Colorado

My friend Sallyanne got married in Beaver Creek, CO a few months ago. To say that I had been excited to go to this event would be a giant understatement. Sal and I met at Vanderbilt and reconnected when we both lived in San Francisco. Truthfully, she was a big reason why I loved the city so much (despite the job woes). Her fiance (now husband), Brian quickly fell in love with Pax and a long-term long-distance relationship was born. Anyway, so VU friends are coming to this shindig, San Fran peeps will be there, and the local is in one of my most favorite parts of the county and another former home, Colorado. This is going to be epic.

 I arrive in the Denver International Airport to some snow. In early October. I am not prepared for this anymore. The amazingly helpful people at Enterprise rent-a-car upgrade my rental ride into one that is a little heavier than the cheapest Ford Fusion I had selected. I'm just praying I don't need chains for my drive up the mountain. My buddy KO agrees to take a long lunch break and meet me at a local brewery in Downtown Denver. My love for this city grows by the second. One of my favorite things about hanging out with KO is that he is convinced that all of this roaming, exploring, second guessing, career seeking business I've got myself in will somehow work itself out. My friends believe in me. Speaking of those kinds of friends, I leave lunch with KO in order to drive over to Boulder to visit with another buddy. Noodle's been a pal since I first moved to Breckenridge. I'm surprised our friendship has lasted through the moves and distance until I see her again - when everything just feels normal. Delicious dinner at our usual spot(s) The Kitchen and The Med. Crash in her fabulous guest room. Wake up to a fresh and beautiful blanket of snow! I am loving this visit already.

Sal & B's wedding is on a Friday. This is totally fine with me since it means more time in the mountains. I drive up to Beaver Creek to check in to the fabulous Pines Lodge and wait for some VU buds to join in on the fun. They are taking an annoyingly long time; then Sims calls to tell me that CBird has had a difficult time renting a car since she forgot her drivers license. Good to know not much has changed since college. I think. I have to fast forward a little bit so that I get to the fun stuff before losing all 16 readers but needless to say, we squealed a little, rushed to get dressed, and made our way to the chapel for the big ceremony. Hopefully the bridge and groom didn't hear us because we were giggling at ourselves the whole service. The reception was immaculate - seriously Beaver Creek, CO might be one of the most beautiful places on the planet in early winter. Because the Flemings clearly know their way around a good party, my friends and I are seated in a prime location: between a bar and the dance floor. Perfection. Drinks are had. Dancing commences. Moves you've never seen before. More drinks. Shoes come off. More insane moves. Of course I could use another beer. Wigs? She brought blue wigs to her wedding? I'll be wearing one of those. On second thought, it makes my head hot and interferes with my dancing. More drinks. CBird and Sims head out to ensure that C catches her early morning flight back to Texas. Everyone makes fun of her travel schedule - in CO for less than 36 hours. They do not return. I am loving life and decide to continue the party in "downtown Beaver Creek".  

And before I know it is 4am and I am still out! No problem! I'll just walk myself back to the Pines, get myself all warm and snuggled in the giant bed and sleep until noon. So I meander my way to some doors, ridiculously determined to not make a scene in my escape - after all no one likes to be the one that can't hang until the party is really over. Whoa. This place is dark and maze like. Some doors are locked, some lead to the inside, some lead to hallways to no where. I have no idea where I am (aside from the Village and I know my way around that). Luckily, I am smart and resourceful and recognize that if I can just find my way to the main doors, then I can locate the road and hike home from there instead of the "through the woods" version I took earlier. I succeed in this. I am both proud and embarrassed by this fact. It is dark and cold. I am in a wedding-ish dress, bare legs, and wedges (ie barefoot) and, as CMD would say, wearing perfume of booze and bad decisions. 

A fox walks with me most of the way. The fox and I become weekend friends. I am worried that Apple Maps will fail me in my time of need. I hear a bear in the trash can near-by.The fox skedaddles. I finally call Sims (since I know she has to be up early) to let her know that I should be arriving in the next ten minutes. I hear her throw on shoes and open the door while she tells me that she is coming to get me. I don't think this is a good idea. I know where I am, but I don't know where I am in relation to where she is. What if we miss each other? Just as I hang up, I turn the corner to see the entrance to the Pines Lodge and thank Jesus for letting me arrive safely. I run into Sims just as she is about to exit. Whew. I have to wrap my feet and hands in blankets as I go to sleep for the rest of the night. We fall into the bed, almost crying from laughter. 

The next morning, just as Sims and I were about to begin our "post-wedding" recovery hike, we receive a text from the newly married couple. Anyone interested in a lumberjack competition in Red Cliff, CO? Um. Heck yes! You do not pass up opportunities like that. So we all pile into a few cars and drive the highway through Minturn and over to a tiny town (that surely gets snowed in most winter) to partake in some keg throwing, ax throwing, archery, cornhole, and the best bloody mary's ever made. Life is so good.

Just when you think the weekend can't get any better (seriously, I think about this time I was mentally packing up my bags and searching craigslist for apartments in Colorado) I get in touch with Amy (who is not a sister, but shares a last name and might as well be one) who agrees to meet me in Breckenridge for a hike and to see if we couldn't relive some of our glory days. We hiked about 6 miles through the Blue River trails behind my old house, told silly stories, talked about what we wanted out of life generally just enjoying each others company. 

By the time we were finished, Amy was ready to move back to the mountains with me. And then. The sky opened up and God said "Listen to me! I gave you an incredible weekend in a beautiful place. But don't you go stretching that out to actually living here again". And in about 0.5 seconds the temperature plummetted, the wind started howling and we both recalled the nickname "BreckenFRIDGE". Well played, God's plan. Well played. 

Then to top it off ADalton and I wrangled another buddy into the Breck Brewery (since everything else was closed) for some mountain brews and catching up. Again. My life is awesome. Cheers to the Vanderbilt friends, Colorado friends, and San Francisco friends. Maybe it's time I stop putting you all in seperate categories. It is because of you all that my life is awesome. But no, I'm not planning on moving again in the near future.