Colorado Trip
Hey friends!
A couple of weeks ago, Kent and I took a trip to Colorado to celebrate our second anniversary! It was the perfect little getaway. We stayed in Denver but spent time in and around Colorado Springs. I have never seen the mountains before, and now that I have, I’m in love! The scenery was beautiful! Growing up in the Midwest, the most “scenic” view I’ve witnessed here are the never-ending cornfields… Haha :) Needless to say, Colorado will forever hold a piece of my heart.
It was about a 7-8 hour drive for us, which honestly is not that bad. For us, the most challenging part was driving at night. We left right after work and drove the whole way. I think if we were to go again, we would leave in the morning instead. However, once we got there and checked into our hotel, we had the best time!
We checked out the Denver Aquarium and went shopping at the Cherry Creek Center on the first day. The aquarium was neat and reminded me a lot of the Omaha Zoo. We saw lots of colorful and unique fish, sharks, and eels. However, my personal favorite was the otter. Shortly after walking in, we saw him swimming around doing flips in front of the glass. It was so cute! You can see that clip along with other fun moments in my Denver Travel Video here. Another highlight of the aquarium was watching Kent dote on this 3-month-old baby. It caught me by surprise because usually, it's me who's giddy around babies. It was precious, and I can’t wait for us to have children someday. He’s going to be an amazing dad! :)
The next day, we ventured out to Garden of the Gods and spent the rest of the day in Manitou Springs. It was my favorite day out of the three days we were there. The weather was beautiful, and the Garden of the Gods was breathtaking! I could have spent the whole trip there just taking in the incredible views. Manitou Springs, which is just outside of Colorado Springs, is this little resort town with lots of little shops and restaurants. We checked out quite a few shops, treated ourselves to ice cream, and had dinner at one of the sports bars. Kent also bought some of the best-tasting jerkies he’s ever had at one of their jerky shops. The variety of jerkies was insane! I saw ostrich, shark, and kangaroo jerky just to name a few. Not sure if I would want to try those flavors, but if you are looking for something adventurous to try, it’s worth a visit! We ended the night in a relaxing soaking tub at the Sunwater Spa. Our soaking tub overlooked the mountains, and it was the perfect way to end the evening.
On the last day, we booked a tour bus to take us up to Pike’s Peak. I highly recommend doing this if you are too nervous driving yourself. Plus, then you and whoever you are with can enjoy the views instead of worrying about driving off the edge into the bottomless pit… just kidding! But, if you want to take some stress off your plate, I’d look into the bus tour. The only downside to the tour is you're limited on time. If you drive yourself, you can go at your own pace. Just remember to bring extra layers and drink plenty of water! Staying hydrated will help with the altitude change. Luckily, Kent and I didn’t experience any symptoms. We were excited when we reached the summit! We had about 30 minutes to explore and take pictures. I truly felt like I was standing on top of the world up there. At the summit, they had a small gift shop and donuts! They were delicious and the perfect treat for making it to the top :) I was blown away by how many people I saw bicycling up the mountain. Kudos to them because I sure couldn’t do that!
Overall, we had a wonderful time, and I can’t wait to go back! I would like to try skiing or snowboarding the next time we go. I hope you all enjoyed this post, and I will talk to you all soon! :)
Watch the travel video here!
Love, Brandi