On Dec. 16th 2008 we awoke to begin our journey to Breckenridge, CO. It was 3:30 a.m. and Howie was the first one to get up and take a shower. I turned on the news only to find out that the gondola in Whistler, BC had broken....luckily that wasn't our destination, however, it was not what I wanted to hear just before embarking on our ski vacation. The journey began on a very small commuter jet which I didn't necessarily find exciting. It was the smallest plane that I had ever been on. Two rows of seats, an aisle, and one seat on the other side. Howie was gracious enough to hand me my anxiety medication. The rest of the traveling was smooth sailing. We met some people on the way to Breckenridge. One girl named heather who we both agreed must have been the happiest person we have ever encounter, 2 young college students from Miami, FL., a young Brazilian girl, and a middle aged Argentinian woman. The ride was beautiful and filled with interesting conversation amongst strangers.
After an 8 hour day of traveling, we arrived to the Fireside Inn about 2 hours early but we were able to check in anyway. The hostess's Nikki and Andy welcomed us, gave us a tour, and explained how things operated. Sign up sheet for breakfast, no showers after 10p.m., heat is turned on at 4p.m, as well as crumpets and tea each day from 4-6. This was a Hostel/Bed and Breakfast, there were people coming and going and we pretty much kept to our selves when we first arrived.
We spent a short amount of time unpacking and settling in. Then we headed to town to pick up my rental skis and do some necessary shopping. Let me tell you, we were both not dressed appropriately walking into town. We each had one layer of clothes on and no gloves or hat...we were cold. We found a local pizza shop...Giampietro's...awesome food, awesome service, and literally a block from where we were staying. Later that evening we returned back to our place and spent some time hanging in the lounge to stretch out. I watched my favorite show and there were many people sitting around playing cards. By the end of the night Howie and I were talking to most of the other guests and we discovered many were traveling solo and that we were pretty much the minority. Everyone seemed to be from the U.K. I loved the accents and learning about all the different people we had met. We headed to bed around 11:00p.m. so excited to get up and hit the slopes.
Day 2
Up bright and early at 7:30. I practiced about 45 min. of yoga before breakfast and Howie watched :) We got all geared up and stepped outside into the brittle cold. Fortunately the bus stop was right outside and it took us directly to the gondola in town. This gondola actually came into to town to take people to the top of the mountain. We got off at peak 8 and took the lift to some green trails to warm up. Howie was smart because he kept taking me down the same old boring trails because he knew I would be sick of it in no time. About 20 min. later we were coasting down some blues and having the best time. We skied for 6 hours that day and I fell in love with powder. On our journey back down the mountain, one of the guys who we had met during the ride from the airport was sitting right beside us in the gondola. Got back in time at the Fireside Inn for some cake and tea! About 2 hours later Howie and I went out for Mexican food at Jalapenos. It was the first night of training for our waitress and when we asked for straws, she brought us about 50. It was pretty comical. We headed back home, socialized with our fellow tenants and hit the sack early.
Day 3
This is Howie and I have taken over this writing. This day was an awesome day of skiing. We hit all the mountains except peak 10. Justina was progressing along very well, she was able to handle about every hill we picked. We found a little gem at Breck that was not there when I was there in 2002. Peak 7, a wonderful place full of wide open blue trails. These trails were much like you would find in Vermont, kind of rollie and fun to cruise. I knew Justina would like them and it would help her build some speed of confidence.
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