Being from Steamboat Springs, the idea of taking a vacation to Vail, the Disneyland of ski resorts, didn't appeal to me. I tried everything I could to convince my girlfriends that we needed to go to Steamboat or Winter Park, but they were having none of it. Vail had "hot, tall men who buy us drinks" and that's where we absolutely had to go.
Having just ended yet another relationship, I was all for the hot tall men, and decided that I'd get in my real skiing in Winter Park and Steamboat on either side of the Vail portion.
So, I headed out to Colorado for an unprecedented 10 days of vacation! I stopped and visited my grandparents for a day, catching up and looking through photo albums of the past. It was a great visit, and I even discovered that my Great(x5) Grandfather laid the cornerstone in the US Capitol! How's that for cool.
I then met up with my Uncle Bob and we headed up to Winter Park for an unbelievable day of skiing. Turns out one of my best Navy buddies, Bryant, was in town, back from a year in Tansania Africa and he and his father also met us at WP for a picture-perfect day, not to mention the best snow conditions I've skied in years.
Finally, on Valentine's Day, all the girls, Liz, Michelle and Amy, arrived and we made the trek up to Vail. Bryant decided to come with us gals, and discovered many many things "behind the cutain" as he hung with us. We stayed at a cute little condo at Eagle's Nest. We dropped off our things and headed into our Mecca, otherwise known as the Red Lion Inn.
Unbelievably, Michelle walked in first, I was behind her, and as I was putting my ID away I looked up and Michelle is turning around handing me two beers and introducing me to Charlie and Gogi. What? Do you know these guys? No, she had waled in ahead of me and they saw here, and immediatly ordered beers for her and her girlfriends. I was beginning to see what the magic of Vail was all about......
I did mention that it was V-day, and that I had just ended a relationship, so still feeling a bit bitter, I decided to wear a T-shirt I'd found that simply stated "Boys Stink." You can imagine that's quite the conversation starter in a place where the men outnumber the women about 7 to 1. Turns out Charlie liked my shirt so much we decided to do a shirt swap right there on the dance floor! Don't worry Mom, I didn't actually get half-naked. It's a skill one learns in California to be able to change clothes without ever showing any vitals. But it was quite entertaining seeing a man wearing a women's size small pink shirt dancing around announcing that "Boys Stink". Sadly, the Red Lion closes at midnight so we headed back to the bus stop, where Drunk Liz eyed a hot tall man and ordered him over to chat with us. Turns out he's a Doctor! And about 6'5". Liz is 5'2". But it was Vail, and so they didn't care.
The next day we all headed to the slopes, and I have to say that Vail has changed alot since I was last there--the mountain is HUGE, and there is so much varied terrain and it was not crowded at all! Bryant and I tore it up, and had a really great day skiing. It was unbelievable.
Apre ski again found us at the Red Lion Inn. Tonight we met another group of guys, this one having the hottie from Phoenix whom I just could not get enough of. Those dimples and that smile were amazing therapy for my "boys stink" attitude....Stone who? We all shared drinks for the night, and really had a great time. Yes, a great time ;-)
Sadly, Sunday came way too soon, and that day we awoke to cold, cloudy and snowy conditions. We tried to ski, this time over at Beaver Creek, but it was so cold and windy and visibility was poor, so Bryant and I decided that our fun meter was pegged, and we headed down to the base to get some coffee. By the way, I prefer Vail to Beaver Creek any day!
As we were trying to figure out how to get everyone back to the airport or bonus brother's houses, it turns out that the best option was for Amy to ride with Bryant. So, we said our goodbyes, and the 3 gals took off in the rental car (but not before Bryant had to give us a jump because dumb blonde Nikki left the lights on all day and killed the battery! DUH!!!). And we all wondered what the heck was going on with Amy and Bryant...
Turns out that of all the Vail hook-ups, the Amy and Bryant one seems to be going well! Amy just took a trip to San Diego to visit him, and next month they're going sailing in the Caribbean!
I finished out my vacation just hanging at my Mom's house, as I was too exhausted and sore from all that skiing to consider skiing Steamboat for a day. Maybe next year I'll know how to pace myself better....ha ha!
But alas, I am now a little wiser, a little more open-minded, and next year I will take the pilgrimage back to Vail: Hot, Tall Men and free drinks without question!
