Day 2 in Breckenridge and heading home

Day 2 started with a nice breakfast at the hotel and getting ready for our day ahead - much colder today and snow was predicted. We were hoping to make it up to the ski area, which just opened officially this weekend, to look around and have lunch.

We were all feeling a bit better and adjusting to the elevation...so off we go!

 Getting ready to board the Breck Connect Gondola that takes you up to the ski area. It's a free ride and the lines move very fast! Lots of skiiers and snowboarders ready for the day.

We made it to Peak 8....so much fun and a light snowfall to top it off. It was incredibly crowded, but didn't bother us because we had no plans and weren't waiting in the lift lines.

Definitely VERY cold and breezy!

We at lunch at a nice sit down restaurant on the slopes.

After lunch, we explored a bit and then took the Gondola back down to town. Here are some pics of the landscape on the ride down.

Back down to Main Street, and explored for a bit of time and then went back to the hotel, dropped mom off to rest, and Patty and I headed back out again for a couple of hours.

Pulled over as we were heading back down into town to get a pic of the town from above, where our hotel was.

Off to explore on our own...

We did some damage, returned to get ready for dinner....our last night!

Our final dinner at The Lodge!

Our departure day started with a 4:00 a.m. wake-up call to prepare for the snowy drive to Denver. Snow storm yesterday left us a bit concerned about the two hour drive over the mountains and through the woods...so we wanted to allow a lot of extra time, just in case.

Called in our order to Starbucks on Main Street, picked it up and were on our way...

 The small town looked like a winter wonderland with all of the new snow that fell overnight, too bad we were leaving before sunrise.

Drive with us from Breckenridge to Denver International Airport! Leave the newly snow-covered streets of Main Street...watch the sunrise as we cross the continental divide and enter into a final snow squall as we approach the airport! We go from elevation of 11,200 feet to 5,200 at the airport.....

The sun is out and we are waiting to board our plane!

So, this trip was amazing! It was a great getaway with my mom and my sister. We laughed, we talked, we caught up with each other's busy lives and we just enjoyed each other's company. I am so thankful for the love and laughter that we share and this time together!!

We will be doing this again...and lesson learned...we WILL NOT go to a high elevation and we WILL stay close to sea level. :)

This was also a good practice run for the next Rahn Family Adventure!! The 4 Rahns will be traveling back to Jackson and the Tetons in Wyoming for a 5 night winter adventure over New Year's Eve!!!

Stay tuned for: 

Snow-cat Adventures into Yellowstone, Snowshoeing in the Tetons, Ice-skating in Jackson Town Square, New Year's fireworks over the Tetons and whatever else winter in Wyoming blows our way...

because it's ...

Seldom A Dull Moment 

with the Rahns!!

Arrival and our first day in Breckenridge!

This trip came out of a desire to have a quick mother/daughter getaway to someplace fun! We didn't want warm, and we're all snow/winter lovers so we decided to go cold! We'll see if going to one of the highest elevations in the United States was a good choice. Breckenridge, Colorado was chosen because Patty had visited here for a quick day trip when she was in Colorado for business years ago....

On the plane and ready for a great 3 day adventure!!

We made it to our rental car just as the sun was setting and that was the last "view" we got before darkness. We had a two hour drive up and into the mountains from Denver to Breckenridge in the dark with WAZE as our tour guide.

Denver Airport at sunset..

I found a great app to watch our elevation, since I couldn't look at the scenery - we started at about 6,500 feet in Denver and climbed as high as about 11,100 feet and then back down to about 9,000...finally ending about about 9,600 at our hotel when we checked in.

We had a very late dinner at the hotel restaurant and then tried to sleep. Between altitude adjustments and the time change...sleep was hard to come by this first night. I was up at 4:00 a.m. (6:00 Virginia time) and just caught up on some work while waiting for sunrise at 6:45.

Woke up to finally see where we were and explored the area before breakfast...it is beautiful and cold! About 20 degrees outside. Today is forecast to be a beautiful, sunny day with a high of 35.

 The lobby:

Our view from breakfast:

After breakfast we drove down into town and enjoyed walking around, shopping and taking in the sights...

First stop was a cute coffee shop - lots of fun!

After that we walked around town and found lots of cute shops. The weather was about 23 degrees and a little breezy.

Coming from basically sea level to 10,000 feet  we were all a little winded and mom was hit with altitude issues hard, so we made a recommended stop at the Oxygen Bar. We hooked up for about 45 minutes and had smoothies while we "oxygenated" our bodies.  The place was very popular - a bridal party of about 10 girls came in while we were there, as well as a couple groups of guys who weren't feeling well. After 45 minutes, we were good to go for the rest of the afternoon. 

We ate lunch at Flip Side - a great burger place with awesome milkshakes.

And wandered Main Street some more - so many cute shops and fun areas to explore in this little town

Our view driving back to The Lodge

We got back to The Lodge and mom took a power nap and we watched a Winter Bride get ready for her outdoor mountain wedding. So pretty!

One of the highlights of the day was my new snow boots! Crazy as that sounds, I got new boots for this trip and also for our Rahn family adventure in December. I was worried they wouldn't be broken in enough...and after wearing them for 12 hours today, they were still super comfortable!! So excited!

So day one was in the books and we survived the huge changes in elevation...tomorrow is supposed to bring snow in the forecast and some more exploring...maybe a gondola ride to the top of the mountain.