A Weekend Away

Matt and I had our first night away from Liam this weekend!  We basically swapped kiddos with some good friends, so we watched their son a few weeks ago, and they watched Liam this past weekend.  While one night is short and sweet, it was amazingly refreshing.  We debated over where to go, but in the end Denver seemed like the best option, as we didn’t want to spend all of our time driving.  Behold, our adventures one hour’s drive north!

We’ve wanted to check out Mt. Herman for awhile now, so we stopped in Monument for a lovely morning hike. 

Before jumping back on the highway, we wandered through Monument’s farmer’s market, enjoying some hearty samples of Great Harvest cinnamon bread and their “sinful” cinnamon butter—delish! 

Lunch was at Vine Street Café, which has become our yearly tradition.  Before leaving, we played a game of bags.  I won’t say who won.  : )

Then it was off to Denver’s Antique Row, where we meandered in and out of stores packed to the gills with antiques.  There was some live music, too, which made for a festive atmosphere. 

On our way to the hotel for check-in (we snagged a room at the Hyatt Regency through Hotwire), we stopped by a store to make a return and somehow got suckered into entering an amazing giveaway at the snowboarding store next door.  We only had to wait about 20 minutes before they did the giveaway—which turned into a massive amount of small giveaways + two major prizes.  Both of us won some gear—ski goggles, a too-small T-shirt, and some snowboarding stickers—and although we didn’t win the ultimate prizes, it was a fun moment of spontaneity.  While waiting, Matt kept entertained by exploring the booths set up outside.

That evening, we hit up Pinche Tacos, which is a hoppin’ Mexican restaurant downtown Denver.  They specialize in serving unique flavors of  tacos, and their cheese dip was pretty awesome, too!  We both agreed that this dinner was the highlight of our trip, although be prepared for elbow-to-elbow seating and loud music.

After sleeping in and taking a dip in the hotel hot tub, we gorged ourselves on breakfast at Snooze.  Their pancake flight is a must, as you get to try three different flavors of pancake.  Keep in mind that we ate this in addition to our other entrees…like I said, we gorged ourselves. 

Finally, we stopped at Roxborough State Park near Castle Rock (we even popped into the outlets and found Matt some work pants) on our way back to the Springs.  It reminded us of Garden of the Gods, but with fewer people and more green space.

It was so fun hanging out with my hubby and not having a serious agenda.  Liam did great while we were away, and I think we’ll be better parents in the long run by taking time to keep our relationship strong.  Now off to plan for the next getaway!  : )