Em and Ry: 1st Anniversary in the Rockies

Ryan and I traveled to Colorado for our very anticipated 1st Anniversary/vacation. When we got up at 5:30am for my cousin, Andrew to take us to the airport we were both beaming. We arrived in Colorado with no turbulence and headed to pick up our rental car. We thought we would get a sweet car, but we opted for the cheapest option and landed a blue Suzuki. Stylish, I know. It was small, comparable to the movie Just Married. We spent a day in Denver, traveling to the State Capital (Ryan's choice), the 16th street mall (my choice), and Cheeseman Park (a famous grassy knoll area where you can see the city's landscape). From there we hopped in our mini-mobile and headed to Colorado Springs. Of course I thought everything was planned (everybody knows me Mrs. Organized), but we found out Priceline over-booked the hotel. After arguing over the phone and fighting for help, we booked a hotel close to the Airforce Academy. The next morning we headed to the Olympic Training Center and had an awesome tour of the facility. I have never see so many masculine people in one setting in all my life. These were huge men/women! The six-packs were amazing! One guy was a bobsledder and he would carry this make-shift bobsled up a hill and back down. Let's just say if I was single I would definitely tour the facility on a regular basis (sorry Ryan, I still love you!). After the tour we drove to Manitou Springs to grab a bit to eat. Located at the base of Pikes Peak Manitou Springs is known for their mineral water. They would distribute cups and you could walk around taste-testing each different mineral water.
Pikes Peak was the next stop. The drive up was hilarious for me, but sweaty for Ryan. Let's just say heights are not his friend. And I had to be the brat who snapped pictures of him as we ascended to the top. It was a 19 mile drive, but took about an hour to make it to the peak. Once we got there the views were breathtaking. It was awesome! You could see for miles and miles. The temperature was also colder. We were 14,000 plus some more feet above sea level.
After venturing down, Ryan settled in and we started on the 2 hour drive to meet the rest of my family, where they rented a cabin in Dillon, CO. That night we enjoyed the food and company of my family.
Sunday morning we woke up to the cool smell of the snow-capped mountains. It was a dream to wake up on our 1st Anniversary and see the view out the window. That day was a testament to our marriage, and showed me how much I truly love my husband. We set out on a hike in the morning near our cabin. From the mountain we could see the city of Dillon, which is surrounded by a reservoir. It was beautiful. After the hike, my parents thought it would be fun to rent bikes and see the cities close to Dillon. The Van Hon's, packing more food, water, and supplies than you can imagine strapped on their biking shoes and biked 7 miles to a nearby town called Fresco. We walked around Fresco for a bit and then ventured out. This is where the fun begins. First of all, we hadn't eaten lunch yet, and Sam was farting his brains out all day because the night before he decided to eat jalapeno hot dogs (thanks to my dad). His farts were worse than if you had been following a sewage truck for 1,000 miles. So you can imagine...pretty, pretty good stench going. We started out on the trail again and my dad's internal GPS kicked in high gear. My mother and I can contest that his GPS 20% of the time is accurate. After my brothers fighting with him on which way to proceed back to Dillon, we got right back on track. With Logan in the lead, we of course had to take the most ascending route possible. After climbing a two mile up-hill bike climb, we made it to the top and Ryan turns around and says "Happy Anniversary." I glared with my evil eyes at him and kept going. Little did we know we still had many miles to go. Finally, after smelling Sam's stench with my body aching all over, we arrived home, showered, and spent the evening touring Breckenridge (quite a quaint little ski village). I had a very memorable anniversary. If my husband survived all the day and my family, I have a feeling we are going to have many memorable anniversaries ahead of us. I can't wait! :)
The next day we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. The views here were more awesome than Pikes Peak. The elevation was also higher. Logan wanted to venture off and climb every mountain he could find, but resisted to please my dad as he was clenching to my mom (he is more afraid of heights, than mice are afraid of humans). We also went on a 4-mile hike. The ranger said it was an easy trail, 2 miles up-hill and 2 miles down. But to our luck it was treacherous. After a long day we headed home, but it wasn't a trip home if we didn't smell the stench coming from the backseat (aka Sam!). Before we left the park Logan ordered a coffee and had to place two sugar packets and butt-load of cream in it. All we heard on the way home was Logan and all we smelled was Sam. I was beat!
Ryan and I went to bed that night, knowing that we had to go back to the real world tomorrow. We both had a great time with my family and hope that we will have many more anniversaries...(maybe even in the Rockies again)