Ok so, Adam and I just got back from the most amazing ski vacation ever! Last January (2013), Tommy, Sarah, Adam and I decided to plan a vacation to Utah to go skiing. We decided we would go in January (2014) and since Adam and I follow Dave Ramsey, we saved all year long by putting money back in our envelopes so we could pay for everything in cash. ( If you do not do this, you should really try it! Seriously.)
We left last Wednesday, January 29. We both worked half a day and Jerry was gracious enough to take off work early so he could drive us to the airport. Our flight was due to leave at 3:25 but it was late arriving in Nashville so we were late leaving for Denver. We knew we only had a 30 minute layover while in Denver so we figured we would be pushing for time once we finally landed in Colorado. Our flight was scheduled to leave for Utah at 5:50 and at 4:45, we were STILL on the plane. The flight attendant asked everyone to be seated and let the few of us off first that had flights fixing to take off. Wouldn't you know, the gate we needed to be at couldn't be right beside the gate we just arrived at. That would be too easy. It was like half way down the airport. So we ran. Fast. Well, I tried to keep up with Adam but 1 of his strides is like 3 of mine sooo I trailed behind a little bit. :)
As soon as we got on the plane, everyone was already seated and all carry-ons had already been put in overhead storage. I was so out of breath and burning hot I just wanted to sit down. They informed us that the plane was waiting for us to arrive and thank goodness they did! It would not have been a good thing if we missed it considering Tommy and Sarah were flying from Atlanta and were meeting us around the same time in Utah. Thankfully, we all arrived safely, got our rental car, and headed to Park City. By the way, our rental car was a Kia Sorento... I fell in love with it. It was SO roomy and nice! ( we needed an SUV due to our ski equipment) When one of our vehicles crap out, I will definitely look into those!
It was raining when we landed, but by the time we got the car and was getting on the interstate, it had started sleeting. That just meant it would really be coming down harder as we made our way up the canyon! And sure enough, it was basically coming a blizzard. (What my Tennessee mind considers a blizzard anyway) Tommy and Sarah lived in Salt Lake for a few years so thankfully he was use to driving in those conditions and knew exactly where we needed to go. It was around 11:00 PM (Midnight in TN) there and you could not see the interstate due to all the snow. We were all starving by the time we arrived in Park City. Adam and I hadn't eaten since 11:00 earlier that day so we were ready to eat at the first fast food place we came to. It was good ol' McDonald's. I seriously have not eaten there in years but those chicken nuggets tasted so so good to me. I had Tommy snap a picture of Adam and I in the parking lot. The snow was coming down so hard and it was so peaceful to watch. I was in awe of all of the snow. I haven't seen that much accumulation of snow in the past couple of years combined as I did within the first hour we were there. So, like a true tourist, I stood amazed.
After our late dinner, we found our condo, unpacked, and went to sleep. A full day of skiing was ahead of us!
When we woke up early Thursday morning, this was our view from the balcony.
Breathtaking, isn't it?
We got dressed and made our way over to Jan's to rent our ski equipment. We then stopped at Whole Foods to grab breakfast and some sandwiches for lunch.
Our next stop was Brighton. Our favorite ski resort. (Adam and I went skiing for the first time almost 5 years ago in Utah. We went to 3 different ski resorts and after our trip, we declared Brighton our favorite!)
We knew Brighton would be just as awesome as it was the first time we went- and it was! It snowed on us the entire day we were skiing. You can't ask for anything better than that!
They classify runs based on difficulty. Green, Blue, Black. Even though it had been 5 years, we picked the art of skiing right back up and skied Blues the entire weekend.
The entire time I was skiing, I couldn't help but to stop in my tracks and stare at my view. I only wish all of family and friends could visit and see what we saw!
We skied for a few hours and stopped at the lodge to eat lunch. We remembered last time, eating at the ski lodge will cost you and arm and a leg. You will spend $12.00 on a hamburger otherwise! (That is why we brought our lunch every day!)
After we ate and warmed up, we headed back out to the slopes.
A few pictures from the ski lift.
After we got off this particular ski lift, I felt taking a picture by this sign would be fitting.
Now this is just funny.
End of Day 1.
We started skiing that morning around maybe 9:30 and we stopped at 4:00. Whew. Our last run of the day was on a mountain we hadn't yet skied on that day. With everything in me, I can almost bet we accidentally crossed over onto a Black trail. I remember praying the entire way down that I would make it down alive.
By the end of the day, we were all exhausted, sore, and hungry. We packed everything up and made the hour drive back to Park City. (We were in Salt Lake) We stopped at a grocery store and purchased a few things to hold us over the next few days.
That night, we cooked spaghetti, had a salad and some bread. Then we made our way into the hot tub. I'm pretty sure I can speak for all of us when I say we were extremely sore. Muscles on me hurt that I had no clue I had. At the beginning of January, I started doing squats every night to strengthen my legs for our trip. I should have also done calf raises, too. The upper part of my calves hurt SO bad. I'm writing this on the Tuesday after our trip and I am still walking funny.
Day 2- Alta
We woke up bright and early on Friday to head back down the canyon to Salt Lake City only to drive up another canyon to reach our second destination. Alta. We didn't ski here last time we visited so I was looking forward to seeing what it was all about. Alta was huge and had so many trails.
It definitely did not dissapoint!
I took a few pictures of my surroundings while we were waiting in line to get our tickets.
This is the tow rope that took you to the other side of the resort. Again, this place was huge.
We took a break and the guys stopped to look at the trail map so we could figure out which trails we needed to take to get to the next lift.
Lunch time! We packed food and made it at the ski lodge.
You can't beat peanut butter and bread!
Random pictures from our day at Alta
There is nothing better than it actually snowing while you ski!
After we packed up, we headed into Salt Lake to drop Tommy and Sarah off at their friends house.
Some scenic shots going down the canyon!
They were going out to dinner so Adam and I made our way back to Park City to eat and to shop. We were craving pizza so we found the neatest pizza place in downtown Park City.
After we ate, we went to Tanger Outlet and shopped around for a little bit. We were both so tired we didn't shop too long. We got back to the condo and immediately hopped into the hot tub. By the end of our 2nd ski day, we were still really sore. We took showers and settled in on the couch the rest of the night. Tommy and Sarah got back around 9:00 or so and we all went to bed not too long afterwards.
Our 3rd and final day of skiing was at The Canyons in Park City. It was nice not to have to make the hour drive to Salt Lake like we did the days before. We also visited The Canyons a few years ago. The resort is absolutely beautiful! But pricey! I couldn't imagine how much it would cost to stay a week there.
This was the first day we skied in sunshine. The other 2 days snowed the entire time.
(the gloves on the poles are cracking me up!)
This picture was taken before we went up a lift called Tombstone Express. I have to say, I was a little worried about this one. The only way down was by certain trails that were pretty intense. I'm happy to say we made it out alive and did it a few more times that day.
SO PRETTY!
Notice the sun isn't shining anymore! It was most definitely coming a blizzard. It was coming down so hard and so fast- it was awesome!
At the end of the day, Sarah and I parked it in the ski lodge while Tommy and Adam did one more run. It was snowing like crazy so we took advantage of it and made snow angels and took lots of video and pictures. We warmed back up once we got inside and watched everyone through the huge windows.
That was our last day skiing and we all ended on a great note. We headed back to Jan's to return our ski equipment then back to the condo to get ready to head out to dinner. We were all starving and ready to pig out. I think the place was called Squatters and it was delicious!!!! I was stuffed once we left. We packed once we got back and watched some TV. Went to bed shortly after because we had to leave by 4:45 to head to the airport. Ouch!
Once we arrived at the airport, we went our separate ways. Our flight to Denver left at 7:25 and once in Colorado, we grabbed breakfast since we had an hour and a half until our next flight. Most of you know I'm not a big breakfast eater and eating a biscuit or eggs first thing in the morning will make me feel kind of blah sooo what did I eat at 8:30 that morning?
A personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut.
That's what I'm talkin about!
We boarded our flight, was in the air for about 30 minutes until the captain came over the intercom and said they were having technical difficulties (definitely something you do not want to hear while on a plane) and that they were turning around to land back in Denver. I was so ready to get home to see the kids I was kind of bummed we would be getting home even later that day. When we landed, they had all kinds of emergency crew and fire trucks on the runway waiting for our plane to land. (The landing gear (tires) would not go back up in the plane when we took off) I am very thankful everything turned out ok! We had to de-board the plane and walk to another plane that was waiting for us. We were suppose to arrive in Nashville at 1:45, but instead arrived around 3:30. But again, I'd rather be later coming home than not coming home at all! :)
My dad was waiting in the pick up area while my mom and the kids were waiting for us by the luggage area. Oh how excited we all were to see each other!!! This was our first vacation away from them. They stay with grandparents a lot, but it's just a 1 night thing. This was 4 nights away so it was a first for all of us. They all did great and we are so thankful for grandparents!!
We got home a little after 5:00. Adalyn and Landon were excited to play with their toys again. We were all so tired we put the kids down around 7:45 and we went not too long after. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I am the only person in America who did not watch 1 second of the Super Bowl. We had Despicable Me 2 on and I wouldn't have had it any other way!
We had a great ski trip and we cannot wait to do it again. We have a family vacation planned for this Summer but I'm thinking we will start another envelope soon for somewhere tropical for next year!
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