Carbon dioxide? More like Colorado, squared. We never saw you in the summer until this summer! And see you, we did!

Here we go with trip highlights numero dos… Notes to self and whoever actually still reads this thing: 1] Looks like almost all images now are solely via phone. Stark contrast to B.C. (before child) where we’d pack the SLR, lenses, gear, etc. But you do what ya gotta do… somewhat capturing memories. ;-) 2] E is now in the “fake smile” phase so nearly all photos will have a very cheesy (literally saying “cheeeeeeeeeeeeese”) grin!

E was a rockstar on the plane again — napped pretty much the whole way. (Granted, we do time our flights very carefully now!). He was all rested and super-spirited to be trippin’ again.

After we checked in and before we boarded the plane, Daddy had a scare that he might have forgotten his team shorts with his number on it. After landing at DIA and retrieving our luggage, his worries were confirmed. :( He was pretty perturbed that he may not get to play at all! We arrived at our hotel and were pleasantly surprised with an evening reception so we hung out for a bit while Daddy consulted team members on what to do. We figured we’d give it a go at some makeshift shorts with numerals stenciled on. It was off to Joann’s (no luck), then Hobby Lobby (a few stencils but not quite the right size) and Sports Authority (for shorts). E, as per usual his toddler happy-go-lucky-self, was completely oblivious to the mishap and happily played “golf” with Mommy while Daddy shopped.

Then we went to one of the area’s flagship Whole Foods stores for dinner and a few groceries since it was a longer stay this time. We stocked up on some of their “Colorado only” local goods. Then it was back to the hotel since Daddy had an early wake-up the next day. While we were driving home, one of the team captains notified Daddy that he would be okay wearing just plain black shorts for the semi-finals… Only if they were vying to win the title would they would be more strict. So, whew!

While Daddy was off for Day 1 of the tourney, we went to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Pet toy #1: soccer ball! ;) See the bronto in the back?

The architecture of the place was really neat.

E was pretty interested in the zoology collections with all the taxidermy mounts and animal dioramas. A few, like the bison and buffalo, actually scared him a bit!

We stumbled upon this digital stream bed where visitors are supposed to mimic bears and stomp on “salmon” that swim by and then disappear back into the water. E found this interactive game very amusing. He wouldn’t participate at first — just kid-watched for awhile. Then he jumped in and didn’t want to leave for a long time!

There was so much to do in the Discovery Zone area. Here he was sliding through “Tykes Peak”, ball in hand. :)

It started to get crowded right when we were about done so we went outside and walked around. There was a mammoth statue outside that looked like it had become a jungle gym for kids.

Love the photo-bomber posing perfectly! :)

Just beyond the museum grounds was also a park and splash pad. E doesn’t care too much for splashing but he did enjoy just sitting on the bench — snacking, observing and soaking in the lovely day!

Not too far away, we found a much-praised charming little cafe (from a converted house) for lunch. Mmmm, green tea latte! E relished it as much as Mommy did. Haha.

Do you see pet toy #2? :)) The place was more of a singles, hipsterish joint so the young folk found him entertaining. Upstairs was a tiny but very darling vintage shop. The winding stairs were a bit harrowing, especially for a 2-year old.

Then we headed “home” for nap time and waited for Daddy to get back. For dinner, we tried this vegan place that got pretty good reviews. We tried to meet one of Daddy’s old co-workers (who is vegan) but he couldn’t make it.

This is Daddy on vegan food (dessert, mind you!). ;P In retrospect, it probably wasn’t the best place for him to replenish his energy stores after hours on the field. Haha. And he claims E didn’t really like the food. (More on that later). Though we did get to meet the owners, a sweet couple, and discovered they helped open a well-known vegetarian resto in Dallas many years ago.

We were up bright and early the next morning and E indulged in his fave breakfast on vacay — waffles! Then it was off to Golden for the Colorado Railroad Museum.

“Ride the Rails Saturdays” are when scheduled train rides happen so that’s when we picked to come, of course. The first one out was full but we managed to catch the second one! E was so pumped. :)

E intently listened to the operator narrating the scenes as we passed.

Good thing we hopped on the train early as we saw a sizable line when we got off. Oh, and there is a resident deer that was born right beside the trains and lives there. It was not shy at all and came up close to us. Pic, fail. :(

We looked at all the freight cars, locomotives, engines and such outside for awhile. There was an immaculate model/exhibit that was just enthralling to watch! It was one of those times that you realize he CAN sit (or stand?) still. Haha.

Can you spot miniature Thomas ambling along? :)

After staring at the trains going by for what seemed like forever, we finally made it inside. :) And then we saw this.

Judging by the number of kids scrambling all over it, you’d think it was the main attraction!!! NONE of them wanted to leave, including E. It was a madhouse! After a good amount of convincing, he stepped out of “craycray zone” and onto the wooden train behind.

There was a smaller model exhibit in the museum and it was also fantastic. The details were simply impeccable.

The gift shop was almost like a playground! Mommy caved in and bought E a souvenir train. (We limit toy purchases to minimize clutter and because he will get tired of them anyway. Experiences > things, according to Daddy).

Since we were in the vicinity, we decided to check out downtown Golden and didn’t realize an entire festival was going on!

E wanted to stop at the fire station.

New pet toy: aforementioned train. :))

There’s a scenic creek (and trail) that runs through Golden and lots of activities happening in and around it! Apparently, the town is a popular day trip spot… We would come back if we’re ever in town again.

Ladies and gents, we found a Chinese grocery store. Why do Asians look for Asian food no matter where they go? :D On the way back, we picked up some lunch and lots of treats.

Speaking of sweets, we happened to find out about this GF bakery called The Gluten Escape that was closing their location for the time being (and opening elsewhere) so everything was on clearance. Everything was SO delish. Can you just scout a place in Dallas to re-open? :)

Daddy had a team dinner that evening close to the hotel so we chilled with them for a bit and then just laid low in our hotel room for the rest of the night.

The next day we went to the Old South Pearl Street Farmers Market. There were vendors and samples galore! E was so proud of his “green juice” and the other standout for him was Denver Cheddar kettle corn. Mommy was smitten with a particular raw chocolate.

Daddy had only 1 game this final day of play and came home happy they placed top 10. They didn’t win first overall but their team didn’t even think they’d make nationals much less win ANY games so it was quite an accomplishment for them. Also, they were the only Dallas team to make it so far. Go, Big DNR.

All players who made nationals got this special beer glass and when E saw it, he said it’s like Mommy’s running cup. :) So here they are… our sporty achievements of the year. It reminds us of perseverance, determination, hard work and setting examples of a healthy, fit, active lifestyle for our son.

Daddy was curious about the Chinese supermarket we came across so we went for lunch! He texted one of his teammates the below photo and the reply was, “Why are Asians always shopping for food?”. LOL.

As a celebration dinner, Daddy chose… *drumroll* Chinky food! Haha. We went to this seafood/Cantonese/dim sum place. It was in a sort of sketchy area with a shabby exterior but the menu and fare were very appetizing and well-prepared. E was totally sold on the jellyfish as well as the many dim sum dishes. The sea cucumber hot pot was tasty, too!

Upon exiting the restaurant, E said (for the first time), “I had fun eating!” Haha. Daddy commented that was how you know he didn’t take to the the vegan dinner but liked this one. ;-)

Our hotel, picked because a good number of Daddy’s team stayed there so they could carpool, had a lodge-like and homey feel. We snapped a few quick ones on our last day and before heading out for a short hike.

We had settled on a day hike that was kid-friendly — Mount Falcon. It combined castle ruins, a lookout tower and great views. The drive there was a tad long so we were on the fence day of but decided to just go with it.

He was plenty excited when we first set out. :)

But then E started getting tired… It was a fairly warm day and maybe due to altitude? So a lot of this happened:

Lots of stops were in order. It worked out since we got to take photos along the way.

One of the pet toys came along. :)

We walked (carried/lifted/coaxed) some more…

And then arrived at Eagle’s Eye Shelter, which was actually a summer cabin for a family for almost 40 years! Just gorgeous scenery and views here… You could see all the way to Mount Evans (amongst other smaller peaks)! The Red Rocks (where we went last CO trip) and surrounding foothills were also in view.

It looked a bit hairy (as in steep cliff!) beyond the rails so E reminded us to be careful and not get too close. Thanks, Son! :) The next part of the hike was the Tower Trail but since it involved more of a climb, the little hiker was pretty exhausted (and now hungry), and we had a plane to catch later in the afternoon, we called it a day and headed back to our car.

On the way to the airport, we may or may not have slightly detoured and stopped at Teatulia (see Trip #1 post) for a last matcha latte. ;)

And that about closes the books for our summer travels… Where to next? :)