Did you say Roadtrip?!?

Why does a roadtrip always sound like a good idea? There is always a point during the trip when I say to myself, "What was I thinking?" This time was going to be different, I knew exactly how to do it! I have driven to AZ and CA several times but I was a little nervous this time because I haven't ever really gone some place, alone with the kids, where I didn't meet friends or family when I got there.

First let me give you a little history on why I chose to go to Denver. This may sound lame but, I like to go to the Hard Rock Cafe and I have been to several but last year when I was in Hawaii, I met a couple who were also big fans. He told me that I should be buying pins when I go and that if I signed up for the "pin club" they would track what cafes I had been to. Since I got my card in July, I have been to 8. Before I got the card I had been to the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Amsterdam and 3 in Hawaii. Oh darn, I'll just have to go back!

Back to this trip...my major problems on a trip like this would be a teenager talking back and Erika's evil twin (whom we call Sybil- she doesn't get it but it fits perfectly). She's had this Jekyll and Hyde personality since we went to Boston in '03, but that's a whole different story. Anyway, we had a talk before we left and she promised that Sybil wasn't coming on this trip. I also invited Colton's friend Chad so that he wouldn't be bored, plus I planned it so we could stay at a resort and they would have a day to ski and snowboard. The perfect trip right??
Well almost, until Colton started in and Sybil started screaming in the car while we were driving home today and of course it was all at the same time. By that time I was ready to pull my hair out. I got things calmed down and put in my headphones and told them not to talk until everyone could be nice.

We drove to Breckenridge, Colorado on Friday where I had rented a 2 bedroom condo. We stayed there two nights. Colton and Chad hit the slopes early on Saturday, the condo was only 1/2 a block from one of the chair lifts (they had 22). I guess we waited too late in the season to go because the conditions were not the best. It was really icy and Colton hit his tailbone twice. They ended up only going half a day because Colton could barely even walk. The girls and I had a fun day though, I took them ice skating, we took 2 walking treks into the quaint little town for shopping. The second time we went, we found a concert in the park. They watched for about 4 songs and got bored, not their kind of music I guess. We bought some playing cards and played games for the rest of the evening.

We drove to Denver the next morning and went to the famous 16th Street Mall, where the Hard Rock Cafe is and ate lunch there as well. We did some shopping and then we went to an aquarium. It was really fun, the kids fed the stingrays and Corey and Erika climbed fake trees. We went to the hotel and the kids swam for a few hours. Today we made the long drive home, it took 9 hours from Denver. Corey sat in the front seat with me and was my navigator and photographer, she did a really great job.

I must say if you haven't driven I-70 in Colorado, you should. It was absolutely beautiful. They even have several clean rest areas! I was impressed. We drove home through Wyoming today on I-80. Most of the drive looks like Northern Arizona until you get close to Utah. Rico stayed with Susie and Jon and also went to their son's house part of the time. I hope he behaved himself, he must have had a wonderful time, he is worn out!

All in all, I think we had a great time and I am sure the kids would say the same. Hey, when is our next trip?


Downtown Breckenridge


Downtown Breckenridge


Corey giving Erika some pointers on ice skating


We drove to the top of another mountain to take this picture of the runs at Breckenridge, you can see the city off to the right


Erika is a big Bronco's fan, I'm not sure where she gets that!


We found the chocolate factory


Colton and Chad


Erika decided that was as high as she was going


Corey at the top of the tree


Chad feeding the stingray


Colton feeding the stingray


Denver's Downtown Aquarium


Hard Rock Cafe