I knew how I felt when I spoke to people about my year in Utah. About the endless weekend trips into the wilderness, the incredibly diverse terrain, and the endless powder days in the Park City…ohhh the powder days. Quite simply, it brought out the best in me whenever I had a chance to talk about it. No matter how my day or week was going, the minute someone wanted to talk to me about any of my experiences in Utah, I was thrown back into those times with an a ear-to-ear smile on my face.
I decided that I needed to be in the mountains. I couldn’t see myself being happy in South Florida in the long-term. I couldn’t imagine having a family there, or even getting a job there that I would be happy with.
Now that I knew that I wanted to be in the mountains, I had to decide where to go. Park City again or maybe somewhere new? After researching ski towns around the country for opportunities to help me develop as a professional in my field (and not just as a skier), I decided on Aspen, Colorado. As one of the most renowned and accomplished environmentally sustainable cities in the world, Aspen was definitely the right choice.
I decided to sell my car and move out there with my long-time buddy, Ben. Once the decision was made, we were stoked. We secured housing in Aspen before we left, loaded up Ben’s new Subaru with our belongings, and hit the road.
We had both driven cross-country before (three times between the two of us) and we knew we wanted to take a different route. We still wanted to hit Gainesville & Tallahassee first to say hello & goodbye to our old friends, so we did just that. We went to Gville and had one of the most nostalgic visits in my recent memory. We saw friends, some that we hadn’t seen for over a year, and some that we saw last weekend. We walked around town, recollecting amazing game-day memories and debaucherous moments, and we ate our favorite Gainesville lunch…Flaco’s Cuban Gator (still my favorite Cuban sandwich in the whole world…if you haven’t had one, go get one right now!!). With our hearts a bit torn and our stomachs full, we said goodbye to Gainesville and headed to Tallahassee.
Apart from being a bit behind schedule, the drive was going wonderfully. Right when we were just getting into the drive, the Subaru decided to throw a temper tantrum. The cruise control shut off, the traction control warning light went on, and the parking brake light was flashing like crazy. We pulled over and tried to decipher what the problem was with the car’s manual, but to no avail. It was tough to stay positive at this point. Would we have to turn back? What would I do? I already sold my car! I told myself that if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. So we carefully drove the car to a Tallahassee dealership, handed the car keys (with our entire lives in the trunk) over to the mechanic and waited….and waited…and waited. About 1.5 hours later, the mechanic came back and said, “Your gas cap wasn’t screwed on right.” We laughingly sighed with relief, took the keys, said “Thank you,” and hit the road. We had some serious time to make up if we wanted to get to New Orleans at a reasonable time, so we had no choice but to skip Tallahassee altogether. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t see our friends at FSU, but we had to do what we had to do.
We arrived in New Orleans around 10pm and decided to go out to Frenchmen Street for a bite to eat and a little live music. I’d only been to New Orleans once before and that was during Mardi Gras. Needless to say, it was an extremely different atmosphere this time. New Orleans blew my socks off yet again anyway. The rich culture and energy seeping from every dimly lit street, the soft jazz and hard blues around every corner, and the amazingly delicious Café Du Monde came together to give us one of the best 10 hour stays in New Orleans, or any city for that matter, that I’ve ever had. Special thanks to TD for awesome accommodations.
The beignets at Café Du Monde were UNREAL!
The Remnants of our "Beignet Massacre"
We took off the next morning for a legendary BBQ restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee called Marlowe’s. We got there just in time for them to open their doors and had what was probably the best BBQ meal we’ve ever had. The ribs fell clean off the bone, the corn nuggets blew Sonny’s out of the water, and the pulled pork absolutely melted in my mouth. Marlowe’s will have a special place in my heart forever.
After having an amazing lunch in Memphis, we hit the road again and headed to St. Louis for the night. St. Louis was super fun, as usual (special thanks to Amy for a great time). The next day would be the greatest challenge of the drive; 14 hours straight from St. Louis to Denver through the exhilarating state of Kansas (nothing’s quite as exciting as corn fields and windmills!! hahah)!
We did have a nice break in Kansas City for some more BBQ. We stopped at Arthur Bryant’s and although it was delicious, nothing could compare to the southern hospitality and “melt-in-your-mouth” BBQ that Marlowe’s gave us.
What else would a legendary BBQ'er bring to the pearly gates??
Long story short, we made it to Denver that night. Exhausted and excited, we spent the night there and left the next morning for Aspen. We drove through Independence Pass at the perfect time of year. The contrast of the bluebird sky against the changing Aspens was mind-blowingly gorgeous.
We’ve been in Aspen for a little over a week now and it’s been everything we had hoped for (and more). We've accomplished a lot in this short amount of time . Just this past weekend, we participated in the 350.org 10/10/10 work party in Aspen! Ben and I helped plant new spruce trees to restore part of Independence Pass. It was a great time!
In the process, we found a great group of friends that play a level of Ultimate Frisbee that could only be compared to the UF's Club Team's excellence. It was incredibly tough to keep up, especially at elevation but we'll get there! Lookin forward to playing with you guys the rest of the season!
The people are amazing, the weather is immaculate, and I’ve even managed to land a job with Aspen Ski Co.! Aspen is definitely treating us right so far!
I’ve made some great connections and I’m still hoping to land a position where I can begin to develop a career. Wish me luck!
Thanks to all that helped and supported us in our trip across the country to chase our dreams!!!
Come visit us in beautiful Aspen!!!
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