This past February, during mid-winter break, we decided to pack our bags and trade snowy and cold NY for…snowy and cold Colorado! Ha… We usually go away to somewhere warm in February, but this year we decided to switch things up a bit and I’m glad we did! We had a great time and Colorado was beautiful. Here are all the deets!

This is our second time traveling as a family during a pandemic. Although we made the decision to travel, we always want to be as safe as possible. We wore our masks during the entire duration of our travels and of course I had all the Purell wipes and sanitizers on deck! We had the rows to ourselves for most of the travel because there are five of us, so that’s a plus. We rented an Airbnb because that always works best for our family size and needs, but I also feel better about having our own space that limits our interaction with others. I’m not sure how I would feel in a hotel with a lot of other guests and staff around us. The Airbnb was perfect! I loved the location. It was nice and cozy and the sweet touches and gestures from the owner did not go unnoticed. They also had disinfecting wipes and sprays everywhere, which helped me get comfortable.

The Airbnb was in Denver, Santa Fe specifically. Santa Fe is known as the art district and that was apparent from all of the galleries in the area. There was also a theater a few blocks away and street art everywhere. Kenny said it best, “The city is an artist’s canvas.” There were great coffee shops a short walk away, so we would usually pick a different coffee spot and begin our morning walk to discover the neighborhood. This was our daily routine before we got the day started. Some of our favorite coffee shops were Joe Maxx, LaMar’s (old fashioned donut is a must!), The Molecule Effect, and Amethyst Coffee. (Note: Always ask for sugar because they do not automatically provide it! ::rolls eyes::)

We were not far from Downtown Denver, so one of our days was spent walking in that area. We walked down Larimer Square, where there are lots of shops and restaurants. We did a little shopping in a vintage shop and had a little fun at the Denver Selfie Museum. One day we drove to Boulder and spent the day shopping in the Pearl Street Mall.

One of the best days in Denver was spent at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Baby K is currently obsessed with dinosaurs, so we knew we had to visit this place. Their current exhibits intrigued each of us. There was an exhibit focused on crystals, so DJ and I were sold. There was one on ancient Egypt and mummification, which captivated, both, Kenny and me. Mason and Baby K were interested in the nature and dinosaur exhibits and activities, so the museum did not disappoint there. The boys even got to see paleontologist cleaning fossils as they explored an exhibit.

Coming from NY it’s hard to impress us in the food department. However, we ate tons of good food. You could find a little bit of everything (lots of Mexican food & lots of Ramen!). Our favorite places were Steuben’s (OMG SO GOOD!), La Loteria Taqueria (Their fried avocado taco is a MUST!), Voodoo Donuts (Donuts all kids will love!), and of course we had to go to In-N-Out Burger. There was only one in the area (20 minute drive), and as you can imagine, it is popular. The drive-thru wait time was over an hour! There was even a police officer there to direct the line. Listening to his advice, we parked in the lot, walked inside to place our order and were out of there in 15 minutes! Why wasn’t everyone doing that? Not sure…

Red Rocks Hike

We went on a sunrise hike through Red Rocks. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. We used the app “All Trails” to find the “Trading Post Trail”. It was a pretty easy hike. We got amazing views of Red Rock and even got to see deer eating near by!

Road Trips

You can’t visit Colorado and not do winter activities, so we took a few day trips to Dillon, Vail (Ski Town), and to Winter Park for some fun in the snow.

We visited Dillon and Vail on the same day. We got tickets to visit the Ice Castle in Dillon, so we paired that with a visit to Vail for some shopping and ice skating. The Ice Castle was cute! The castle itself is intriguing. It had cool ice sculptures throughout, nice picture moments, and ice slides for the kids. Vail is a ski town with restaurants, shops, and snow activities. The weather didn’t permit ice skating, so we didn’t stay long there. We ate dinner at the Dillon Dam Brewery.

Winter park was all about outdoor winter fun: We purchased, in advance, a couple of hours of snow tubing, and Ice bumper cars. We thought we would ice skate here too, but still none of that was available due to inclement weather. The snow tubing was lots of fun. I was happy we split up the hours throughout the day because the way that cold is set up…it was necessary to go indoors and get some heat, drink some hot cocoa, and eat some snacks. We had dinner at Hernando’s Pizza Pub. They’re known for their Colorado pizza. We enjoyed it and you already know it’s hard to impress New Yorkers with pizza.

(Note: These drives through the Colorado mountains are no easy feat at all! Lord! Thank God for Kenny because that was scary driving.)

And now here are some random moments and shots!