Holiday in Colorado (...and the story of how I broke my arm)

My boyfriend surprised me with a trip to Colorado for my birthday back in mid December. I was so excited to get out of Texas for a bit, and we both needed a break from our normal schedules.

Early morning, ready to fly!

I'd never been to Colorado before, so the elevation difference definitely took a toll on me. My ears were in immense pain for the entire flight, but luckily, they adjusted fairly quickly once we landed. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect. It was extremely cold (at least compared to what I'm used to) but the sky was clear and the sun was shining. There was snow lining the roads, and piles of it everywhere else. I was so ecstatic to experience real winter weather for once, that I jumped through the piles of snow instead of going around them...just because I could. We made our way to Breckenridge, which is where we stayed for most of our trip. The mountains were gorgeous.

Breck is such a fantastic place. The village looked a bit like Santa's wonderland, fully decorated with snow, garland, and Christmas lights. The locals and resort workers were so friendly and down to earth. I. Loved. It.

The view from our hotel room

Most of our time was spent exploring the area on foot, or eating.

Blue Moose Restaurant in Breck

Waiting for our food...so hungry!

Potato Hash with Poached Eggs and Toast

Cinnamon Roll

Fried Mac n' Cheese from Biker Jim's in Denver

Yum!

...lots and lots of eating.

Pumpkin Pie Crepe from Crepes a la Cart in Breckenridge

We got super lucky, and ended up being in the resort village during the week of Dew Tour. Up on Peak 8 was where the trials and competitions were being held, so my boyfriend and I rode the gondola lift to the top, and were immediately thrown into a sea of snowboard and ski competitors and spectators.

Lounging spectators

There were tons of company kiosks set up with autograph booths, games, freebies, and this ice sculpture!

 It was a great event to experience, even though we only stayed a few hours before heading out to go snowboarding ourselves.

That's when it happened. On our last full day in Colorado, I broke my first bone ever, while snowboarding. I didn't realize it for the first 24 hours...just thought I had twisted my wrist. But by the time I was back in Houston, the swelling got worse and I knew something wasn't right. A few hours after landing, I had x-rays taken, heavy pain medication prescribed, and a brace on my right arm/hand. Not the best way to end a trip, but I had such a wonderful time regardless.

First day with brace

Last day with cast

Now a month later, I've finally gotten the brace and cast off, and am working on getting the movement back in my wrist. I am so pleased to be done with that awful thing! I couldn't drive (because I have a manual car), had trouble getting dressed, and showering was complicated and frustrating. You never realize how much you rely on all of your limbs, until you can't use one of them.