Breck Trip Part 1- Spring Break 2021

We were supposed to be on a Disney Cruise for Spring Break 2021. We had booked it with some friends just before the pandemic hit in early 2020 with not even an inkling at that time that it would never happen. It seemed so far off that maybe, just maybe there was some hope. But the ships weren't sailing and even if they were, did we really want to wear a mask the whole time we were on board? The answer was a resounding no. So in January, without too many options since the kids can't leave the country because school would require them to quarantine for two weeks, we decided our only options were Florida or skiing. Now I'm not a huge fan of Florida and I knew so many people that were going there that it was going to be beyond crowded (and it was from all those that did go). So I suggested a spring break ski trip. Spring skiing out west can be really enjoyable with the warm weather and the apres ski! Now I knew that my family really enjoys their warm vacations as do I, so if there was ever a time to go for spring break it was going to be now when we had this opportunity. I found an amazing house with incredible views in Breckenridge close to the Peak 8 gondola so basically an easy ski in and ski out. We signed up the kids for lessons, bought tickets and we were ready.

Flight to Denver was easy. O'Hare wasn't super crowded but we loved our TSA pre check. The only snafu that we had was parking. Economy was full so we had to park in daily. We've tried car services before too but have had ones literally never show up for us during spring break. Anyway, got to Denver, got our rental car and I had already mapped a place on the way to eat. It was perfect. We got to watch the Loyola NCAA tournament basketball game and the kids got to enjoy these amazing shakes. Great way to start our vacation.

We trekked on to Breckenridge after our late lunch and when we arrived at our rental house I knew it was going to be amazing. The views from our house were absolutely breathtaking. So beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. We were only skiing 3 days total and we had the house for a week so there was definitely some downtime built in.

The kids all had their own rooms on the lower level and loved having their own TVs in each one. In Hailey's room was a selection of 4 wildlife stuffed animals with tags still on them telling the girls that if you fall in love with one of them during the trip, you may take it home. This was the perfect house for my girls and especially Hailey. We got settled and then as we were driving out of our area to get groceries, we spotted the most beautiful fox foraging in the snow for food. We were so excited to see a fox but little did we know that we'd see something much more beautiful a few days later. 

It was a long day so we got settled in and the next day took the gondola to town, for some shopping, got fitted for our skis, figured out our ski lessons, got used to the altitude (which affected Tom the most but I kept having the kids drink a lot of water before we left - they seemed fine) and went out to dinner on the town.

Monday, the girls had ski lessons so Tom and I took them and on our way out of our driveway, we saw a huge moose just walk by! We called Austen who had stayed behind and he started videoing the moose walking in between our houses. Amazing and beautiful! 

Skiing went well on Monday. Austen skiied with us and did well. Peyton was annoyed her and Hailey got put in the same lesson group. Conditions were a little icy early in the day but warmed up later and then the skiing was much better. It was a good first day all around. 

Tuesday was another day of skiing. The girls did lessons again (this time not together) and Austen also took a lesson which allowed Tom and I to ski by ourselves for a bit. However, we got about a foot of snow late the night before so the skiing was very tiring. I think we all went in that day after just 3 hours from exhaustion. And, we were definitely looking forward to our break day the next day and venturing to Boulder to see UC - Boulder. More on that in my next post.

The view from our place!

The Moose!

Skiing!

Crepes in downtown Breckenridge