Fun with Emily: March 2023

End of Covid!!

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

After three whole years, Covid has finally been declared to be over. Wow. What a three years it has been! Good riddance! Now let's hope it does not come back!

First - Happy St. Patrick's Day! I think Daniel wins for the awesome green in the reflection of his goggles! I think I must also have made them feel guilty about the pictures over the last couple of days because today I got more!

No evening adventures tonight. We decided to stay in, finish off the food we bought and pack. But would it even shock you to know that we did make one last trip to the ice cream shop? Yeah, I didn't think so. Until next time Aspen... (Oh and side note - our return travels were perfect! Great end to the trip to be home on time!)

Aspen Spring Break Day 4

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Last night it snowed. That is probably a good thing because after several days of lots of sun (and even with ski goggles) Daniel and Emily had gotten a good bit of sun on their faces. You can tell from this picture that there was significant cloud cover and snow. Even the path out of our condo was snow covered today! I think by this point in the trip they were tired of taking selfies for me so again, not very many pictures.

Tonight was our fancy dinner night - Stark's Alpine Grill for steak! The food was really good last year, but really we went back in hopes of getting Butterfinger pie again. But, alas, it was not to be. We did get a really good butterscotch dessert and Emily got a carrot cake which also looked amazing. Still, I missed the Butterfinger pie.

Aspen Spring Break Day 3

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Today these two were off to Buttermilk. I cannot recall the reason, but they did not send me very many pictures from today. So, we'll settle for just this one.

Our evening adventure was family bowling night at Aspen Snowmass Lanes - the highest bowling lanes in the US. That's your fun fact for today. We had a good time last year so we decided to give it another go this year. And, guess who won...both games? Me! How about that?

Aspen Spring Break Day 3

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Today Daniel and Emily headed to Aspen Highlands to ski. They had another day of terrific weather and great conditions. I kinda wish I skied too because the views of the mountains are just so beautiful from the top.

After skiing, these two spent some time in the hot tub before coming in so we could head out to dinner. I love going out to dinner on these trips because that is my time to see the town (and not have to cook). Tonight we went to a little diner near the pizza place we had lunch on our arrival day. Conveniently, it was also next to the grocery so we were able to grab a few more things.

Then after dinner we ventured back into Snowmass Village to find the ice cream shop. Because of course we did. I got a couple of good pics of the village below and the village after dark.

Aspen Spring Break Day 2

Monday, March 13, 2023

Happily settled into the condo and with a good night of sleep, we were ready for the first full day of "spring" break. There was a little bit of new snow overnight and that (along with some sun) made for a perfect day of skiing!

After skiing, we headed out to Snowmass Village for dinner and a little touring. We even got to ride the gondolas up to the top (last year our condo was at the top so we never rode it). We came upon a little ice rink that I don't think we knew was there and a giant Snowmass chair. I grabbed the opportunity for a pic to prove I was actually on this trip!

Dinner at Big Hoss Grill

Aspen Travel Adventures - Day 1

Sat/Sun - March 11-12, 2023

Daniel and Emily could not have been more excited to go back to Aspen for spring break again this year. I struggle to call this "spring" break, but I digress. They were looking forward to the slopes at Aspen Mountain, Buttermilk, Snowmass and Aspen Mountain. Things started out great! We got an upgrade from Chicago to Aspen so Emily and Daniel had great seats. I stayed in economy plus, but no one was next to me so it felt first class...and only a couple of rows behind them.

Everything was going so well! We were on our way to Aspen...until we weren't. The captain came on about 15 minutes before we thought we were landing to let us know that the visibility was not good (due to snow) so we could not land. So, they diverted us to Grand Junction. As were getting off the plane Emily turns to D and says "I take it we're not in Aspen?" Man those noise cancelling airpods are pretty darn good. She missed all the diversion announcements! But, that was just the beginning of the fun. Grand Junction is pretty small...and it was pretty late at night...and they were not expecting us. So when we landed there were only about 5 people working in the whole airport. But, they manage to get all of us hotel and meal vouchers and gave us our luggage and then put us on a bus to the hotel. Then the next morning we got back on the same bus and drove to Aspen. 2 hours later we finally arrived. It was definitely an interesting detour.

Once we arrived at Aspen-Pitkin Airport, we got our car and headed to the condo. We had a different condo this year. No views of the gondolas for me. Sad face. But still a great location and easily walkable to Snowmass Village which turned out to be a big plus!

Once we got checked in, we headed out for lunch and to get some groceries. After that, believe it or not, there was a little time for skiing so off they went!

With such an interesting start, we could hardly wait to see what adventures the rest of the week would bring!