girlz reunion in estes park, co.

What a glorious weekend!

Last Thursday morning, I headed to La Guardia Airport to meet my friend Arden, where we hopped on a plane to Denver in anticipation of meeting eight more of our best girlfriends from college. It was, in a word, magical.

Colorado has always held a special place in my heart. My first few trips happened via my uncle's RV in which we spent two summers camping, hiking, and visiting Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, and Durango. Then, in 2009, I did two cross-country road trips in which I got to visit college friends who were now residents in Boulder and Denver. For one of those trips, my travel partner Emily and I also stayed at her parents' property in Estes Park which is where I got to return this past weekend for our joyous reunion.

Reuniting in the main baggage claim lobby of the Denver airport was silly and heart-lifting. We hadn't all been together since graduation, when 8 of the 10 of us lived in a run-down, disgusting, estrogen-overloaded mansion. We've had several reunions since May of 2008 but there has always been one or two of us missing from the original Buell Street lineup. Finally, we were all together.

We spent the rest of Thursday getting the rental car and driving through the mountains from Denver to Estes Park. Along the way we stopped for lunch.

Upon arrival at the house, we immediately went into the hot tub and settled into the mood for the weekend - happy, giggly, and totally free to discuss and do what we wanted without any boys around! That night, we all threw down a big chunk of money and bought food, booze, and toiletries for the whole weekend. We are all about the family meals.

On Friday, we woke up early and went on a wonderful 6-mile hike that involved a summit point with a spectacular view.

smelling the butterscotch sap

we're off!

view from the top

After the hike, we visited the main street downtown for some exploring and shopping, then went home for more hot tub, family dinner, cocktails, and girly talk. The next morning, we got up to do another hike, but were a bit slower to get out the door. Our drive to the trailhead looked like this:

Sure enough, we were literally just a few steps into the hike when thunder and lightning hit and we knew we should go wait in the car. We had lunch in the cars and tried to wait out the storm but it became evident that we needed a new plan. Just down the road from the house is The Stanley Hotel, famous for ghost stories, strange happenings, and also the inspiration for Stephen King's The Shining. Stephen King stayed in one of their most haunted rooms while the hotel was closed down for the winter and had strange experiences that led to the premise of his story. So cool. Anyway, our friend Kelly went and bought the DVD at the hotel's gift shop, brought it home so we could all watch it and have it fresh in our minds, and then we went on a late afternoon tour of the hotel. And it was awesome.

blurry picture but this staircase in the hotel is also in the movie Dumb and Dumber! "I'll race you to the top!"

That night, before the boys arrived, was the best night yet. We all dressed up, played drinking games, and had quite a few epic dance parties. It was so clear to me that night, more than any other night, how important it is to get away with your girlfriends. We were in our element as we were in college, but it was better. Being 25 is so much superior to being 21. We've gained more experiences, knowledge, and responsibility, but we're still ourselves, we still love each other, and still just have so much friggin' fun together.

Also, we listened to this song on repeat (no, seriously, like 38,293 times) and determined it is still the best song in the world.

Anyway. The next morning, we opened up the house to our guy friends who live in Colorado and who wanted to hang out for the day. They showed up early the next morning to join for the hike. I gotta say - the second there was testosterone in the house, the house felt different. Not in a bad way, but the significance of the girls-only weekend was suddenly apparent - like having to close the door while peeing. Am I right, ladies?

I actually had to skip the hike and stay at the house so I could see my friend Gil who generously drove all the way from Denver just to hang out with me for less than three hours. Gil and I went on a trip to Tibet together in the summer of 2007 and hit it off almost immediately. It is always refreshing to catch up with her and I am grateful that she made the trek! Love you, Gil!

Sunday night, we ate tacos for dinner, played scrabble and ladder golf and Celebrity, and soaked up our last night in heaven.

I wish I had more photos and better photos of the weekend but alas, I am on the cellphone camera these days. Luckily, others on the trip took some phenomenal photos from the weekend which I can't wait to view and covet. It was truly a magical weekend and I hope we can somehow pull off making this an annual tradition. Love you ladies. Miss you already.