Flying by the seat of our pants

In true Corona Summer fashion,

our trip to the Wisconsin Dells didn't work out

(waterparks with masks?).

So we were left with a week off

and some decisions to make.

Mom and Dad suggested a National Parks trip,

so Weston and I got to work 

making a Powerpoint presentation

for an RV trip through Colorado and all its glorious parks.

Renting an RV didn't seem feasible

(not a lot of great choices with less than a week's notice)

but lucky for us,

the Heinz Family have one and they offered it to us.

We couldn't believe our luck!

We have amazing friends.

So in about 72 hours,

Mom and Dad planned and booked a 

whirlwind 11 day trip through Colorado.

Load up!

Here we go!

Our first day

we spent about 8 hours driving across Kansas.

When we weren't listening to Harry Potter,

we were playing various car games in our car binders

We got to the Drury in Denver

just in time for their evening Happy Hour...

which happened to be serving 

pulled pork sandwiches and chili

in addition to cold beverages.

Score!

Throw in their indoor/outdoor swim through pool

and we thought this was an amazing way to kick off a vacation!

The next morning,

we masked up for a bit of breakfast

and hit the road again

Today we got our first glimpse of the mountains

I mean,

how can you not take lots of pictures?

There was a lot of beautiful scenery on the way to Montrose

Colorado is just...gorgeous.

We stopped in Glenwood Springs

for some lunch

COVID-friendly outdoor seating...

our second restaurant outing since March!

All that pizza made some of us tired

but before we knew it,

we were at our first RV park.

We timed it--

our first set up took just over 30 minutes

and that included all the jacks and stabilizers,

water, sewer and electrical hook up,

and outdoor seating and such.

We were excited we were so fast.

But we were more excited

our RV park had MINI GOLF!

And not just any mini golf--

the old-school, moving obstacles kind.

We could have played all day.

Pair this with some chilling outside our rig

(we forgot the picture...)

and it made for a successful first night in the camper.

But what are we doing in Montrose?

Just you wait...

Our happy place

We have really come to appreciate the cabin

in the midst of this pandemic.

It's a place we can escape and relax

with some games

(as relaxed as you can be playing

Unstable Unicorns...)

and relax with some boating

and floating on the water

Ah!  Better already!

With me at the wheel

and maybe with Beckett's safe (??) driving

Mom and Dad can get a little R&R

Ahhh...

Summertime!

 

Parks, parks and more parks...

Marking more off the list...

How many more?

All this playing is EXHAUSTING.

 

Bike a trail--check!

Continuing along our Corona Summer Bucket List,

today we tackled another one--

go on a trail bike ride.

We'd been eyeing the Rock Island trail for a while

because we really wanted to bike through this tunnel!

Leave it to me to find a friend along the way

Ooooh, that was pretty fun.

We may need to find another one...

 

Spontaneity

Mom and Dad had secretly been talking about

a quick getaway to Wichita

next time Mom has to work down there.

So after a rough call with no sleep,

having Dad drive, Mom nap, and us along for the ride

seemed like everything lining up.

We were downstairs playing Minecraft (what else is new?)

and Mom and Dad called us upstairs.

We figured it was a dinner discussion.

We couldn't believe our ears when they said

"Pack a bag--we're going to Wichita!"

Somewhere around 20 minutes later,

we were in the car.

The Homewood Suites have some really great comfy beds.

The hotel did a great job of having lots of amenities

in a safe way during COVID.

Me, Jack and Mom ran in the hotel gym last night.

Dad was able to get a huge, warm continental breakfast

for all of us to eat in our room too.

You would have thought we were in a gourmet restaurant,

as excited as we were...

After dropping Mom off at work

(sorry, Mom),

we hit the hotel pool

and then explored a few parks

The hotel had a little mini golf course we used.

They had a COVID-friendly Happy Hour too!

After Mom's 24 hour shift,

we picked her back up and headed for post-call donuts.

We had tried to check this place out

on our Spring Break trip to Wichita, but it had been closed.

Not today!

They must have had 40 different flavors of donuts!

We tried 12 of them

The Homer J. Simpson was the favorite

We took another dip in the hot tub and pool

before saying farewell to Wichita.

Hey Mom--when is your next shift??

 

How 'bout them cucumbers?

Whoa!

We leave town for a week

and the garden goes CRAZY!

 

So nice, we did it twice

The idea for the kids to make the parents dinner

on their anniversary was from Chris.

It only made sense that we do it again

so that BOTH couples could celebrate

their 18th anniversary in style!

So today, while we all 4-wheeled

beside our running parents,

inspiration struck as we passed all sorts of wildflowers

Before long,

we were making stops and return visits

to get every type of wildflower we could see

along the river road and the path

What do you think?

They turned out AMAZING!!!

We even found corona-flowers!

As evening rolled around,

Weston and Beckett

served drinks and appetizers

around the firepit

to the happy couples

before dinner was served on the back deck

(complete with place markers!)

The lovely ladies

Everyone is seated

even the waitstaff gets to eat!

Apparently, there was a lot of drama in the kitchen

the the couples were blissfully unaware of.

The waitstaff can't tell the full story without

lapsing into shouting and laughing

but a glass or two was broken

and it's a lot harder than it looks to prepare 

salad, vegetable, noodles and bread for a party of 11.

Mom's favorite moment was when Chip asked for

half zoodles, half noodles

and Beckett looked at him like he asked for the moon.

We're pretty sure someone spit in his food

after that.

Homemade ice cream cake

with a chocolate "18" for dessert

All that--

and the bill wasn't bad!

After all that stress,

the waitstaff needed to kickback a little.

A game of poker was needed.

The best moment of this game--

when Tucker announced

"Oh, I can't even read. I'm all in!"

and shoved in all of Kylie's money.

We're pretty sure he still owes her a few dollars.

The parents are so thankful

for a really memorable anniversary!