Summer 2020: Colorado Springs

For Dan’s birthday in late July, we went on an overnight trip to nearby (about 90 minutes) Colorado Springs. The primary purpose of the trip was to do a bike ride down Pike’s Peak on Saturday morning. Our bike trip started at 7am, so we wanted to stay close to the excursion office, so that we wouldn’t be exhausted when navigating one of the tallest peaks in Colorado!

We left on a Friday morning and our first stop was the Bass Pro Shop in Colorado Springs. This Bass Pro Shop is huge and even has a bowling alley! Dan bought himself a birthday present; pair of fancy Maui Jim sunglasses.

Many activities, primarily indoor places like museums, were closed due to Covid. For example, The Peterson Air & Space Museum was closed.

We went to The Garden of the Gods, a very popular nature park. Unfortunately, we arrived midday and it was jammed. We struggled to find parking and felt overwhelmed by the crowds, especially since it seemed difficult to social distance. We drove through the park and enjoyed what we could from our car. It reminded me of Red Rocks Canyon in Nevada.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Colorado Springs. This hotel was a great base for us, just a fifteen minute drive to the bike excursion office and walking distance to local restaurants. The indoor pool was available by reservation and we picked an afternoon slot giving us an hour to swim. The covid restrictions limited the pool capacity to fifteen, but no one else came during our hour. It was a perfect first swim of 2020.

Phantom Canyon Brewery is one block from the Garden Inn and it provided a great spot for our first meal of the trip. We ate lunch on the upstairs patio, enjoying burgers, humus, beer, and cocktails. We both commented on how relaxed we felt, likely due to the alcohol and warm weather.

Downtown Colorado Springs is comprised of several blocks of boutiques and restaurants. It’s charming without being flashy. In particular, I enjoyed the local bookstore called Hooked on Books.

We had a treat for dinner. Originally, we had planned to keep it cheap and simple, but as we walked around downtown, we came across a restaurant called Mood Tapas Bar. We were woefully under-dressed, arriving in scruffy tee-shirts and shorts, but we were greeted with a friendly welcome and excellent service.

We ordered the Chef’s Tasting menu for a hundred dollars, which came with wine pairings. This was an absolute steal. The tasting menu was a delight of unique flavors and stunning presentations. It was hearty too, about nine different courses. The executive chef, TJ Curry, personally served our two desserts. He explained how their ingredients are sources from around the world. Chef Curry is young, in his early-twenties, but he will certainly be a name to watch for in the culinary world. This was one of the best meals that we have ever eaten and we will certainly return.

One final picture of Colorado Springs is this perfectly named tattoo parlor that was in a dodgy alley near our hotel.

Summer 2020: Breckenridge, Colorado

In this post, I’m combining two recent trips that we made to Breckenridge, Colorado.

Our first time in Breckenridge was an afternoon/evening visit that we made after spending the morning in Vail with our friends Julie and Ryan. On the short drive from Breckenridge to Vail it started raining. This was a welcomed break from the intense sunshine and heat of Vail, but it also meant that we were running for cover when we reached our destination.

We tried to have a “Linner”- late lunch/early dinner at the Breckenridge Distillery, but the wait was long, and we discovered that they lacked vegetarian options for Julie and Ryan. I hope to return to try their carnivore centric BBQ menu.

We went to a friendly dive bar called Northside Pizza for cheap beer and pizza. I had an amazing calzone that was cut into a pretty pattern.

We tried to go up on the chairlift, but they were not open until July 4th. The town was bustling with holiday visitors, and we poked around the various shops, buying cookies for dessert. Dan’s cookie sandwich had cream in the middle and was a gooey mess!

On the way out of town, we saw a vibrant rainbow over the lake in Frisco. Colorado has so many amazing rainbows.

Two weeks later, Dan and I returned to Breckridge for our first hotel stay during Covid. We booked at the Doubletree Hilton right near town. There were definitely changes to comply with Covid safety, including the removal of seating areas in the lobby, and the closure of the restaurants- no customary free breakfast. No Doubletree Cookie. Masks were mandatory and only one party was allowed in the elevator at a time. We missed the sign at the entrance, but they requested that only one person from a group visit the check-in desk. The pool was closed. Our room also had a sticker seal to show that it had been cleaned and sanitized, as part of Hilton’s “Clean Stay” program.

The hotel really felt just like a place to sleep, rather than a true relaxing vacation. I have to admit that I had trouble sleeping, because I had weird dreams that the bed might not have been sanitized enough. It has been over a month and we are fine. A big plus about the hotel is that it is very close to town. It was just a ten minute walk, so we could drink and enjoy ourselves.

We had BBQ at the Whiskey Star Smokehouse. The food was good, but rather expensive. The town was crowded, so service was spotty. I have noticed that the general chaos that restaurants experienced in the early summer, has calmed down. I know it wasn’t easy to adjust to Covid changes and the demand of people who were excited to get out of the house, but it seems like restaurants and stores are coping better than they were in early July. Things seem almost normal around Colorado now.

Breckenridge is a very beautiful town and it feels more down-to-earth than Vail. A little less fancy and snobby.

The next morning, we woke up early to go on the Breckenridge chair lift. The first lift to the main activities center was free and great if you just want a fun ride to the top. I recommend arriving when the lift opens, as it got very crowded, very fast.

At the top, we found several restaurants and activities, including multiple alpine slides and a miniature golf course. We paid twenty-three dollars each for a second chairlift ride. This one was on an open-air lift, rather than an enclosed gondola, and it offered a serene ride to the top ( about a 12-15 minute ride.)

At the top, we learned that we were in the White River forest. The area offered gorgeous views of the valley and many hiking trails. There was a very cool looking ropes course that was closed due to covid. We spent about twenty minutes enjoying the views and taking pictures, before heading down. The Breckenridge scenic chair lift was much better than the one at Vail and half the price.

We went back into the village for breakfast, where we discovered Semplice Cafe. Semplice Cafe has one of the best breakfast burritos that I’ve ever eaten and it is served with maple chipotle sauce. Delicious. The coffee and baked good are great too. Plus, the owner couldn’t have been friendlier. It was the best place we ate in Breckenridge, so good in fact, that we keep joking about driving there just for the burritos.

We chased the Semplice burrito with dessert at I Scream Gelato. The gelato was a perfect way to end our trip to Breckenridge.

Summer 2020: Vail, Colorado

As with a majority of people from around the world, our summer vacation plans were significantly altered. We normally have my step-kids with us during their summer break, but since they would have to travel from Sweden to the US, that got canceled. Not seeing them was definitely the most difficult part of 2020. However, we all had to look on the bright side that everyone is healthy, and even though we are apart, we all had a great summer. Next summer will be even better!

Dan and I kept our first pandemic trip simple with a day excursion to the local mountains. Vail is a two-hour drive from Littleton, and we had never been there. Although certainly known for its first-class skiing, Vail is also filled with summer activities. We are more summer people anyways, so this suited our style.

Our trip was on July 3rd and in efforts to beat holiday crowds, we set off at sunrise, grabbing a Starbucks en route. The drive is beautiful early in the morning and we arrived in Vail just as the town was waking up.

Vail is not inexpensive. We had sticker shock when we pulled into one of the parking garages and saw the price list. Being from Los Angeles, I’m accustomed to high prices, but Vail was a surprise.

Luckily, there was a free lot a little further down the road. I suspect the lot that we parked in is not normally free, but it was a promotion to entice people to visit during the pandemic. In any case, it was a great bonus that we won’t expect the next time we visit.

We were meeting our friend’s Julie and Ryan for breakfast at nine, but as we were so early, we had over an hour to explore the town. Vail was very quite and a majority of the shops in the village were not open, so we poked around and took pictures. The Vail village is enormous with a European vibe and colorful flowers absolutely everywhere.

Covid-19 safety measures were reinforced with signage and reminders. With the exception of eating and quick pictures, we kept our masks on. It wasn’t a big deal, until later in the day when it got very hot. We managed though. I was disappointed to see that many of the visitors in Vail were ignoring the safety measures, Our trip was before Governor Polis enacted our state-wide mask mandate, which has seemed to make things better.

The Vail Public Library had adorable critters on its roof.

And we found a restaurant that reminded us of our previous home in California.

Julie and Ryan arranged our breakfast at Vintage. It was a good thing that they made reservations, as it was booked-solid. The Covid restrictions on restaurant capacity means planning ahead to avoid disappointment.

Vintage is a lovely breakfast spot with excellent service and delicious food. It’s definitely higher-end, about thirty a person for an entree and coffee, no alcohol. It was a treat to eat here. This might sound strange, but the side salad was particularly delicious. Dan isn’t a salad fan and even he loved it.

After breakfast, we went on the Vail scenic chair lift. Normally, the chair lift has a variety of activities at the top, such as a alpine coaster, but due to Covid, those activities were closed. We could have gone hiking, but that was not the day we had planned, There was a restaurant at the top, but we were full from breakfast. So we basically rode it up, took a look around, and rode it down. It was forty-four dollars each, very steep for the experience. It was pretty at the top, but I’m not sure I’d recommend this or do it again. The lift at Breckenridge is much nicer and less expensive.

Our next stop was the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. The gardens were a long walk to the other side of the town (Vail does have a bus system, but we didn't feel safe cramming into a bus) and it was starting to get hot. I think I would enjoy visiting Vail in the early autumn, when the temperatures cool down, but before the snow arrives. In a contrast to the other things in Vail, the gardens were free. They are small and we finished in about twenty minutes, but the gardens are lovely and definitely worth a look, if you’re in the area. Also, next to the gardens is a massive park and playground, perfect for families.