Colorado, 2010

I've always wanted to travel around Colorado (so much to see and do) and this summer I discovered that my brother-in-law Mike felt the same way...to prove we were not bluffing, we quickly booked tickets and before I knew it Sherman and I were in Denver with my sister Jill, brother-in-law Mike and niece Annabelle!!!

We had 3 days in Colorado and MANY places to see, so we hit the road fast... here's a breakdown of what we saw and did:

Friday, October 15, 2010
VAIL

Our day started early with a 2 hour drive from Denver to Vail.
First stop... Betty Ford Alpine Gardens!

This botanical garden is definitely worth seeing! We followed the path into town but were disappointed to see that the mountain was closed (off-season).
Nonethess, we enjoyed walking around the shops at the base of the mountain before heading back on the trail through the Alpine Gardens.

BRECKENRIDGE

We didn't have a ton of time left in our day to spend in Breckenridge. We walked along the main street, Sherman, Jill and I endulged in a quick wine tasting (the wine of choice was the wine-arita... yep, a wine/margarita mix). We ended our day having tacos at Rita's (a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where you get to pick the meat, salsa & style of taco that you would like).

I definitely would like to spend more time in Breckenridge in the future
but what I did see was beautiful!

Saturday, October 16, 2010
GARDEN OF THE GODS
PIKE'S PEAK

Interesting fact: in 1893 Katharine Lee Bates was so blown away by how
beautiful the red rocks were @ Garden of the Gods that she wrote a poem,
which became later known as "America the Beautiful."

BROADMOOR HOTEL
COLORADO SPRINGS


Fantastic hotel! I quickly saw why The Broadmoor was on the list of places to see in the US before you die. The grounds were beautiful, guests of the hotel have access to paddle boats and pools. Annabelle had fun at the playground and running around the grassy fields. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from at this hotel, but we were told the most kid-friendly restaurant was the Tavern. We ate lunch in the glass-enclosed patio, which had a garden feel. Great restaurant, tasty food and, most importantly, Sherman gives their Bloody Mary's two big thumbs up.




DOWNTOWN DENVER
The night started with drinks at The Buckhorn Exchange, which happens to be Denver's oldest restaurant (opened in 1893). The wait to eat dinner was a bit too much with a 1 year old in tow, but we happily sat in the bar and listened to the live band and took in the decor (575 pieces of taxidermy on the walls of the restaurant and bar). While I can't vouch for the food, I do think that if you make your way to Denver you should stop by The Buckhorn Exchange for a drink.

After drinks, we walked around downtown Denver and had dinner @ Cafe Colore (tasty pizza plus the menu includes many gluten-free meals and drinks).

Sunday, October 17, 2010
BOULDER

We headed to Boulder to check out the town but finding a place to watch football
took top priority. Thankfully we found.... Lazy Dog Bar & Grill.


ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
ESTES PARK

Best part of the trip -
this park is worth going to Colorado for!

Well, there are actually lots of reasons to go to Colorado - it's absolutely beautiful! I enjoyed traveling through Colorado during off-season when there were not as many people roaming around and when the trees were in full bloom (and before snow could slow us down).

Now I'm ready to start planning a trip there in the winter.

COLORADO HIGHLIGHTSBest Bar = The Buckhorn Exchange
Best Hotel = The Broadmoor
Best Restaurant = Tavern @ The Broadmoor