The second weekend in September was Brandon's annual residency retreat in Frisco, CO - a quaint, touristy mountain town located near big-name ski-resort towns like Breckenridge, Vail and Copper Mountain. Bike Trip is five days in the mountains for all first and second year residents and their families - and all the third years have to stay behind to cover all the in-patient shifts. Admittedly, this trip is not planned with small children in mind, but we tried to make the best of it.
Temps in Wichita had returned to the 90's before we left, so the cool 60's and 70's (and down into the 30's overnight!) in the mountains were a welcome relief. We even had to run out and find some gloves for the kids for early morning park visits. Some of the highlights of the trip include: sleeping in (no working and no pager!), Oktoberfest in Breckenridge, moderate hikes in the mountains around Frisco, biking up to Vail Pass, and a mega, all day 14-er hike (reaching multiple summits over 14,000 ft).
Obviously, we did none of those things, with two small children along.
What we did do, was visit several parks in town, swim a lot in the clubhouse pool, go for a small hike, walk around downtown, and enjoy lots of time together as a family.
The kids and I actually drove to Denver the night before the trip and stayed with the Weldons, just to break up the drive a bit. We left Wichita after I picked up the kids from their first day at Mom's Day Out, so we arrived in Denver just before midnight. We there just over 12 hours, and took off around noon on Friday to head up into the mountains. Brandon joined us that afternoon, hitching a ride from Wichita with some other residents, since he had to work overnight Thursday.
The kids were up pretty early Saturday morning, so we loaded up and set out to find a park. After a few wrong turns (and lots of whining), we found the coolest playground at a near by elementary school! It looked like a castle, complete with a dragon. There were tons of stairs to climb and different rooms and places to hide. The kids had fun exploring, although it was a bit chilly for our Kansas kids (hence, the scramble to find some gloves later that morning). You can't beat the view, though. Definitely cooler than my elementary school playground.
The rest of the morning, Brandon had a Continuing Medical Education seminar (the purported reason for the trip), so the kids and I tracked down some gloves, and then hung out at the condo. The kids must have been wiped out from all the traveling, because they both took 3-4 hour naps that afternoon. Brandon and I were also able to sneak in a two hour nap.
The condo complex we stayed in had a nice clubhouse with a meeting space upstairs for people to hang out and play games, and a large (heated!) indoor pool, as well as three large hot tubs outside. We made many trips to the pool throughout the weekend for our water-loving kids. Jonah is getting pretty confident in the water, and it's fun to watch his excitement.
And, of course, after Jonah had a turn, Cora wanted us to video her "swimming," as well :)
On Saturday afternoon, we took a short hike up to Rainbow Lake with some friends, the Heilands, and their three-week old, Graciana. I think it ended up being about 1.5 miles, with only slight change in elevation. Jonah made it most of the way, but had to be carried for a short while. Cora had brief spurts of energy, but mostly wanted to be carried.
On Sunday morning, we stopped by the castle park again, then made our way to downtown Frisco, and took a walk out to the marina on Dillon Reservoir. Lots of super nice sailboats and a mountain backdrop view that can't be beat.
For our last day in Colorado, we had lunch at a German restaurant in downtown Frisco called Prost. This place seemed to be created for our family. The menu consisted of a large selection of sausages and brats, and there was a condiments bar with half a dozen different kinds of mustard. Perfect for our sausage-loving kids and their mustard-connoisseur dad. Plus, the sampler plate came with just sausages (no bread or fries or sides), so it was paleo-friendly :) Cora and Dad's favorite was the boar apricot, and Jonah like the frankfurter (which was basically a hot dog). I personally preferred the Prost brat. Yum!
Temps in Wichita had returned to the 90's before we left, so the cool 60's and 70's (and down into the 30's overnight!) in the mountains were a welcome relief. We even had to run out and find some gloves for the kids for early morning park visits. Some of the highlights of the trip include: sleeping in (no working and no pager!), Oktoberfest in Breckenridge, moderate hikes in the mountains around Frisco, biking up to Vail Pass, and a mega, all day 14-er hike (reaching multiple summits over 14,000 ft).
Obviously, we did none of those things, with two small children along.
What we did do, was visit several parks in town, swim a lot in the clubhouse pool, go for a small hike, walk around downtown, and enjoy lots of time together as a family.
The kids and I actually drove to Denver the night before the trip and stayed with the Weldons, just to break up the drive a bit. We left Wichita after I picked up the kids from their first day at Mom's Day Out, so we arrived in Denver just before midnight. We there just over 12 hours, and took off around noon on Friday to head up into the mountains. Brandon joined us that afternoon, hitching a ride from Wichita with some other residents, since he had to work overnight Thursday.
The kids were up pretty early Saturday morning, so we loaded up and set out to find a park. After a few wrong turns (and lots of whining), we found the coolest playground at a near by elementary school! It looked like a castle, complete with a dragon. There were tons of stairs to climb and different rooms and places to hide. The kids had fun exploring, although it was a bit chilly for our Kansas kids (hence, the scramble to find some gloves later that morning). You can't beat the view, though. Definitely cooler than my elementary school playground.
The rest of the morning, Brandon had a Continuing Medical Education seminar (the purported reason for the trip), so the kids and I tracked down some gloves, and then hung out at the condo. The kids must have been wiped out from all the traveling, because they both took 3-4 hour naps that afternoon. Brandon and I were also able to sneak in a two hour nap.
The condo complex we stayed in had a nice clubhouse with a meeting space upstairs for people to hang out and play games, and a large (heated!) indoor pool, as well as three large hot tubs outside. We made many trips to the pool throughout the weekend for our water-loving kids. Jonah is getting pretty confident in the water, and it's fun to watch his excitement.
And, of course, after Jonah had a turn, Cora wanted us to video her "swimming," as well :)
On Saturday afternoon, we took a short hike up to Rainbow Lake with some friends, the Heilands, and their three-week old, Graciana. I think it ended up being about 1.5 miles, with only slight change in elevation. Jonah made it most of the way, but had to be carried for a short while. Cora had brief spurts of energy, but mostly wanted to be carried.
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| Made it to Rainbow Lake! Enjoyed the view before turning around and heading back down the mountain. |
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| Lauren, Michael, and baby Gracianna! |
On Sunday morning, we stopped by the castle park again, then made our way to downtown Frisco, and took a walk out to the marina on Dillon Reservoir. Lots of super nice sailboats and a mountain backdrop view that can't be beat.
For our last day in Colorado, we had lunch at a German restaurant in downtown Frisco called Prost. This place seemed to be created for our family. The menu consisted of a large selection of sausages and brats, and there was a condiments bar with half a dozen different kinds of mustard. Perfect for our sausage-loving kids and their mustard-connoisseur dad. Plus, the sampler plate came with just sausages (no bread or fries or sides), so it was paleo-friendly :) Cora and Dad's favorite was the boar apricot, and Jonah like the frankfurter (which was basically a hot dog). I personally preferred the Prost brat. Yum!
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| Our spread |
The last night of Bike Trip is traditionally dinner at a BBQ place in one of the surrounding towns. The place we went this year was a bit cramped, but it was fun to hang out one last time and enjoy some good food. We all crammed together to get a picture. It was super dark, but this is what we ended up with. Cora and I are in the front row, right in the middle; Brandon and Jonah are in the back row, way in the far right corner, up next to the ceiling.
On Tuesday, we loaded up and made the long drive back to Kansas. It was soooo windy on the drive home. I know it's windy in Kansas, but this was ridiculous. At one point we stopped for a potty break, and you had to fight the door open to even get out of the car. Brandon was a trooper and drove the whole way. We made it home in time for a quick dinner before the kids collapsed into bed.
It certainly wasn't a very restful weekend, but we enjoyed some fun moments together as a family. We'll have to keep the rougher moments in mind next year when we are *enjoying* the other side of bike trip - third year residents basically get to cover all the shifts (day and night) for five days straight!
We did it - Summer of Road Trips! Six trips in just under four months. Well over 8,000 miles on our van. Half with my co-pilot, half flying solo. All with two kids in the back seat. And we survived :)
On Tuesday, we loaded up and made the long drive back to Kansas. It was soooo windy on the drive home. I know it's windy in Kansas, but this was ridiculous. At one point we stopped for a potty break, and you had to fight the door open to even get out of the car. Brandon was a trooper and drove the whole way. We made it home in time for a quick dinner before the kids collapsed into bed.
It certainly wasn't a very restful weekend, but we enjoyed some fun moments together as a family. We'll have to keep the rougher moments in mind next year when we are *enjoying* the other side of bike trip - third year residents basically get to cover all the shifts (day and night) for five days straight!
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We did it - Summer of Road Trips! Six trips in just under four months. Well over 8,000 miles on our van. Half with my co-pilot, half flying solo. All with two kids in the back seat. And we survived :)
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