Florida 2020: Doubletree Beach Resort Tampa Bay

As a birthday surprise, Dan took me on a short trip to Florida. This was especially sweet, since we moved from California to Colorado in 2019, and I’ve missed living near the beach. There is something about the salty air and the sound of the waves that brings an instant calm. Having a few days by the ocean was the best medicine for this tough year.

We stayed at the Doubletree Beach Resort by Hilton in Tampa Bay- North Redington Beach. I’ve traveled to Florida many times, but this was my first visit to the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. As much as I love the theme parks ( and I really, really do love them,) it was nice to have the opportunity to explore other aspects of Florida.

This was a typical Doubletree hotel, as far as room size and amenities. We were given the customary warmed chocolate chip-walnut cookies upon check-in. The only small changes were due to Covid, such as only taking the elevator with your own group and wearing masks while navigating the property. These were minor inconveniences that made us feel safe while traveling during the pandemic.

One of the funniest pictures was outside of the elevators. Look at those peepers!

Here are some pictures of our room. I appreciated that we had a refrigerator included. We drank gallons of bottled water!

The rooms with king beds were sold-out, but we did have an ocean view balcony. We bought parfaits and ate breakfast on our balcony both mornings.

Forty dollars provided us with a day rental of two cushioned sun loungers and a huge umbrella. This made our day at the beach far more enjoyable, than if we had been on beach towels or had to lug around our own beach chairs. An attendant came around periodically to adjust our umbrellas, and we could come and go as we pleased. As far as Covid, the lounge chairs were spaced apart, making social distancing a breeze. Even though it was mid-August, the beach was not crowded and we never felt like it was an unsafe vacation choice.

This was my first time swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was warm and clear enough to see small fish swimming around our legs. It was truly the perfect beach day and I look forward to coming back with my step-kids in 2021.

When it was time for lunch, we left our belongings on our beach chairs and headed to the outdoor cafe at our hotel. The cafe is just steps from the beach and we snagged a spot where we could keep an eye on our loungers. We didn’t use it, but the hotel pool is also adjacent to the cafe.

Lunch was fantastic. We shared a croissant club sandwich, a heaping platter of nachos, and tropical cocktails.

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Later in the day, we added some thrills by renting a Sea-Doo. Thirty minutes may not seem like very long, but it is plenty. Dan was the driver and I held on tight, getting some air-time as we bounced over waves. We didn’t tip over, which was my biggest concern. It was a blast.

Our beach day was fabulous and overall, we really enjoyed our stay at the Doubletree in North Redington Beach. The beach is beautiful and the area is filled with restaurants and activities. As much as I’m obsessed with theme park vacations, visiting the Gulf Coast is an excellent alternative.

I will end on these sunrise shots of the beach. I love the soft pastel colors and sense of calm. On our next visit, I want to wake up early and go for a walk on the sand.

Summer 2020: Breckenridge, Colorado

In this post, I’m combining two recent trips that we made to Breckenridge, Colorado.

Our first time in Breckenridge was an afternoon/evening visit that we made after spending the morning in Vail with our friends Julie and Ryan. On the short drive from Breckenridge to Vail it started raining. This was a welcomed break from the intense sunshine and heat of Vail, but it also meant that we were running for cover when we reached our destination.

We tried to have a “Linner”- late lunch/early dinner at the Breckenridge Distillery, but the wait was long, and we discovered that they lacked vegetarian options for Julie and Ryan. I hope to return to try their carnivore centric BBQ menu.

We went to a friendly dive bar called Northside Pizza for cheap beer and pizza. I had an amazing calzone that was cut into a pretty pattern.

We tried to go up on the chairlift, but they were not open until July 4th. The town was bustling with holiday visitors, and we poked around the various shops, buying cookies for dessert. Dan’s cookie sandwich had cream in the middle and was a gooey mess!

On the way out of town, we saw a vibrant rainbow over the lake in Frisco. Colorado has so many amazing rainbows.

Two weeks later, Dan and I returned to Breckridge for our first hotel stay during Covid. We booked at the Doubletree Hilton right near town. There were definitely changes to comply with Covid safety, including the removal of seating areas in the lobby, and the closure of the restaurants- no customary free breakfast. No Doubletree Cookie. Masks were mandatory and only one party was allowed in the elevator at a time. We missed the sign at the entrance, but they requested that only one person from a group visit the check-in desk. The pool was closed. Our room also had a sticker seal to show that it had been cleaned and sanitized, as part of Hilton’s “Clean Stay” program.

The hotel really felt just like a place to sleep, rather than a true relaxing vacation. I have to admit that I had trouble sleeping, because I had weird dreams that the bed might not have been sanitized enough. It has been over a month and we are fine. A big plus about the hotel is that it is very close to town. It was just a ten minute walk, so we could drink and enjoy ourselves.

We had BBQ at the Whiskey Star Smokehouse. The food was good, but rather expensive. The town was crowded, so service was spotty. I have noticed that the general chaos that restaurants experienced in the early summer, has calmed down. I know it wasn’t easy to adjust to Covid changes and the demand of people who were excited to get out of the house, but it seems like restaurants and stores are coping better than they were in early July. Things seem almost normal around Colorado now.

Breckenridge is a very beautiful town and it feels more down-to-earth than Vail. A little less fancy and snobby.

The next morning, we woke up early to go on the Breckenridge chair lift. The first lift to the main activities center was free and great if you just want a fun ride to the top. I recommend arriving when the lift opens, as it got very crowded, very fast.

At the top, we found several restaurants and activities, including multiple alpine slides and a miniature golf course. We paid twenty-three dollars each for a second chairlift ride. This one was on an open-air lift, rather than an enclosed gondola, and it offered a serene ride to the top ( about a 12-15 minute ride.)

At the top, we learned that we were in the White River forest. The area offered gorgeous views of the valley and many hiking trails. There was a very cool looking ropes course that was closed due to covid. We spent about twenty minutes enjoying the views and taking pictures, before heading down. The Breckenridge scenic chair lift was much better than the one at Vail and half the price.

We went back into the village for breakfast, where we discovered Semplice Cafe. Semplice Cafe has one of the best breakfast burritos that I’ve ever eaten and it is served with maple chipotle sauce. Delicious. The coffee and baked good are great too. Plus, the owner couldn’t have been friendlier. It was the best place we ate in Breckenridge, so good in fact, that we keep joking about driving there just for the burritos.

We chased the Semplice burrito with dessert at I Scream Gelato. The gelato was a perfect way to end our trip to Breckenridge.

Social Distancing in Littleton: Week Eighteen

This week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis enacted a state-wide mask mandate. I’m thrilled about this and actually wish it had happened sooner. It takes the ambiguity out of the situation and makes it easier for cities/businesses to enforce the safety measure. The tide seems to be turning a bit with mask mandates happening in many states and Trump even finally caving to the pressure of masks. Of course, this all feels too little/too late, as the cases of covid are getting out of control in the United States.

If Douglas County can’t bring the cases down, we will be back to “Stay at Home” orders within a few weeks. This will be crushing for the economy and a very frustrating situation.

This weekend we took our first over-night trip of the year and stayed at the Hilton Doubletree in Breckenridge. It was strange. Last year, we spent about a third of the year in hotels, primarily Hilton properties as Dan has status with the chain, so Hiltons are very familiar, but this felt like being in The Twilight Zone.

We were requested to have one family member go into the lobby for check-in, a sign which we didn’t notice, and we both went in. Luckily, we were the only guests at check-in. The seating areas/tables/decorations in the lobby had been removed, creating a vast space, like the hotel was being remodeled. We didn’t receive our usual bottled water or signature DoubleTree chocolate-walnut cookies. Our free breakfast perk was gone, and I don’t think the restaurant was even open. Santizer gel and signs were absolutely everywhere, and only two people to an elevator for safety.

Our room had new signage, including a large sticker over the door to let us know that it had been cleaned and sanitized. We had to break the sticker seal to open the door. I guess I felt safe, but I didn’t sleep very well at night. I had the thought that someone else, potentially Covid infected, had been in that bed recently. Could it be properly sanitized? Was this a risky move?

The fun aspects of staying in a hotel, like the pool and cocktail lounge, were gone, so it was strictly a place to sleep situation. It cost over two hundred dollars for the night, with none of the perks. Maybe this is yet another reason to hold off on travel?

We did enjoy Breckenridge. The town takes the mask mandate seriously and we felt safe walking around. We ate BBQ and went up on the scenic chair lift. I will blog more extensively about our getaway in another post, but here are a few pictures. I did briefly take off my mask for the velociraptor picture, but no one was near us when I did. The town was very quiet mid-week.

On the way to Breckenridge, we went on the Historic Georgetown Loop Railroad. The ride is about an hour and it goes through stunning Colorado scenery. I will also write more on this in a future post, but I want to mention a Covid concern.

The train ride was mandatory masks, and we were seated by the staff in a semi-socially distanced way with our own companions. We sat in an outdoor train car. This is a picture of the people in the car next to us, very close to us…see how many refused to wear masks? This picture shows people from about six different families, sitting in close proximity.

Announcements were made that masks are mandatory, however, the employees walked past those not wearing them and did not enforce the state mandate. As I wrote last week, I feel empathy for the employees who are being made to be enforcers for this often volatile situation, however, it is a public safety mandate for a serious situation. These non-compliant people should have been directly asked to wear the masks when they were seated, especially prior to the train leaving the depot ( as many did not have them on then. It’s not like they were wearing them and removed them when seated) and if they refused to comply, they should have been asked to leave.

One family in particular, you can see the teenage son in the blue shirt in the forefront of the picture, was loud in their disagreement with masks and making mocking comments towards those complying with the mandate. We nearly said something rude to them, but didn’t. We were not alone in our feelings. This situation definitely diminished our enjoyment of the train experience. I was angry at those refusing to comply, and frustrated that the train company didn’t enforce the masks.

Here we are on the train following the mandate. We made the best of it by enjoying the sunshine and beautiful mountains.

Check out this beautiful Georgetown lake! We had lunch at a pub with this view.

We ate breakfast at The Original Pancake House in Denver, which was our last dine-in experience prior to the March covid closures. It was great to be back and we even had the same server.

It wasn’t all restaurant dining this week. I also experimented with several recipes in a Mediterranean cooking magazine that we bought at Sprouts. We made chicken kabobs with cucumber-yogurt sauce, stuffed tomatoes with couscous, zucchini fritters and a spicy shrimp marinade. All were delicious and healthy, but I only managed to snap a picture of the stuffed tomato.

We did some garden maintenance, and I pulled out an enormous weed that we actually think might be wheat. It was a monster to pull out. Here I am, having a Green Acres moment and feeling very chuffed.

On writing news, a poem I wrote was selected to appear in the “Field Notes” section of Cordella Magazine’s website. I’m not sure when it will be posted, but I was thrilled by the news!

Our community organized a visit to the nearby Happy Dog Ranch. Due to social distancing, we had to sign up in small groups for hour long visits. It was a great experience. We fed llamas and petted goats. A chicken named Penelope sat on my lap and we won a cute pig decoration in a charity raffle. The ranch helps rehabilitate both animals and people. It’s a great organization and the animals are delightful.

And finally, some adorable cat pictures!