Two Miles Up

Despite that the weather in Michigan doesn’t look like it thinks that winter is over, now that the big ski trip is finally done, it is over in my mind. I don’t mind that the snow is still here, but there won’t be anymore ski trips this season.

We don’t bring our iPhones with us skiing and we actually don’t have real cameras (like point and shoots or DLSRs) so we don’t have any action shots, but these sum it up a bit nicely

The Sky Mall Catalog: where you can buy great things, like shoes with sperm on them.

Amanda, Me, Megan. Getting ready to check in to our condo at the Village at Copper

Tim and I at the top of the Super Bee lift at Copper

After going to downtown Denver on Sunday we headed to the airport… only to hang out for three hours, eat some crappy (yet why does it taste so good? Probably the MSG…) Chinese food, we found out that our flight was indeed cancelled!

Bottom of Peak 8, Breckenridge

The earliest flight home was Wednesday night at 7pm so we made a few quick decision and quick phone calls. Booked a hotel in Frisco and a ride on the Colorado Mountain Express shuttle so we could spend the extra two and a half days at Breckenridge.

Over the course of the trip I also got snagged twice by the mountain photographers! We actually pushed out the cash to buy some pictures from them.

This makes me look so much cooler than I actually am!

There isn’t too much else to say. I’m really glad we got the extra days but I am also glad to be back home. So much catch up.

Not Here!

Okay, well maybe I am not there either! We’re at Copper Mountain in Colorado skiing for a few days! Have a great weekend

Saturday Planning – 2/13 to 2/20

Planning my menus on Saturday before my grocery shopping trip is my go-to method for keeping organized and saving money by only buying what I need.

This coming Wednesday, the 16th, I leave for Colorado for a couple days of much needed vacation.

Pre-Colorado Meal Plan

• Yakisoba with veggies
• BBQ Tofu, Israeli Couscous, and a veg
• Leftover Lasagna, for real this time

Colorado Meal Plan
When we are in Colorado, we’re spending the first night at my friend Amanda’s apartment and then it’s up bright and (really) early to head out to Copper Mountain. The five of us have a condo we’re staying in at the mountain with a full kitchen.

I have been tasked to create the meal plant for five people.

• all meals have a vegetarian option (predominately for me)
• all meals must be gluten-free or have that as an option

With that, here is my meal plan for Colorado.

Breakfasts each morning: fruit, bagels, eggs (hardboiled?), cereal (GF)
Lunch each day: vegetarian black bean chili
Dinner Thursday: Tacos, Mexican rice
Dinner Friday: Stir Fry
Dinner Saturday: some kind of curry, depending on what sauces the Whole Foods in Denver has

I’m super excited for Denver AND not being at work. The only problem is that I know the emails will be piling up while I’m out. Boo to that

Trip To D.C.

After many illegal left turns, we made it to DC around noon on Friday. We got set up at our hotel and then took off to go walk around for a while. We stopped at the south side of the White House, but we couldn’t get very close. From there we walked to the Lincoln Memorial, and down the National Mall to the WWII Memorial, and then walked around the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

At around 5:30pm, we met up with my cousin Emily. It was our first time meeting (she’s on my dad’s side that I don’t really know) and it was pleasantly not awkward. I was a little bit worried but we ended up having a lot in common. Herand her friends meet up every Friday night in the summer for Jazz in the Park at the National Gallery of Art’s sculpture park. We hung out for a couple hours eating cheese and crackers, hummus, fruit, and wine that was snuck in to avoid the expensive stuff you could buy.

We went out to dinner at Asian Spice, a fusion-y kinda restaurant in Chinatown. I had eel + avocado sushi and a Burn Baby Burn roll (spicy shrimp tempura roll with tuna I think).

On Saturday we met Emily at 9am at the National Zoo. It was really nice and so much bigger than the Detroit Zoo. Pandas, elephants, lions, tigers, red pandas… PANDAS. Sadly, no penguins. After that we had some lunch at an Indian restaurant (lamb biryani) and then went to the Botanical Gardens and then the National Gallery of Art. We got some sweet frozen yogurt (green tea flavor with chocolate chips, raspberries, and caramel). After that we went to the National Portrait Gallery and put our name on the list at the Old Ebbitt Grill. We ended up having to wait about an hour and a half. Okay though, since we weren’t very hungry when we got there and just hung out at the bar until we got our table. I had a cup of clam chowder and salmon with spring veggies and fingerling potatoes.

Sunday we made our drive back home to Michigan. Left at 9am and got home at around 730pm. Seems like pretty good time. Monte Carlo didn’t overheat Great success.

Now, only one more full day of work until Tim and I leave for six days in the UP!

Our room at the W

The W from outside at night–we were above the W sign on the right

Couldn’t get too close, apparently Obama was outside

It’s me!

Washington Monument, and grass that is actually green!

Lincoln Memorial

Statue of Lincoln

View down the National Mall

With the Michigan Sign at the WWII Memorial

Ignore water bottle >_< I forgot my Kleen Kanteen in the hotel the first day… but I filled that baby up about ten+ more times

Panda at the Zoo

Sweet lily pad and frog farm at the Zoo

PA, MD, VA, DC

As I am not bringing my laptop with me on our trip, and my iPhone doesn’t have the latest software so it cannot download the WordPress app, I am writing this post early. The plan is to get out early today and get to DC (going through two new states for me–Maryland and Virginia) hopefully before noon. Also, hopefully the hotel will let us check in once we get there…. and hopefully we don’t get owned too badly on parking. I’m scared of that one. I plan to just park the Monte in the lot/structure and leave it there all weekend.

Our route for the day:

Also–we’re staying at the W! I’m pretty excited about this as usually I don’t get nicer than a Holiday Inn Express It is a block away from the White House, which unfortunately, we’re not going to get to see. They do White House garden tours that I really would have liked to go on, but the website says that those tours are only open to groups of school kids. What school-aged kid appreciates a garden? Geez. I would appreciate it.

On the Road

It is official. I have been in vacation mode (aka the closest one gets to senior-itis when not actually attending school anymore) for about three days now. Or maybe a week.

And I’m actually going on a vacation now! Amanda and I are leaving after work today to start our trek out to Washington, D.C. and I’m pretty excited. I’ve never been there before since our junior high trip never happened (got to go to Japan that summer, so that was better anyways).

We’re driving out to Irwin, PA (??) tonight and then the rest on Friday morning. Hopefully we can meet up with my cousin who lives in Arlington at some point, since I’ve never actually met her before. Aside from that, I’m not too sure where I want to go. I’d like to go to the National Zoo since it looks like a super sweet time, but it is supposed to be about 97 degrees out. I might die. It’s highly probable.

97 degrees? Seriously? That has to be illegal.