Colorado - Blogabond

So after only a few short hours of sleep, we got up and began the 13-hour trek to Colorado. We were tired, but ok. We stopped for gas, stopped for a lunch on the road at Arby's, and didn't stop again until we got to Colorado. The drive was interesting, because poor Chloe kept trying to tell us to go on roads that had stopped existing. There were tons of roadblocks and detours and re-routed parts of the highway, so we ended up just turning her off for most of it. At one point, she thought we were driving the wrong direction on the highway! But we made it just fine anyways.

The plan was to meet at Anthony's and go from there. We got to his place a little bit before 6 (thanks to the time change!). He was on his way home from work and Andrea was on her way too. Unfortunately, the traffic was really bad and Andrea couldn't make it, so we spent some time with Anthony before heading to Andrea's.

We found Danielle and went inside. First of all, Isabella is adorable!! She was too cute and so friendly despite the fact that we are complete strangers to her. Their apartment is really nice. It is very spacious and well-decorated. She gave us a tour of the place and then we spent some time talking to her and playing with the baby- and the cat! Who is also very friendly =)

Once Anthony got home we spent some time with him and then went out to Friday's for dinner. It was really nice to catch up with them, even if it was only for a few hours. I'm really glad we were able to do that. And I'm so happy that I got to meet their baby!

After that, we departed and headed for Andrea's. Her place is also really great. They have a townhouse, and it has multiple floors, which is cool, and plenty of room. It was awesome to spend some time with her. We also met her roommate Jess, who was very nice, and she even let us use her computer. Andrea showed us a place to go on our way tomorrow, and she also showed us a different way to search for hotels that we hadn't known about- and wish we had! Turns out the Grand Canyon is about 14.5 hours from her, so that wasn't going to happen. We decided to book a hotel in Santa Fe, NM as a mid-way point. We booked ourselves a room at the Hilton for only slightly more than it would have cost us to stay at the Econo Lodge! Very cool.

We decided that since it was dark and raining, we'd wake up early and go walk around for a bit before she had to work since we wouldn't be able to really see anything anyways. And we were pretty tired too, after driving all day, so we all went to bed. She let us sleep in her bed, although I felt bad about it, but her bed was wicked comfy!! So with everything taken care of, we got the good night's sleep that we sorely needed.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, once we passed into Colorado, our memory card was full, and since we hadn't been able to put everything on the computer yet, we couldn't delete the pictures on it! Soooo that is why there are no pictures of this day =(

written by

prettyblueroses on August 6, 2008 from Boulder, United States

from the travel blog: Mike & Heather's Cross-Country Adventure

tagged Family, Driving and Colorado

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Santa Fe, United States

We woke up this morning at 7:30 and were on our way before 8. We went to Pearl Street, which is like a promenade with shops and restaurants lining the street. It is blocked off for pedestrians only, and there are flowers and plants everywhere. We were there so early that not many people were around. Andrea said that usually there are tons of street performers and assorted types of people hanging out everywhere.

We stopped in a little coffee shop for coffee and bagels which we took with us, and then we went for a walk down the street just to look around. Most things were closed, but ti was still nice to see everything before we left. We saw a beautiful view of the mountains, and then sat down on a bench to eat and relax.

After that we went back to the cars and followed Andrea to Chautauqua. The mountains are right there- it was gorgeous. Mike took tons of pictures (of course!), and Andrea showed us where she's hiked and pointed out other cool things. Maybe next time we can go on a hike (lol!).

We said goodbye because she had to go to work, but as she went to leave, her car wouldn't start. So we asked these guys that were there for some jumper cables (since neither of us have them) and we jumped her car. Luckily, it worked, and it was good. We said goodbye again and she left. We spent a few more minutes there just to take it all in.

I wish we had been able to spend more time with her, but I'm glad that we had the time that we did anyways. Although it is unfortunate that we didn't get to see Mt. Rushmore, spending the day in Chicago and then being able to see Anthony and Andrea was definitely worth it.

Me at the Garden of the Gods

We then went to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. Basically, it is a huge area in the mountains with all these crazy natural rock formations. We went in the visitor's center to get a map, and then drove around it for a bit.

Mike at the Garden of the Gods

We found some really great views of the mountains and were able to pull over and get out to look around. It was a really nice stop on our way and I'm glad Andrea suggested it!

Then we continued onto Santa Fe. It was a shorter drive today, about 7.5 hours total and about 5 from the place we stopped. We didn't stop for lunch (just for gas!) and drove straight through. And it rained. Again. We are pretty positive at this point that the storms are following us around. Anthony and Andrea said that yesterday was the first time it had rained in their area in forever. So we had to deal with a dripping turtle and winds blowing us all over the road once more.

We got to the Hilton a little past 5. It is very nice. Strangely enough though, you have to pay for parking and the internet, which we didn't have to in the sketchy hotels. =\ But our room is nice and comfy anyways. We managed to figure out that we can use the internet free in the lobby, so we camped out there to find a place for dinner. We went to the Atomic Grill. Mike got a spinach and garlic pizza and I got ribs. It was ok. Not the best food in the world but not bad either. And I was starving by the time we got there, so it was good to eat!

And so here we are. We just booked our hotel outside of the Grand Canyon for tomorrow (we were not thrilled to discover that the closest hotels are 60 miles away and no more than 2 stars!) but it worked out alright anyways. We are looking forward to going there!

written by

prettyblueroses on August 7, 2008 from Santa Fe, United States

from the travel blog: Mike & Heather's Cross-Country Adventure

tagged Family, Driving, Colorado and NewMexico

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“The love of a family is life's greatest blessing”

Boulder, United States

Sunny Santa Fe Would Be Nice

Santa Fe, United States

Heading South?