These mountains aren't only for skiing. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

I love the mountains in the summer. And, when I used to live in Colorado, I would go up every weekend to hike. Now that I don’t live there anymore, I still like to go back when I travel to the US in the summer to enjoy the crisp air, the various shades of green and the final touches of snow that stubbornly haven’t melted away. It’s easy to take a road trip from Texas to Colorado where I always see some interesting things along the way. I took this in July at the top of the mountains in Aspen. I estimate that we were about 11,000 feet up, give or take a few hundred feet. I know people think beach when they plan their summer getaways, but keep in mind the mountains in Colorado or elsewhere…and you might just get a few Suh-Weet Shots like this one.

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Aspen Valley in Summer is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Gondolas resting until the snow comes again. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

In October while back in the US, I had the chance to spend some quality time with mom and dad. As I’ve made my home as an expat in Colombia, that time is becoming ever more precious. Colorado is a favorite of us all. So, we made the road trip from Texas to Colorado in one…long…day trip.

It wasn’t ski season yet, so I didn’t expect in terms of crowds. And, I always preferred to go to the mountains in the summertime, low season when I lived in Denver. We headed off to the Vail Valley, my favorite. I typically go to Avon. It’s not the most charming town compared to some of the others around it. But, it’s central to many of the little towns in the area and I’ve made a couple of friends there. While I was prepared for few travelers, I wasn’t prepared for this.

It was desolate!

CLOSED!

Everywhere we went, shops were closed, restaurants were empty, streets were quiet. It was as close to a ghost town as I had ever seen the area. Normally, I wouldn’t mind. But, this was eerie.

A Reality Check While Exploring Edwards

I went out a couple of days with mom to walk around Edwards, Vail and Beaver Creek. Nothing was open. We often couldn’t escape from the seasonal biting wind because the shops were closed. And, what was open, wasn’t that interesting.

This was worth going out for - Larkburger's truffle fries

The one ray of hope was finding Larkburger in Edwards. I usually prefer to go to the Gore Range Brewery. But, on the tip of a local, we went for burgers for lunch one day. I think we were only the second customers all day. The burger was great, but the truffle and parmesan fries were to die for. They are a buck more than the traditional fries, but worth it. I may have to divide my loyalties on my next trip to the area.

I’ve also decided that I don’t like Edwards very much. There’s not a lot of charm to it. I guess I never noticed before. Barren streets. No hustle. No Bustle. And, the architecture seemed soulless. There are exactly two reasons to go to Edwards: Larkburger and the Gore Range Brewery.

Where are the people in Edwards?

What About Beaver Creek?

The park made for a great lunch setting

Mom and I decided to head out to Beaver Creek for lunch. Fearing that nothing would be open, we stopped off at the Avon Bakery and Deli to pick up sandwiches for a picnic in the park. This bakery is the bomb. Homemade, artisan breads, rolls, breakfast sandwiches, sweets. You can’t go wrong here. The only thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was the service: slow and unfriendly. Having said that, the food was so good we continued to go back. And, not once did we get good friendly service. Don’t miss this place, but don’t stick around once you have your goodies.

Once we got up to Beaver Creek (free parking, yes!) we encountered an equally deserted town. But, it’s friggin’ Beaver Creek. We headed to a little park in the sun, listened to the babbling brooks and hear what few aspen leaves were left fluttering in the light, crisp breeze. By the way, mom’s BLT from the Avon Bakery was awesome! Here it was actually nice to have the whole place to ourselves. When you have this kind of natural beauty around, you don’t want a lot of people nearby.

The town center was vacated mostly. It was weird. I didn’t like that.

Surely Vail Can’t Disappoint

Eerily beautiful Vail

Yes it can. Sigh. Trust me, it pains me to write this. Mom and I headed off to explore Vail, maybe do a little shopping and grab a bite to eat. The weather conspired against us. Cold drizzle followed us all morning. Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal. I’ve been to Vail plenty of times when the weather wasn’t perfect. But, with other things going on in town, it was part of the ambience. This time, with the town closed down (practically), there weren’t many places for us to spend our time. After grabbing a hot chocolate to go at the local Starbucks, we headed back to the hotel.

Lesson Learned?

Statue from Beaver Creek

I learned that as much as I like getting off the beaten path or going to places in their off-season, you can go when it is too off. Part of the charm of the Vail Valley, or any small town area, is that you can escape the crowds and have the place more to yourself. But, I also learned that I need more stimuli. I will certainly go back. I’ve been going up for most of the past 10 years and I won’t stop. And, it was great to have the time with my parents. But, lesson learned, there is a difference between off season and no season.

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The Difference Between Off Season Travel and No Season is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Clever marketing, no?

When you think of Texas, you probably don’t think of wine. But, that’s changing. Even though the state is the 5th largest producer of wine in the US, it’s sort of like the Canada wine region, unknown by most people outside of the region. My hometown, Fredericksburg, Texas, has become the hub of the state’s wine country. Wine tasting rooms have long been a presence on Main Street. But, I was struck driving on US Highway 290, west of town towards Austin, how many wineries have taken root.

The quickest and most fun way to get a crash course on what Texas has to offer is to attend the annual Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest. Started in 1990, I’ve never had the chance to go. As luck would have it, the festival happened to be going on on my trip to Texas in October. Finally, I could go! Here are a few photos from my day drinking, err sampling wine.

Required gear? For god’s sake, you can’t be expected to carry your glass all day. I’ve never seen these around-the-neck glass carriers. But, by the looks of things, I was the one out of the loop. If you didn’t have one already, there was a vendor selling them in many handy colored leathers.

25 wineries from around the state showed up to show off. As you enter, you get a glass for the day. You have the option of a ¨taste¨ or a full glass. A taste was anywhere from a ⅓ to ½ glass.  Some were more generous pourers than others. Or, maybe after a few pours, I didn’t really notice anymore.

You might recognize the label from Becker Vineyards, one of Texas’ most successful wineries.

Viognier was very popular with many of the vineyards. I was not familiar with the grape before the festival. It is nice and crisp, dry and slightly fruity in its finish. I tried several. And, my favorites were from Becker Vineyards and Brennan Vineyards. My least favorite of the day was a Vermentino from Bending Branch. There were also lots of reds being poured. But, I was there in the afternoon, it was beautifully sunny so I preferred to start with the whites. And let’s just say, I didn’t make it long enough to try the reds.

Food was the other part of the story at the festival. While I do think there could have been more food stalls, once I found this pulled-chicken  sandwich spiced with guajillo chili from the Sunset Grill, I was in heaven. Their sliders looked pretty damn good too. Note to the Sunset Grill people: get this sandwich on your menu! Seriously!

In two large tents there were vendors selling everything from lavender soaps to chili spices to hot sauce to farm-raised feta cheese to balsamic vinegar, in lots of flavors. I asked the balsamic guys how they got away with using the name balsamic in their product. Turns out they import it from Italy and then flavor it in central Texas, often with organic ingredients. This was a cool, unexpected find. These bottles pictured here are from the Texas Hill Country Olive Oil company and are certified organic.

There was always music playing during the festival. Here I caught Jazz trumpeter, Jeff Lofton, belting it out for the crowd. I thought the music selection for the event was great.

Just for fun, people could enter the Great Grape Toss. I wonder if these purple balloons were filled with water, or wine? Regardless, the winners won a festival t-shirt.

I’m not sure what this guys’ name was, but this Scare ‘O-Lantern was guarding the items in the charity silent auction. Oh, and he was up for auction too. The event raised money for the upkeep and beautification of Fredericksburg’s Market Square.

The biggest thing I missed was the group cooking classes. There was a huge tent featuring the region’s top chefs. It was packed and I felt just a bit too self-conscious to walk up while the chefs were cooking to get any photos.

Plan for 2012

If you are can make it to Fredericksburg in October 2012, plan your trip around the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest. Next year it will be held on October 27.

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Disclosure: Thanks to Creative Marketing who runs this great event for giving me a press pass to get in and enjoy the day. As always, all opinions are my own.

Photo Essay: Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

In July, I got the pleasure of hanging out with two of nieces over the 4th of July holiday in Colorado while I was back in the US.  I picked them up in central Texas and then we made the 1000 mile trip out to the Rocky Mountains.  The last time I got to take them somewhere, we went to South Padre Island and wound up on the Girls Gone Wild floor at the Sheraton hotel. True story.

I love a good roadtrip but the truth is, you can’t always count on the scenery to keep you entertained all the time. One of the secrets to a great roadtrip is being on the lookout for the details, the quirks, the crazy stuff that you might not normally see.  If you have it in you to appreciate the kitschy side of road travel, you can hold on even in the most desolate landscapes.

I stopped to take a few pics of some of the quirky stuff we saw on this journey.

1.  Get your biblically raised bambi right here at Venison World in Eden, Texas. Don’t worry if you can’t get there. They have a website and will ship to you.

Venison World. Eden, Texas. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

2.  Helloooooooo ladies.  If you ever thought that the car care industry ignored your needs, then head on out to Big Spring, Texas where you can get that lube job you’ve been needing. And, don’t worry, it’ll be quick.

Ladies Lube Day. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

3.  From black gold to green and clean.  The west Texas landscape is emblematic of our current energy situation. New wind farms show the future while oil derricks show our continued reliance on fossil fuels.  Nothing funny here. I just thought the imagery was simple and powerful.

Old school energy source versus new school. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

4. I love to page through the roadside newspapers. There are always a few ads like this one that makes me laugh…and just a little bit nervous that there’s a business out there whose target demographic is the joy rider wannabe.

Joy riders unite! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

5.  It’s too bad Aspen is a poor city and can’t afford an agency to help it with its communications. Otherwise someone might have told them that no one wants to read about a crash while riding in a gondola, even if it’s an economic crash.

Afraid of heights? Stay calm reading about the crash. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

6. This van had a lot going on with it.  With my nieces in the car, I was glad to be riding behind it.  But, this is the influenced driver that shares. Just take a look at the black bumper sticker for a liquor store recommendation for your next trip out to Colorado.

Party Van. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

7.  Light German Food? These were the light options at the German restaurant where we ate back in Texas once we got back.  With all these light options, it’s hard to choose between the broiled chicken and the chicken fried steak.

So, how many Weight Watchers points are in a proper Chicken Fried Steak? Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

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Photo Essay: Texas-Colorado Roadtrip is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures