We had an amazing time. Colorado is such a beautiful state. I said multiple times that I would like to have a summer home there one day. Sigh....one day.
Our flight out there was good. We decided at the last minute to bring Will's car seat with us. This way, we had to leave him in for take off and landing, but for the duration of the flight, we strapped Olivia in. That way, little Miss squirmy worm would be tethered and happy. She did about as good as we could have hoped. Will, of course, loved every part of the journey. He got to ride on planes, tranes, buses and cars.
We stayed in Colorado Springs Tuesday-Friday at the Broadmoor Resort. This was THE place to stay in Colorado Springs. Everywhere we went, there were people doing professional photography because it is so beautiful. It was kind of like the Grand Floridian meets the Hollywood Tower hotel meets country club. Just gorgeous. The kids loved it!
While in Colorado Springs, Steve was speaking at a conference. That means, during the day, me and the kids were on our own. Our first day, we went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which was just around the corner from The Broadmoor. It is hands-down the coolest zoo I have ever been to.
The next day was not-so-great. We went to an indoor playground that had excellent reviews for things to do with kids in Colorado Springs. It would have been okay, except there were about a dozen 7-10 year olds who were taking over the place: not sharing equipment, being mean to Will, knocking kids over, etc. We only stayed about an hour before we split. They DID have fun while we were there, but I was stressed the whole time about them getting hurt.
Thinking on my toes, I found an outdoor playground that boasted great reviews and had beautiful photos online.
It was a pretty park with beautiful mountain views in the heart of downtown. But...there was zero shade on top of concrete which made it extremely hot. Because I had planned to just do the indoor playground, I had no sunscreen with me. And...there were a few homeless people wandering around which made me feel a bit unsafe. So, back to the hotel we went.
The next morning, Steve had a later start, so we went to the Garden of the Gods in the morning. This was Will's favorite part of the trip. It was so beautiful, so randomly placed...seriously, you turn a road off of the Costco and there you are. Yet while you are there, you would never know that just around the corner is a thriving town. Just, beautiful. Wish we could have stayed longer.
We left here at 8:40. Steve's workday started at 9. That's how close we were to Garden of the Gods. So strange. I packed while Steve worked. It was time to leave Colorado Springs and go to Denver. Steve began texting me that he wanted to drive up Pike's Peak. He gave the ominous impression that it was a scary drive, but that it was really important to him to do it. So, we checked out of the Broadmoor and drove directly to Pike's Peak.
It is a 19 mile drive up to an alititude of 14,000 ft. The drive is twisty and curvy and at times had about two inches to the side with a steep drop of a cliff, with no curb or guard rail. Needless to say, I was leaning towards the inside of the car and gripping the OH MY GOSH bar the whole way up. Steve loved every second of the drive. It was beautiful and certainly something we will never forget.
We were scheduled to have dinner at our friends' Kyle and Lauren's house at 6pm that night. That meant, with our detour up Pike's Peak, we had to drive straight there without stopping at our hotel. It was nice to catch up. Kyle and Lauren were in our LIFE Group and they moved to Denver about 3 years ago. I miss Lauren dearly. She and I had become good friends. Since they left, Lauren and I both had babies. Their son, Coleman was turning one the week after we left. We brought him a gift of Mickey ears with "Coleman" embroidered on the back (Lauren is a Disney fiend). Hopefully, they will bring him one day and he can wear them.
We then drove to downtown Denver, where we stayed at the Westin, right in the middle of all of the action. We were fortunate to stay on the 16th floor, facing downtown. Will loved sitting in the window and looking down on the city.
We really only had one day in Denver. We went to an excellent breakfast joint and had amazing service and food. We then went to the Denver Children's Museum, which was just about the coolest place I have ever been with the children. We had an absolute blast. That night, Lauren and Coleman met us downtown and we had dinner.
The next day, it was time to leave. My dear husband commanded to me sit in first class on the way back. I enjoyed my book while he and the kids had an uneventful trip back. It was so nice to come home, although the humidity was staggering. All in all, it was an amazing, memory-filled vacation.
