Days 13 & 14: Drifter's Hamburgers + The Views

The girls and I tried Drifter's Hamburgers after our girls' night out tonight. Dustin told me the burgers tasted just like In-n-Out, and I'm all about that. On top of that, Claire is all about cheeseburgers, and Avery loves fries, so, in theory, it is a match made in heaven.

First things first, a bathroom stop. Definitely nothing special.

The details were weird. The building was all New Mexico ghetto, and the artwork was 'let's pretend we're at the beach!' Which. I'm all about pretending to be at the beach. I just can't blame them for that, but you tell me:

The view was pretty good. It pretty much usually is in Colorado Springs. Should that be it's own day? You know, something like, 'You can always get a good view here! Even at Panda Express! Or Costco!" (I'm not even joking about either of those locations, so yes, I'm going to add it right now as Day 14.)

This is before she sprayed hand sanitizer IN HER EYES.

This is after:



I probably shouldn't share it, but at the same time, this is my life.

This weird, NON-atmosphere restaurant makes it on the list of things to like here strictly for the burgers. If I could go to In-n-Out, it absolutely wouldn't make the cut. I like the red palm trees and non-sticky tables AND chocolate shakes at the real In-n-Out too much, but since it's over a day's drive to the real deal, this is it.

Claire wasn't worried about the differences, and she wasn't worried about Avery's stinging eyes either. She went to town on that burger and ignored Avery completely. Avery didn't even start eating til Claire had finished her cheeseburger.

Also, hello little bunny. Because, Colorado.

Day 5: School Days Drive Through Paradise

We leave the house at 8:00 every weekday morning. That doesn't mean we actually pull out of the driveway at 8:00. It just means that we have taken the first steps onto our carpeted garage steps in an effort to make it to school by 8:30, which as I previously mentioned, doesn't normally happen.

I was originally very worried about a 20-minute school commute. Basically, this means that I travel 160 miles a week just for school. But, it's not so bad. We climb the hill the back way through our neighborhood, and as we round the curve, we see this out the window:

I didn't even get out of the car for any of these pictures. In fact, I didn't stop driving for some of them. I always feel a little thrill run through me as I see this first view of Pike's Peak pictured above.

It's pretty typical for us to see a deer or two along the way, especially while we're still in our neighborhood. On today's drive, an entire herd obliged. Your welcome.

I also never tire of glimpsing Garden of the Gods . This view is from the north side, and it's definitely not the best one, but it's still pretty great. I love seeing the giant red rocks soaring into the sky. They dwarf people, but compared to the mountains they are nestled among, they look like scattered toys.

This picture is just to prove that I am really taking these photos from my car:

And, here we are entering Old Colorado City, which is a post all on it's on for another day, but I think it is just lovely with pink blossoms bobbing in the breeze, spring green leaves, and even the bare winter branches.

That's Cheyenne Mountain in the background. The zoo is ON Cheyenne Mountain. We'll talk about that another day.

The streets narrow and are cramped with cars parked along either side. The houses are small with purple doors and rainbow garlands decorating their porches. We walk Claire to her class, and sometimes we stay to play on the farm at the school, which again will have to be a post all on it's own. Other days, we simply hustle back to the car to return the way we came:

I really like that church up there on the left. It has one of my favorite blossomed trees just out front.

Driving North is when you can really see the view of Garden of the Gods that is just to die for. I don't want to mislead you, though. I did step out of the car for this shot:

Meandering through the streets the back way through our neighborhood, we climb the hill, and then climb some more, until this view of the city spreads itself before us: 

And, even though I would take the mountain view any day, there is something that kind of makes my stomach drop when we get to the top of the hill.

Another 500 feet, and Blodgett Peak is out the driver-side window. I really want to climb this with the kids this summer. Maybe Blodgett Peak will make it on this list all on it's own.

As we go, we listen to books on CD: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, My Father's Dragon, Mercy Watson, and more. The narrators' voices fill our ears with imagination while our eyes take in the beauty of this amazingly beautiful spot on earth. I could drive down the freeway, but you see why I don't, right?

I'll leave you with one last picture of Garden of the Gods to see you off. It will be the first place I take you should you choose to visit.

Day 3: I Might Live in a Cabin

I really, really love the view out the toy room window. I love feeling surrounded by rocks and trees, like I live IN the mountain. The weather in Colorado is wild and moody. If you look closely, you can see snow frosting the rocks along the waterfall midway through spring. Even though snow is not my favorite, I think the backyard is at it's finest when it is coated in snow with a herd of deer settled in to munch what is left of the ground cover.

And, I really love the kid sitting in front of the view. He's pretty squishy and spectacular.