Disney Girls Visit 8/8-8/13/2012

My good friends from the Disney College Program and I like to get together as often as we can each year. Last year we went to Hawaii together, and this year we went to Steamboat Springs.  Beth's parents own a condo there, and they were generous enough to let us use it for the weekend.  Unfortunately Angela wasn't able to join us for the weekend and she was very missed!

On Wednesday I picked up Beth and Ellen from the airport and then we got stuck waiting in traffic on I-70 since Barack Obama was in town and we had to wait for his motorcade to drive by.  By the time we were back on the road, we were so hungry we opted for a quick lunch at Tokyo Joe's.  Jose was on his lunch break at the same time, so he met us there.

That evening we went to Canvas and Cocktails with my friend Jessica.  They have similar ones in Chicago and Orlando where the girls live, but wanted to try this one since they have seen all of the pictures I have posted.  I have done Canvas and Cocktails 6 times and this one was by far the hardest one we have ever painted.  Of course that ends up being the one they went to!  But everyone loved it and had a great time.

The next morning we made the three hour drive to Steamboat Springs.  We stopped a lot along the way since Ellen and I are not fans of long car rides.  Beth was wonderful enough to drive the whole way also, since she knows the way to Steamboat like the back of her hand!

When we arrived in Steamboat, we went to Torian Plum, which is the name of the Condominiums where they own at.  It's right on the mountain and is a ski in/ski out resort.  It was so beautiful up there!

This is the living room of the condo.  It had a queen pull out sofa bed, and then two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  We were on the top floor, which made the views even more spectacular!

After we settled in, we walked around outside and took some pictures and explored.  They had a lot of fun activities set up in the square like mechanical bull riding and bungee jumping on a trampoline.

We headed to the pool afterwards and had a relaxing afternoon there.  For dinner we went to an Italian restaurant called Cuginos and the food was delicious, but the service was terrible.  Afterwards we went shopping downtown at all of the boutique and souvenir stores. 

That night we watched the Olympics and played board games.  It was so much fun being back together again and relaxing!

The next morning we went to Strawberry Park Hot Springs.  This was the first time Ellen and I had ever been to a hot springs park.  I was surprised at how hot the water really was!  We tried it at the bottom thinking it would be cooler over there, but we were wrong.  We finally found a nice section in the middle that had a lot of kids and families in it.  The temperature there was really nice because it was where the springs mixed with the cooler water from the creek.

That afternoon we went back downtown and rode on the Alpine Slide and got some gelato and ate it down by the river.  The Alpine Slide was a first for Ellen and I.  I was terrified to try it because I was so afraid of tipping over, but I was pleasantly surprised that I could control the speed.  We rode a ski lift up to the top of the mountain and then rode down the slide.

 

That evening we had a reservation at Hazie's, which is a restaurant at the top of the mountain in Steamboat.  We rode the gondola up and it was included in the price of our meal at Hazie's. There was a wedding going on that night, so we sat at the bar and just had drinks and appetizers.

Ellen likes to take jumping pictures when she travels, so this was a perfect backdrop for her with the beautiful mountains and trees behind her. 

Since we had just eaten appetizers at Hazie's, we stopped at a restaurant near the condo for some sushi.  The restaurant was called Saketumi.  It was delicious!

The next morning, Beth took us on a small hike to Fish Creek Falls.  It was so beautiful there, and there were many people there climbing the rocks.  One guy fell into the water twice, but it didn't stop him from continuing the climb.

After the hike we stopped by a farmer's market and then a free flower garden.  There was also another wedding being set up there for later in the evening.

We spent some more time in the pool and hot tub that afternoon, and then went back down to the square so that Ellen could try the trampoline.  She had a great time!

Dinner that night was downtown at Beau Jo's.  We love that restaurant!  This one was set up kind of like a quick service place. You paid for your meal and then they brought it to you.  This made it much easier for us to pay for our own meals.

The next day we left Steamboat and drove back to Denver.  Jose and I are members at the Denver Zoo and had free passes, so we drove straight there and Jose met us there with the girls.  We were able to see the new Elephant Exhibit there, and all I kept thinking was that it was very closely themed to Asia at Animal Kingdom at Disney World.  They had tracks in the ground and sound effects playing.  They did a great job.

After we left the zoo, we made a stop at Nella's to get some frozen yogurt.  It was a great way to cool down from the hot afternoon.

That night, we made our favorite appetizers that we like to make when we are together which are veggie pizza and bruchetta.  We made these a lot when we were on the College Program and we like to eat it and reminisce.  After dinner, some more friends came over and I hosted a 31 party.  My sister has just started selling these and Ellen wanted to buy some while she was out here.

For the girls' last day, we drove up to Red Rocks and took a few pictures there and climbed the stairs up.  We were allowed to go on the stage and I don't think I have been on that stage since I graduated high school!  It was so cool to be standing there and imagine being a performer and staring up at the seats above you.

 
Afterwards we stopped by Red Robin for lunch, and then I took the girls to the airport.  It was bittersweet to see them leave.  We have a new trip to spend together in the works which will be Disneyland next June, and I knew I would be seeing Ellen this September on our next Disney trip.  I love that we have remained so close after meeting 11 years ago.  These girls mean the world to me and I am so blessed that they are in my life!