Vegan in Colorado, Part 2 (Massages and Pizza at 10,000 feet)

The morning after the wedding festivities I woke up feeling great. (Thank you, oxygen therapy!) We took our time getting moving, watching a few episodes of Flip or Flop before making our way down to the lobby to locate some breakfast.

The Peaks Resort features a coffee house style restaurant just off the lobby, so we checked the menu to see what they had. As it turns out, they offer a very limited juice selection. That day, they had carrots, oranges, grapefruit, and lemon, so I ordered a glass with everything, plus a chai tea with almond milk. Their food menu didn't offer much, but there was a breakfast sandwich with avocado, sprouts, tomato. I thought that sounded lovely, and ordered one of those as well. After getting it, however, it had egg and cheese on it. Ew. We asked the cashier if they could make one without egg and cheese, but were informed that they were all pre-made and couldn't be custom ordered. Bummer. Not wanting to be an ass, I just picked off the non-vegan items and ate the sandwich anyway, sharing it with Charlotte. Hey, we don't live in a perfect world, and sometimes we have to make do. It wasn't that great of a sandwich, but the juice was fantastic. It was bright and energizing, just what I needed. Jimmy had a breakfast burrito that he seemed to thoroughly enjoy, and Charlotte just asked for a cup of almond milk to go with her half of the sandwich.

By the time we finished breakfast, it was almost time for my massage that I'd schedule the previous day. I kissed Jimmy and Charlotte goodbye and ventured to the spa for an hour of bliss. When I arrived at the front desk, they guided me to the ladies' lounge where I was handed a very luxurious white robe and a pair of crock-like sandals to change into. I was told to take my time changing and head upstairs to the waiting area, and that my massage therapist would come find me there when she was ready. There were complimentary beverages in the lounge, including hot tea and fruit-infused water. I made a note to myself to take advantage of that before leaving.

Clothed in nothing but my complimentary robe and ugly loner shoes, I headed through the quiet stairwell and hallway to find the waiting area. It was a beautiful, dimly lit lounge complete with yoga-esque artwork and soft flute music. I wasn't waiting long before my therapist arrived to get me. I can't, for the life of me, remember her name now. We walked a short distance down the hallway to the room I would be using. It was small, but quaint. After a short discussion of what my body needed that day, she stepped out to allow me to disrobe and get comfortable on the massage table.

Being that I'd spent most of the day seated during our travel on Thursday, then did so much walking on Friday, and with the elevation change, I told my therapist to concentrate on my lower body. She began with my feet, and boy was that amazing! During my pregnancy and for a year or so prior, I'd received monthly massages, but hadn't been able to continue after Charlotte's birth. So, as you can imagine, I missed the feeling. The next hour was completely blissful. My therapist barely spoke, allowing me to completely relax and enjoy the experience. I love a deep tissue massage, and that's what I requested, so I definitely felt some tension being forced to release. That's just what I needed, though. My lower legs have always been a point of trouble for me. (The first massage I ever had was incredibly painful because my calves were so tight that my skin hurt. Yeah, no bueno.) My lovely therapist did a beautiful job of balancing the pain and relaxation elements that make up the deep tissue experience. When my time was up, I was in a calm, almost dreamy, state of mind.

After changing back into my own clothes and grabbing a glass of hot peppermint tea, I went back to the front desk to see what the damage was. I almost choked when they told me the total... $180!! For one hour?? Wow! I've heard that everything is more expensive in resort towns, but holy hell! At that price, I feel like it should've come with a happy ending. LOL!! Oh, well, nothing I could do now. I made the payment and went back to my room to give Jimmy the bad news. He took it pretty well, since hey, it WAS his idea.

Back in our room, and covered in massage oil, I thought it best to wash up before meeting the wedding party for lunch. I decided to take advantage of the garden tub and soak in a bath. My home bathroom only has a shower, so this was a very rare treat. I took my Kindle and my tea in the bathroom, shut the door, and enjoyed a good 45 minutes of "me" time while Charlotte took a nap. It was glorious, everything I thought a bath should be. ;-)

Around 1pm, we headed out to catch the gondola into Telluride. We were meeting bride and groom, their family, and the other wedding guests for pizza at High Pie, a local pizza spot and taproom that sources locally for ingredients whenever possible. I love that idea! We were among the first ones there, which is pretty much unheard of for us. Jimmy ordered a beer and I got a glass of red wine to start things off. We waited for the other guests to arrive before ordering food, so I was starving by then. I pretty much decided I was going on a mission to find out if it was possible to OD on vegan pizza. We started with a Tree Run, which has tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, fried eggplant, mushrooms, olives, roasted garlic, and arugula (we asked to have the feta and mozzarella left off). It was to die for, but I forgot to take a picture. Charlotte and I devoured that one pretty quickly. Then, after visiting with our friends for a bit, we decided we were still hungry and ordered another one with no sauce, just olive oil, all kinds of mushrooms, and olives. Again, it was amazing. So, as it turns out, I can't OD on pizza.

We had a blast spending the whole afternoon visiting with friends and making new ones. Charlotte and Sarah, the bride, became best buddies even though they'd spent a few days in the desert together previously. Charlotte also spent at least an hour entertaining the 10 or so 20-somethings at the table behind us. They were all friends of Sarah's and I think a few of them are elementary school teachers, so they were having a blast playing with my little attention hound.

When things wound down, everyone went their separate ways for a bit. We walked up and down the main street in Telluride looking in a few shops along the way. We stopped in a thrift store right at the end of the shopping strip, and met a gorgeous old golden retriever who Charlotte decided to lounge on while her daddy and I perused all they had to offer. I would've taken that dog home in a heartbeat. He was so gentle and sweet.

Eventually, we headed back across San Sophia and to our hotel room for a short rest and wardrobe change, before meeting back up with everyone for one last bit of fun. We walked a half-mile down the road to the rental house where the groom's family was staying, and sipped champagne and wine, nibbled snacks (although no one was actually hungry after all of that pizza), and got to know each other a little better. We watched the sun set over the mountains as the gondolas passed by. It was a pretty peaceful evening, but bittersweet knowing that everyone would be going home the next morning. Most of the guests would be heading off to California, and we'd be driving back to Denver. I was so glad we got to share these couple of days with such kind, easy-going people. It was one of the most relaxing trips in recent memory. We are so grateful for the opportunity we were given to explore a new part of the country with awesome people.