Aspen 2008

So after a couple years of not skiing, my dad set up a fly somewhere to ski trip. This year it was Aspen. And it was awesome. The town is small and hard to get to (the airport is often shut down due to snow) and that makes it all the better for me. I don't like people all that much, so the fact that there are 10 or more ski areas between Denver and Aspen, combined with Aspen having the most expensive lift tickets, means there is hardly anyone actually skiing. The snow was awesome, the weather was OK, but the no people thing really put me over the top. They seem to really do up the town for wintertime:

We (hubby and me) ended up driving with a couple other people from Denver because it was too snowy and foggy to land (the plane made one attempt, but them veered up at the last minute. It was scary.) It was about 5 hours driving sensibly (not terribly slow, not dangerously fast). We got in around 11 pm, just in time to get to the airport and check on our bags. They ended up getting to the Hotel in the morning and finally up to ours rooms before noon.

It was snowy and foggy for skiing Saturday (once I finally got my gear from the airport):

There are some restaurants around, and reservations should be made. Everything is very expensive. Saturday night we ate at Ruth's Chris Steak House, and it might have been better than the other ones I've been to. My parents ate at Olives, the restaurant in the St. Regis, where we stayed. It's small and they liked the food. In the morning this is where they serve breakfast. Sunday night we ate mexican at Blue Maize. I liked the food, and I thought the prices were the most fair I had seen. For breakfast and a lunch we ate at a cafe called Poppycock's. It was very good, but the place can only fit about 10 tables.

Didn't actually get an incredibly huge amount of skiing in, just because I'm lazy and out of shape slob. But it was spread over two days and the military discount was phenomenal. I feel like I got my (dad's) money's worth. The second day of skiing was clearer (you like my mitten in the corner?):

We drove back to Denver too, this it was me, hubby, and my parents. So now hubby is fully initiated into the family, having experienced 5 hours of my mother's complaining and yelling at my dad. Drove through a nice pretty canyon that we didn't see in the dark on Friday:

Then we got to try and find the rental car my dad misplaced in the garage. After a couple hours (our flight out of Denver was delayed, so we had time, while my parents had to hurry) of being driven around by the parking enforcers, the car was finally found and we took it back to the rental place. He says he owes me for that; I wonder if I can get another ski trip out of him?