What a wonderful vacation! Exactly what I needed. I never would have guessed that our trip to Colorado would have resulted in such a blessed reconnection with God and with DH…we spent every morning and evening in prayer together, thanking God for the gorgeous creation we were able to enjoy. There is nothing quite like a drive up to Pike’s Peak hearing “He can move the mountains” on K-Love! You are glorious, Lord!
Our trip started on Tuesday when my grandparents drove us to Aloft, our hotel in Philly outside the airport. I wish I would have gotten some photos – this place was awesome! DH called it “Euro-modern” – whatever it was, it was great! Our room was pretty small though, so I was happy we were only staying for one night! I think part of the reason I loved it so much was the fabulous news I got in a text on the way down to Philly ๐ (more about that later)
Wednesday we flew out around 8:30 a.m. on a direct flight to Denver. Praise God, we had safe travels on our entire trip. I’ve realized that the older I get, the more easiliy I become anxious about things like travel. The thoughts I had in my head about the “what ifs” were out of control! If I give the enemy even an ounce of room for those thoughts, I’d never travel anywhere. Once we landed (and the little boy in front of us peed in a tupperware container..ick), we had a lesson in patience as we waited nearly 40 minutes to rent our car, then drove to our hotel, about 20 minutes away. Our hotel was so beautiful – there were 2 weddings while we were there (and a cowboy convention, but I don’t think they chose the place for the landscaping). DH picked a restaurant he wanted to try that night, a little hole in the wall French place where we had the most amazing mussels & fries. mmmm. I could eat that meal once a week for the rest of my life!
Thursday we went to Colorado Springs to Garden of the Gods, an absolutely stunning red rock garden. I think we could have stayed there all day, walking around & taking pictures. It was one of the highlights for DH, and nothing really ever topped the splendor of that scenery. We made the attempt to drive up to the top of Pike’s Peak later that day, but they had the top 2 miles closed due to high winds, and we ended up turning around after about 15 miles because it was SCARY! I’m talking tiny dirt roads on a cliff with no guard rails, snow, high winds, and we were 12,000 feet in the air. It worked out well because we got some great photos on the way back down, and had time to stop at Focus on the Family & then relax in the hot tub before dinner at Jax FishHouse in downtown Denver.
Friday was our trip to Red Rock Ampitheater, Coors tour and the Rockies game. A vendor of mine at work bought us tickets and I was so surprised when we finally got to our seats (yes, we had to wander around and finally ask for help!) to find out that we were in the Club Level in the first row. DH was so excited ๐ We had our own food area and bathrooms, so we didn’t have to wait in super long lines, and I got to eat a grilled chicken salad for dinner instead of a hotdog – woohoo! The game was amazing – I’ve never seen a more beautiful sunset – and we almost got hit with a baseball (not a highlight for me, it was pretty scary, but a fun story to tell now). Friday was also the day I dropped my phone in the toilet, fortunately it’s working now, but it defintiely put a bit of a damper on the evening.
Saturday we spent the day in Boulder at the Pearl Street Mall. It’s 4 blocks of shopping area that they’ve closed off so no cars can drive through. It was exactly how I picked Colorado – very “earthy crunchy,” everyone had a dog and a bike and were on their way to yoga. haha. There were a lot of outdoor street performers and vendors, so it was nice to relax and walk around. We stopped and tourned Celestial Seasonings on the way back to our hotel, which was random and really fun. They had a room there for their mint that was incredible! Saturday night we went to a really yummy steakhouse near our hotel and had one of the BEST steaks I’ve ever eaten. The choocolate mousse dessert wasn’t too shabby either ๐
Sunday was our last full day in Colorado, so we went to the Denver Botanical Gardens in the morning, walked around downtown a little bit in the afternoon, then had a quick dinner at MegaWraps and JambaJuice. They really need a Jamba Juice around here, I love their smoothies!
And that was our trip! Monday we got up at 3:45 a.m. to catch our flight back to Philly (ridiculous – like flying in a daycare with all the screaming kids). D & G picked us up at the airport & we did some shopping at Ikea and Crate & Barrel before heading home. D is like a big sister to us, I adore her ๐ Now we’re back, and I’m trying to adjust to life back at work while DH has the summer off.
