Anddddd, We're Back!

It's been so long since I've posted that I actually had to think about my blog log-in. Hmm. It's Sunday night and I think it's the first Sunday night in a long time that I've actually had nothing to do. Kids are in bed. Dogs are fed. House is tidied up. I've had a glass of wine. Perfect time to catch up.

After our fun and exciting Brown County weekend (already a MONTH ago) we headed out to Colorado. It was the kids first time there so it was exciting, at least for the grown ups, to see their reaction to the west and all its grandeur. We started out in Denver the first night. We decided on the brand new Jeep Wrangler for a rental car to get the full experience. We went to Coors shortly after we got there and did the customary tour/complimentary tasting.
US AT COORS - PICTURE NOT TAKEN BY ME


After dropping about $60 in the gift shop (as usual) we found our hotel in Denver. We ate at a disgusting place called "Casa Bonita" that serves cafeteria style mexican. And it tastes about as good as it sounds... but the draw was that there is a "variety show" of sorts going on at all times in the restaurant. There's a big pool, with a big fake cliff that has cliff divers, actors that come out and do a show to include an escaped gorilla that runs through the crowd (a big hit, let me tell you), fire jugglers, mariachi bands... you get the idea. It's definitely more about the entertainment for the little ones than the food. We went back to the hotel and swam in the warm and surprisingly CLEAN hotel pool - I found the SAUNA!! YAY - and we dropped.

The next morning we got up, went to Red Rocks Ampitheatre to let the kids run around for a while. Here's Vincent and Jade in their usual form in the seating area. It just amazes me how the whole mood in Colorado is so much healthier than it is here in the armpit of America. If you've never been there, the ampitheatre is used by the locals as a free outdoor workout area when there's not an event going on. People run the bleachers, do stairs up the many rows of seating, and otherwise take advantage of the natural challenges there. There was a "yoga chick" I'll call her on the stage that was doing some amazing shit. In fact, it's what inspired me to start up with the whole yoga thing again. Here are a few more pics at Red Rocks...

The kids, behaving as usual


Brian, in deep reflection


Jade, practicing to be Hannah Montana on the stage


The stadium to include the amazing yoga chick (bottom right)


After we hung out there for a while we packed up and drove down to Colorado Springs. We thought since we didn't make it to the actual summit last time we were there due to weather that we'd go up Pikes Peak again. This time the road was open all the way to the top. It's an AMAZING drive if you've never done it, I highly suggest you do. The weather was pretty warm (low 90's) at the base but there was still measurable snow at the summit. What's super cool is it makes you an instant cheap date. Just stepping out of the car, you're light headed due to the thin air and altitude. I was walking into stuff and tripping around like I was drunk. Pretty cool. That in mind (cold all the time, no air) I managed somehow to get attacked by a bee. It stung me 3 times right on the chest. I think I'm the only person in history to be attacked by a regular honey bee at 14 thousand feet. If you know of anyone else whose had this experience, please let me know. Trees don't even grow at that elevation. What the hell is a honey bee doing there? Who knows. All I do know is that it hurt. Bad. Oh well. It was still worth the trip. And the donuts were good...

Another one NOT taken by me


Pikes Peak donuts - world famous YUMMM!!!


The view looking down, above the timber line


Kids, not killing eachother for once


That night we had reservations at the Flying W Ranch, a Colorado Springs must do. There's this cool little western town incorporated into the whole experience (where you hang out before dinner) and then they ring the dinner bell and you find your place on the picnic table. It's a chuckwagon style meal, complete with tin plates, tin cups, and the works. BBQ chicken, beans, honey biscuits, lemonade.. again, another slightly better than mediocre meal, but a lot of fun. After dinner a western band plays live (and they're actually really good - plus, they played a Chris LeDoux song - bonus points in my book).

Flying W after dinner


We slept good that night and started out for the Garden of the Gods in the morning. Another "must see" in the Springs. The kids had a good time playing around on the rocks, we burned off a little morning energy, and then headed out to the property.

Self explanatory


Kids holding up "balanced rock"


Purple baby holding up balanced rock - too cute


My favorite people


My favorite boy


It was good to go out to the property again. The sign was still there, which I thought was exceptionally cool. Even cooler was that I was able to put the camera on the hood of the Jeep and get this picture of all of us...


We got to drive to the resevoir for the first time, too. You can actually see it from the property, but we'd never actually gone and looked at it close up. It was really beautiful, and it was a nice enough day to be able to splash around in the clear, cool water for a while before heading out to (beautiful) Vail for the night.


We stayed at a resort/condo which turned out to be super cheap because it is off season. This was the view from our balcony. Note the ski lift in the upper left corner. It looked out to Vail Mountain, Peak One, which was super cool. There was also an amazing river running just behind, which gave off an incredible sound - so relaxing.


We found a great little steak house in Vail Village for dinner. It was exceptional and we got like 20 or 30% off, again because it was off season. I highly recommend going to one of these resorts in the off season. The 2 room condo with a fireplace and balcony, full kitchen... was under $130/night. Quite a deal if you're just going out there for the scenery.

The next morning we got up, took our time, and headed back into Denver. We went to the natural history museum there (not the best part of the trip, but something different) and met up with some old friends for a BBQ and some cocktails at their house. Chad and Katie are friends from YEARS ago. In fact, I'd been out to Colorado with Chad and some other friends back when I was in college... but that's another post. Anyway, they graciously invited us to stay with them the night before we flew out, which was fabulous. We had a great time visiting, catching up, eating, and enjoying wine. The weather was awesome, and I think we sat up drinking and talking on their rear patio till almost 2 am. It really was the perfect ending to an almost perfect vacation (vacation is a term I'll use loosely - with two kids in tow, well, if you have kids you get it). We flew out the next morning and said good bye to the beautiful Rockies for another year!

Hope you enjoyed this vaca-dissertation! Have a good week everyone!