Summer 2009 - Day 10

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Scenic Drive to Denver

We woke up early but at a reasonable time and got out as quick as possible. We got on the road and started our drive. Todays drive was basically interstate the entire way to Denver. This is the first time that we have an entire day of driving on the interstate. However, this drive is entirely in the largest mountains in Colorado. We ate breakfast in the car as usual and drove through eastern Utah and then into Colorado. Our drive took us through Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Eagle and then we made a stop in Vail. During the drive up and down and around in the mountains, Amy was not enjoying the ride in the backseat; which is unfortunate since it is such a magnificent ride. We walked around Vail for a short time. Noah saw the ski slopes and immediately thought we were going to the top in a tram! We got back in the car and decided we would make the hour ride to Idaho Springs for lunch. After about 10 minutes of driving up Vail pass traffic came to a stop, there was construction which delayed us probably about 30 or 45 minutes. Anyway, we continued the drive and went through Eisenhower tunnel which the boys really liked. We finally made our way into Idaho Springs and parked the car. We were going to have lunch at Beau Jo’s; Amy had been waiting for this lunch the whole trip. She had only been to the Beau Jo’s in Denver, but this one (the original) had a much more mountain feel. We waited about 20 minutes before sitting down. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the lunch! Noah loved the salad bar and Ethan liked putting honey on the pizza crust. After lunch, we decided we would stay the night in a hotel instead of camping. The reason was just a gut feeling for me and we would be able to get some of the stuff shipped. So, I called the Radisson where we were to stay the next 2 nights but they had no availability. I then tried calling Hotels.com where they were very helpful and got us a room at the Hyatt Tech Center (which has always been a personal favorite of mine); for a very reasonable price. We made the hour drive to the hotel and checked in. As soon as we got to the room, I left and went to ship the tent and sleeping bags and whatever else I could. We then got dressed and went to dinner. We decided to go to Blue Bonnett, which is a Mexican Restaurant which has been around a very long time. When we walked into the restaurant Noah flipped out, we don’t know why; the only thing we could think of was the lighting. This was the first time this happened the whole trip. We ordered and ate, it was less than enjoyable because we were worried about Noah the whole time. Anyway, when it was time to go it was a torrential downpour with horrible wind. We sat inside and waited about 30 minutes for it to calm down. Once it calmed down, I sprinted to go get the car, I noticed that most of the parking lot was flooded and so was Broadway (the main street). I got in the car, drove as close to the door as I could and everyone piled in. We turned onto Broadway and the street was flooded probably 3 feet of water, the water was flowing into the businesses, and I was very thankful we were in a high SUV; we had no trouble getting down the street. Now, it was my job to find ice cream for the kids. Not much luck, but I remembered the DQ we used to go to on Colorado Avenue. So in the rain I drove to DQ, got out and got the ice cream for the boys and I, Amy didn’t want anything. Then we drove back to the hotel, where the boys ate the ice cream in the room. I was having horrible pains in my stomach, so I put my ice cream in the ice bucket with some ice and rested in the bed. The boys and Amy got ready for bed and went to bed. The boys finally fell asleep, I didn’t feel any better, so Amy ate my ice cream! Eventually we all went to sleep.

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