THE TO GO LIST

So I went to Colorado this past weekend, and WOW, let me just state this right now as a preface: I will live there someday. It was beyond beautiful, everyone was so friendly, there was so much to do, and the views are incomparable. We went to several different cities/towns within the state, and I loved each one more than the one before.

I flew into Denver, and we went out there that night. Unfortunately due to the change in altitude, I have very little memory of where we went…and I didn’t even drink that much. So when you go – just know that the getting-drunk-faster-because-of-the-altitude situation is real. I didn’t believe it was quite that bad, but based on the night proved otherwise!

When we got up in the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and then went straight to the Coors Brewery in Golden. The brewery tour is free (yay) and at the end, you get THREE free full-size beers (triple yay)! Thankfully the altitude didn’t hate me again this day so I was only buzzed. From there, we drove to Salida – the cutest little mountain town you ever did see! This is the place I think I would want to live – or somewhere just like it. It was the most scenic drive, staring at the snow covered mountains and the Arkansas River the entire way. Once we got there, we went to Buena Vista, and went to Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort. Check it out here. Seriously – amazing. It was about 55 degrees when we went, so definitely cold enough that you want to stay in the hot springs the whole time. But it was perfect. There is so much to do at the resort that we didn’t have time for unfortunately, but as my readers know, this is always my excuse to come back!

We then went to dinner at the Boathouse Cantina which was SO yummy, and had such great vibes. We had actually been planning on going to Steamboat Springs for the weekend but couldn’t find a cabin to stay in, so we didn’t have a hotel when we got to Salida. This actually worked out perfectly, because right down the block from the restaurant was The Palace Hotel, and they had vacancy! Pricey, but so so so worth it. It was the perfect little romantic getaway spot. The room was beautiful, very vintage (my taste 100%), and the generous front desk guy surprise upgraded us to a suite! We got super lucky and would definitely go back and stay there again! PS: included in your stay, they bring you breakfast to your room at whatever time you choose, which was ridiculously delicious.

In the morning, we walked around Salida and down the river, and then drove the beautiful scenic route once again, heading to Colorado Springs. We stopped at a few places to take photos, including the Royal Gorge — can I just say how freaking awesome it would be to take a helicopter ride over the gorge?! If any of you do this – send me your photos! Once in Colorado Springs, we went to Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs, and then it was time for me to head back to the airport – these travel weekends always go by way, way too fast.

Once I got to the airport, I found out my flight was two hours delayed…yay. So I didn’t get home until 2am Indy time — Monday was rough! But as I always say, it’s so worth it. The short amount of time in a new place, the exhaustion come Monday morning, the travel joys of delayed flights and traffic; no matter what, it’s worth it to get that wanderlust rush, to see people you care about, to experience something other than the ordinary.

Now, I have about two weeks of “down time” until my next venture: Nashville! Within this time frame, I’ll have several crazy days at work, turn 26 (anyone want to teach me how to get insurance…? Jk…kind of) and catch up with my roommate coming home from her two week trip to Europe. Life never slows down, and I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂

*Another state checked off the bucket list! 26 more to go! #all50before30