Shaye was super tired so at first she was fussy but we convinced her to sleep through half of the flight. Phew!
Kara picked us up in Denver and we made the 75 minute trek to her home in Colorado Springs. She has a beautiful house, nicely laid out and decorated. And a big, beautiful yard that makes the house feel even more spacious. After warming up to Kara quickly, catching up on a little sleep and hanging out with Matt, Shaye was ready for the park! The America the Beautiful park was amazing! Shaye enjoyed the swing as usual.
I enjoyed the little bucket seat - spinning so much that I couldn't get out (or stop laughing)! I think Shaye was a little dizzy. Can't wait to return to that park once Shaye can climb all over everything!
On Saturday, we went to the local zoo and met the giraffes! We all fed them some rye crisps and watched them in all their beauty.
The rest of the zoo was super cool, although many of the animals were sleeping.
Shaye still seems more interested in people watching than checking out the animals, but that will change over time. There were some spectacular views of Colorado Springs from the zoo. That city is truly a gem.
Later in the day, we hit the Garden of the Gods which is an area with a bunch of gorgeous rock formations. We took the scenic drive and stopped a few times at some viewpoints. I felt like we were at a national park!
For dinner, we experienced Kara and Matt's favorite Mexican joint, Amanda's Fonda.
On Sunday, we checked out the shops and restaurants in downtown Colorado Springs as well as Old Colorado City. We enjoyed a little window shopping and lunch.
Late afternoon, we went to the Chapel at the Air Force Academy. It lived up to all the hype! The campus was just gorgeous with cadets learning to march, bells tolling, unique and pristine architecture, and an impressive Bomber plane display.
The Chapel was breathtaking with the colorful stained glass accents and 3 (designs) levels for different religions. The official tour would have been nice, but I felt as though the Chapel spoke for itself.
Afterward, we went to the famous Broadmore which is the longest running 5 star hotel. The grounds are just gorgeous with a lake between two of the buildings. We enjoyed a cocktail on the patio. Too good to be true!
Monday was an early day to head out on another 75 minute drive to Golden. The Coors Brewery is located here and we took a tour. I have actually been to the Budweiser brewery in St. Louis and the Red Hook brewery in Seattle so it was very familiar but still neat to check out. The beer at the end was yummy, mainly because we didn't have to drink Coors Light! Yummy Blue Moon.
We also lunched and shopped along Golden's main street. Not much to see but it was cute.
We timed this trip so that Shaye's naps coincided with the long drives so it worked out perfectly. We capped off this long drive with a stop at Culver's for some frozen custard. Ryan and I had been dying to try it since we heard about frozen custard recently and it was worth the calories!
The flight home was similar to the first one. Again, it took convincing, but Shaye slept and we rested.
So, that was the trip. The evenings were mellow since Shaye goes to bed early but Kara, Matt and I had fun hanging out. Shaye slept perfectly in the playpen without a wimper. She did not like bathing in a big tub so that was really the only crying spells. She loved investigating Kara's house, and especially loved chasing around the cat. Nate did not like Shaye much (mainly since she would [lovingly] slap his face when she could reach him) so he would always have an eye on her. Some day, they'll be best buds!
Thanks, Kara and Matt, for the best first vacation we could have asked for. We plan to return to Colorado many times in the future, so thanks for making our first one so special and fun!
As usual, the complete set of pictures is shown on my Picasa site at the link to the right.
