This week may have gone by faster than the five days I spent in Breckenridge, CO or maybe it’s just because I’m delirious from lack of sleep and half-crazed with laundry and Easter. How the heck did Easter end up in March anyway?

I will not high-five to an early holiday or no school today but, I will put both hands up for pretty much everything that happened in Breck. *that is the hip name all the locals refer to it as…

Once again I am linking up with the mile high, high-five queen herself: Angela from Happy Fit Mama!

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Let’s get right to it, shall we?

GETTING TO BRECKENRIDGE

I’m happy to tell you all about this because I pretty much did everything wrong. Do you see how I suffer for your benefit people? Sheesh.

What I did

Woke up at 4am to hop a 6:50am flight on St. Patrick’s Day to meet my husband in Las Vegas. I was the only person on board wearing boots and a coat and who was over 30. Way over.

Why is the bar closed at 6:30am on St. Patrick's Day? This is my "do you really want me on that plane without alcohol?'' face.

Why is the bar closed at 6:30am on St. Patrick’s Day? This is my “do you really want me on that plane without alcohol?” face.

We flew right over the Rockies to Vegas, then I got back on a plane with my husband and flew back over the Rockies and into Denver.

Side note: If you fear flying as I do, I do not ever recommend flying into Denver. Even my husband said it was bad…well, that’s what he told me afterward because I was clutching his leg and crying during our descent. #truestory

We miraculously made it into the Denver airport and met up with Colorado Mountain Express to take us, and all of our gear, on what should have been a two hour trip into the mountains and village of Breckenridge. Instead it took almost four. Nope, it wasn’t the weather, it was the 15 stops we had to make for each and every person on the bus. Of course, my husband and I were dead last. And I do mean dead.

All told, I was traveling for 15 hours and was then deposited a mile high where I was desperate for wine and had nothing but nuts and seeds in my belly. I’ll let you guess how that night went…

Walking back from a late dinner in a snowstorm because, Breckenridge.

Walking back from a late dinner in a snowstorm because, Breckenridge.

What you should do

Book a direct flight to Denver.

Rent a car or SUV large enough to transport you and all your gear.

Drive the two hours to your hotel or condo.

Hydrate, eat and hydrate some more.

EATING AND DRINKING IN BRECK

There are so many amazing places in this magical town. Unfortunately, I didn’t know anyone who had ever been there (at least in the last 5 years) so I relied on the internet and yelp to plan our dinner reservations. It worked out perfectly.

Ember

The best food we had during our trip! The menu is eclectic, changes seasonally and there is an excellent cocktail and wine list. I had a full bodied cabernet called “Sorcery” and it was amazing. The second time we went, just for cocktails, we had espresso martinis and they served them with a cigarette. #Classy

It's CANDY and no, neither one of us ate it.

It’s CANDY and no, neither one of us ate it.

The best part? Our waiter’s name was Miles (just like my son) and because we raved about the food so much he asked if we wanted to meet the chef. My husband loves shit like that so back into the kitchen we went after dinner and boy were we surprised. The head chef greeted us with a group hug, beckoning “bring it in, bring it in!” and had the demeanor and look of a 20 something surfer boy who somehow ended up in a restaurant. It was bizarre and hilarious and I think we made a friend for life. #BFFinBreck

Hearthstone

This place looked like and was decorated with old victorian flair. It was completely outdated and the staff there reminded me of the cast of Downton Abbey. They run a very tight ship and, if you don’t have a reservation, you are completely SOL. They must have told half a dozen people they were not taking any more parties the Saturday night we were there. They wouldn’t even let us stand in the bar area because it backs up into the dining room. If there was one word for this place it was “control.” If there were two, they would be “control” and “no-one-cares-because-the-food-is-pure-deliciousness.”

I own you!

I own you!

I had the elk. I have never had elk but I certainly hope I can have it 100 more times in the next six months if it’s prepared the way they prepared it. Get the elk.

THE BLUE MOOSE 

I love a good breakfast, especially before riding powdery snow all day, and this was a great breakfast! The Blue Moose was directly across from our hotel and they had whole wheat french toast. Winning.

Just enough fuel.

Just enough fuel.

RELISH

We ate here on our last night and again, a unique menu, great service and a fantastic view! My favorite here was the scallops and the bananas foster dessert!

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HOTELS AND HILLS

Every local in Breck is way too cool and young for me and all the men have longer hair than I do. Just referring to Breckenridge as “Breck” makes me feel like an impostor of sorts. The other hip lingo they all use to describe the towering, sky scraping mountain range that surrounds the village is “hills.” I basically spent my days with my mouth gaping open staring at the “hills.” When I wasn’t doing that, I was photographing them.

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Yep, just a few hills.

We stayed at a Wyndam hotel property (Main Street Station) but our room was rented though a different agency since it is privately owned. Beware of this in Breck. I had no clue until we got there that this was the case. It mattered because we had to pick up (and drop off) our keys at a separate location. But, the room was amazing, had a full kitchen, fireplace, living room and large bedroom and bathroom area. The gym was fantastic (yes, this is important) and was fully equipped with showers, changing rooms, a steam room, amenities, three hot tubs and one giant heated pool.

Good luck breathing during any of that.

Obviously this was BEFORE I started running on the treadmill. You can see the AFTER picture under "Running" above...

The hot tubs are just beyond that window behind me.

The mountain. Oh the mountain!

Breckenridge is basically 10 peaks, each reachable by a maze of lifts and gondolas. Our hotel was within walking distance to a great lodge where you could purchase lift tickets, store gear, get food, hear a great band, get a Starbucks coffee and, of course, access the mountain – – in this case, Peak 9.

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Peak 9 is second from the left. The one with lots of color and no, not at the top.

If you are a better skier/snowboarder than I am you will be psyched to hear the blasting of the mountain all day long as they clear it for avalanches. There is some truly gorgeous outback skiing up there, all with lift access save for one trail you need to hike into. Good luck with that.

There is also plenty of room and wide open trails for the novice.

I snowboard somewhere in between and my views and experiences were out of this world:

My favorite trails!

My favorite trails!

I was smiling, whooping it up, and trying to take it all in as I flew down the powdery trails.

It was also the first time I had zero trouble breathing. Maybe pure joy is loaded with oxygen.

 

[Tweet “Thinking about a #trip to Breckenridge? Read this first, learn what not to do! @breckenridgemtn “]

Have you ever been to Colorado?

Where is your favorite place to ski/snowboard?

Have you ever had elk?

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