because they know their tourism economy depends on it.

For New Year's Eve, we went to Happy Hour at a bar called the Whale's Tail, and had hot drinks. It was Chris and Jess's tenth anniversary, but they weren't able to make it out with the rest of us because Cooper took an extra long nap (and Jess's policy is to never wake a sleeping baby). So, instead they cooked us dinner at home. Perhaps not the most romantic 10th for them! (We also watched their wedding video -- kind of funny to see everyone a decade ago!)

The weather finally cleared up on our last day, and we were able to take a nice snowshoeing walk through the woods. A winter wonderland!