Stanley Hotel

So last weekend we decided to take a road trip with my "little brother" and his gf. I love road trips. I just don't love road trips that we only spend 1.5 days at our destination and it takes 13 hours to get there and another 13 to get back home...most of which spent in the backseat of a Monte Carlo Coupe. Needless to say...we're flying next time. We left Vegas around 2am on Friday morning and arrived in Estes Park, CO around 4pm mountain time (3pm pacific) Friday night. The drive down I-70 was great when it was light enough to see. The scenery was a welcome sight from the desert Vegas views. Once we arrived in Estes Park we were greeted by the wonderful Stanley Hotel (Stephen King's muse for The Shining). www.stanleyhotel.com

We had hoped to stay on the 4th floor which is supposedly haunted but instead were put in the back of the hotel on the 2nd floor. We were disappointed. We're mildly addicted to Ghost Hunters and had hoped to have some personal experiences or at least a view of the mountains and not the parking lot. The room was a little pricey considering the lack of amenities we had. We're shooting for the manor house next time...3rd floor. WE WANT A FULL BODY APPARITION!

All we really felt like doing on Friday was having some dinner and hitting the sack, so we did just that. We dressed up a bit and headed down to the hotel's restaurant, Cascades. Dinner started with fresh bread, olive oil, and Dukkah (an Egyptian nut dish)
http://www.bigoven.com/143564-Dukkah-%28Egyptian-Nut-Mix%29-recipe.html
and a wonderful bottle of Riesling. Then the boys had onion soup and we all shared the chopped salad which had apples, pecans, and bleu cheese crumbles. It was a delicious way to start off the meal. For dinner Bonnie and I each had Trout encrusted in cornmeal, served with pinot noir grapes, green beans, and potatoes. The fish was absolutely wonderful...cooked to perfection and seasoned perfectly as to not overpower the fish. Matt noshed on Elk with pasta and Bart had Crab pasta Alfredo. Matt's dish was very yummy and not too gamey, just had a good flavor. Bart's dish was very rich. I had been debating between the trout and the crab and I thankfully took the trout. I had a bite of Bart's and between the butter and the cream I wouldn't have been able to eat the crab dish, though it was quite tasty! After dinner we retired to the room and played cards while watching Ghost Hunters on the flat screen. BTW...the Stanley runs The Shining 24 hours a day on channel 60!

I woke up first on Saturday and took my time in the shower then I headed out to take some pictures of the hotel. I decided I needed some caffeine and luckily there is a Starbucks and I found myself a cappuccino and explored more of the hotel with Bonnie. Once the boys were awake and moving we decided to check out the wineries and brewery in Estes Park. The first one we hit was Snowy Peaks Winery http://www.snowypeakswinery.com/
It was a small tasting room with plenty of wine. For a small fee you got to try 6 or 7 wines, including desert wines (their Port is SUPER yummy!) The service here was outstanding, it wasn't stuffy or uptight, just a laid back atmosphere with a great tasting host who loved her job. Matt and I got a couple of bottles and so did Bart and Bonnie. After Snowy Peaks we headed to Valley of the Wind Winery. http://www.valleyofthewind.com/
This place was bigger and more commercial, I guess. The same deal, nominal fee...and you could try 6 or 7 wines. Although, you couldn't try the port and it was extra for the eiswien. While they had some nice wines (especially the apple) we were much more impressed with Snowy Peaks. Valley of the Wind was a little stuffy, plus Snowy Peaks had better wine. All in all it was a fun afternoon and we enjoyed the time we spent at both places. After the wineries we were in need of some food. We headed to the Estes Park Brewery http://www.epbrewery.com/
for burgers, pizza, beer, and pool. After lunch we went to the beer tasting. FREE! and you could try all the brews. I was partial to the blueberry wheat and the stout (which is strange because I usually like lighter beers but lately I have been succumbing to the dark side...Guinness has been working its way into my beer montage.) Our beer taster was great! He had a great attitude and gave us a great suggestion which was to mix the porter and the raspberry wheat. It was AWESOME!

After our time drinking we were in search for the Estes Park YMCA. Bonnie had seen an ad for some community theatre and we wanted to check it out. The Estes Park YMCA has to be the nicest that I have ever seen, it was more like a camp. It was beautiful. We found the theatre and we psyched to see the show that evening. Tired from the drive the previous day and the wine afternoon we headed back to the Stanley for a nap and reading on the porch.

We had a very quick dinner at Grubsteak http://www.grubsteakestespark.com/
and then headed to the show. Along the way Bart got pulled over by a very nice policeman who let him off with a warning. No more speeding for the Las Vegans! The show was exactly what we expected and what we were looking for...bad, community theatre. After the show we retired to the hotel for a couple of bottles of wine and a little ghost hunting. We hit the sack around 2am and were up early on Sunday for the drive back to Vegas.

Sunday morning in Estes Park was beautiful...further down I-70 was not. Bart hit a lot of snow and I hit ice after dark. By midnight we were home.

It was a great get away from Vegas. I loved the old hotel. It really was beautiful and so was the surrounding area. The food was great and so was the wine. We want to go back in the summer and have time for hiking and more outdoor activities. I highly suggest the Stanley Hotel and the restaurants, wineries, and brewery. I can't wait to back!