A Colorado vacation lost

So, my wife and I had a fun long weekend (Sat morning through Mon night) trip planned for some snowboarding in Colorado.  It was designed as a way to blow off some steam as she finishes another of her MBA classes.

Well, Mother Nature isn’t cooperating.  I called the Diamond Resorts Crags Lodge in Estes Park, where we’re staying, to ask which mountain is the closest/best for snowboarding.

They recommended Eldora, which is about 75 minutes away.  A quick hop on Eldora’s website and… only a 27″ base.  No snow in the past 72 hours.  And what is there is mostly man-made powder.  Boo!  If any of you snowboard or ski, 27″ isn’t much snow and there’s sure to be rocks, roots, and all sorts of other mess sticking up out of the snow in certain spots.

Not worth trying to travel with a 21-month old son, a couple of carry-ons, and a snowboard bag.

On the plus side:  I canceled our Southwest flight.  $5 back on my wife’s Companion Pass ticket.  $5 back and 11,520 points back in the Southwest point hopper.  Woohoo!  On top of that, we saved the money we would have paid to have our dogs boarded.

On the bad side:  I tried “saving” money by using Priceline to book our rental car, so we’re out the $68 for the rental, plus another $18 ($25 for non-California residents) for the American Express Premium Car Rental Insurance.  This insurance automatically gets tacked on whenever you use the Amex you’ve registered with their program.  I normally decline car rental insurance coverage because it’s a poor financial trade-off.  However, when I expect to drive on snowy and/or icy roads, it’s well worth the $18.  At least this insurance is better than what is offered by the car rental agencies since this is cheaper… AND it’s a flat price for the entire rental period!

On top of that, because of the late cancellation, we couldn’t recover any of the timeshare points for our reservation.  No big deal in the bigger picture, but as someone who is frugal and hates wasting money, it still stings a bit.

Diamond Resorts

Diamond Resorts International®, with global headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the largest hospitality companies in the world with more than 200 branded and affiliated resorts and over 27,000 guest beds in 28 countries with destinations throughout the continental United States and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Offering simplicity, choice and comfort to more than 418,000 owners and members through the branded hospitality service of approximately 5,000 team members worldwide.

Our company sells vacation ownership, sometimes known as timeshare. We are currently offering 13 mini vacation packages. These mini vacations are discounted because people need to take a timeshare tour to receive the discounted package amount.

If you’d like to take advantage of these amazing vacation mini-vacation packages, click on this link to sign up:

• Branson Missouri ● The Suites at Fall Creek ● 4 Day/3 Night ● $199
• Celebration Florida ● Mystic Dunes Resort and Golf Club ● 4 Day/3 Night ● $229
• Koloa, Kauai ● The Point in Poipu ● 8 Day/7 Night ● $1200
• Las Vegas Nevada ● Cancun Resort ● 4 Day/3 Night ● $220
• Las Vegas Nevada ● Polo Tower Suites ● 4 Day/3 Night ● $229
• Los Cabos Mexico ● Cabo Azul Resort ● 5 Day/4 Night ● $449
• Palm Springs California ● Palm Canyon Resort and Spa ● 4 Day/3 Night – $239
• Scottsdale Arizona ● Scottsdale Links Resort ● 4 Day/3 Night – $249
• Scottsdale Arizona ● Scottsdale Villa Mirage ● 4 Day/3 Night – $249
• Sedona Arizona ● Bell Rock Inn ● 4 Day/3 Night ● $229
• Sedona Arizona ● The Ridge in Sedona Golf Resort ● 4 Day/3 Night – $239
• South Lake Tahoe ● Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort ● 4 Day/3 Night – $259
• Williamsburg Virginia ● Greensprings Vacation Resort ● 4 Day/3 Night – $239

My favorite on this list is Cabo Azul in Los Cabos, Mexico. Save 68% on a 5 Day / 4 Night vacation at the Cabo Azul Resort in Los Cabos Mexico.  That place is AMAZING!  We were there in May 2013 and again in January 2014.