A few days before the holiday weekend, we started thinking about what outdoor activities we could do in our area. We could go hiking, golfing, exploring at the annual Cherry Creek Arts Festival BBQing with friends, but we decided to do something different. We packed a small bag and early Friday morning took the lovely drive to the town of Vail, CO.
Vail is known by locals and tourists as one of the premier skiing areas in Colorado. The town is surrounded by the White River National Forest and is home to the Vail Ski Resort, the most popular ski resort in the state. During the summer months, Vail offers its visitors loads of fun activities and events, including golfing, hiking trails, gondola rides, free music at various locations, and during the Fourth of July weekend, evening fireworks displays.
We left early Friday morning because we had scheduled a tee time the at Eagle Vail Golf Club. In my three years of golfing, I’ve not yet enjoyed a golf course such as this one. The front nine holes were pretty typical of other courses, but the back nine were quite breathtaking. The Eagle River ran by several of the holes, and almost the entire course was adorned with colorful wildflowers. I could see beautiful homes that featured some of the most bluffly decorated patios I’ve seen. Colorful patio furniture was placed cohesively to form various cozy nooks and larger group seating areas, and potted plants and lush gardens surrounded the entire backyard, creating an atmosphere where anyone could enjoy some time for relaxation, a book, a BBQ, and great conversation with family and friends.
Back to the course, two of the holes had a 10-foot drop, which challenged me to hit the ball hard, straight and with plenty of lofts to avoid falling in either dense brush below or the water. Most of the time I only play nine holes; however, in this course, you have to play the entire 18. Fortunately, this was not a problem for me. Each hole was a challenge, and at the turn of every corner, I was excited to see what other lush scene was waiting for me.
On the holes where the river ran past while waiting for the other players to take their shot, I enjoyed soaking in the cool breeze shooting from the water and the sounds of raging water that quickly and forcefully crashed through rocks, boulders, and grooves. It was a hot day, but the cool breeze kept me from feeling overheated.
After golf, one of our golfing buddies suggested we try a local restaurant that featured a delicious prime rib dinner for only $19.95, so off we went. The restaurant/bar was nothing out of the ordinary, but the patio was nice. The alcoholic drinks were OK, and the prime rib was very good. The wild rice was a bit dry, as well as a side of vegetables, which was a squash medley. Overall, it was not a bad meal for the price. After dinner, we decided to call it a night and enjoy our condo.
The condo location was near the village center and on a busy street. It had no air conditioning, so we had to keep the windows open, though that was a quite noisy. Still, the condo was gorgeous, featured nice decoration, had modern appliances and was very spacious. We curled up on the comfy couch and watched a movie. We slept in a bit the next day because the parade did not start until 11 a.m. The condo was near the town center, so we walked there. We walked from the condo to the village center and had breakfast in a French deli, and then enjoyed the parade for a couple of hours.
After the parade, we took Vail’s infamous gondola ride and planned to hike down after having lunch at the restaurant at the top. The food was OK, but we didn’t care because it was the hike and rooftop views we were interested in most. The hike was about three miles, taking most people an average one and a half to two hours to walk, and it took us just about that amount of time. The path down, called “Berry Pickers Trail”, was not challenging, and the weather was a comfortable 70 degrees. We walked through the mild brush, water streams, wildflowers and lush trees. Some areas of the trail were a bit challenging because the hike was all downhill and some areas were muddy, but we got through it.
We walked to the condo parking lot and got in the car for happy-hour at the Westin Maya Restaurant because a friend had informed us that the patio had a view to die for, and it did. The patio was huge and it showcased an amazing view of the mountains. Maya features margaritas made with fresh fruit and vegetables. I had a pineapple while my husband Glen enjoyed the spicy jalapeño. We were not disappointed. Because we enjoyed the drinks so much, we decided to have dinner, and then went back to the condo for more drinks and a movie.
We took our time to get up and ready to go the next morning. We grabbed breakfast at The Little Diner and headed home. Although the one and a half hour drive took us three, we arrived home relaxed, refreshed and ready to start a new week.
$19.95 Steak dinner: http://www.gashouse-restaurant.com/
Sun Vail Condo: http://sunvail.com/
Maya Restaurant: http://www.richardsandoval.com/mayabc/
http://www.eaglevailgolfclub.com/
