I am still playing catch-up with the blog, so, about 6 weeks ago I was able to go on a wonderful girls weekend to Park City, Utah with my friend Carrie. Carrie was one of my first friends in Seattle – we met the winter of 2008-2009 when we were volunteering as ski instructors for an adaptive ski program. We hit it off and so did our then boyfriends, now husbands, and became fast friends. Carrie and Patrick are some of our dearest friends and some of our favorite people to ski with.
Carrie and I became mothers within a month of each other and since then, it’s been harder to get together. Our distance doesn’t help, either – now we live about 2 hours apart. I’m so happy we were able to take our weekend trip to catch up!
Park City is one of my favorite ski towns – I’ve been there many times in the winter, but hadn’t been there at any other time of year. The town itself is filled with fantastic restaurants – we ate SO well and had incredibly nourishing food.
We went for several really beautiful hikes. I love the aspen trees in Park City and Deer Valley – they’re so abundant and even when they’re bare, they’re just so striking.
One of the many benefits of traveling during a shoulder season {the time between the peak seasons} is that there are fewer people there and you often get little perks here and there. Shorter lines at the cafe, more desirable dinner times, and upgrades and reduced rates at the hotel were a few that we enjoyed. Our afternoon tea service was such a special treat.
The time together with Carrie was so special. It’s not that often I’m able to have several hours, let alone several days, to really, really connect with a girlfriend. We had so many deep and engaging conversations and also were able to revive some of our “glory day” memories and make new ones.
And we marked the trip by buying matching outfits. {Pro tip: the ribbed leggings from Athleta are *amazing*!}
I had been a bit worried about how I would do with the altitude, since it really affected me in Colorado. The week leading up to our Park City trip I cut back on my daily coffee intake, drank 2 gallons of water a day and tried to eat iron-rich foods. Some element of that helped – I continued to drink 2 gallons of water every day during the trip and I didn’t drink alcohol, and the altitude didn’t bother me at all! I felt amazing, actually, the whole trip.
Park City makes for a wonderful weekend away, and catching up with a very old friend is just the best.