We fell madly in love with Denver.
Monday morning came all too soon, and before we knew it, we were packing up our cute little room, and returning the old-fashioned-actual-key-with-the-metal-oval-keychain-attached. Love, folks. Love. We loved everything about our stay at the Wildwood Inn, and the rest of our time in Estes Park and Denver only impressed us more.
It was here that we realized the downside to our goal of exploring the world with our duo- It left very little time to return to places we fall in love it- and in case you hadn’t noticed… that’s pretty much everywhere we’ve been.
Meanwhile, it was Monday, and we had packed up and checked out. We decided to head back towards Denver, so we could stop in Boulder. TT Dad had heard about an outdoor mall area and wanted to check it out. We arrived at the Pearl Street Mall just as the shops were opening. We found a coffee shop for TT Dad to have a caffeine fix, and wandered up and down Pearl Street.
Pearl Street, for a couple of blocks, is for pedestrians only. The shops lining the street are an eclectic mix, and you can really find something for anyone. Each block houses a play area for children, including a water jet feature they can run through. Street entertainment can be found, as well as the Tebo Train, which will take you for a ride (for free!) around the mall. So much Family Entertainment to be found!
We were intent on making it to lunch at one particular Denver restaurant, so we couldn’t stay long, but we really enjoyed the pit stop.
Back on the road.
To Denver.
To Lunch.
To…
Not yet. We wanted to let the kids get some running around in before expecting them to sit still in a restaurant.
Back to City Park, which is not only where the Zoo was located, but also houses the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, a boathouse, Duck Lakes, and a spectacular playground. The playground is separated into a few areas, each with different features. We were one of a handful of families at the playground, but the playscape was large enough that we didn’t run into any traffic issues. Our kids did choose to play near a few other kids that were their age, but they were still pretty shy about it.
Soon enough, we were back in the car, for the short trip to this restaurant.
You see, I have these memories. I remember eating at a restaurant, as a child, with a high-dive show going on. The problem is that any time I asked my parents about this, they looked at me like I was crazy. So I tucked the memory away, thinking it was perhaps a dream? Years would go by, and something would spark the memory again. It couldn’t have been a dream. The restaurant was decorated like a Mexican Hacienda. There’s no way I dreamed this up. I swear it was real.
While doing the research for this little trip, I did a quick google search of kid friendly restaurants in the Denver Area, and to my surprise- Casa Bonita was on that list. One click on the name was all it took to prove that this was no dream. This is the place. I immediately called my brother, who verified the memories. We had taken a trip as kids, to spend time in Denver with an aunt, uncle and cousins, who lived very close to Casa Bonita, and they must have taken us!
Decision made. We’d make it there.
And oooohhh we did. My memories were correct. High-Dive Show, Gorillas, Cops and Robbers… it was just as I’d remembered, but just a little different, seeing it through adult eyes. The kids were captivated. Even the line was filled with little details that they loved exploring. Once you make your way through the line, and order your food, you stay in line to the food service area, where you retrieve your tray. Then the staff shows you to your table, and the meal begins!
Every 15 minutes there is a show near the water. If that’s not enough to keep you entertained, you can make your way to any one of the multiple little rooms off of the main dining area, including an arcade, a treasure room, a cave, a portrait studio, and more!
The food was definitely not the top attraction of the meal, but it wasn’t necessarily bad, e
ither. We left full.
And now it was time to get to the airport. First, we had to return the rental car, and get ourselves and our luggage on and off the shuttle- which was no easy feat, as you can see.
At the airport, we checked our luggage as quickly as possible, and then made our way back to the baby gear rental counter. The return of our rented gear was as quick and easy as the rental. We highly recommend working with VEA Kids while renting gear in Denver.
The security line went smoothly as well. Before we knew it, we were waiting for the plane. With quite a bit of extra time, since everything had gone so quickly up to this point!
We had so much extra time, that we didn’t even have to pick the screaming kid off the floor, when she decided she didn’t want to walk any more, but also didn’t want to be held or carried.
A total of 5 flights under our belt, and this was our first airport meltdown. I’m okay with that. Luckily, she did decide that the moving walkway seemed like a good idea.
Once again, we had packed our flight survival kit, including plenty of snacks/dinner, straw cups, coloring and sticker books, matchbox/hot wheel cars, mini trains, their fire tablets, and their favorite Minnie & Mickey plush dolls. Unfortunately, the cold they had caught on the way to Denver, was still lingering, and we think/hope/assume this was the reason for their behavior during the flight… which was NOT fun.
This was the worst flight to date.
I wasn’t kidding about the Snakes. I have a feeling our fellow passengers would have rather we brought Snakes on a Plane, than Toddlers on a Plane.
They were a mess. The Fire Tablets we had purchased for air travel weren’t connecting to the WiFi on board, so we couldn’t access the steaming videos/books/apps that we had selected for the trip. In fact, they didn’t seem to be working at all (I’m pretty sure this was User Error.)
The kids were restless. They were irritable. They were exhausted- but they refused to sleep. We were all miserable.
The only upside of this flight was that it ended. Eventually. And with the end of the flight was the last time (most likely) we’d ever see those fellow passengers. I have to say, however, that those passengers were actually wonderfully understanding. While we received plenty of empathetic smiles, we only saw a handful of disapproving or angry looks.
Of course, as we were landing, the kids fell asleep. With the time change, we were landing way past their bedtime, so they fell asleep as soon as we buckled them into their car seats, and we were able to successfully transfer them from the car to their cribs without fully waking them- and they fell right back asleep with no issue.
We had (barely) survived our last flight with lap kids.
The countdown was on. We’d be off to participate in PMC 2016 in less than a week!!