Omayra Acevedo, Vail. Last week, I was invited to attend a wedding of two people whom I did not know. I only knew the person whose plus one I was. I, for one, have never married. Though, everyone tends to tell me that will change once I meet ‘the one.’ Whatever that means. Some studies show that most people marry between the ages of 30 and 44. Other research claims that if a woman isn’t married by the age of 35, she’ll most likely never marry. I am more than okay with this as marriage has never been a priority in my life. Call me stubborn, but I enjoy the delight of my freedom and independence way too much to risk giving it up. 

A few days before attending this said wedding, I spent a couple of days in the town of Vail, Colorado: home of the Gore Creek Valley. I had never been there and found it to be yet another beautiful Colorado mountain town. During the winter of 1957, two avid skiers by the names of Siebert and Eaton climbed Vail Mountain and both agreed that it would be the perfect ski area. Having no money, they quickly secured investors and purchased the land from the United States Forest Service for a mere $1 million. After some investigating, I found records stating that in 2019 Vail Ski Area earned almost $750 million - give or take a buck or two. Either way, I think I’m in the wrong business. 

Yes, Vail is primarily known for its abundance of skiing and snowboarding opportunities, but there’s more to it than that. It’s conveniently located right off of I-70, but travel about 10 minutes in any direction away from the highway and you’ll forget where you are. Hiking, biking, wining, dining, shopping, golfing, music, museums, fishing, paddling or wildlife are never too far from your doorstep. Whether it’s simple pleasures or thrilling adventures, you can find it all in Vail. Even romance.

Yes, I find weddings to be a bit hokey, but please don’t misconstrue what I’m trying to say. I can still see the romanticism in tradition and the mere hope of sharing a lifetime with that one special someone, even if it will never happen for me. I want to believe that there are couples with a story that does end in happily ever after. In my world, however, that only exists in Jane Austen books, romantic comedies and the creative imagination of artists and dreamers, like me.

(Originally published in the October 1, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)