Rocky Mountain Highs (a non-Disney Trip Report) - COMPLETE 2/17

:faint: Oh come on, I gave more clues than that!

Oh, all right. Only 2 of the 5 are within theme parks.

One of them is a frequent destination of yours, if I'm not mistaken.

3 of them can either be found within Epcot or within walking distance of Epcot.

2 of them are buffets.

None of them include visits or photo opportunities with named characters, although one may involve "characters" of a different sort.

Only 2 feature primarily "American" cuisine.

I'm having a hard time coming up with other hints that aren't dead giveaways. So I'll save those for later.

Speaking of which, did you happen to catch the first episode of the new Jim Gaffigan tv show?

I did! Very funny. Love the doctor's line, "You realize it's not necessary to PROVE you need a vasectomy."
 
We had a plan. It was a good plan.


Ok, it was a decent plan.


It was the best we could come up with.
When it comes to dealing with airlines, you're lucky with anything that resembles "a plan."

Sounds reasonable, right?
Reasonably ambitious. :rolleyes1

The Oblivious Family Law of Airports states that no matter where you enter the terminal, our airline check-in desk will always be at the opposite end of the building.
::yes:: Sounds about right.

Baby Drew did his part by refusing his baby food and trying to steal our hash browns.
Smart kid! :thumbsup2

Around 7:25, the captain’s voice came over the intercom to tell us there had been a mixup and the plane had taken on too much fuel. So they had to have the truck come over to pump some fuel out before we could depart. We settled into our seats to wait for them to finish.
Um... isn't extra fuel a good thing????? :confused3


I mean if they didn't put enough in... heck yeah, bring the fuel truck on over here.

But a few gallons extra? Why coast in on fumes if you don't have to? :rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

About 30 minutes into the flight, Baby Drew woke up. So our plan had worked! We only had to entertain him for 3 and a half hours.
Congratulations! It worked about 29 minutes longer for you than it did for us. :headache:

If only he knew how much we were going to abuse that poor vehicle.
He provides rental cars to people. Believe me, he knows. :rotfl2:

I had never read anything about Denver traffic before, but we found it to be surprisingly crappy most of the time on the highways.
Stupid civil engineers. If they knew the first thing about traffic... :rolleyes1

Sarah grabbed her cup of Cherry Coke and shoved her straw through the lid…and also straight through the bottom of the cup. Within seconds, she was sitting in a puddle of Cherry Coke, in the rental van we’d barely had for an hour. And she was wearing white shorts.
Ok. I feel sorry for Sarah. Really I do.

But that's funny.

:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

In fact, one of the first sights we saw as we headed west on Colfax Ave. was the Denver Biscuit Company, just a few blocks down.
:headache:
 
Your travel pictures just got Anara super excited for our trip east. And your way of travel seems just about the same as ours. Spill, tantrum, or sick-laden. Luckily, the "kids" are older now. And we don't fly much anymore. So naturally, the fact that they are older and we can actually fly now without most of the aformentioned is moot.
 
When it comes to dealing with airlines, you're lucky with anything that resembles "a plan."

Not even 12% of a plan?

Reasonably ambitious. :rolleyes1

We do what we have to do. It's either that, or stay in Delaware.

Sounds about right.

The amount of luggage you have to carry definitely factors into the equation too.

Smart kid! :thumbsup2

I'd take hash browns over baby food any day.

Um... isn't extra fuel a good thing????? :confused3


I mean if they didn't put enough in... heck yeah, bring the fuel truck on over here.

But a few gallons extra? Why coast in on fumes if you don't have to? :rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

I have to admit, the same thought crossed my mind.

Congratulations! It worked about 29 minutes longer for you than it did for us. :headache:

:faint: This kid. I'm too old for this...stuff.

He provides rental cars to people. Believe me, he knows. :rotfl2:

Yeah, but there's also my family to consider.

Stupid civil engineers. If they knew the first thing about traffic... :rolleyes1

If only someone out there could tell us how to do our job better. We just don't have enough of those people out there.

Ok. I feel sorry for Sarah. Really I do.

But that's funny.

I think she spilled the baby's water later at dinner, and I made a crack about it. She didn't take it well.

Your travel pictures just got Anara super excited for our trip east. And your way of travel seems just about the same as ours. Spill, tantrum, or sick-laden. Luckily, the "kids" are older now. And we don't fly much anymore. So naturally, the fact that they are older and we can actually fly now without most of the aformentioned is moot.

We just can't seem to make our travels uneventful. But they make for good stories, right?
 
Chapter 2: It happens.

When I’d researched things to do in Denver, I hadn’t come up with a lot of activities that were both family-friendly (i.e. cheap) and unique. They have their zoo, science museum, history museum, amusement park, etc. But we have those same types of attractions close to home, and nothing here seemed so unique that it was an absolute must-see. Then I stumbled across the U.S. Mint in Denver. They offered free tours. That sounded pretty interesting. So, I went online about 2 months in advance to try and make a reservation for a tour.


They were already booked solid for the entire summer. It’s probably just as well, since they wouldn’t want me asking why we’re still making pennies when it costs more than 1 cent to produce them.


So, I asked around. I had a co-worker who used to live in Denver, and he recommended taking a drive to Lookout Mountain, just west of the city. It provided a nice view of the city and a small museum dedicated to western folk hero William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.


So, we plugged “Lookout Mountain” into the GPS and headed west. It’s only a few miles west of the city on I-70, but you have to make a somewhat steep climb as you head into the Rocky Mountains. Just a few miles up, there are signs directing you to the proper exit for Lookout Mountain. Going from downtown Denver to the top of the mountain took about 30 minutes.


When we reached the summit, we pulled into the parking lot for the Lookout Mountain nature center. Not because we had any particular interest, but rather because Scotty announced, “Daddy…I REALLY need to go to the bathroom.” Because, of course, our kids are only able to perceive that particular urge once their bladders are completely full and/or overflowing. So I took Scotty and David inside to take care of business (our boys go in groups, too). While inside, the volunteer on duty noticed my Wrigley Field t-shirt and asked if we were from Chicago. So I explained that it was just my souvenir from our Chicago trip a few years back and we struck up a baseball conversation for a few minutes.


Finally, we walked back to the van in the parking lot. I noticed the side doors were open, and Julie had all sorts of bags and wipes out. The baby was wearing a brand new outfit.


“Good timing, hon,” she said. “You just missed Poopapalooza 2015.”


Apparently, Drew’s orange juice intake earlier had caused a blowout of such proportions that it had fouled his clothing (including the front of his shirt somehow), his car seat, and the van seat. So, now we’d managed to mess the van with both Cherry Coke and poop in a matter of hours. Honestly, I can't take these people anywhere.


I felt sympathy for Julie, but can’t deny a secret feeling of relief that I’d missed having to deal with it. Don't tell her I said that.


Anyway, we finally got cleaned up as best we could and drove the short distance to the Buffalo Bill Museum. It’s a tiny place and kind of run-down, and we didn’t bother paying the admission for the museum itself. We did wander over the observation deck, where we were treated to a very nice view of the city of Denver.


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Baby Drew was happy to be out of his car seat and running around aimlessly.


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The other kids seemed happy to be out in the fresh mountain air as well.


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A short path up the hill takes you to Buffalo Bill’s grave site. Apparently there was some dispute over where Mr. Cody would be buried upon his death. The town of Cody, Wyoming (which he helped found) felt his body should be laid to rest there. But his family insisted that his wish was to be buried on top of Lookout Mountain in Colorado. They won the argument.


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Coming back down the trail, we had the opportunity to bypass the crappy tourist trap gift shop and head straight back to the parking lot. But a) we had time to kill, and b) I felt a profound moral obligation to thoroughly investigate the area, document my travels and report my findings to you, my dear readers. I hope you appreciate extra effort, performed solely on your behalf and certainly not under any morbid fascination with the utterly craptacular treasures we’d find inside.


As always, we have trained models ready to show off the finest in haberdashery:


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And this sounds…less than useful:


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Apparently Colorado is in need of some good young women. Do any of you meet the qualifications?


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The Budget Committee made sure to strike down any requests for funds, and we managed to escape without bringing any of these fine treasures home with us.


Back outside, we took in the view at the other end of the parking lot. Here we see the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I was fascinated by the fact that there was no gently rolling transition—just an abrupt break between the mountains to the west and the plains to the east.


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We couldn’t find anything else to do up there, so we piled into the van again. It was only about 3:30 p.m. and we weren’t hungry for dinner yet. So we decided to drive back to the city and check into our hotel. We would be staying for 2 nights just south of town at the Best Western Plus Denver Tech Center.


The problem, as it turned out, was getting there. We drove east on Rt. 6 and then took I-25 South…and hit a dead stop. I had thought we’d be fine as we were traveling well before rush hour, but I was soon to learn that on I-25 in Denver, rush hour goes from 7:30 a.m. until about 8:00 p.m. We crawled along, stopping and starting over several miles before we could finally get to our exit.


The hotel turned out to be a fairly nice one, and we’d recommend it to anyone who needed to stay in the area. The rooms were clean, and the breakfast food was above average as far as standard hotel breakfasts go.


Drew was once again happy to be out of the car seat and decided to explore.


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In fact, he liked the place so much he decided to climb up on the air conditioner, assume the position, and mark his territory.


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Admit it, you were eagerly anticipating the poop stories, weren’t you?


With that unpleasantness settled, we decided to hit the road again and brave the traffic to get to dinner. We had picked out a place in downtown Denver and figured we needed to leave right away if we were going to get there at a decent hour. Traffic on I-25 north was still a nightmare, but the GPS was helpful in taking us on the fastest route possible. It took somewhere between 30-45 minutes to get back to the downtown area.


We chose to eat dinner at Steuben’s Food Service. We’d seen the place featured once on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was named after a restaurant in Boston and built in an old maintenance garage and featured American Regional classics on the menu.


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They kept the old garage doors intact when they re-modeled the garage into the restaurant.


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I ordered the fried chicken dinner while Julie went for one of her all-time favorites, the Monte Cristo sandwich.


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And while my chicken was decent, the Monte Cristo ended up being the clear winner. In fact, if it’s not too blasphemous to say, Julie and I both liked it better than the one we ate at Café Orleans in Disneyland last year. It was pure deep-fried bliss.


Speaking of which, it was now time for dessert. We stuck to our family policy of ordering water for everyone at dinner, which tended to save us about $15 a meal. So we felt justified in using a portion of those savings for something sweet at the end. After perusing the menu, I convinced Julie to go for the deep-fried apple pie. You might be detecting a theme here.


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As you can see, this was served warm with some vanilla ice cream on a bed of green apple slices and Frosted Flakes.


It.


Was.


Amazing.


So, so good. The pie itself was great, the ice cream went perfectly with it, and we all decided that we never wanted to eat Frosted Flakes with milk instead of ice cream again. So, the moral of the story is if you ever get the chance to eat at Steuben’s, just order the deep-fried stuff on the menu, and you won’t go wrong. Yes, it takes 5 years off your life, but remember: those would probably be 5 years in a nursing home anyway, so that makes it ok.


Right off the bat, we are awarding Steuben’s Food Service one of our coveted Drooling Homer Excellence in Unpretentious Dining Awards.


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We crawled along the highway back to our hotel for the night. We needed to be prepared for some extreme changes in temperature and oxygen levels ahead. We made sure everyone had the proper clothing available, including their sneakers.


Ever see that Booking.com commercial where the bedraggled family is walking through the hotel after the Flight-From-H-E-Double Hockey Sticks? The narrator mentions that one kid threw up on the plane and the other “lost his shoe. His SHOE.” And sure enough, the kid is wearing one shoe.


Well, as it turned out, that was Scotty. He had worn his flip-flops on the plane and packed his sneakers into his carry-on bag. When we opened his carry-on bag in the hotel, we could only find one shoe. Somewhere between our house, the Philadelphia airport, the plane, the Denver airport, Lookout Mountain, Steuben’s, and our hotel, he’d lost his shoe. His SHOE.


This was going to be interesting.


Coming Up Next: One of our patented death-defying drives. And mountain-climbing in flip-flops!
 
Ok, the no shoe beats the mismatched shoes my DS had on years ago, when we had a very early flight. When we landed, we realized that while both sneakers were black, they were of different brands and had different colors on them. Well, apparently, at the stop at the walmart for snacks and water, there's a sneaker place next to it. Yep, purchase of a new pair of sneakers.

Ahh, yes the days of poop explosions - DS was good at that too. And not only was he car sick when young, my dog was too, and the dog kindly barfed in the control stick of my stick shift new car. Try cleaning that out. Ewwww. So, I have sympathy for Julie. I bet she'll be glad when no more diapers are used by your kids.

Only tour I took of Denver that all wanted to do was the Coors plant. yeah, even a bad cup of free beer is better than none.

Great views of the city.
 
David clearly wins that day as the one kid without a mishap! Seems like you really don't need to do anything exciting on vacation, your family provides enough entertainment for a trip report on its own.

I liked the view of Denver, we were there briefly in 1992 and I remember being astonished how the landscapes goes from flat to mountain so quickly.
 


It’s probably just as well, since they wouldn’t want me asking why we’re still making pennies when it costs more than 1 cent to produce them.
Because that just how the US government rolls... :rolleyes1

Finally, we walked back to the van in the parking lot. I noticed the side doors were open, and Julie had all sorts of bags and wipes out. The baby was wearing a brand new outfit.


“Good timing, hon,” she said. “You just missed Poopapalooza 2015.”
:eek: Yikes! You were lucky you got the potty trained boys this go around.

Apparently, Drew’s orange juice intake earlier had caused a blowout of such proportions that it had fouled his clothing (including the front of his shirt somehow), his car seat, and the van seat.
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

A short path up the hill takes you to Buffalo Bill’s grave site. Apparently there was some dispute over where Mr. Cody would be buried upon his death. The town of Cody, Wyoming (which he helped found) felt his body should be laid to rest there. But his family insisted that his wish was to be buried on top of Lookout Mountain in Colorado. They won the argument.
As they should... Unless that isn't what he really wanted. But who would know better than the family?

The Budget Committee made sure to strike down any requests for funds, and we managed to escape without bringing any of these fine treasures home with us.
What???? Not even the buffalo hat?????

Back outside, we took in the view at the other end of the parking lot. Here we see the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I was fascinated by the fact that there was no gently rolling transition—just an abrupt break between the mountains to the west and the plains to the east.
It really is interesting isn't it? A lot different from the transition to the foothills and then mountains East of the Mississippi.

The hotel turned out to be a fairly nice one, and we’d recommend it to anyone who needed to stay in the area. The rooms were clean, and the breakfast food was above average as far as standard hotel breakfasts go.
But I'm guessing you didn't get any Holiday Inn Express cinnamon rolls there... so that has to be a major detraction against this particular hotel.

In fact, he liked the place so much he decided to climb up on the air conditioner, assume the position, and mark his territory.
:rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:

So, so good. The pie itself was great, the ice cream went perfectly with it, and we all decided that we never wanted to eat Frosted Flakes with milk instead of ice cream again. So, the moral of the story is if you ever get the chance to eat at Steuben’s, just order the deep-fried stuff on the menu, and you won’t go wrong. Yes, it takes 5 years off your life, but remember: those would probably be 5 years in a nursing home anyway, so that makes it ok.
Looks amazing. I mean you can't go wrong with apple pie anything, but this just looks amazing. I'm glad Steuben's didn't disappoint.

And yes, when in doubt, always go for the fried food! :thumbsup2

Well, as it turned out, that was Scotty. He had worn his flip-flops on the plane and packed his sneakers into his carry-on bag. When we opened his carry-on bag in the hotel, we could only find one shoe. Somewhere between our house, the Philadelphia airport, the plane, the Denver airport, Lookout Mountain, Steuben’s, and our hotel, he’d lost his shoe. His SHOE.
And then Scotty happened...

Really, is anyone surprised by this turn of events? :rotfl2::rotfl::lmao:
 
because, of course, our kids are only able to perceive that particular urge once their bladders are completely full and/or overflowing.

See, this is why we have devised the scale. Which, of course, I still have to be alert enough to let Joe know when we're somewhere around a 5, but it helps us avoid the "you need to exit NOW."

Apparently, Drew’s orange juice intake earlier had caused a blowout of such proportions that it had fouled his clothing (including the front of his shirt somehow), his car seat, and the van seat. So, now we’d managed to mess the van with both Cherry Coke and poop in a matter of hours. Honestly, I can't take these people anywhere.

I've had a Poopalooza before, when I was 3. While I was on my dad's shoulders. Apparently the antibiotics I'd taken to prevent an ear infection on the plane didn't take too well. Dad was videotaping the castle show, and on the tape you suddenly hear "Can you take her? Can you TAKE HER?"

And then magically in the next shots I'm in a new outfit.


I swear in this photo Drew is the spitting image of you. With a little bit of Scotty thrown in.

A short path up the hill takes you to Buffalo Bill’s grave site. Apparently there was some dispute over where Mr. Cody would be buried upon his death. The town of Cody, Wyoming (which he helped found) felt his body should be laid to rest there. But his family insisted that his wish was to be buried on top of Lookout Mountain in Colorado. They won the argument.

And the coins are thrown on the grave....for luck?

As you can see, this was served warm with some vanilla ice cream on a bed of green apple slices and Frosted Flakes.

Apple pie with Frosted Flakes???? Where have you been all my life? :love: :love:

Somewhere between our house, the Philadelphia airport, the plane, the Denver airport, Lookout Mountain, Steuben’s, and our hotel, he’d lost his shoe. His SHOE.

And this folks, is when Scotty happens.
 
Then I stumbled across the U.S. Mint in Denver.

That would be good.

So, I went online about 2 months in advance to try and make a reservation for a tour.


They were already booked solid for the entire summer.

Crap. Too bad. Betcha it would've been interesting.

It’s probably just as well, since they wouldn’t want me asking why we’re still making pennies when it costs more than 1 cent to produce them.

:rolleyes1
We got rid of ours not long ago.
Don't miss them one bit and actually makes the wallet lighter to carry.

It provided a nice view of the city and a small museum dedicated to western folk hero William “Buffalo Bill” Cody.
\

Cool!

So I took Scotty and David inside to take care of business (our boys go in groups, too).

Really? I thought that particular process was reserved for the fairer of the species.

Finally, we walked back to the van in the parking lot. I noticed the side doors were open, and Julie had all sorts of bags and wipes out. The baby was wearing a brand new outfit.


“Good timing, hon,” she said. “You just missed Poopapalooza 2015.”

:lmao:

I felt sympathy for Julie, but can’t deny a secret feeling of relief that I’d missed having to deal with it. Don't tell her I said that.

She won't hear it from me.

I remember the odd time, here or there, when the girls were that age, when I'd come back from something and Ruby would be standing there, not looking overly happy and DD would be looking overly happy and I just knew...

And secretly patted myself on the back for missing the glorious event.

We did wander over the observation deck, where we were treated to a very nice view of the city of Denver.

That is a nice view. Looks like it was worth the drive.


I'm smiling... but don't get my drink stained shorts in the picture!


:lmao: :rotfl:

A short path up the hill takes you to Buffalo Bill’s grave site. Apparently there was some dispute over where Mr. Cody would be buried upon his death. The town of Cody, Wyoming (which he helped found) felt his body should be laid to rest there. But his family insisted that his wish was to be buried on top of Lookout Mountain in Colorado. They won the argument.

Interesting. Always go with a man's last wishes would be my thought.


Nice! And they even provide bus fare!

I suppose it's good luck to toss a few coins on the grave?

Coming back down the trail, we had the opportunity to bypass the crappy tourist trap gift shop and head straight back to the parking lot. But a) we had time to kill, and b) I felt a profound moral obligation to thoroughly investigate the area, document my travels and report my findings to you, my dear readers. I hope you appreciate extra effort, performed solely on your behalf and certainly not under any morbid fascination with the utterly craptacular treasures we’d find inside.

Don't pass by... don't pass by.... don't pa.... Yes!!

As always, we have trained models ready to show off the finest in haberdashery:

:laughing:


What the heck is that hat supposed to be? A beaver? A duck?


Oh, perfect. Please tell me that you got that hat.
You have to!


I don't know whether to laugh or cringe.


I could use a good no hair brush.

The Budget Committee made sure to strike down any requests for funds, and we managed to escape without bringing any of these fine treasures home with us.

Aw. Shucks.

Still think you should've got the hat.

Here we see the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I was fascinated by the fact that there was no gently rolling transition—just an abrupt break between the mountains to the west and the plains to the east.

That's true.
This is how you drive west from the middle of the country.

Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.HOLY COW! MOUNTAINS!


When leaving your hotel room, please ensure that all drawers are emptied of all belongings and children.

In fact, he liked the place so much he decided to climb up on the air conditioner, assume the position, and mark his territory.

:eek:


:lmao:

Our oldest DD made it a point to do that everytime we went in a certain clothing store.
That store was like an enema.


Then again, with a view like that...

I totally get it.
Who wants to go in a cramped little room with no windows???

We chose to eat dinner at Steuben’s Food Service. We’d seen the place featured once on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Who'd pick a restaurant based on that show???


:rolleyes1

It was named after a restaurant in Boston and built in an old maintenance garage and featured American Regional classics on the menu.

Ok. You had me at "built in an old maintenance garage".

They kept the old garage doors intact when they re-modeled the garage into the restaurant.

Cool.

After perusing the menu, I convinced Julie to go for the deep-fried apple pie. You might be detecting a theme here.

Something to do with arteries?

As you can see, this was served warm with some vanilla ice cream on a bed of green apple slices and Frosted Flakes.

mmmmmmm.....


Want.

Try sticking it in a blender.

So, so good. The pie itself was great, the ice cream went perfectly with it, and we all decided that we never wanted to eat Frosted Flakes with milk instead of ice cream again.

::yes::

Yes, it takes 5 years off your life, but remember: those would probably be 5 years in a nursing home anyway, so that makes it ok.
\

Excellent point. I follow that rule religiously.

Ever see that Booking.com commercial where the bedraggled family is walking through the hotel after the Flight-From-H-E-Double Hockey Sticks? The narrator mentions that one kid threw up on the plane and the other “lost his shoe. His SHOE.” And sure enough, the kid is wearing one shoe.

::yes::

Somewhere between our house, the Philadelphia airport, the plane, the Denver airport, Lookout Mountain, Steuben’s, and our hotel, he’d lost his shoe. His SHOE.

:lmao: So he's the kid in the commercial!

Coming Up Next: One of our patented death-defying drives. And mountain-climbing in flip-flops!

Can't wait!
 
My guess is that Scotty lost that shoe on the PLANE, where there is no hope of its retrieval. Nice. I guess you had to heat pb&j for the next several lunches and dinners to make up for that! :rotfl2: Oh Scotty! :faint:

I don't think we've ever stopped at Buffalo Bill's gravesite, although I think Denny wanted to every time we passed it heading out I70 west to ski. Somehow, I don't think it would quite the same in the winter. We did have to leave Copper Mountain a day early on one of our trips, because of impending blizzards. That put us in Denver for an unexpected day. I think we went to the Natural History museum there, which was actually quite good.

Baby Drew and his blow-outs. I don't miss THAT!

Great pictures of the kids!

Oh - and dinner looks and sounds so amazing!
 
Ah, I-25. I get to brave it twice a day. :) I'm still trying to figure out how Scotty lost his shoe! Your dinner did look delicious! Steuben's is on my list to try some of these days.

Jill in CO
 
Oh, all right. Only 2 of the 5 are within theme parks.

One of them is a frequent destination of yours, if I'm not mistaken.

3 of them can either be found within Epcot or within walking distance of Epcot.

2 of them are buffets.

None of them include visits or photo opportunities with named characters, although one may involve "characters" of a different sort.

Only 2 feature primarily "American" cuisine.
Going with guesses since I have clues...

Biergarten

Beaches and cream

Sci - Fi

Via Napoli

Boma




Now for the update. I saw the trash the van post so after the spill poop was coming. I hope you had extra Chik Fil napkins.

Poor Sarah. Getting that stain out would have been a challenge. Darn styrofoam cups, you get the angle just right and a straw is like a needle.

Great view and yeah , WHAM there area mountains. Good that you were able to kill some time and take in a great view.

Poopapoloozla sounds like so much fun. :eek: Don't miss those days at all. I think I still stockpile napkins in my car for spills and such because of those past experiences.

Dinner looks and sounds great. That deep fried apple pie is drool worthy. :hyper:


Dave feels left out? really? I bet at the end of the day he was glad he was left out. :rotfl2:

Scotty and one shoe?
One camping trip and we left for our couple hour trip with kids in the back seat. We get to the camp site after dark and I tell them get your shoes on so they can help unpack.
Then it goes like this.

DD: "Where are my shoes? "
Me: "Where you left them." They often will shed shoes in the car for long trips.
DD: "I thought you had them."
Me: "Why would I have your shoes? They should be on YOUR feet.

NOPE - No shoes at all. So now we have to work around her to get a tent up then carry her to said tent and unload 1 person short.

Next Morning- we find a family dollar near the state park we are in - about 30 minutes drive and buy sneakers. Best $7 sneakers she ever had. :rotfl2:

After that it was a joke- Got your shoes? That was not the first time either. During a trip to the beach the only pair of shoes we did bring ended up in the ocean the first night we got there. They were still on her feet so not lost but not wearable the next day. You would think I would have learned..... :sad2:
 
It happens.
I just felt like running…


When I’d researched things to do in Denver, I hadn’t come up with a lot of activities that were both family-friendly (i.e. cheap) and unique.
Not every location on the map can live up to the lofty standards established by “South of the Boarder” ya’ know.


They have their zoo, science museum, history museum, amusement park, etc. But we have those same types of attractions close to home
There’s a Colorado History museum in Delaware?
Fancy that…


Then I stumbled across the U.S. Mint in Denver.
Clumsy…
Too bad you didn’t stumble over several misplaced sacks of their wears instead.


They were already booked solid for the entire summer.
Unfortunate... I got to go through there way back when I was 11.
It was quite unique and I’ve been a casual collector of coins since.


It’s probably just as well, since they wouldn’t want me asking why we’re still making pennies when it costs more than 1 cent to produce them.
:laughing:
Being as no population on Earth is nearly as skilled as the US public when it comes to being unabashed smart-a$$s…
I suspect they hear that one on nearly every tour.


By the way, their answer would have been something like… Well, we’re working on it, but nickels cost more than face value as well and by a worse margin, so replacing the cent with more nickels wouldn’t be cost effective. Besides, the margins on dimes and quarters more than make up for it. It is true that we could force rounding to the nearest dime though and of course, we could also go completely electronic. If you trust that there will never be a situation where you wouldn’t have access to an electronic connection.


Now, I’m not for or against any of these notions myself…
But I know that’s basically what they’d have said.
See how helpful these boards are…
You didn’t even get to go and yet you still got the same level of entertainment out of it.


When we reached the summit, we pulled into the parking lot for the Lookout Mountain nature center.
Our first stop of the day…

Not because we had any particular interest, but rather because Scotty announced, “Daddy…I REALLY need to go to the bathroom.”
Spoke too soon…
our first emergency visit of the day to “The Necessary”.


Because, of course, our kids are only able to perceive that particular urge once their bladders are completely full and/or overflowing.
Yours and everyone else’s under the sun.
I relate it to that whole “their brain ain’t done cooking yet” thing.
(and for some it never gets beyond the half-baked stage either… just sayin’)


While inside, the volunteer on duty noticed my Wrigley Field t-shirt and asked if we were from Chicago. So I explained that it was just my souvenir from our Chicago trip a few years back and we struck up a baseball conversation for a few minutes.
Baseball is a unifying thread throughout our country.
Even if you don’t care for or follow the game, we all can relate.


“Good timing, hon,” she said. “You just missed Poopapalooza 2015.”
See…
Baseball comes through again!
It saved your sorry rump this time.


So, now we’d managed to mess the van with both Cherry Coke and poop in a matter of hours.
I suspect this is typical…
Remind me never to rent a van when traveling.
Lord knows what all’s been going on in those things before they get turned over to the next poor slob.


I felt sympathy for Julie, but can’t deny a secret feeling of relief that I’d missed having to deal with it. Don't tell her I said that.
Mumm’s the word.
She won’t hear it from me. :thumbsup2:


Anyway, we finally got cleaned up as best we could and drove the short distance to the Buffalo Bill Museum. It’s a tiny place and kind of run-down, and we didn’t bother paying the admission for the museum itself. We did wander over the observation deck, where we were treated to a very nice view of the city of Denver.

Pur-tey…


Baby Drew was happy to be out of his car seat and running around aimlessly.
The very definition of vacation


A short path up the hill takes you to Buffalo Bill’s grave site. Apparently there was some dispute over where Mr. Cody would be buried upon his death. The town of Cody, Wyoming (which he helped found) felt his body should be laid to rest there. But his family insisted that his wish was to be buried on top of Lookout Mountain in Colorado. They won the argument.
Interesting.
Had not heard that tale.


So is there a rule that only Denver minted coins can be tossed onto the grave, or did y’all toss a few of those accursed Philly coins on there just to be spiteful.


Coming back down the trail, we had the opportunity to bypass the crappy tourist trap gift shop and head straight back to the parking lot. But a) we had time to kill, and b) I felt a profound moral obligation to thoroughly investigate the area, document my travels and report my findings to you, my dear readers.
Oh, so now it’s our fault?
Now I see how this works.


As always, we have trained models ready to show off the finest in haberdashery:
Trained?
I’d say y’all are barely house broken




All hail the Grand Imperial Poobah - Ack, Ack, A-Dak!




And this sounds…less than useful:


IMG_9161.jpg

Who wouldn’t want something that promises right up front that it will be a miserable failure at its only appointed task?


Whoa…
That might make for the most perfect campaign slogan yet devised!


The Budget Committee made sure to strike down any requests for funds, and we managed to escape without bringing any of these fine treasures home with us.
Imagine where you’d be without such supervision.
She must be saving those Denver Pennies for something else.


I was fascinated by the fact that there was no gently rolling transition—just an abrupt break between the mountains to the west and the plains to the east.
Reminds me of an old Gallagher routine where he pitied the folks that live in Denver. Imagine, their ancestors traveling by covered wagon on the adventure of a life time across the Great Plaines toward the coast until they got to the Rockies. They then took one look up and said: nope, momma didn’t raise no fool, you can go on to California, I’m staying right here.


We couldn’t find anything else to do up there, so we piled into the van again.
After letting the thing air out a bit first, of course.


I was soon to learn that on I-25 in Denver, rush hour goes from 7:30 a.m. until about 8:00 p.m.
Painful…
So was it worse than the H-1?
I was unaware of that one. Did a little looking and rarely ever found it listed as a concern compared to other major roads. I did find one article that ranks it as the 24th worst commute. Imagine how sole crushing the ones ahead of it must be.


In fact, he liked the place so much he decided to climb up on the air conditioner, assume the position, and mark his territory.
:lmao: Poo with a view.

I’ve said it before…
He has an excellent grip on his primary occupation.


We chose to eat dinner at Steuben’s Food Service. We’d seen the place featured once on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.
A hit or miss recommendation sometimes but usually the mark of something worth at least one visit.


I ordered the fried chicken dinner while Julie went for one of her all-time favorites, the Monte Cristo sandwich.
You… you… didn’t order… a… a… a burger? :faint:
That’s the equivalent of my son ordering something that once contained chlorophyll.


And while my chicken was decent
See! That’s what you get.


the Monte Cristo ended up being the clear winner. In fact, if it’s not too blasphemous to say, Julie and I both liked it better than the one we ate at Café Orleans in Disneyland last year. It was pure deep-fried bliss.
I can’t call you out on that assertion.
I’ve sadly tasted neary a bit of either version.

Sounds intriguing though.


I convinced Julie to go for the deep-fried apple pie. You might be detecting a theme here.
Carnival inspired deserts?


As you can see, this was served warm with some vanilla ice cream on a bed of green apple slices and Frosted Flakes.
Yep.. That’s Carnie food if ever I’ve encountered it.


So, so good. The pie itself was great, the ice cream went perfectly with it, and we all decided that we never wanted to eat Frosted Flakes with milk instead of ice cream again.
So I take it that y’all consider this particular dish to be somewhat tolerable, then.


So, the moral of the story is if you ever get the chance to eat at Steuben’s, just order the deep-fried stuff on the menu…
I think that’s generally the rule at most all restaurants.

Grease = yum.


Right off the bat, we are awarding Steuben’s Food Service one of our coveted Drooling Homer
An honor all those ramshackle joints sporting Michelin Stars only wish they could attain someday.


We crawled along the highway back to our hotel for the night. We needed to be prepared for some extreme changes in temperature and oxygen levels ahead.
You need to keep an eye on your water intake as well.
Trust me on that one.

But y’all should already be familiar with that issue.


Well, as it turned out, that was Scotty. He had worn his flip-flops on the plane and packed his sneakers into his carry-on bag. When we opened his carry-on bag in the hotel, we could only find one shoe. Somewhere between our house, the Philadelphia airport, the plane, the Denver airport, Lookout Mountain, Steuben’s, and our hotel, he’d lost his shoe. His SHOE.
If you hadn’t told us it was Scotty…
We might have suspected you of exaggerating just a mite here.


This was going to be interesting.



You betch’em, Red Rider.
 
Ok, the no shoe beats the mismatched shoes my DS had on years ago, when we had a very early flight. When we landed, we realized that while both sneakers were black, they were of different brands and had different colors on them. Well, apparently, at the stop at the walmart for snacks and water, there's a sneaker place next to it. Yep, purchase of a new pair of sneakers.

That's a pretty neat trick. How did he manage that?

Ahh, yes the days of poop explosions - DS was good at that too. And not only was he car sick when young, my dog was too, and the dog kindly barfed in the control stick of my stick shift new car. Try cleaning that out. Ewwww. So, I have sympathy for Julie. I bet she'll be glad when no more diapers are used by your kids.

Yuck!

And here we thought we were done with diapers just a few years ago. Sigh.

Only tour I took of Denver that all wanted to do was the Coors plant. yeah, even a bad cup of free beer is better than none.

Free beer is always an enticing option. I passed on it because I figured the rest of the family would be bored.

Great views of the city.

:goodvibes

David clearly wins that day as the one kid without a mishap! Seems like you really don't need to do anything exciting on vacation, your family provides enough entertainment for a trip report on its own.

It certainly seems to work out that way, doesn't it? Maybe next year we'll stay in Delaware and I'll see how many people want to read the TR.:rotfl2:

I liked the view of Denver, we were there briefly in 1992 and I remember being astonished how the landscapes goes from flat to mountain so quickly.

It is a huge change! So abrupt.

Because that just how the US government rolls... :rolleyes1

Pretty much, yeah.

Yikes! You were lucky you got the potty trained boys this go around.

Yeah, I was thanking my lucky stars for that one.

As they should... Unless that isn't what he really wanted. But who would know better than the family?

Beats me. Those fights can get pretty ugly.

What???? Not even the buffalo hat?????

I know. The budget committee strikes a hard bargain, that's for sure.

It really is interesting isn't it? A lot different from the transition to the foothills and then mountains East of the Mississippi.

Yeah, I'm used to a much more gradual transition than that.

But I'm guessing you didn't get any Holiday Inn Express cinnamon rolls there... so that has to be a major detraction against this particular hotel.

That's a detraction just about anywhere. But don't worry, cinnamon rolls are in our future!:woohoo:

Looks amazing. I mean you can't go wrong with apple pie anything, but this just looks amazing. I'm glad Steuben's didn't disappoint.

And yes, when in doubt, always go for the fried food!

I'm guessing you would like this place.

And then Scotty happened...

::yes::

Really, is anyone surprised by this turn of events?

At this point, I think Scotty has entered the Tyson Zone. (invented by sportswriter Bill Simmons, this refers to the point at which you will believe any story about a certain person, no matter how bizarre. Named in honor of Mike Tyson.)
 
See, this is why we have devised the scale. Which, of course, I still have to be alert enough to let Joe know when we're somewhere around a 5, but it helps us avoid the "you need to exit NOW."

I would love for my kids to figure this out, or even better, actually plan their breaks at convenient times. Like, say, when we're already stopped for lunch. I'm sure they'll figure it out after they leave my care.

I've had a Poopalooza before, when I was 3. While I was on my dad's shoulders. Apparently the antibiotics I'd taken to prevent an ear infection on the plane didn't take too well. Dad was videotaping the castle show, and on the tape you suddenly hear "Can you take her? Can you TAKE HER?"

And then magically in the next shots I'm in a new outfit.

I need to buy your dad a beer or something.:scared:

I swear in this photo Drew is the spitting image of you. With a little bit of Scotty thrown in.

Really? I don't think he looks anything like me. It's the blond hair that throws me off.

And the coins are thrown on the grave....for luck?

:confused3

Apple pie with Frosted Flakes???? Where have you been all my life?

The ice cream is a key ingredient there, too.:thumbsup2

And this folks, is when Scotty happens.

::yes::
 
DS managed the odd matched sneakers as they were very close in coloring and why he had 2 pairs, I don't know, except he still does not like white sneakers. Plus, even as a baby, he's not a morning person. As a teen, he sleeps a little more, but is still not that 10 hour sleeper. Hope you found the missing shoe, but if you didn't, oh well. We've had flip flops magically disappear from a pool one time. I know, when you have kids, things just disappear or they can't find that.
 
Hey, for once I'm only days behind instead of weeks/months..........

Around 7:25, the captain’s voice came over the intercom to tell us there had been a mixup and the plane had taken on too much fuel. So they had to have the truck come over to pump some fuel out before we could depart. We settled into our seats to wait for them to finish.
Well, I guess that is better than them not giving you quite enough............ :scared:

The captain informed us that we were 12th in line to take off. So it would be another 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, Baby Drew fell asleep on my lap.
Okay, well at least you weren't lucky number 13, so baby Drew falling asleep has to be lucky too right??? :rolleyes1

Finally, around 8:25 a.m., we took off for Denver. The baby was still asleep, so I could enjoy my rare time in the window seat (usually the kids take it) and take in the view of our great nation from above.


IMG_0424.JPG
If you squint just a little, you could imagine you were flying international over the ocean........... :-)

But all in all, we survived the flight, and we landed in Denver around 10:30 a.m.
At least it was pretty uneventful after all of the take-off challenges. And you apparently didn't turn into "that family!" :yay:

So it would take a little while to get into town. We’d have to go to Plan B. What was Plan B, you ask?


Ok, we’d have to come up with a Plan B.
I guess you were Oblivious that you might NEED a plan B? :sad2:

A while later, Julie returned with our lunch. We hadn’t eaten since 6:20 a.m. Eastern time and were starving. Sarah grabbed her cup of Cherry Coke and shoved her straw through the lid…and also straight through the bottom of the cup. Within seconds, she was sitting in a puddle of Cherry Coke, in the rental van we’d barely had for an hour. And she was wearing white shorts.
You just can't make this stuff up............. :rotfl2: I mean..............POOR Sarah! :o

In fact, one of the first sights we saw as we headed west on Colfax Ave. was the Denver Biscuit Company, just a few blocks down.
It HAD to happen........ :rolleyes:

Dave is a great kid, and will do whatever you ask him to, but he doesn't have that "intuition" thing yet......for example.....hmmmm....mommy is wrestling Drew, maybe how's not a good time to ask her for a piece of gum.
Sounds normal to me. :teeth:

Then I stumbled across the U.S. Mint in Denver. They offered free tours. That sounded pretty interesting. So, I went online about 2 months in advance to try and make a reservation for a tour.
Too bad you didn't get to do this. I really enjoyed the tour of the Philadelphia mint when I was there.

When we reached the summit, we pulled into the parking lot for the Lookout Mountain nature center. Not because we had any particular interest, but rather because Scotty announced, “Daddy…I REALLY need to go to the bathroom.”
And then...........Scotty happened! :smooth:

“Good timing, hon,” she said. “You just missed Poopapalooza 2015.”


Apparently, Drew’s orange juice intake earlier had caused a blowout of such proportions that it had fouled his clothing (including the front of his shirt somehow), his car seat, and the van seat. So, now we’d managed to mess the van with both Cherry Coke and poop in a matter of hours. Honestly, I can't take these people anywhere.
Hope you took the insurance........... :faint:

I felt sympathy for Julie, but can’t deny a secret feeling of relief that I’d missed having to deal with it. Don't tell her I said that.
Somehow, I'm guessing reading this won't be a big revelation for her............ :scratchin

Coming back down the trail, we had the opportunity to bypass the crappy tourist trap gift shop
And headed to the crappy drinky Siena? :laughing:

As always, we have trained models ready to show off the finest in haberdashery:


IMG_9160.jpg
No, things aren't likely to get a whole lot better from here on out. This IS an Oblivious family trip after all! :eek:

Drew was once again happy to be out of the car seat and decided to explore.


IMG_0427.JPG
Glad you got that boy some clean............drawers! :bitelip:

So, so good. The pie itself was great, the ice cream went perfectly with it, and we all decided that we never wanted to eat Frosted Flakes with milk instead of ice cream again. So, the moral of the story is if you ever get the chance to eat at Steuben’s, just order the deep-fried stuff on the menu, and you won’t go wrong.
Steuben's.........got it! :thumbsup2 I'm just surprised it took you this long to figure out Frosted Flakes are better with ice cream............. :sad2:

Well, as it turned out, that was Scotty. He had worn his flip-flops on the plane and packed his sneakers into his carry-on bag. When we opened his carry-on bag in the hotel, we could only find one shoe. Somewhere between our house, the Philadelphia airport, the plane, the Denver airport, Lookout Mountain, Steuben’s, and our hotel, he’d lost his shoe. His SHOE.
And then Scotty..............oh nevermind! :tiptoe:
 
That would be good.

Crap. Too bad. Betcha it would've been interesting.

Yeah, I would have liked to have seen it, myself. Win some, lose some.

:rolleyes1
We got rid of ours not long ago.
Don't miss them one bit and actually makes the wallet lighter to carry.

I'm not really sure why we still have them. These days, the quarter seems to be the only coin that still retains some actual value in the marketplace.

Really? I thought that particular process was reserved for the fairer of the species.

So did I, which is why I pointed this out. My family is weird.

She won't hear it from me.

I remember the odd time, here or there, when the girls were that age, when I'd come back from something and Ruby would be standing there, not looking overly happy and DD would be looking overly happy and I just knew...

And secretly patted myself on the back for missing the glorious event.

::yes:: I felt a little sorry for her. But mostly relieved that I was somewhere else.:thumbsup2

That is a nice view. Looks like it was worth the drive.

I think we did pretty well for a plan B!

I'm smiling... but don't get my drink stained shorts in the picture!

::yes::

Interesting. Always go with a man's last wishes would be my thought.

That would be my inclination as well.

Nice! And they even provide bus fare!

I suppose it's good luck to toss a few coins on the grave?

:confused3 I'm too cheap, I guess.

Don't pass by... don't pass by.... don't pa.... Yes!!

:woohoo:

What the heck is that hat supposed to be? A beaver? A duck?

Um...a jackalope, maybe?

Oh, perfect. Please tell me that you got that hat.
You have to!

Sigh. Talk to the budget committee.

I don't know whether to laugh or cringe.

It's probably pure sandpaper.

I could use a good no hair brush.

Well, why didn't you say so? I could have picked one up for you!

Aw. Shucks.

Still think you should've got the hat.

We're just no fun at all.

That's true.
This is how you drive west from the middle of the country.

Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.Flat.HOLY COW! MOUNTAINS!

::yes:: We were looking at a Midwestern road trip next summer, but this makes me a little less excited.

When leaving your hotel room, please ensure that all drawers are emptied of all belongings and children.

It's ok if we leave one behind, we have plenty more.

Our oldest DD made it a point to do that everytime we went in a certain clothing store.
That store was like an enema.

:eek: So is this when you would arrange to be elsewhere?

Then again, with a view like that...

I totally get it.
Who wants to go in a cramped little room with no windows???

Good point. "Here's what I think of your scenic view!"

Who'd pick a restaurant based on that show???

You'd have to be a moron. :rolleyes1

Ok. You had me at "built in an old maintenance garage".

It didn't hurt the appeal of the place.

Something to do with arteries?

And clogging as many as possible? Yep, you're on the right track.

mmmmmmm.....


Want.

Try sticking it in a blender.

I will! When I get to Toronto.:thumbsup2

Excellent point. I follow that rule religiously.

Hey, something has to kill you. Might as well die happy.

So he's the kid in the commercial!

It appears that way!

My guess is that Scotty lost that shoe on the PLANE, where there is no hope of its retrieval. Nice. I guess you had to heat pb&j for the next several lunches and dinners to make up for that! :rotfl2: Oh Scotty! :faint:

It worked out ok. We'll give the details in an upcoming chapter.

I don't think we've ever stopped at Buffalo Bill's gravesite, although I think Denny wanted to every time we passed it heading out I70 west to ski. Somehow, I don't think it would quite the same in the winter. We did have to leave Copper Mountain a day early on one of our trips, because of impending blizzards. That put us in Denver for an unexpected day. I think we went to the Natural History museum there, which was actually quite good.

I'm sure the museums are fine. But since we've seen a few here and there, we were trying to find more things that were unique to the area. I think we did ok.

Baby Drew and his blow-outs. I don't miss THAT!

Neither did we.:headache:

Great pictures of the kids!

Thanks!

Oh - and dinner looks and sounds so amazing!

It was a good start!

Ah, I-25. I get to brave it twice a day. :) I'm still trying to figure out how Scotty lost his shoe! Your dinner did look delicious! Steuben's is on my list to try some of these days.

So I never did ask, do you go to work at 5 a.m. or something? Otherwise, I don't know how you'd get there on time.

I'm trying to figure out where that shoe went, too. We never found it.

You'll have to let us know what you think of Steuben's!
 
So I never did ask, do you go to work at 5 a.m. or something? Otherwise, I don't know how you'd get there on time.

I'm trying to figure out where that shoe went, too. We never found it.

You'll have to let us know what you think of Steuben's!

I do go in early. I live south of town so the highway is great until I get to the construction zone in Lone Tree. I used to date a guy that lived closer to Golden and it usually took me an hour to drive to his house after work. There is a rumor that my office may move downtown and I pray it doesn't! Traffic is crazy. Denver is growing so fast that the infrastructure just can't keep up. We have toll roads the go around town but they are so expensive people tend not to use them.

Jill in CO
 

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