It’s been lots of catch up since our trip. But ’twas a good one! This about sums it up: “Mommy, I want to stay in Ka-do-ra-do!” says E when it was time to come back.

Took awhile to go through the many photos but enjoyed re-living the adventures…

This one’s always ready to travel now!

A short flight later, we got off the plane and drove straight to Boulder. The plan was to just chill there for a bit until meeting up with Y’s aunt for dinner. She had graciously offered to let us stay at her place in Westminster for the evening. We had plans to hang out the next day in Boulder as well and her house wasn’t too far so it worked out.

Went to a quaint little coffee shop for drinks and a snack…

A green tea matcha white chocolate cookie that he dropped (maybe from grogginess from napping in the car) right before taking a bite. ;-P The barista was nice enough to give him another one.

Then we swung by the bike shop where we were going to rent bikes the day after and reserved his little trailer.

Walked around Chautauqua Park for beautiful views of the Flatirons and city.

Y’s aunt took us for a nice Americanized Chinese meal. She mentioned there weren’t too many “authentic” ones in the vicinity. We had good conversation, though, and she was so hospitable in opening her home and heart to us!

E was kind of uncertain about her beloved doggie and housemate, Coco, but they soon became friends. :)

We made our back back to Boulder in the AM and E “fueled up” for his grueling ride in the trailer. Haha.

Stopped by a spaceship park.

Then we cycled via Boulder Creek Path all the way to Valmont Bike Park, an awesome mountain biking and BMX terrain park. Oh, BTW, passed by packet pick-up for the Boulder Ironman — those are some super-fit athletes.

There were tons of track and trails. Daddy just had to unhook the trailer and try a few. There was a playground conveniently nearby while we waited.

And then this happened on the way back…. :) Cuz you know, “biking” is tough work.

Gotta replenish all those calories!

By the time we returned the bikes and lunched (at Lolita’s — one of those classic, small, local grocery stores we don’t really see anymore), we had just about hit traffic hour going back to Denver so went for ice cream (per E’s request!), walked around Pearl Street Mall, got an affogato (guess who?) and matcha latte (guess who?), and then drove around and explored Boulder some more.

After some random turns, we came across some great scenic lookout points and short little hikes.

We saw this interesting glass house from way up top but still have yet to look it up.

Then we drove into Denver, checked into our hotel for the next few nights for Daddy’s tournament and went to the Asian supermarket we had discovered last time where we found yummy dou-hua, dragon fruit and other goodies. Sadly, none of what we got last time was there! :( Maybe we had just gone too late? We ended up picking up a few other things and settled into our room for the night…

Daddy left early the next day and we were off to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. (And yes, with our recip membership — we have totally used that thing to the max!).

He was crazy excited about seeing the bronto’s neck/head. It’s funny how his interests have changed so dramatically in one year.

The dino hall was the first stop, of course.

Robot mimicry.

We had completely missed out on the Discovery Zone last time so this was all new to us.

He then wanted to see the rockets and space.

This Asian snow place had gotten really good reviews and wasn’t too far from the museum so we stopped by on the way back to the hotel for lunch and nap. Yassssss, dessert before meal!

So feathery and light – frozen cotton candy! The flavors were the bomb diggity with toppings a-plenty… Happiness is #SNOWLAB. :D

Saturday happened to be Cockpit Day at Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum so it was first on our agenda for the day. We visited last year but can’t beat another freebie. :)

He was ecstatic about seeing a Star Wars plane!

Played for awhile in the kids’ area.

Acting ghetto… or whiny. ;P Hanger at the hangar. Hahaha.

Went for a light lunch and drinks at a sweet cafe inside a converted old house.

After Daddy returned, we went for some HK style/Canto food.

Turned out to be a good choice! The walls reminded of us of our lavender bathroom. :)

Spam egg sandwich for E. :)

And then… we couldn’t resist taking Daddy to SNOWLAB.

Daddy went off to a team gathering and we played at a nickel arcade. It was a special weekday night and he started off with 1000 tickets. He felt like he hit the jackpot.

Our last morning in Denver, we had breakfast in the hotel and checked out. Then we went to the South Pearl Street Farmers Market that we really liked from last year.

It was just as happening as we remembered it with more new vendors. After a good haul, it was time to pick up Daddy from the fields.

We stopped for a snack while planning our route to Colorado Springs and some quick downtown browsing.

E got his nap in while we drove under these Colorado puffy white clouds.

We checked into our hotel/B&B which was mighty schmancy and right in the town centre of Manitou Springs. After a quick wash-up, we headed to the Cave of the Winds for our reserved evening tour.

They advised us getting there early so we had a bit of time to walk around and catch the evening sunset on the mountains.

The other three activities there — Bat-A-Pult, Wind Walker Challenge Course and the Terror-Dactyl looked pretty scary.

E was mature enough to comment “I’m not going to take my soldier-man in this time, okay?” in reference to our last cave experience where he left his army soldier behind. :P

We think Austin’s Inner Space Cavern might have had more unique structures (stalagmites, stalactites!) in the cave itself but it was still a neat tour.

Their summer hours included a evening laser show but it wasn’t for another hour and we were a tad tired and hungry so we decided to call it a night.

After a leisurely and filling breakfast (great spread and with a view!), it was time for a stroll through the Garden of the Gods.

He dares to rock climb!

Make-believing he’s a dinosaur.

We were impressed by how much he walked and climbed but his little legs probably got pretty tired.

I.C. wish granted. :)

Then it was a loooooooooooooong nap!

The rest of the night was spent walking around the rustic small town and shops and some good old fashioned fun at the vintage penny arcade.

There are eight springs throughout the city, open to the public for drinking. We filled up our bottles every time we saw one.

Or just washed our hands. :) Healing waters, right?

His loot from the arcade kept him plenty busy while we ate at a nearby Mediterranean spot.

We stayed indoors the next morning at the Space Foundation Discovery Center, which also included the Pikes Peak Children’s Museum. It wasn’t too big but pretty educational. And hey, crossed another one off the ASTC reciprocal list.

Extremely well done art pieces from students of all ages.

He sat through maybe half of this 20 minute talk?

Always preferring the hands-on these days!

Then it was a quick lunch and earlier nap so we could catch our train up Pikes Peak! So it was only maybe a mile walk to the Cog Railway Station from our hotel but all uphill so we opted to wait for the free shuttle for E’s sake. :)

Our seats happened to be right next to the driver.

It was the clearest of days — our guide said we could actually see all the way to Kansas. The scenery as we chugged up the mountain was stunning.

Elias actually sat still in awe. :) Kinda!

Near the top we saw bighorn sheep. E was thrilled.

Peaked! Boy, was it chilly compared to the summer temps below.

The 45 minutes they gave us on the peak passed quickly and it was time to descend.

It started storming on the way down — clouds, wind and sleet!

And then the train in front of us got struck by lightning, lost electricity and stopped. We were stuck mid-mountain for a good while. It was somewhat daunting, especially after the conductor told us this had never happened before.

While we waited and waited, a rainbow appeared … and then a double rainbow!

It was one of those times where pictures and words are not enough! Amazingly, shortly after, the troubled train was able to restart its engine and we were back to rolling on the track.

As we wound our way down, it was worth pondering the metaphor of this ride — the highs and lows of life with its unexpected storms and uncertainties. But those double rainbows sure reminded us Who is our Promise, Protector and Provider. :)

Due to the delay, it was dark by the time we got back down. The last shuttle had already left so we walked the mile downhill which wasn’t bad at all.

We rested up because we were conquering The Manitou Incline the next day!

2,000 feet gain in less than one mile. Gulp. Double gulp for Daddy who was prepared to backpack E when he decided to stop walking.

Twenty steps later… “I’m tired!” :\

We had practiced getting him into the carrier the day before and he said he didn’t want to or need to sit in it. Guess he changed his mind…

To pass the time (and forget the pain?), we made some friends along the way. We met this adopted Korean that was a captain in the military. Turns out he was stationed in OK where Yuee’s bro will training this fall as part of the Singapore army reserve. Anyway, he was having a rough time going up and Y’s bro commented that S’pore army > US army when he saw this photo. :P

We came across some other interesting characters… All were very dazzled with Daddy carrying Elias. There were a couple of folks that lapped us — one guy was on his third round! Apparently, some Olympians use The Incline for training. We can see why!

There was a bailout point but we were there to get’r done!

The last stretch was STEEP.

Made it!!!

Really, we climbed THAT?

Captain didn’t quit either.

Lots of marmots scurrying around.

We could see the railway trains that we took the day before going up.

So we had two options for the descent — climb down The Incline or take the Barr Trail, which was longer in distance but more like a hiking trail. We went for the latter which was what most people recommended.

The Barr Trail is also part of the Pikes Peak Marathon — makes us sorta want to run it one day. Well, Mommy at least!

Hydrated like mad.

Back on the shoulders.

He was not happy about seeing a bug that landed nearby.

Or… He was just exhausted from “hiking”. :)

Daddy, the EOD, liked seeing this along the path.

It took maybe 2 hours or so to get back down and E slept at least half of it so he was pretty refreshed once we were back to where we started.

We were ravenous by the time we finished so we ate and washed up and had just enough time to make it to the Olympic Training Center, which was a maybe on our itinerary.

The video they played at the beginning was most inspiring!

Then we toured the facility with a guide.

Everything was truly state-of-the-art. Lots of neat little factoids about how the Olympians train.

Plenty of motivational mantras all around.

A storm made moving from center to center a little tricky but overall, it was a worthwhile tour, especially since we got to do it right during the 2016 Olympics. Made us want to excel even more in our sports, or dream a little for Elias.

We found out about a Farm & Art Market through this raw/vegan shop we went to after The Incline and decided to do dinner there. E had also made a friend in the store and wanted to see him again.

It was in this historical square where the Pioneers Museum resided.

E was so happy to be reunited with new buddy, Jove. They ran ’round and ’round and ’round!

Delish food truck food and also snacked/sampled our way through the market.

Went inside one of the buildings since E needed to go potty! Then we walked around downtown Colorado Springs. Scored some fine chocolate for dessert and then it was back to the hotel for packing and our last night.

E was excited that we got to walk up the to the plane for the flight home.

E still mentions, “I want to go back to Ka-do-ra-do!” Soon enough, I’m sure we will!