Denver Vacation

We have never been to Denver so we decided to plan a little trip and fly to Denver and then take the Amtrak home. Last Thursday we flew out and it's such a nice short 1 hour flight. The kids thought it was cool to fly and loved it. Princess Izzybee did have a little freak out just before the plane took off because she was afraid but once we were in the air she was fine.

After arriving we went to the Downtown Aquarium in Denver. The kids loved it and saw lots of fish, sharks and we even experienced a flash flood through a narrow canyon. We had dinner at the cool restaurant in the aquarium with a huge water tank next to our table. When were finished up dinner a diver was in the tank to feed the fish and he played around the with kids and the kids thought that was super funny. He played Rock, Paper Scissors and pretended to sleep and just made it fun. Also for dessert the girls ordered a paint shark rice krispie treat that they were able to decorate and paint.

The following day we took the bus to the Denver Zoo and spent the day there. It was a lot larger than our zoo in Salt Lake City. We used public transportation and took the bus to and from the zoo. I had to constantly remind my kids to "not stare".

We also went to the Children's Museum of Denver and the kids really like the bubble room and building projects. The two younger girls liked the center for young children. After the museum we took the bus to the 16th Street Mall of Denver and walked a few blocks looking for a place for dinner. There were lots colorful people especially since the Beer Fest was in town a few blocks away so I had to keep reminding the kids to stay close and "not stare".

Sunday morning we took a cab to the Amtrak station and boarded the train for our first train ride (besides the commuter rail and the Heber Creeper). I was surprised at the extra room in the seating area compared to a plane. I wasn't sure what kind of people to expect to travel with but we met and talked with several nice families. The kids and Randy really enjoyed sitting in the observation car with all the windows and looking at the scenery (including people along the Colorado River mooning the train as it went by). The trees were already changing colors so the view was beautiful. The train ride was long (about 15 hours) but the kids did good and it wasn't to bad. By the end my fanny was pretty sore and I was ready for my bed.

We had a fun vacation, of course, Randy always makes sure we have a fabulous time. It was a fun experience and we are already planning our next trip.