Friday night Gene and I took Sidney and Aaron to Casa Bonita. An icon of Denver, we thought Aaron would enjoy the overly done restaurant. I’m happy to say he did. Sidney had never been either so it was doubly fun to watch their reactions to what is Casa Bonita. As Sidney so eloquently summed it up: “Even the [tortilla] chips are weird.” After eating our food and after I shoved four sopapillas into my face (that’s my favorite part of this place, I was determined to eat more than two), we walked around the restaurant. We quickly took the tour of a pirate’s cave where a kid at the end was screaming to be let out of a jail he easily stepped into (it did add to the ambiance, thanks kid). We browsed the gift shop full of Casa Bonita personalized items: pens, dream boxes, little girl purses even. And we ended the night with Sidney getting a pressed penny. What really put us over was that the pressed penny didn’t even turn out correctly. The pattern only appeared on a third of the penny. It was probably the best experience of Casa Bonita I’ve ever had. I couldn’t stop laughing, I had a great time.
Saturday we went to the History Colorado Center where we learned about Colorado history and saw a collection of awkward family photos. There were some truly awkward and hilarious photos. What I enjoyed in that exhibit was when I heard other people laughing at the photos, it made me smile and enjoy the experience more to know that others were also enjoying it. I really like when people laugh. At the end there was an opportunity to take your own awkward photos so we jumped at the opportunity and Gene and Aaron got in on the action.
We headed to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs after that where we hiked around for a couple of hours. As I was telling Aaron, I forget how much I like Garden of the Gods. We came at such a great time too, as the sun was slowly setting and highlighting the beauty of the place. We ate dinner at Crave Burger and then visited at my parents’ home for a bit before I went to bed, happy and tired.
Today we slept in a bit and then hiked the 5 mile Dawson Butte trail, an area right after Castle Rock. It took us less than two hours to hike the loop, which is pretty impressive. The first part of the trail provided lovely views. The rest of the trail was under trees so we didn’t see much vistas but it was pleasant out. Now we’re back home and Sidney, who stayed at home, has started dinner (chicken bbq!), what a nice weekend.
Just Lauren 