It’s been a month since we went on our trip to Colorado over Memorial Day weekend. So let’s recap the trip: the highs, the lows, our favorites and our not-so-favorite moments. Here we go!
Colorado: Here We Come
The trip started out great. We rented a car so that we could have all the additional space we needed when traveling with 2 boys. I was hoping for a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which is exactly what we got. It fit me perfectly and had plenty of room for me in the driver's seat and space in the back for the boys and all the stuff. The stuff included suitcases, Snackle boxes, and snacks for the adults. We bought entirely too much, but I did eat all of the Peanut Butter M&M’s on the trip. After we got everything loaded, we picked up the kids from my parents’ house and headed West. The trip out there was uneventful. We stayed the night in Hays, where I accidentally booked a room with 2 full beds instead of queen beds. Let’s just say it was a tight squeeze on the bed with me and MJ.
Finally Made It
Getting up the next morning, we headed out for our first 2 stops of the trip, Sand Creek Massacre and Bent’s Old Fort in Colorado. Both stops were very enjoyable and there were no setbacks. This was one of the highs of the trip. Getting more stamps and checking sites off our list. Sunday morning, we headed out to the highlight stop, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. This stop ended up being one of the lows of the trip as one of the attractions there, Medano’s Creek, was not running at this point of the season. When we were here 2 years ago, the creek was running and MJ loved playing in the shallow water and wet sand. We had such high expectations that it would be the same for Macklin. It was not to be.
Hitting a Road Block
Now, for those who don’t know, Emily and I have 2 VERY different ideas of what vacation should be. Emily thinks vacation should be sitting around and relaxing the entire time. I, on the other hand, am a big fan of an itinerary and constantly doing things. Therefore, since I am the vacation planner, I always assume that everyone is capable and willing to go as much as I am. Well, in case anyone didn’t know, a 3-year- old and a 1-year-old are not capable of going for too long. This is one of my not-so-favorite moments. The original plan for the afternoon was to travel an additional 3 hours south and pick up Fort Union in New Mexico. That did not happen.
By the time we finished at Great Sand Dunes, it was well past noon and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. So it would not have been possible for us to make it to New Mexico. This made me very upset as I was not able to visit another park site. Instead, we headed back to the hotel room for a relaxing afternoon, or so we thought. The afternoon was anything but relaxing. The boys were running around the room and not listening to anything Emily or I were saying. I was getting very upset with them, and I threatened to pack up right then and go home. I was certainly not having a good time. What Emily explained to me later was that my expectations were too high. I anticipated that the boys would be able to go non-stop, and that is simply not the case.
Changing Expectations
That evening were found this local pizza joint and got some amazing pizza and ate back at the hotel. The next day, we shifted gears and spent the morning at Florissant Fossil Beds. The boys were able to walk around on the trails and see huge fossils in the shape of tree trunks. That afternoon, we decided to head to Denver and check out the downtown aquarium. We brought MJ 2 years prior and he loved it, so we decided to make another go of it. This stop did not disappoint. MJ enjoyed it just as much the second time around and Macklin had a blast walking around and looking at all the different fish. This was another one of our favorite moments.
The next day was our travel day home from Colorado. Even though we were sad to be leaving, we were happy to be heading back to our own beds and normal routines. The return home was uneventful overall, with the exception of me vowing to never take another vacation until Macklin was at least 5. Also, I did not do a good job of scheduling a place to eat lunch, so we ate at close to 2:45 pm, which is much later than the boys typically eat. They both handled it like champs due to naps and plenty of snacks. Making it home was a relief from a stressful weekend in my eyes.
Thoughtful Expectations
What I learned is that I need to be more flexible with our plans and I also need to lessen my expectations for what the boys are capable of at this age. I should be more focused on making memories with them as opposed to checking off items on a list. This is something I will definitely take into consideration on our next family trip, which will probably end up being in September. As stressful as this trip was, it’s going to take more than that to keep me from planning a road trip with my family.
Click HERE to read more on our family adventures.
Leave a Reply