Our trip was great, very relaxing for the most part. Vacationing with a toddler will never be as relaxing as without, but it is way more fun. Dexter handled the traveling very well. He had a couple complete meltdowns, but that's pretty good considering he was gone for 10 days and had a cold for half of it. We celebrated his birthday with his grandparents and went to a lot of new places in Colorado that we'd never been to. Even though we used to live there, it seemed like what was once familiar was completely new to us because it had changed so much. We've been away for almost 10 years.
My biggest fear, a meltdown on a plane, luckily never happened. I had stressed for months about him being on my lap, but it wasn't so bad. On the way to Denver, he slept for most of the flight. He fell asleep the moment we were in the air and woke up about 20 minutes before landing. On the way back, he fell asleep as we were in line to board and woke up about an hour before landing. It was really hard to keep him happy and in my lap the whole time. He wouldn't let daddy hold him, so I got a good upper body workout by holding onto him as he jumped up and down on my lap and wiggled nonstop. The guy in front of us must have had bad karma because Dexter probably kicked his seat a hundred times even though I tried to stop him. I barely stopped Dex from grabbing the guys headphones off his head. I'm sure that would've sent the guy over the edge.
We spent a few days in Denver and went to the Museum of Natural History which changed it's name to the Museum of Nature and Science. It has been one of my favorites since I first visited while on vacation when I was around 11. When we lived there, I'd go once in a while, especially when they had big traveling exhibits like the Chinese Emperor Tomb which was amazing. I was in for a treat because about half of the museum had been entirely redone.
The new interactive space exhibit geared towards grade school kids was fantastic. There were many very informative "stations" that kids could learn more about space, planets, meteors, etc. It had a play area for small kids too that had stuffed moon rocks and various space themed things to play with. Dexter liked it, but there were too many kids for him to play safely since it was intended for 2-5 year olds.
Upstairs there was a place specifically for little ones to play. Dexter's favorite was digging in the sand for dinosaur bones. He didn't really care about the bones, just liked the digging.
About half of the museum is comprised of some beautiful dioramas of animals in natural settings. Yes the animals are stuffed and the backgrounds are painted, but I think they are fantastic. Dexter liked the dioramas when they had buttons to push, but half the time I was trying to keep him from climbing up the ledges of the exhibits which were perfect height for him to get up on.
The last exhibit we visited was a new exhibit that Dexter completely slept through was called "Prehistoric Journey". It had tons of dinosaur bones and fossils. It was set up to walk through in chronological order which was a brilliant way to experience it. I highly recommend the museum to anyone going to Denver I can't wait to take Dexter again when he's old enough to really enjoy it.
We also visited the Denver Zoo which is a million times better than the San Francisco Zoo. It was hot out though and we're not used to 90+ degree weather. We made it through about half of the zoo and called it a day because Dexter was beet red from the heat. He had a pretty good bump on his head as well from a fall while walking. He did see the animals this time, so that made it a little more fun to watch him hoot and point at the animals.
We stayed in Twin Lakes for a week at a huge house we rented. My parents stayed with us as well. It was a really beautiful log home that had a gorgeous view of the Twin Lakes and the tallest peak in Colorado, Mt. Elbert. Our elevation was at around 10,000 feet which kept the temperature down to the 70s. Dexter had plenty of room to work on his walking skills. He also had way too many things to occupy his time. He played a couple big Indian drums, bongos, and a keyboard. He had a ton of toys that he drug out everywhere because I rented toys, he got some for his birthday, and there were already some there. It was great to be in the middle of nowhere with a fabulous view to wake up to. Nighttime was also gave us a awe-inspiring view of the stars when it was clear. I forgot how much I loved the mountains.
We celebrated his birthday by baking carrot cake cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting decorated with sprinkles. We tried to get him to blow out the candle, but instead he grabbed the flame. Luckily, he didn't even feel it because we grabbed hi shand so fast. He didn't really know what to do with the cupcake at first. He just stuck his finger in the frosting. He put it in his mouth and tasted the frosting. He did this a few times, each time a bit more vigorous about it until he finally picked the whole thing up and shoved it in his mouth leaving two fistfuls of frosting and cake on either side of his face. It was hilarious.
We also visited a couple cities. Aspen was a joke - totally snobby with nothing redeeming about the place. The architecture was disappointing and the stores were all luxury chains I could visit in about every major city.
Vail was great. We spent the entire day at Vail Village which is a very nice, family-friendly outdoor mall sprinkled with waterfalls, a stream, lots of beautiful rocks, unique boutiques and a playground with a giant pirate ship!
Leadville took a little getting to know before I liked it. It looked like a tourist trap, but it had some neat stores and some good antique stores. I was really surprised about how good the food was at a couple restaurants. It reminded me a tiny bit of San Francisco.
On the way back we went to Breckenridge which was ok. It was typical. Lot of sporting good, trinket and jewelry shops. We ate lunch there, but it was nothing special. We passed an interesting city called Frisco though. It was practically all brand new and completely manufactured to be quaint.
Overall we had a great time. I don't think we could've celebrated Dexter's first birthday in any better way. I did miss celebrating with our friends in SF, but it felt like something special being away. We survived the first year. Dexter is a happy little boy who constantly puts smiles on people's faces. I love being a mom even though it's challenging. Mr. Cobra is a great dad who knows just how to make a cranky baby giggle. We're all a happy little family.
