It Beats Sitting at a Desk

Shopping, Sight Seeing, and Spa Treatments?

Have I told you how much I love traveling with my boss?

Because I do! 😉

When I booked the flights for my boss, Lisa, and I for Colorado last week I had three options:

1. Take an early direct flight with the option to leisurely find our way to keystone before the reception at 6:00pm
2. Take a non-direct flight that had us going up and town before arriving in Colorado who knows when
3. Take the later direct flight that had us arriving in Keystone after the 6:00 pm reception.

I think it’s pretty obvious the choice I made.

The leisurely make our way up the mountain option of course. 😉

We landed in Denver around 9:00am and after grabbing our bags and our rental car, it was 10:00am and we were ready for lunch. Too early? Probably.

I had a mini bag of almonds before we left Denver and managed to make it to Idaho Springs where we waited for Beau Jo’s to open and serve us lunch at 11:00.

Beau Jo’s and I go way back. 😉 It’s actually the place where I had my first reader meet up back in February 2009 (recap here). I remember being very fond of their delicious mountain pies and knew it would be a great place to stop as we made our way up to Keystone.

Did you know the Boulder location of Beau Jo’s has appeared on an episode of Man V Food?

Derek was VERY jealous when I texted him to let him know I was eating at a Man V Food restaurant without him. I’m pretty sure I lost some good girlfriend points with this one.

Lisa and I both started with the salad bar

How cute are the antique bath tubs that the salad bar sits in?!?!

I LOVED Beau Jo’s Menu. Not only did they have a vast variety of great options, they also devoted an entire page of the menu to my Gluten-Free friends.

There’s also a ‘Smart Meal’ section of the menu with lighter, healthier options. The ‘create your own’ option from this section was what caught my eye.

My selections:

1. Size: Individual
2. Base: The Whole Wheat Mountain Pie Crust
3. Sauce: BBQ Sauce
4. Vegetable: Onion, Olives, Tomatoes, Pineapple, Banana Peppers
5. Protein: Tofu
6. Cheese: Feta & Ricotta

Check out that crust!

High doughy crust on the outside, a thin crunchy crust on the inside.

I should have done a size comparison because this individual pizza really was the perfect size. At about the size of a a small salad plate, it was the perfect filling amount of veggies, crust, and cheese. It was also amazingly delicious. The BBQ sauce had a slight spice to it and the sweet pineapple and salty feta were the perfect complement to it. Yum, Yum, and more Yum! 🙂

After lunch I discovered the cutest little store called the Soap Shop

Everything inside was beautiful, fresh, and smelled amazing.

It’s all natural, organic, and the majority of the soap is made by hand in the store. I went a little crazy selecting some bath salts, a mud mask, and hand cremes to take home with me.

Over the mountains and through the woods, to Keystone we go!

After a couple of detours we made it to Keystone with a couple of hours to spare. Apparently a couple of hours to spare means ‘let’s check out the spa’ to my boss. And, I mean, who am I to deny my boss?

Oh look. What do we have here? A special? Well, I mean… if you insist. 😉

Please note this is not a typical travel for work activity and the price for the massage came from my own pocket.

But… it sure beats sitting at my desk at the office. 😉

I opted for the 50 minute customizable massage and requested deep tissue with an emphasis on my back and legs. The masseuse was a marathoner herself and knew exactly what she was doing. She even informed me that a lot of elite runners receive daily massages as a performance enhancer. She suggested I have one more massage a few days before the race to make sure my muscles were all in tip top shape before the big day. Sounds good to me!

I emerged from my massage feeling refreshed and renewed and was immediately greeted with some grapes.

And a glass of white wine.

Like I said, it sure beats sitting at a desk!

Along with the amazing spa, the room we’re staying in aren’t bad either.

My one bedroom condo reminds me of the places my family stays when we ski. I comes complete with a full kitchen, dining area, bathroom, living room, separate bedroom and a teeny tiny balcony.

My favorite part is the view!

You don’t get a view like this at home.

I had a granola bar while settling into my room.

Tonight’s cocktail hour was very low key. My company is a sponsor for the event, so we have a booth that we will be manning tomorrow, but tonight was 100% social. We were able to relax and mingle with a few clients as well as potential clients.

There was a Taco Bar set up, as well as some salad options and drinks.

I sat down with a small plate of the blue cheese & pecan salad

And had a local beer (I <3 Colorado Microbrews!)

After cocktails, my boss and I headed to the hotel bar for a light dinner of bread, soup, and veggies.

Bread

Soup

Veggie

A few clients came by ready to drink, but I was so tried I could barely keep my head up. My bed was calling my name and I was happy to listen.

Must. Sleep. Now.

Good Night!