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This year, my husband surprised me with a birthday getaway. Well, he surprised me as much as you can with having to organize things well in advance around here.

Just because our spontaneity is planned doesn’t make it any less magical.

That being said, he did surprise me with the idea.

Leave? Escape? For my birthday? Overnight? Without Claire?

I said yes before he’d even finished asking the question.

Escape implies that there is something terrible from which to run screaming. That’s not altogether true. Yes, I have a fabulously spoiled life here. Yes, I love my daughter dearly. Yes, I chose to do the work I do from home. Yes, I’m happy with my choices.

Yes, I was ready for a break in the routine.
Yes, I was ready to welcome a little bit of guiltless selfishness.
Yes, I was ready to spend a night or two away from my daughter.

Plus, it was going to be for my birthday, and everyone knows I get to do what I want when it’s my birthday.

Things were going to work out perfectly. The grandparents, who winter in warmer climes, were going to be on their way back right around my birthday. They were going to be staying here anyway. It didn’t take too much arm-twisting to convince them to be in charge for a few days in our absence.

We decided to go to a place that wasn’t too far away, but that was going to be awesome for the both of us. My husband skis. I do not. I enjoy full massage sessions. He does not. How about we do skiing and massages on the same day? Perfect.

We decided to check out Crested Butte. My husband has been there a couple summers for hiking, and he thought I’d love it. Crested Butte boasts an awesome ski resort, which he’s been itching to try. We wanted something that would be walking distance from the main street, and there were a couple of Bed & Breakfast establishments that fit the bill. We both love outdoor hot tubs, so we opted for the one with the outdoor hot tub AND the on-site massage area/spa. Unlike our requirements for traveling WITH Claire, we were looking for an adult hideaway, and this Bed & Breakfast does not accept children under the age of 12. Perfect!

We made our reservations at Purple Mountain Bed & Breakfast well in advance and then crossed our fingers for all the pieces to fall into place: weather, our babysitters arriving on time, weather, weather, and weather.

My inlaws arrived and so did the big day. Along with it came dry roads, blue skies, and snow capped mountains. Yay!

My husband and I love roadtripping. There is just something about leaving all your cares behind you, pointing the car in the direction of your adventure, and seeing what excitement you’ll discover along the way.

It was a little weird to have an empty backseat, but I knew Claire was in good hands. I wondered if she’d even notice we were gone.

The drive to Crested Butte was incredible. The vistas in that area of the state are some of my all-time favorite. Looking out over South Park and Fairplay takes my breath away. I’ll never get tired of seeing our precious snow-capped mountains. Never.

We stopped for lunch, and it was the little things I noticed. I didn’t have to take anyone to the bathroom. I could focus on the nice woman who took my order at the Subway, without keeping a watchful eye on anyone else. I didn’t have to share my chips. My husband and I were able to finish our sandwiches and our sentences without the least interruption. Yes, by a preschooler’s standards, our lunch would have been deemed rather boring.

But, it was perfect.

We hopped back in the car and headed out. The whole trip takes 5-ish hours, which is short compared to most roadtrips we do. The weather was awesome, and it was smooth sailing the entire way.

As we got closer and closer to Crested Butte, I could tell that this was going to be an awesome getaway.

We found the Bed & Breakfast with no problems, and the owner, Chris, was out running errands. At the front desk, a welcome letter greeted us. Imagine my pure delight in discovering we’d been upgraded to The Whetstone Room. I nearly squealed out loud.

You see, Purple Mountain Bed & Breakfast has five rooms available. We’d debated whether or not to splurge on the room with the private balcony and claw-footed tub. After much deliberation, we determined that ALL the rooms were fabulous, and we were already splurging on the ski and spa days, so a more modest room would suffice.

The fact that we’d been upgraded to the room I really wanted in the first place was icing on my This Is Turning Out To Be The Best Birthday Week Ever cake.

Our stay was nothing short of superb.

Purple Mountain Bed & Breakfast was fantastic. The house and rooms were clean and well kept. It was tastefully decorated, with some quirky things thrown in. (I LOVE the garden gnome by the wood-burning fireplace.) Both my husband and I were impressed with the little details. Nothing was overlooked.  (No, this is not a paid review.  If you end up staying at Purple Mountain Bed & Breakfast and use us a referral, we get a discount on our next stay, but I was not compensated for writing this review.  We paid to stay here, and what we got in return was worth every dime and more…)

I took photos of our room, but they don’t convey how comfortable, clean, relaxing and awesome they are.  (Check out this link to see photos of the rooms.  They really are that nice in person.) Impressive, too, were the icicles hanging outside our window. As you can see, they were HUGE.  I took a photo of those before they were knocked down by Chris, the owner. He’s an innkeeper, chef, and Chief Icicle Remover.

Speaking of Chris the Chef, the breakfasts we had were incredible. Breakfast was served in the dining room from 8am to 9am, and it was well worth getting up early to enjoy. The first day, we had yogurt with granola and flax seed, with fresh berries. We also had huge belgian waffles with nuts and bananas (Chris had asked us the night before about any food allergies, etc.). This was served with sausage. Breakfast the second day was an egg and hashbrown pie, served with biscuits and bacon.  (Mmmmmm, bacon!)

It was fun to meet the other B&B guests at breakfast and chat about where we were coming from and what adventures we’d be having that day.  The food and company was great!  The fun, light-hearted atmosphere was a nice surprise.

Speaking of nice surprises, at night, we discovered fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen!  They were an awesome treat after our evening of gallivanting around Crested Butte. We’d been able to just leave the car parked at the B&B and set out on foot. It was perfect! The food we had in town, on both nights of our stay was awesome.

Taking a dip in the hot, hot, hot tub while watching the stars in the cold, crisp mountain air was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

The day of my birthday was so much fun! The on-site massage therapist was incredible, and my husband had a fabulous time skiing. At breakfast, Chris was able to show him the best way to experience the mountain (which runs to ski first because of where the sun would be on the mountain, etc.) While he was skiing, I had my complete rejuvenation session at the spa and was able to get a lot of writing done. We topped the evening off with sushi and drinks.

Needless to say, it was the best birthday I’ve had in a long time.

So, how did I do without Claire? How did she do without us?

As predicted, she barely even realized we were gone. I did great until the moment she didn’t even want to talk to us on the phone…but I recovered nicely. Daddy has been away from her before, but when he saw that her nonchalance wasn’t going to affect me too much, he was able to relax, too.

A fantabulous time was had by all.

So, if you’re ever in the area, we highly recommend Purple Mountain Bed & Breakfast. The personal attention we got was great, and it was mixed nicely with complete privacy. The food was fantastic. The room was great, and I honestly don’t remember the last time I was so relaxed. It was the perfect birthday present.

We can’t wait to go back.