Vail, CO....10 years later

Ten years ago around my 18th birthday our family took a vacation to Vail, CO. We drove the 10 hour car ride across I-70 from Kansas City to Vail. Once we got to Vail I completely fell in love with the town and all it's buildings. In fact, when my mom and I were talking about places where I could move to Vail was always in the top 2 but too expensive. We even got to ride the ski lift in the summer which provided a great view of the mountains and I highly recommend it during the summer and not just during the winter.

This ski lift is just 2 blocks from our hotel.
You can strap on your skis and walk down which is incredible!!

It took 10 years and 2 months but I finally made it back to Vail. Our friends Casey and Melissa got married last weekend and John and I decided to make a four day vacation out of the wedding. But not without a Rockies game first.

On last Thursday the Rockies had their final home game. John arrived 3 hours early for the game to get autographs and to take one last look at the stadium before next April. It was a great game and the Rockies ended up winning to clinch the Wild Card. After the game all the players and managers walked the warning track and threw goodies (t-shirts, hats, backpacks) into the crowd for fan appreciation. John caught a t-shirt from one of the players and it made for a great way to end the season. Now, a week later, the Rockies are in the playoffs against the Phillies and they will be playing in Denver on Saturday and Sunday for games 3 and 4. John, of course, will be there unless we get all the snow that the weatherman is calling for.

John and I at the last home game.

After the game we headed to Vail for a our 2 hour car ride. For those of you who have never been to Vail it's very beautiful there and I highly recommend going especially for skiing. Every building looks like a dutch village and there are shops and little cafes everywhere you look. The town itself is so cute and adorable but it cost a fortune to live there.

Vail, Colorado

We got to Vail Thursday night and our hotel was awesome! It was located in Vail Village which is the center of Vail and the backdoor of the hotel opened right onto the shopping strip. John did a great job picking out the hotel and everyone was so incredibly nice. Even the house keeping staff would stop what they were doing and have a quick chat with us as we walked by.

The front of our hotel. The Vail Plaza Resort

The view from our balcony.

On Friday we woke up early and toured Vail. I stopped to take pictures every time we turned the corner because the views were incredible. The leaves were just beginning to change and the weather was perfect!! We spent much of day/night with the wedding party going to eat and getting ready for the wedding day on Saturday. We ate at a new restaurant every time and got to experience a lot of new things. I even had Lobster Tail on Friday night which was delicious!

Another photo opportunity in Vail.
John said I was out of control with the camera.

John spent most of Saturday getting ready for the wedding so I wondered around Vail by myself and took even more pictures. The wedding that night was really beautiful and we had so much fun with all our friends. On Sunday we woke up early again, went to brunch, and then John and I shopped some more before we headed home. It took most of this week but I think we both have officially recovered.

John and I at the wedding. John was a Groomsman

I was SO excited to finally get back to Vail after all these years and it was definitely worth the wait. When my co-workers found out it had been 10 years since I was last in Vail they were shocked because Vail is so close to us. Now that John and I have made the trip once and seen how easy and fun it was hopefully we will make the trip more often in the future.

This is an old time Gondala.

Below are all the pictures I took during our trip. I took over 150 pictures so I split them into three categories. When you click on the album it will take you to another page. DON'T FORGET....You can click on the individual pictures to see them up close.

For Rockies pictures click here

For Vail scenery pictures click here
(this album is 3 pages...you can access each page in the top right corner once you are in the album)

For Vail wedding pictures click here
(this album is 4 pages...you can access each page in the top right corner once you are in the album)