July 26, 2016
Day 3
We left Cheyenne, Wyoming heading towards Denver, Colorado. We planned out our day so that we could see and do the several items on our list without getting much more behind schedule.
We started the day’s adventures with lunch in Denver at Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. The restaurant was urban and had cute outdoor seating. It looked like it could be a fun place to just grab a drink (if you are into that sort of thing). But at the time, we were much more interested in the incredible food! We shared fried cheese curds for an appetizer and then split an open-faced beef brisket sandwich with gouda and greens. As my face in the pic below suggests, I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Denver! 😉
Next we made our way to the Broncos stadium. Of course we had to get some pics with every good Hoosier’s second favorite team!! #westillloveyoupeyton #gocolts
Soon after, we were off to the Red Rock Amphitheater. This place was incredible and my pictures don’t capture the beauty of it, but wanted to share them anyway.
Oh and don’t forget to bring an oxygen mask while you are here in Denver. 😉 But seriously you can barely breathe because of the high altitude, and climbing up and down at the amphitheater makes it even worse.
Our last stop in Denver was to meet our friends from Purdue and Fort Wayne, Matt & Katie Graham. They moved from Fort Wayne to Denver a year ago so Matt could attend seminary. We loved catching up with them even though it was just for a short time! Thanks for changing your schedules to make it possible to get together.
After leaving their place we started our journey towards Vail, Colorado! Of all the destinations planned for our trip, this was the one I was most excited to visit. I had heard Vail described as beautiful, quaint, and sophisticated… yup, that’s pretty much all I needed to be hooked. We arrived late afternoon, and sure enough, the mountains and town were even better than their portrayal on Pinterest! On top of beautiful, quaint, and sophisticated, I would have to add “magical” to the list.
On our way to Vail we were looking online for a place to stay and had a room picked out at the Arrabelle at Vail Square, however we decided to wait to reserve it when we arrived, but sure enough the place ended up selling out before we go there. Nonetheless, it was so charming and elegant!! Check this place out if you ever need a place to stay in Vail. Several other resorts were booked up for the evening as well but I managed to find us a place at the Marriott Mountain Resort. This place was adorable and would also be a great recommendation.
It had a Swiss Chalet theme and we had a beautiful mountain view room. These pics are from our balcony!
By the time we got a room and found parking most of the local shops were closing but we were able to find a few open ones to get a quick feel (and a couple of purchases) in. I don’t even want to try describing the village for you because my words won’t do it justice…maybe the pics will help; and if not go experience it for yourself!
We had dinner at the Tavern on the Square located right in the village square. So if you don’t take any other recommendations from the trip I would do this one thing for sure… eat here if you ever get the chance! It was delicious and by far the best food we had on the trip. I ordered the gourmet cheese toasty, tomato basil soup, and the side of quinoa cos cos. It was mouth-watering! (Oh and the temperature here had dropped to 60 degrees. So in the middle of the summer this is freezing, and I needed something to warm me up!)
We called it an early night so we could get up and explore Vail before we left on Wednesday!
Day 3 Complete!