As much as I would prefer well planned and well thought out vacations, I have enjoyed the ability to go on several last minute trips this summer! The first was to Colorado. The weekend we returned from North Carolina we found out that B’s mom was taking a last minute trip there. We were expecting a last minute trip to somewhere, we just weren’t sure where it would be to! Since it was within driving distance, we jumped at the opportunity to tag along.
We knew we would be picking B up in Breckenridge to meet E and I started messaging friends in Colorado to ask the must dos! We settled on meeting up in Colorado Springs for the weekend so that we could catch up with friends if they were free and could do some fun things that they recommended!
It had been a long time since I had taken my three kiddos on a road trip on my own and I started looking for fun things to do along the way! We knew we needed to be in Breckenridge on Friday so we left first thing Thursday so we would have time to stop. We stopped to picnic lunch in New Mexico and at a hotel for the night near the Great Sand Dunes once we hit Colorado! Friday morning we got up and headed for the Sand Dunes. The kids had a great time playing in the sand and as much as I wanted to take the Suburban 4wheeling through the Medano Pass, I decided to save that for a trip when I wasn’t the only adult! It was a warm day, so we spent a couple hours playing in the sand and then had a picnic lunch before getting back on the road to Breckenridge!
We made it into Breckenridge mid-afternoon and explored the town by walking through the closed streets. We took votes on where to eat dinner, and ended up eating outdoors at Downstairs at Eric’s. The kids enjoyed watching all the tourists walking through the streets with their dogs and riding bikes while we ate. The food was fantastic and we decided it was worth a trip back to on Sunday if there was time! We even wrapped up some food to go because we didn’t want to leave anything behind!
After we met up with B and E we headed for our hotel in Colorado Springs. We had decided on a hotel near the Air Force base since it was close to friends and the activities that we were planning to do! We knew that B had been to Colorado Springs before, but he couldn’t remember anything he had done there so we figured whatever we chose would still be fun! Our splurge activity for this trip was a jeep tour of Colorado Springs on Saturday morning. We wanted to fit as many activities as we could into our 48 hours with B, so we got started first thing Saturday!
We did a jeep tour with Adventures Out West and our tour guide was fantastic. We started out with a trip to Helen Hunt Falls, seeing the Broadmoor, and then driving through Cheyenne Canyon and Manitou Springs. The highlight for the kids was off-roading through the old railroad tunnels that were a part of the original Shortline Railroad. We ended our tour at the Garden of the Gods where they got to see the Visitors Center and pick out souvenirs from the largest trading post in Colorado. We did a couple of short hikes to see the Balanced Rock and views of the Colorado Mountains where we were able to take some gorgeous pictures and videos.
After an outdoor lunch at the European Café we headed for Pike’s Peak. We weren’t sure if we would have to shuttle to the top, but because we had kids in boosters in the car, we were able to drive all the way to the top. There was some construction being done, but we were able to go up to the edge anyways to see the surrounding views. We stopped for the kids to play in the snow and climb rocks on our way back down the mountain! Dinner was sushi at an outdoor café before we ended our day back at the hotel!
Sunday was a little more lowkey. The girls and I took our time getting up in the morning while the boys played on ipads in the living room of our suite. We grabbed breakfast to go from the hotel and headed to the Dinosaur Resource Center in Colorado Springs. We spent an hour there (mostly in the gift shop) and then made our way to Edelweiss for another outdoor lunch. E and I recalled childhood German learned when we lived there and the kids practiced the German words that were on the back of their menus. Everything we tried was amazing, if you are ever in Colorado it would be worth making a trip here just for the food!
After lunch we started making our way back to Breckenridge so that B would be able to make the drive back to Texas with his mom Monday morning. We dropped him off, went to do a little sightseeing on our own and then started the drive back to TX with E helping drive this time. We made it home on Monday and everyone determined that it was a last minute trip success! This was the shortest weekend that B had with us this summer, and how good was God that we got to spend 48 hours in a new state without having to worry about the travel time!? It marked the 32nd state I have taken the kids to, and the 24th that we have been to with E & B. Another travel success and we have determined that once facemask laws are lifted we will definitely make a trip back! 😊
