Last week, we made our annual Spring Break trip to Grandma and Grandpa Martin’s house in Colorado. Normally, we leave early Saturday morning and power through the whole drive in one day. This year, though, we had to mix things up. Between Enzo’s flag football game and Ava and my softball practice, we didn’t get on the road until 4:30 pm.
The plan was to stop for the night in Grand Junction, which is about two-thirds of the way there. I guessed we’d roll in around 1:00 am Mountain time, and somehow we nailed it exactly. We pulled into the hotel parking lot right at 1:00 am on the dot. It made for a long night, and we missed out on the usual Utah scenery, but honestly, breaking up the drive for once was kind of nice.
The weather stayed clear for most of the trip, but Sunday morning in the mountains was a different story. We hit snow, ice, and temps below 20 degrees, which felt pretty wild considering it was 94 degrees when we left Las Vegas the day before. Ute Pass was especially slick, so I took it slow, but we made it safely around noon. That gave us the rest of the day to relax, play in a little snow, and check out Grandma and Grandpa’s player piano.
I worked a short week, Monday through Wednesday. My days usually start early, but being on Mountain time meant I could start an hour later and still wrap up early enough to enjoy the evenings with everyone. Monday stayed cold, but by Tuesday things warmed up fast, and the snow disappeared just as quickly. Everyone but me went ice skating that afternoon, and on Thursday we all headed up to the summit of Ute Pass for a hike.
The views were incredible. Nothing beats that mountain air. Most of us had a great time. Ava, not so much. Steep inclines are not really her thing, and she let us know about it. Still, it was a beautiful day and nice to get outside for a few hours.
On Friday, Jess and I took a day trip down to Denver. It was the first day of spring, and the weather completely surprised us. It got up to about 85 degrees, which made it a perfect day to walk around. We stopped at Stoney’s for a beer and some March Madness, then met a friend of mine for lunch at a Thai spot. After that, we checked out a bookstore nearby and took a recommendation to explore the RiNo (River North) arts district.
That ended up being a great call. There were murals everywhere, including one being painted while we were there, plus a bunch of cool shops and food spots. We also wandered into a European motorcycle dealer, where I showed Jess the Moto Guzzi I’d love to own someday. Overall, it was just a really fun day. We do not get many chances to sneak away like that, so we always appreciate it when we can.
Saturday’s drive home flew by. We made it in a record 9 hours! It’s always quicker heading back with the drop in elevation, but this was still our fastest trip yet. Getting home on a Saturday is nice too, since it leaves all of Sunday to reset before the week starts.
Now we are back and heading into the final stretch of the school year. This morning, Ava and I went to the opening ceremonies for spring softball, and her first game is tonight. Jessica’s graduation is less than two months away, which everyone is excited about. Before we know it, summer travel season will be here again.
Big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for hosting us. It was another great trip. And now, the quest to repeat as 14U champs officially begins tonight!
