By Alexis Kroeger
Finally landed in Colorado, junior Kate Lynott and her family rushed to get their luggage so they could start their relaxing vacation right away. Kate looked and looked for her luggage, but soon she realized it was nowhere to be found. “That was not how I wanted to start off the vacation at all,” said Kate.
In Keystone, the air hit their faces and the trip began–with luggage or not. As soon as they arrived a “blizzard-like storm” as Kate said, hit and they got soaked trying to get their skis. They couldn’t ski until the next morning anyway so they crossed their fingers, hoping the storm would blow over by then.
BEEP. BEEP. Kate’s family doesn’t push the snooze button. Not today. What to come was too exhilarating to sleep. They looked out the window and it was beautiful; the storm had passed just like they had hoped. They bundle up in their warm attire. As Kate was putting her snow pants on, she got her long red hair stuck in the zipper. Ouch! Once they were ready to go they headed down to the slopes.
Kate’s dad, Dave Lynott, got to the slopes and said, “As I looked down the mountain I immediately thought to myself, ‘I am not going to be able to do this because I had never skied before.’” Kate’s sister, Maggie (an 8th grader) and Kate’s mom, Kathy, sent him off to the bunny hill with the kiddos to practice.
Kathy said Dave lost control during a lesson on the bunny hill and went zooming down into the parking lot. Kate said, laughing at the thought, “I would have helped him but was afraid I would have pee in my snow pants from laughing so hard if I moved.”
In the end Dave was right; he couldn’t make it down that mountain. Kate, Kathy and Maggie had gone skiing before so, the Colorado slopes did not defeat them. They made it down a blue and green slope, with only seven wipe outs in total. In Iowa those hills would have been considered a black diamond. They made it seem easy, like they were pros going down all those tricky slopes.
Although Dave didn’t have the best experience ever, the rest of the family sure did. But there was still more adventures to come. Kate’s favorite part of all, inner tubing. “We were airborne and it was so fast,” said Kate.
They got to go down a big slope and spin the whole way down. They went down a level four and five slope with jumps. They were airborne each time they went down the hill, which just added to the excitement. Kate said it was almost like a waterslide but in the snow. And just like a waterslide there was a conveyer belt that brought you back to the top of the mountain with your tube, which of course just adds on to the fun of the ride. Kate said, “It was a lot of fun because you didn’t have to walk up the hill like you do when you go sledding.”
Each day after skiing and tubing they got to stay in a nice cozy cabin. They got to spend good quality time together playing games and watching TV. They played Kate’s favorite game, Apples to Apples. Maggie said, “I won, like always, because I am the best in my family at that game.”
When Kate and Maggie got bored they started to pass a volleyball back and forth in the cabin; they both play volleyball. After almost hitting a lamp over in their cabin Dave said, “Stop hitting that thing around before you break something.”
As the last night was coming to an end they knew that their trip was as well. They loved Colorado so much they wanted to stay there forever, but knew they couldn’t. As their flight time was approaching, Kate’s family got sadder each second knowing that their outstanding family vacation was coming to an end. They shared plenty of laughter, fun memories, and new experiences in their week in Colorado, to remember for a lifetime.
