Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding The Rockies Travel: Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Skiing & Snowboarding The Rockies Travel
by maribeth
Comments Off on Weekend Expectations
Weekend Expectations
It’s often recommended not to have any expectations. But how can you not when it comes to a weekend getaway? I’m sure even guys think (O.K., fantasize) about what they want out of a romantic weekend away. That’s part of the fun. Call it another form of travel planning.
I’m trying not to think too much about my plans for this weekend. Yet still little glimmers of mostly romantic moments keep popping into my mind. Let’s face it, even if it’s not fireworks it darn well had better be good. And how do I define good? Nothing short of blissful togetherness. Perfect harmony where the mere thought of it all coming to an end makes both of our hearts sink.
Vail is closing for the season this weekend and I thought it would be great to take in the festivities with Steve, my new love. Normally I wouldn’t question (even remotely!) if all would go well but there’s a big storm in the forecast and Saturday is looking like a powder day. There are no friends on powder days as the saying goes, and I found this out for real back in January when we took our first weekend away.
We both were incredibly psyched about discovering Crested Butte, a spectacular Colorado destination known for its rugged terrain, authentic spirit and quaint Victorian town. Neither of us had spent any real time there, so it was uncharted territory for us both. Truly though I think it was the idea of spending forty-eight hours together that appealed to us the most.
The Pearl Room at The Crested Butte Retreat
The drive there couldn’t have been more perfect since we talked nonstop, sharing thoughts, dreams and ideas that we hadn’t yet revealed in previous conversations. We tiptoed in to The Crested Butte Retreat, a high-end bed-and-breakfast that I had located on the Internet. Our meeting with our gracious hosts would wait until morning. We pushed open the door to the Pearl Room (also known as the Honeymoon Suite) and sauntered into an immense, milky-colored space, twice the size of my apartment back home. We savored a glass of red wine on the loveseat before falling into bed, totally smitten with each other and our surroundings.
We Could Ski Right Outside the Door of The Crested Butte Retreat
After an elegant breakfast together, we left practically hand in hand for the slopes the next day. It was a perfect day, punctuated by many fun runs together on Crested Butte’s craggy slopes and one long break at the Ice Bar, a popular gathering spot on the mountain where we gulped frosty beers and snuggled up to each other at a wraparound bar made entirely of blocks of ice. We cooed some more over an après-ski hot chocolate and then rushed back to the Retreat for a quick change for dinner. (We even endured a goof up with the public transportation which resulted in us missing a bus and having to wait a near eternity for another. We didn’t care much though; we were one with each other.)
We opted out of a romantic dinner à deux to dine with Ken and Kim Stone, two incredibly warm and enthusiastic people that both Steve and I knew from their time in Telluride. As the CEO of Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Ken provided us with the full rundown on this once rough-around-the-edges mountain town that is morphing into a more sophisticated destination for outdoor enthusiasts in the know. We chatted about this evolution over cheese fondue and juicy steaks in the uber sleek setting of the newly opened Prime in Elevation Hotel at Mt. Crested Butte. No one, of course, could have asked for a better introduction to the Butte.
We fell asleep in each others arms, professing our utter contentment with each other and openly stated that something had to bring us back to reality. It was almost dizzying to feel so high up in the clouds.
Be careful what you wish for—I’ve been warned of that many times, too. Our fluffy white haze turned into a big, dark thunderhead that rained upset and grief upon us by mid Sunday afternoon. The day started out excitedly: Steve was pumped about skiing powder with Ken and Kim and I felt proud of myself for giving him space to knock himself out since I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them on Crested Butte’s renowned double diamonds. The plan was that I would go on a Meet the Mountain tour and meet him for lunch. All was well in honeymoon land.
By almost 2 p.m., however, I was a wreck. He never showed up for lunch. “What? How could you forget?” I cried in between sobs.
“I don’t know, I just spaced it. I’m sorry. I screwed up.”
High Drama Hot Tub
Our weekend was irretrievable. Even a late check out and a long soak in the Honeymoon hot tub, couldn’t take us back to the soft space we had created together the first 3/4 of our weekend away. It took more time than that for both of us to fully recover.
Now here we are on the eve of another ski weekend away, another powder day. It would be silly for me not to expect to have it go well. But if there is a glitch, maybe now I wouldn’t take it quite so personally. Travel, after all, always brings out the best and the worst in relationships.
The Crested Butte Retreat, 970-349-1701, www.crestedbutteretreat.com ; please note that since this story was posted, The Crested Butte Retreat is no longer operating as an inn. You may, however, rent out the entire property for special retreats.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort, 800-810-7669, www.skicb.com
Prime in the Elevation Hotel at Mt. Crested Butte, 970-251-3030, www.skicb.com/cbmr/things-to-do/dining-mtcrestedbutte
Crested Butte is known for its proliferation of wildflowers in the summer. I have never seen this spectacular display but hope to some day soon. Maybe it will provide me with the opportunity to rewrite our ending in the Honeymoon Suite.
Hillside of Flowers in Front of The Crested Butte Retreat
Restaurants Romance & Relationships Telluride: Music & Dance Restaurants Telluride
by maribeth
2 comments
Night Out in Telluride
I moved to Telluride almost six years ago largely for its scenery, sunshine and sophistication. I often say that the world comes to Telluride and am amazed by the number of renowned musicians, authors and movers and shakers from the film industry and other creative and scientific domains that consistently descend upon our little mountain town, often to perform or share their work in a small venue. These people are drawn to the beauty and mystique of Telluride as much as the average ski bum is in awe over our plunging slopes and lively bars.
Our world-class festivals bring in much of this talent, extraordinary happenings that take place for the most part from Memorial Day to Labor Day, attracting devotees and casual observers from near and far. Thankfully Telluride’s special attractions are not just reserved for the summer months. There’s plenty to take in here year-round, making it exceedingly difficult to remain idle in this remote mountain town, even in the dead of winter or the thick of off-season.
Grooving to Grupo Fantasma at the Sheridan Opera House
Many of the events are, in fact, hosted by the big festivals. Such was the case recently at the Sheridan Opera House, where the Telluride Jazz Festival put on their winter concert to a sell out crowd. Anything the Telluride Jazz Festival does is of the highest quality, so my interest was naturally piqued when I learned that Grupo Fantasma, a ten-piece latin band, would be showcased this year. Seeing such a sizzling ensemble of musicians jamming on the tiny stage of our historic opera house could not be missed. (As one of Telluride’s landmark sites, this jewel box of a theater has featured illustrious performers such as Lillian Gish, Sarah Bernhardt and Jackson Browne in its more than one-hundred-year-old existence.)
Sheridan Opera House: A Telluride Treasure
Plus the stakes were raised for this evening out. The truth is I had heard about this show from the folks at my salsa class. Salsa as in dancing, not sauce making. I hadn’t taken a dance class since I was seven years old but in recent years I became increasingly consumed with the idea of signing up for lessons with a most willing partner. (My days of dancing the alley cat in a fouffy party dress at the Country Club must have indeed marked me. Or was it the yummy ice cream sundae that followed each session that had me hooked?)
The Ah-haa School, one of Telluride’s fine assets, is a stronghold of learning and fun that offers a great variety of courses from silkscreening to yes, salsa dancing. Why I started out with one of the most challenging dances known to man I do not know. I had found my perfect partner in Steve (see Night Out in Telluride Mountain Village posting), so of course I thought if there’s a will there’s a way and surely we’d be dancing like two passionate latin lovers in no time. Come again? We moved clumsily through our various moves with about as much heat as two gringos doing the macarena at an Italian wedding reception. But still we persevered. This must be some kind of a test of our relationship, I thought to myself numerous times. Up until then we enjoyed an amazingly harmonious existence (excepting the times he’d blow me off on powder days). Now it seemed ridiculous to subject ourselves to consternation such as what step to take when.
Attending Grupo Fantasma was to be a coming out party of sorts for our salsa class. Sure our teacher, the lovely Debbie Reynolds (most aptly named!), was to be there but she would not be calling out quick, quick, slow, quick, quick, slow to us the way she lead us through each move in class.
The Vault Room at La Coçina de Luz
Many of us gathered at La Cocina de Luz, a favorite locals’ restaurant, for dinner before the show. We enjoyed our own special enclave within the Vault Room where we ate chips and salsa, sipped margaritas, savored mexican food lovingly prepared from the finest ingredients and swapped stories about who we really were beneath our dancing personas and where we hoped to go with our newly acquired hobby. (I liked the idea of some of us going on a latin dance cruise the best!)
We pulled ourselves away from this colorful and lively establishment and braved the short, brisk walk down the street to the Opera House. Grupo Fantasma did indeed turn the chilly night into a hot, sweaty happening fueled by a couple more drinks but most of all our earnest desire to dance the night away with real passion and minimal stepping on each other’s feet. Steve almost gave up on us, lamenting that we couldn’t follow the beat and that I kept attempting to lead.
Then suddenly we clicked. We were dancing the salsa. I looked around and realized that the only people that did anything other than hippie dancing were those from our little salsa class. We felt truly initiated into the exciting world of latin dancing (even though I’m sure we looked like total white folk). We signed up for another series of classes. We talked about taking a trip to Vegas where there’s no shortage of salsa. We dreamed about breaking out into a sensuous salsa some day in South America like two dark haired latin lovers on a spotlighted stage. I started tuning in to “Dancing with the Stars” to check out the moves on the salsa dances. We started to feel more and more latino with every class.
“Jazz Festival will be here soon enough,” I mentioned to Steve. “Maybe there will even be a latin act on the town park stage or at the opera house,” I added, hinting at the opportunity to dance more to some great live music.
“We better get practicing then,” he replied with a hint of a smile on his curled up mouth.
“I’ll check the salsa CDs out of the library. You’d better start polishing your shoes.”
Soup, Salad and Lots of Salsa in T-ride
Sheridan Opera House, 970-728-6363, www.sheridanoperahouse.com
Telluride Jazz Festival, 970-728-7009, www.telluridejazz.org
Ah-Haa School, 970-728-3886, www.ahhaa.org
La Coçina de Luz, 970-728-9355, www.lacocinatelluride.com
More Favorite Telluride Restaurants
New Sheridan Chop House, 800-200-1891 and 970-728-4351, www.newsheridan.com
Cosmo, 970-728-1292, www.cosmotelluride.com
Rustico, 970-728-4026, www.rusticoristorante.com
La Marmotte, 970-728-6263, www.lamarmotte.com
Thank you to Ron Semrod for the interior photo of the Sheridan Opera House.
Food & Wine Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Restaurants Romance & Relationships Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Night Out in Telluride Mountain Villlage
Night Out in Telluride Mountain Villlage
Great Room with a View on a Busier Night
I almost can’t wait for the ski season to end. The key word there is almost. I’d love for the skiing to go on and on but I’m also yearning to spend more time at my desk, something that is indeed a big challenge when the slopes lie right outside your door and you’re caught up in the ski fever that grips every mountain town from late November through a good part of April. Plus I’ve been working a lot on the hill teaching skiing, a very rewarding job that not surprisingly leaves little energy for writing at the end of the day.
Then there’s the near grueling pace of the social life that one must endure in such a happening mountain resort. No matter how much you try to stay in, there’s always a concert (often free!), a dinner, a party or an impromptu gathering to take in. Telluride is a culturally rich, increasingly sophisticated town, which consistently goes off at the close of the lifts. more »
Art & Culture Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel: Art & Culture Colorado Denver Hotels & Lodging Restaurants Travel
by maribeth
1 comment
Viva Italia, Viva Italian Americans, Viva la Dolce Vita in Denver
The Sweet Life: Italian Style
Clemente. My name ends with a vowel, just like Delgato, Cardaluccio, pizza. When my grandparents emigrated from Italy our name was actually spelled Clementi. They Americanized it somewhat with an “e.” Even Frankie Valli once contemplated making his stage name Vally with a “y.” But he opted to be a good ‘ole Jersey Boy and settled on Valli and in so doing preserved more of his Italian heritage.
Jersey Boys: Italian American Guys
My dad is a Frankie, too. Not from Jersey but from Troy, New York. Close enough. Recently the music of the Jersey Boys helped him to reconnect with his roots. I spent a lot of time back east this past summer helping my father get through a difficult passage in his life and every step of the way we were serenaded by the melodious and memorable sounds of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. We became Jersey Boys addicts. My dad had seen this explosive Broadway show that recounts the story of four Italian American guys and their rise to fame last spring. Their hits from “Sherry” to “Oh, What a Night” to “My Eyes Adored You” to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” and more buoyed him up to a place of joy he had not known in quite some time. Through this music, I could tell my dad was retracing part of his own story. And I was right there with him, rediscovering a sound and a slice of Italian American culture I had not paid much attention to in quite some time.
Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Ski School Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Family Fun Facilitators
Family Fun Facilitators
Breaking for a Photo with Lisa, Noah and Sage in Front of a Mountain Lodge Cabin
“So what do you like best about skiing?” I asked eight-year old Patrick on one of our many chairlift rides together. There was a long pause during which time I anticipated the usual response, the one I receive most from kids—something along the line of loving to zip down the slopes really fast. Patrick gazed out at the snow covered panorama that glittered with white diamonds before us on that chilly, yet sunny, morning.
“I like the views of the mountains,” he finally replied. “It’s so beautiful,” he added with all the wonder of having just opened a prettily wrapped Christmas present and finding a treasure inside. “Back in D.C. where we live there are cars all over the place,” he added. “It’s so busy. Here it’s beautiful and quiet.”
I pondered his answer as we sailed over the slopes dotted with skiers of varying ability levels, largely vacationers that all totaled resulted in record-breaking numbers for the mountain this past holiday season. “It is lovely here, isn’t it?” I replied, thinking about how the awe-inspiring grandeur of our jagged peaks escapes no one, not even children that are typically focused on the thrill of bombing down the hill more than absorbing the beauty of the surrounding area.
It was day eleven of my fifteen-day stint of ski instructing and with each client, big and small, I always found new inspiration, a fresh take on how to help everyone maximize their mountain experience. I was on private lessons throughout this period, assignments that allowed me to more fully connect with my students which in turn created bonds that brought us all closer together, parents included.
Sure skiing improved and we even broke through barriers such as being able to carefully work our way down steeper terrain without succumbing to a total meltdown. (Cheering about those achievements together afterward was always the best!) But more importantly, relationships were forged; everyone had more fun, a not-so negligent happening that produced a more positive time on the slopes and memories that would surely last a lifetime.
Some of my most vivid memories involve family ski vacations and I know that that’s the case for most of the people that chose to brave the cold and snow, the often tedious adjustments of clothing and gear and challenges such as trying to get your skis into a perfect parallel on a blue run when it feels safer to revert back to a power wedge. Running about on a sandy beach—clad in nothing but a bathing suit—is far less daunting, yet certainly less rewarding.
I like doing what most ski instructors do best here in Telluride: working with adults and children as a sort of family fun facilitator. And in doing this, we take on a variety of roles at different times including coach, mountain adventure leader, big buddy and even surrogate mom, to name a few. As an enthusiastic instructor, I introduce silly chairlift games, orchestrate drills such as skiing on one ski (to better feel the weight on the outside ski) or just simply cruise down the trail, setting the pace with a variety of turn shapes for all to follow.
Colorado Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride: Colorado Ski School Skiing & Snowboarding Telluride
by maribeth
Comments Off on Training and Turns
Training and Turns
Telluride Ski and Snowboard Instructors at Morning Lineup Before the Sun Even Hits "The Beach"
It’s almost midnight and I’m trying to wrap up a few loose ends in my writer’s world so that I can devote the majority of my energy to my ski instructor life—at least for the next two weeks. As of tomorrow, I’ll be on the mountain some fifteen days in a row. Typical ski instructor schedule around the holidays as a great influx of visitors and second-home owners are debarking this weekend and next. Those that are super organized have already done all of their Christmas preparations and such; others, like myself, rely primarily on the mountain for invoking great festive spirit.
Charting the Course for Future Mountain Adventures with Clients
We’ve all been working hard these past few weeks to improve our turns and also to perfect our teaching and communication skills. This has been achieved throughout a variety of workshops, orientations and training sessions both on snow and off; all has been carried out in an effort to ready ourselves for our clients and guests, young and old, first timers as well as well versed ski and snowboard enthusiasts. Probably what resonated the most for me was the importance of the emotional connection we create with our clients or students. (That comes more naturally to me than skiing the steeps!)
And the mountain has cooperated heartily. Snow fell twenty inches within twenty-four hours this past week, bringing snow totals for the month of December up to 69 inches. All lifts are open and the trails are cushioned with downy packed powder throughout.
My laundry is done, my little apartment is super clean and tidy and there’s a stock of EmergenC in the cupboard, chicken soup in the freezer and a huge bag of crunchies for my kitties in the closet. There’s not much more I can do to be entirely ready to spend a string of long, cold days on the mountain. And I can’t wait. I often say that becoming a ski instructor is the best thing I ever did for my writing career. It gets me out of my own often squirrel-ly way and allows me to interact with all kinds of people in a place I love dearly doing something that is incredibly fun. Telluride Ski and Snowboard School is one big family. The mountain, in fact, is one huge tribe. I look forward to providing updates about our gang throughout the season.
Spreading Rainbows and Sunshine: The Most Important Part of Our Job
Thank you to Deb Willits for the photos. She is most certainly one of the best Professional Ski Instructor of America (PSIA) trainers in the country and Telluride is lucky to have her.
The Mountain Awaits You
Beauty Being Green Shopping: Beauty Being Green Shopping
by maribeth
Comments Off on Beauty Products Roundup for the Holidays and 2009
Beauty Products Roundup for the Holidays and 2009
Some of Booth's Bootiful Booty
My Clarins obsession (see my Clarins posting) spurred a whole series of discoveries and contemplations of many other wonderful potions, lotions and beauty enhancers that I thought I’d share with you. Best of all many of the goods on my current wish list offer great value and are readily available at totally affordable prices. Most can also be purchased online, so there’s still time for last-minute holiday shopping.
Booth’s skin care products will keep your skin satiny soft and smelling luscious well into the new year. Their Tahitian Monoi Body Soufflé seems good enough to eat and as the label says, you can apply it all over your body in the morning. Or evening. Or morning and evening. Or morning, noon and evening. Well, you get the idea. You’ll likely even want to share it with a loved one!
CARGO'S PlantLove Lipstick
Looking for a gift idea that won’t impact your wallet? How about a tube of lipstick, a small yet always much appreciated mini luxury item? CARGO, the innovative cosmetic line that was launched nearly ten years ago and that also ranks as a favorite among the stars, has come out with PlantLove lipsticks, luscious tubes of color that are exciting both for their environmentally-friendly packaging and the precious cargo inside. No mineral oils or petroleum are contained within the botanical formula of their lipsticks yet they glide on to your lips like soft butter on bread. Made entirely of corn, the tube is also covered with flower paper embedded with real seeds that you supposedly just have to moisten and plant. Not sure how well that works but they do look pretty.
Why not consider a bottle of quality shampoo for you or the last few on your list? Only if it’s one of Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree blends. Specially infused with Australian Tea Tree Oil, these formulas care for your hair and scalp with the help of many moisturizing and invigorating properties. The Tea Tree Lavender Mint is particularly good for triggering your daily dose of shower-aromatherapy.
Here in the mountains I’ve learned not to mess around with my skin care which is why I’ve started to use Skin Medica TNS Ultimate Daily Moisturizer with an SPF of 20 on a daily basis. I’m sure you’ve all heard that some sunscreens can do more harm than good. You can be ultra safe with this sun protection and all other Skin Medica products since this is a company focused on enhancing skin appearance and reducing the signs of aging.
And here’s the latest update from Bobbi Brown, another of my favorites: You can now buy the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual at booksellers nationwide. Click here to have a sneak-peek at the video. May we all feel beautiful and good in our skin throughout this new year and forever!
Food & Wine Shopping: Food & Wine Shopping
by maribeth
Comments Off on Even More Great Online Boutiques for the Holidays
Even More Great Online Boutiques for the Holidays
A Larimer Square Keepsake
O.K., if you’re anything like me you’ve only completed about half of your holiday shopping. The remainder you’re perhaps planning to do by the end of the week. I suggest you keep it simple, shop online and have the goods mailed directly to those on your list (including yourself). There’s still time!
I just returned from a quick trip to Denver and as always, I’m in love with Larimer. That would be Larimer Square, one of the most happening places in the country, an historic neighborhood populated with exciting restaurants, bars and shops. If you’ve been there you know that colorful banners typically adorn this quaint area, also known as Larimer Street. You can actually own a piece of this landmark destination by purchasing a Larimer Messenger Bag, a fun fashion accessory—great for guys and gals—crafted out of the banners that once flew high over this part of Denver’s renowned LoDo (Lower Downtown) district. They’re a green shopping choice as well.
Napa Soap Harvest
I’ve also discovered some wonderful soaps and bath products for men and women from Napa Soap Company. They’re handcrafted in Napa Valley, California and yes, you guessed it, most include a dose of wine in their mix. If Soapignon Blanc, a rich mixture of grapeseed, olive, avocado and sunflower oils and white wine, grapefruit and pomegranate sounds good to you, you’ll love how it feels on your skin. Their Body Butter combines brown sugar, grapeseed oil and white wine, so, of course, you’ll have to pick up at least one of these for yourself in addition to having them shipped off to your friends. Yum!
If you’re looking for wines to drink, be sure to order some nectars from Quady Winery. Their sweet wines serve as the perfect accompani-ment to your holiday desserts. No time to whip up an unctuous delight for your special feast? (You know you’ll be tired of Christmas cookies by then.) You absolutely must order your pièce de résistance from the Sticky Toffee Pudding Company. Wow! English baker Tracy Claros hand makes these little wonders and packages them with so much love and attention they’re sure to woo you and the top gourmands on your list. Her English Lemon Pudding is award winning, but try the chocolate and toffee confections as well. Best served warm with cream or ice cream.
Remember that Ruth’s Toffee and Telluride Truffle are offering ten percent discounts when you mention BonjourTelluride.com.
