Vail: Yeah....pt. 2

When I hear the words, “long drive,” all I can think about was that horrific and traumatizing drive from New Jersey to Colorado with my dad over the course of 28 hours. It was the middle of May and once we hit Ohio, it was below freezing, and by the time we arrived in the beautiful and colorful state of Iowa (as you should all know, I’m fibbing….a lot), it was hailing and the road was filled with reckless drivers alongside people who hated the state as much as we did, trying to escape.

This drive, however, completely wipes out all former views I had on the description of a long drive.

I decided to take the wheel. I don’t know why, he even offered to drive, but I was ready to drive this route so I could actually be able to say, “Oh, Utah? Yeah, I once drove 7 hours from Colorado to Moab just to sleep there for one night. It was wild”

The drive was flying by, and mostly because having a driving companion (Justin) there to constantly be talking to, blasting Backstreet Boys with, and dancing to “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, makes time seem non-existent. And because of this random trip, we really had no set schedule or plans for the ride up but we didn’t care whether we made it to Arches National Park by sunset or the middle of the night. Around 2:30pm, the sun was shining bright at a whopping 88 degrees and we were in the process of trying to determine where our first stop would be. What we needed was a sign. And about 1 mile later, there was a sign for Vail. Seemed like a valid sign to us. So off to Vail we went!

I have to tell you, Vail is beautiful in the winter. There is so much to do, the slopes (or so I’ve heard) are unbelievable and it’s a must-see in the winter. In the summer/fall? Not so much. It’s beautiful and everything, but there is NOTHING to do and it’s pretty dead.

Picture this: Remember Shrek? Remember when Shrek and Donkey had to go through Duloc and there was nothing going on? It was like no one knew about it and then at the information kiosk there were those puppets that would pop out of the clock and sing. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, follow this link to be well acquainted with one of the best scenes that has ever come out of that movie.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFMEblf0uIY

Well, Vail was EXACTLY like that. Just without the puppets. Well, who knows, maybe they were at the south entrance and we missed them.

Although it was empty, it still had picturesque views. The rolling hills of greenery in front mountains covered in snow. It was like seeing two seasons at once. For the first hour we wandered the small but quaint town, trying to learn how to use my big girl camera and then decided to go find food. What surprised me the most was that Vail looked exactly like Germany. The architecture was similar to that I saw in Germany when I spent a few days in Munich. Very castle-esque with potted flowers hanging from the rooftops and balconies of the surrounding hotels and restaurants. There was not a bland site to be seen. The flowers were so perfectly placed that it was as if they bought the building with the flowers included.

 

 

 

After we wandered and marveled at the beauty that we were being engulfed by, we realized we needed to eat before we cried. (Seriously) So we ended up getting sushi and I’m not going to bore you with my food experience (although that is what my Instagram is for), but the sushi chef was incredibly generous and gave us a free roll of sashimi and Mochi for dessert and we talked to him about buying a new camera. It was a fun little surprise that was the perfect ending to Vail.

 

 

And the adventure continues….