We arrive in Aspen, Colorado, Mela Buys a
House and we enjoy all Aspen has to offer
Don't forget to move your mouse over pictures
for a description We decided to start our road trip to Salem
Massachusetts in Aspen, Colorado for a couple
of reasons. First, we are scouting ski resorts for a
future ski trip vacation for Moove residents,
the Aspens are a golden treasure and Mela
is looking into a vacation home - and what
better place to start than the middle of
the Rocky Mountains in Colorado?. I had arrived two days earlier while Mela
flew into Pitkin County Airport aboard Angel
Three the day after, where I picked her up and we drove to Aspen along Highway 82.
Mela had never been to Colorado before and
it is always a treat to show first time visitors
why I chose to live there when I am not living
in Moove. The ride to Aspen from Eagle, where the airport
is located is a feast for the eyes as cobalt
blue skies contrasted with the quivering
golden aspen leaves (the old timers call
them quakers 'cause of the way they quiver
when the wind blows) and I thought Mela was
going to snap a neck bone as she kept looking
back and forth at all God has blessed Colorado
with. We arrived at the St. Regis Hotel in downtown Aspen and checked in to freshen
up before we met with Mela's Real Estate
Broker. The St. Regis is pure luxury (I would call
it a Boutique Hotel) and is very popular
in the Winter during the ski season. It is
located just one and a half blocks from the
ski slopes and is in easy strolling distance
of the town center. The St. Regis has every amenity imaginable
and the rooms are totally decked out with
wireless Internet, CD players, TVs, DVD players,
video games, minibars, room safes, humidifiers,
twice-daily housekeeping, bottled water,
fresh fruit, bathrobes and slippers, and
every toiletry known to womankind. We freshened up and being the Fashion Ambassadors
to real from Moove, decided to wear outfits
that would turn heads. Mela always looks
great in slacks, as well as in black. I decided
to wear a deep blood red with matching wings
and a freshly shined Halo. We were still ahead of schedule so Mela and
I grabbed a quick bite in the hotel restaurant,
Olives Aspen , which offers Todd English's
Mediterranean-inspired cuisine in a décor
that features warm pine floors, a mix of
antique furniture and cozy deco-inspired
booths, wrought iron sconces, ochre walls
and fabrics in soft earth tones. I could have sworn it was designed by Wicker Woman as it had her feel and look.
After enjoying Spicy Yellowfin Tuna Tartare,
Spun Cucumber Salad, and scrumptious Grilled
Filet of Wild Salmon, we headed out to meet Julie Mandt of the Aspen Real Estate Company. Mela had selected Julie as carefully as she
chooses outfits to wear and although there
are hundreds of Brokers in the Aspen area,
Julie with her infectious smile and 28 years
of living in Aspen (18 of those selling Real
Estate) was exactly what Mela was looking
for in a Broker to help her find the purrrfect
vacation retreat. After exchanging pleasentries, we drove in
Julie's Range Rover to the first home in West Aspen - a wonderful log home on the banks of Maroon
Creek. The 15,000 square foot European inspired
country home was located in a 58 acre secluded
setting across from Highlands Ski Resort.
It was stunning. Constructed of imported Pennsylvania field
stone, antique beams and siding, and reclaimed
hardwood flooring, this romantic home provides
the feeling of a remote location, but it's
five short minutes from downtown Aspen, which
is great because the home comes with all
the amenities and privileges of the Ritz
Carlton in downtown Aspen. WOO HOO! I can
do Ritzy. Mela had come to Aspen ready to spend up
to 30 million for a vacation home and the
price tag of this home was more than 37 million,
so she quickly let Julie know it was out
of her price range and asked for something
a bit more modest for under 30 million. Julie
smiled and said, "I think I have just
the home for you". We headed towards the sister town of Snowmass
and the minute we arrived on the property,
I knew this was the home for Mela and me to vacation in and at $27,500,000.00
it was a steal. The 12000 square foot, 9 bedroom, 6 bath
log home sits on more than 55 acres and included
everything you needed to run a working horse
ranch: A Guesthouse with four bedrooms built
in 1911, 2 caretaker apartments, an 1886
settlers cabin, a 10,000 square foot horse
arena, 3 stall barn with tack room, roping
pen and riding arena. Silos, a hay barn,
loafing shed and senior water rights made
the price tag seem like a Roll Back price
at Wal-Mart dollar days. Mela loved it and it was obvious by the drool
on my chin and the repeated.."I love
it, OMGAWDLOOK, and pleeeeeze", that
came out of my mouth that I loved it too.
Mela made arrangements to come back to Aspen
after the road trip, wrote a check for the
earnest money and offered to take Julie to
dinner later that evening. I could not stop
saying OMGAWD for three hours. LOL. We had Julie drop us off in front of the
hotel and Mela decided to wander around this
"Hollywood in the Mountains". Aspen
is easy to walk around and the town is full
of wonderful shops, boutiques and eateries.
Since shopping is one of Melas and my favorite
things to do, we broke out the credit cards
and went on an Aspen shopping spree. Aspen is a culturally rich, freewheeling,
tolerant town that welcomes diversity of
personal expression. Mela and I felt at ease. Local annual events include Winterskol,
Aspen's Winter Carnival, the Aspen Music
festival, with concerts and recitals by world-class
artists, also the International Design Conference
and a Food and Wine Festival. Wheeler Opera
House, carefully restored in every detail
to its 1889 grandeur, is the site of operas,
dramas, concerts and films throughout the
year. Originally known as Ute City, Aspen's original
claim to fame was a 1, 840 pound silver nugget
taken from the Smuggler Mine and displayed
at the Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893.
Within 15 years, the silver market crashed, and
the city was gone. POOF. Although there is history galore in Aspen,
Mela and I were here to shop, and shop we
did. We began our shopping adventure at "Strange
Imports", an Antique dealer with a wonderful
selection of Asian laquered furnishings.
Mela fell in love with the Red Lacquer Wedding
Chest (circa 1840-1860) from Shanxi Province,
in China and a Large Thailand Temple Bell.
I was surprised that Mela was so "hooked"
on the Asian designs after her recent kidnapping
in Cambodia, but the items were wonderfully
elegant and rare. Upon exiting Strange Imports, Mela grabbed
my arm and said, LOOK!. Across the street
was none other than a shop opened by C@ndi
Sinz. "OMGAWD Mela, that is why she
has been so scarce in Moove, that little
sneak has been in Aspen opening the first
Avatar Boutique", I said as we scurried
across the street to see the one-of-a-kind
shop. Unfortunately, C@ndi had left two days before
to return to Moove, but the salesgirl named
Rainbow was more than helpful. We browsed
the new styles of C@ndi, and toured the new
Salon where C@ndi offers the latest hair
styles for both Avatars and those living
in Reality. We snapped up several items and
decided to head down the street to see if
we could find a new chandelier for the great
room of Mela's new cabin.
Just as we were about to pop into a fancy
store that sells
Ulla Darni lighting, we
heard a rumbling
coming down Main Street and saw Waya, Ice King, Latin Princess,
Auntie Nymph, MysteryMan, Auntie Craftie,
Illira, Paccy, Lady Fire, and Dave and Maggy
coming down the street on their motorbikes.
The rumbling was setting off the car alarms
of the Hummers, Escalades and Mercedes parked
along the street - WOOOT WOOOT WOOOT. It
was GREAT. Mela waved them down and we all gave the
hugs that Moove is
famous for. The Aspenites
did not know what
to think of all the
Avatars
invading their town
and a few came up
to
us and asked if we
were movie stars.
LOL.
Not yet, but we are
working on it.
The group decided to check into the Little Nell (they are just going to love this bunch,
I thought to myself)
and Mela and I went
and bought an $80,000.00
Ulla Darni chandelier.
Ulla Darni, is a
native of Denmark
who studied
at the Royal Danish
Academy of Fine Arts
in Copenhagen. Her
education led to
a position
at Royal Copenhagen
of Denmark. Each of Ulla Darni's lamps are created from
free blown glass and hand painted "in
reverse" by Ulla Darni. Upon completion,
she signs and numbers each piece and applies
her fingerprint. Her signature, "Ulla,"
along with her fingerprint, is registered
with the Library of Congress. The ironwork
and cast bronze bases are all designed by
Ulla Darni and hand forged by European master
craftsmen in old world tradition. The result
is a completely original work of art by Ulla
Darni, copyrighted and accompanied by a "Letter
Of Authenticity." After shopping and spending CC's like they
were going out of style, I really wanted
to spend some time with Mela alone. Since
her kidnapping in Cambodia and rescue by
the Goreans, I had not had much time to just
sit and talk and be with her. "Let's
go check to see if our Lacy Motorbikes arrived
and go for a ride up to Maroon Bells",
I said to Mela, and we flagged down the Ultimate
Taxi for the ride to the shipping warehouse
just West of town near Basalt.
The Ultimate Taxi is one-of-a-kind and is almost impossible
to describe. The closest thing to experiencing
this "acid trip on wheels" is how
I felt in Amsterdam after we visited the
Coffee House. LOL. The driver, Jon Barnes,
was so much fun and had us laughing all the
way to Basalt where we discovered our Lacy's
had arrived and were ready to roll. I was
psyched.. We fired up the Lacy's and headed up to one
of the most beautiful places in the Aspen
area - The Maroon Bells. The Maroon Bells is surrounded by pristine
National Forest lands and are the most photographed
peaks in all of North America. Here you can
explore the glacial valley while surrounded
by 14,000 - foot peaks and Maroon Lake which
is surrounded by fields of wildflowers. Mela and I sat in silence and watched the
snowcapped peaks reflect off the water. For
the first time in almost two months, I felt
a true sense of peace. "I am glad you
are home Mela", I softly said. "Me
too", answered Mela, just as we heard
that familiar rumbling sound coming up the
mountain. We were happy to see the bunch
from Main Street, along with our lost friend
Rando riding the switchbacks up to the meadow. After touring and strolling around the lake,
we all decided to grab dinner at the Maroon BellsLodge and I must admit, it was so nice to sit
with my friends from Moove - Vampires, Wolves,
Designers and regular folks - all relaxing
in the warmth of the log restaurant. The
conversation quickly turned to our itenerary
for the next day and whether or not we could
zip through Kansas as fast as we could. It was obvious, that this bunch wanted excitement
and did not feel Kansas would offer us any.
We were all mistaken. None of us were aware
as we headed down the mountain of the EXCITEMENT
we would experience as we rode through America's
heartland the following day. Before heading to our soft and most welcomed
beds for the night, we all agreed to meet
at 7:00 a.m. the next morning for sweet muffins
and coffee (and warm blood for CC) before
beginning our cross-country journey.
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We decided to start our road trip to Salem
Massachusetts in Aspen, Colorado for a couple
of reasons. 
and we drove to Aspen along Highway 82.
Mela had never been to Colorado before and
it is always a treat to show first time visitors
why I chose to live there when I am not living
in Moove.
Internet, CD players, TVs, DVD players,
video games, minibars, room safes, humidifiers,
twice-daily housekeeping, bottled water,
fresh fruit, bathrobes and slippers, and
every toiletry known to womankind. 
Wild Salmon, we headed out to meet 
LOL.
15 years, the silver market crashed, and
the city was gone. POOF.
