Swamp Boy's Christmas Get Away

Being the fantastic wife I am, I came up with the 'perfect' Christmas gift for my husband. Possibly not the best idea in this our first year of marriage, as where do you go after you have given the best of the best? But that is an issue I will just have to deal with in April when it is Birthday time.

So what was this gift you ask?

Well, those of you that know Swamp Boy, know that he likes to live on the edge of his snowboard and with his head in the clouds. So the gift was obvious. A weekend in Vail, Colorado, at 13,000 feet and in the middle of winter. What more could he want. The weekend was beautifully timed to coincide with a work trip I needed to take to a location in the high plains north of Denver. We left on separate flights from New Orleans - Swamp Boy flying via Houston and me on a work paid direct flight.

Swamp Boy flying time = 7 hour including an hour delay. Gator Girl = 3 hours.

We picked up a four wheel drive hire car and hit the road after waiting an eternity for the snowboards to arrive (the airport in Denver actually has a dedicated ski/snowboard conveyor belt). Swamp Boy looked at me a little oddly when he realised the rental car was costing as much as the accommodation for the weekend. Did we really need a 4x4?

The answer to this question is a big YES! As we hit the outskirts of Denver it started snowing. And snowing, and then snowed some more. Visibility was down to about 50 metres, the windscreen wipers were going as fast as I could get them and we crawled along the highway at about 35 miles an hour (in a 75 mile/hr zone). This drive takes you over the US continental divide, so it gets pretty high and treacherous. Finally we made it over the Vail summit and into Vail village and would you believe - it stopped snowing. The concierge at the hotel let us know that they were in desperate need of snow as they had not had any for about 8 days (the rest of Colorado shut down during that time due to snow storms!). What to do? Would we have snow?

Of course we would. We awoke Friday morning to find 6 inches of powder. We were in heaven! Swamp Boy ripped up the back bowls, while an early somersault did me in and ensured a long lunch. The day was so big, that for the first time in his life Swamp Boy actually turned down Apres ski and headed back to our room for a pre-dinner nap. That is usually my domain!

On Saturday morning there was no more snow, but Friday's snow had been beautifully groomed and I was in my element. What a day. Magical sunshine in the morning and clouds and lots of wind to scare the less hard core enthusiasts away in the afternoon. Swamp Boy was in fine form and once again ripped it up! This time his exhaustion was so adrenaline filled, beer was a must before we headed out for a German style dinner in Alps style chalet. Nothing like schnapps and apple strudel for dessert while reminiscing about previous adventures with friends in the snow!

That was all the boarding we got in, as due to high winds we headed home early on Sunday morning. After Swamp Boy dug the car out of course (it had turned to ice and was very hard going). On Sunday an avalanche across a road took out 4 cars on a pass about 50 miles from where we were. No one died, but it was pretty scary. I have put one of our snaps from our drive below. Again - a long slow trip home - don't let the sun deceive you, the wind and the snow blowing across the road were hellish.

It was however a sensational weekend.