Paul
and I have been planning our summer vacation for months, but I have been
hesitant to write anything about it. After the Hawaii fiasco, I am trying not
to set myself up for disappointment again. However, it’s impossible to not be
at least a little excited… So I figured I’d share some of our plans
for our vacation. This will probably be split up into two posts. I like
vacation posts to be dramatic because we rarely do “big” stuff- although I
want to change that!
What
we have planned is the ULTIMATE Southwest Road Trip! We will fly into Denver
and spend a night with Paul’s cousin. Then we will travel south to Colorado
Springs for two nights there. After that, it’s a long trek to Santa Fe. After
three nights in New Mexico, we will head up to the Grand Canyon for a night.
For a complete change of scenery, we will stop by Vegas for a night. From
there, we will drive to San Diego and spend three nights. Then we’ll hop a red eye home from the West Coast and have a beautiful reunion with the kitty
cats. (OMG I MISS THEM ALREADY!!!!)
That
probably sounds like a huge whirlwind and TOO MUCH DRIVING, but believe me, I
thought this through. There are three “big” drives during the trip. The
first is Colorado Springs to Santa Fe. We are actually taking the “scenic route”
and making the drive more of an event than just a drive. I’ll explain more
about that later. The next long drive (6 ish hours) is from Santa Fe to the
Grand Canyon. I imagine we will get up early for this one so we can spend as
much of the day at the Grand Canyon as possible. Las Vegas to San Diego will be
about 4 hours, provided we leave Vegas at the correct time of day. This drive
is described as really boring since
it’s mostly dessert. But that is such a different landscape than what Paul and
I are used to, so I am hoping we will be entertained for at least a little bit
of the time. If not, I will make him listen to Serial with me. (Haha!) The long
drives fall on Days 4, 7, and 9, so at least there is plenty of days to relax.
Wait, who am I kidding? We never relax on vacation!
I’ll
share some of the things we are most looking forward to during the
first part of our trip. And of course, if you live in these areas or have
traveled to these areas and have suggestions/tips for us, I would be more than
happy to hear from you!
Colorado
Exciting Activities
Pike’s
Peak Cog Railway
We
wanted to travel to the top of Pike’s Peak via the train when we were in
Colorado last summer but we simply didn’t have the time. Luckily, we are able
to go back and make it happen!
This photo of Pikes Peak is courtesy of TripAdvisor
The
Incline
I
got to see the incline when we hung
out in Manitou Springs last summer, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. Not
only was there the time factor, but there was also the knee factor. Running up a mountain on stair steps for almost a mile
would have WRECKED my knee. It still may wreck it, but to a lesser degree. Ah,
the twisted mind of a runner…
This photo of The Incline is courtesy of TripAdvisor
Running
in/around Denver
I
have one afternoon available to run while we are in the city of Denver. I am
thinking of doing William Frederick Hayden Park because it would be easy to get
to. But if any of you Colorado peeps have a better suggestion, let me know! We
hiked at Matthew Winters last year and I loved
the foot hills!
Paul @ Matthew Winters last year. Look how perfect those hills are.
They don't even look REAL!
Santa
Fe Exciting Activities
The High
Road from Taos to Santa Fe
One
of the coolest things about Santa Fe is probably going to be driving there! We
are taking the scenic high road from Taos to Santa Fe. It will be a long but
beautiful trip. We plan to stop in little towns along the way and of course
take tons of pictures. This is the only thing we have planned for the day, so
hopefully I will be able to unclench my butt cheeks and just enjoy the journey.
Tent
Rocks
One
day in New Mexico will be spent hiking and picnicking in Tent Rocks. It’s a
little outside Santa Fe, but from looking at the pictures, I don’t think it is
something we should miss!
Santa
Fe Farmer’s Market
This
is the largest famer’s market in NM. I am excited to taste locally grown food
and check out all the other vendors and crafters.
Grand
Canyon Exciting Activities
We
honestly don’t have any set plans for the Grand Canyon! I know we are not hiking down. I wish we could but I
know Paul shouldn’t. I imagine one of the last places you would want to have a
medical emergency is in the Grand Canyon.
But I am okay with just walking around and enjoying the scenery. And it would
be really cool if we could catch a sunrise or sunset. But I have to do somemore research on that!
I’ll
write another post outlining some of the things we want to do in Vegas and San
Diego! If you have any suggestions or tips for me, please let me know in the
comments! I have a really good track record with Paul when it comes to planning
amazing vacations for us. I don’t want to disappoint him!
You won't ever disappoint Paul on your planning of this vacation because no matter what you will be together! Having fun, laughing and making memories. You are going to have a fabulous time, Megan. Looks like a perfect get away for you guys. Don't you love having this to look forward to?!
ReplyDeleteYes, and Paul is SUPER excited. :) It is coming quickly, we're going in eary June!
DeleteThat looks great! I have been all those places except the tent rocks-- that looks amazing. If you had anymore time to do the Grand Canyon-- I would try and spend more time there. Ironically, it can be VERY crowded on the outskirts of the park--I don't mind driving a lot of vacation. It is a great way to see the US!
ReplyDeleteWe pack a cooler with ice, and if we are doing the meandering kind of drive, pick up what we need for a picnic lunch or dinner along the way-- of course you do need a backup plan!
Ahhhh back up plans. I need to highlight that on my vay=cay to do list! :) Paul claims he doesn't want to stay at the GC longer, and honestly, we CAN'T because everything is booked! I think the best we can do is make sure we leave Santa Fe at the butt crack of dawn so we can spend as much time as possible in the GC.
DeleteThat sounds like an awesome trip! I personally loved Sedona WAY more than the grand canyon, but I guess it's one of those things you need to see in your lifetime. Anyway, if you can somehow alter your plans to visit Sedona I highly recommend! Road trips are the best! I'll have my road trip video of vegas and utah up tomorrow, so maybe that will give you some good ideas?
ReplyDeleteTonya, every single person I have talked to who has been to AZ has said GO TO SEDONA. I know Paul is SET on the GC though. I can look at our itinerary. We COULD skip Vegas and do Sedona instead, then go to SD from there. That is def an option. Paul doesn't even want to go to LV but I do. I figured he would never go to LV with me as a trip on it's own, so stopping there for the night would be a happy medium. I think I should research Sedona more and see if we should do that instead. THank you for your insights! Can't wait to see your vid :)
DeleteI've always wanted to do a road trip but we never have!! Maybe this summer will be our year for it, too. I love Sedona, btw, but the first time we went to AZ we didn't see the Grand Canyon and that disappointed me. I liked having the time to see both a few years later (although my favorite canyon ever is the Zion in Utah). I love the southwest in general!
ReplyDeleteI am VERY excited to check out the SW. I have never been there, obviously. I am soooo excited to see the Grand Canyon. :) Where do you want to road trip to?
DeleteI think it would be fun to do a cross-country trip and see my BIL in California at the end, but the ride back might be killer. Maybe a trip up the coast toward Vermont/Maine!
DeleteSounds like a great trip and really 6 hours drive is not THAT long and i'm sure you will keep each other entertained. I use to live in Texas and our family would visit Taos. I'm excited for you!
ReplyDeleteCool! Is there anything you think we should in in Taos? We're going to do the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge (I think that is what it is called) and then take the high road to SF.
DeleteRoad trips are the BEST! I have never done a road trip that involves flying to a "start" but I have done big loops from home. Make sure you rent a comfortable vehicle, since you will be spending a lot of time in it. :) I like the way you have everything planned out - big drive, stay a while, big drive, stay a while, small drive, stay a little. It's perfect. I have only been to Vegas and San Diego. There are a million things you could do in Vegas and I highly recommend eating Sushi in San Diego. Otherwise, I haven't been to the other places on your list and will be living vicariously through you. :)
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about renting a comfy vehicle. I drive a little Chevy Cobalt, so whenever we rent a car, we always just get the cheapest they have since it's pretty much the type of car I drive on the reg anyway. BUT it may be nice to spend a little bit more money and have some more room/comfort. I will definitely think about that- thanks for the tip!
DeleteOh I have already googled "best sushi places in San Diego" and have a list bookmarked. We LOVE sushi! Do you know of a good place to RUN in SD? Besides, like, everywhere??? :)
This sounds like an amazing trip! This year will actually be better to do the Incline -- I guess they totally redid it last fall, and it's supposed to be a lot nicer -- no more jagged pipes to step over. As far as Denver-ish hikes, you might look into some around Golden, like North Table Mountain.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the Denver tip. I will look at North Table mountain and see how easy it is to get to and all that jazz. If you think of anything else, let me know! :)
DeleteThis trip sounds AMAZING!!!! If you are only in GC for the day, I would make sure you pick the side of the canyon with the "glass walk" - I think there would be more to see on that side. The side that Gunshow and I went to on our honeymoon was super duper beautiful but I felt like all we could was just walk around it. We wished we had stayed longer but we didn't do a lot of research about the GC! Vegas is super duper fun! You have to see a fountain show at the Bellagio! There are so many cool exhibits and things to check out- are you only there for a day?
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear more!!
Yup, LV for just a day. We plan to just walk around and check out all the free sights that we can. :) We are staying in the Grand Canyon Village at the South Rim, so we will not be near the sky walk. I don't think I would go on that anyway, though! I definitely need to do more research on the GC, considering we will only be there one day.
DeleteSounds like it is going to be a super fun vacation - can't wait to hear all about it!!!
ReplyDeleteAdam and I have done two cross country road trips and I thought they were both incredible. I love the landscape in SW because it's so so different than anything we have over here on the east coast. I pretty much just stare in awe the whole thing we're driving through. Honestly, the only state that I have ever been truly bored driving through was Texas because so much of it is just farm land with nothing to see and no stops along the way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kristen's tip about making sure you upgrade to a comfortable car. Adam and I have always gotten a luxury minivan. Lots of room to stretch your legs and lay out!
I would also suggest bringing your compression socks if you're not planning to stop a lot along the way. I noticed that my legs would sometimes swell up if we were driving far without taking any breaks (besides 5 minute potty breaks).
Compression socks- thank you for that reminder! I never even thought about them. I haven't worn them in so long since I haven't run in over a week...
DeleteI am going to check into how much it would cost to get a roomier car.
That small plane tour sounds scary! We were going to do a helicopter tour when we were going to go to Hawaii. I was scared at th ethought of that too! I agree, CO = RUN RUN RUN!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip! I just did a small Southwest tour a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't been to the Grand Canyon since I was 5 and didn't remember it. It is freaking phenomenal. The drive from Las Vegas to San Diego is going to be SO boring, but enjoy the desert and remember why you don't live there (at least I did). I want to go to Colorado so badly. I have a good friend who lives there and I've been toying with the idea of going and visiting in June. Maybe we will be there at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI saw your GC pics and was wondering where you went in the GC? we are going to the south rim. I think you should not toy around with going to CO I think you need to visit your friend!!
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