First, Happy Birthday to my fantastic sister-in-law, Jenny, today!! Hope it’s a GREAT one!
Continuing on with the Aspen adventures…
We got up on Saturday and, feeling adventurous, decided to go on a little hike before our spa appointments at the St. Regis. Our helpful concierge told us about an easy hike right up the mountain that was only about 3/4 of a mile. Perfect! We headed out and, although it was a little uphill, had fun. We were quite proud when we reached what we thought was the summit of the trail…
The views were fantastic!
At this point we were apparently supposed to walk down the dirt road to the bottom of the mountain…something our helpful concierge didn’t tell us make clear. So, we just kept walking on the trail across the mountain…
until it became clear that we had missed a turn.
After a few good laughs, we finally found a path that snaked us down to the bottom of the mountain. When we exited the path, imagine our surprise when we saw there was a whole finish line set up just for us!
ha! It was a half marathon and the path literally dumped us out right at the finish line. I think the winning runner was just a few miles back…glad we didn’t get in his way!
After our (longer than expected) hike we had a great morning at the spa. We then rode the gondola up to the top of Aspen Mountain.
That afternoon, we went over to Aspen Highlands and took the bus up to Maroon Bells. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen…with the water, the mountains, the trees. Just stunning.
There was even a wedding up there that day and the bridal party was quite entertaining. They were leaving at the same time as us and couldn’t find their car, so they tried to get on the bus and it was comical. I think they had all had a few pre-ceremony cocktails!
We then headed back to Aspen, got another cookie from Paradise Bakery and sat on a bench doing the best people-watching…and getting updates on the AL/AR game from Robert! Roll Tide! We were supposed to go to another fancy dinner that night but we decided to ditch those plans and eat at Ajax Tavern with a great view of Aspen Mountain. This was my dinner…
and it was definitely the right decision! We were tired and called it a night after dinner knowing we had to get up bright and early to catch our flight home. While we were sad to leave (especially when we both stepped off the plane at home to hot, humid weather!), we were SO HAPPY to have had such a great time!!
Meanwhile, back at home, Robert took care of things all weekend. He even handled Maxwell getting stung by a yellowjacket! Oh no! I got a call on the top of Aspen Mountain from Robert and I could hear Maxwell SCREAMING in the background. He had actually stepped on a yellowjacket and got stung on the bottom of his foot. Ouch! Robert calmed him down and, after a little love from Elmo and Mr. Moo, Maxwell was doing much better…
I couldn’t wait to get home Sunday to see this little guy waiting for me!
Overall it was such a fun trip and I’m so glad we got to go. Happy Birthday GJ! Where are we going for 61??!! 🙂
GJ says
I’ll have to leave the planning to you since you did such an outstanding job on this trip! I think it will hold me for a few years even! Great memories – great views – great fun!
John Fanai says
Simply breath taking !!
Jen says
What pretty views! Oh! And Poor Maxwell! I’m so glad to hear he is okay and no allergic reactions were had!
Dad says
I forgot about you landing at the finish line of that race. That must have been funny. Looks like a blast, glad the altitude wasn’t a problem. I’m happy to have you home.