RENDEVOUS IN COLORADO SPRINGS

Riddle of the day:  Two couples -- friends of 20+ years -- want to meet for an extended weekend of relaxation, good food, and perhaps some sightseeing.  One couple lives in Los Angeles and the other in Houston.   Where should they meet? Taking into consideration that it is summertime -- meaning lots of the in-between destinations are probably very hot, that posed a serious question.  Even though we all agreed that Charleston would be really fun, that location definitely put the onus on us LA travelers, plus we would need more time to do it justice.  I suggested Denver, which offers a lot to do, but that didn't quite do the trick. Don't ask me how I came up with The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs -- definitely a grande dame in terms of resorts -- but we were all in agreement and that was our destination for a recent 3-night stay. Infinity-edge pool flowing into the lake in the middle of this gorgeous property I had heard about this location for years, having been to the state of Colorado at least a half a dozen times. After the recent stay, the reasons for not going before became irrelevant for I (we) would certainly go back to this idyllic property.  The flights from our respective cities were nearly the same amount of time.  Our Texas friends flew direct to Colorado Springs, while we flew to Denver and rented a car for the 90-mile-drive, providing the four of us with the means to explore the local area outside of the resort.   My friend texted me that a 700+ person convention was just checking out as they were checking in on our mutual arrival day and my first thought was: I don't want to stay anywhere that can accommodate that many people!  But to the resort's great credit, the place never felt overly crowded even though this was high season and they were pretty much fully booked.  The property is large but you're never so far from anything to walk, and they do offer shuttle service to various places.    The offerings are immense -- golf, tennis, yoga, kid stuff, infinity pool (with fun slides), luxurious spa, multiple restaurants -- and on, and on.  The staff was as professional, friendly and accommodating as one would expect from a highly-rated property. To a person, they all did their best to please.   We mutually decided to go "off site" for one of the days, and visited two wonderful spots in Colorado Springs:  Garden of the Gods and the U.S. Olympic Training Center. Both were amazing in their own ways.     With Kay & Fred Zeidman and the hubby Roger that. Young boy climbing -- I wonder if that was his idea??? Bob Beamon's long jump record from the '68 Olympics remained unbroken for nearly 23 years ..  Michael Phelps was here ... not at the same time we were unfortunately! A lot of familiar names lined the wall .. Excellent Google find by Kay for our afternoon repast at Shuga's Facetime with our friends' adorable grandson Charlie -- we all got to say hi! Fred & Len have been friends for over 40 years -- Len lives in the Denver area and joined us for lunch We spent the rest of our time swimming, reading, enjoying the spa and experiencing some wonderful food. Off property, we all enjoyed Walter's Bistro.  Walter Iser is an Austrian transplant offering delicious seafood and contemporary food with great service and an intimate but friendly atmosphere.  Also enjoyed on the Broadmoor property was The Summit, a french bistro in a very modern setting.  We passed on the formal Penrose Room, as the guys barely wanted to put on long pants let alone the jacket required, as well as the elaborate Sunday brunch which was packed to the gills. Moral of the story (above):  Never leave a schedule board with marker unattended at night  when the hubby is around.  I wonder how many were expecting that lecture? Above:  A few ducks roamed around the sunbathers poolside, no doubt looking for food .. Girls just wanna have fun ... in this case a glass of bubbly with the bubble bath! View of the golf and tennis from the spa balcony Excellent pizza at the Broadmoor's Ristorante del Lago  After too little time together, we said our farewells ... the takeaway from this: Don't rely on family celebrations or other events to see friends.  Make the effort to spend quality time together and create some wonderful memories ..