Seeking Sunshine

Indiana winters are rough. Rough enough that Tim and I talk (pretty frequently) about wanting to live somewhere warmer. For the most part, it is cold (down to your bones)...and we don't get snow very often - at least with snow it would be cold and pretty. But nope, it's just cold for the most part. So as winter hits we try to get away to somewhere more sunshine-y (we also usually like to get away in the winter because it tends to be Tim's slow season at work). This winter we were lucky enough to take two vacations!

Our first trip we took was to Florida to visit Tim's parents. They stay near Fort Myers for the winter and we always try to go stay with them for a little during this time. Here are some of our highlights from our time with them:

1. Fishing off the Sanibel causeway
• Well, Tim fished. I mostly sat by the ocean with my music and/or books..

Not a bad view :)

1. Visiting the Edison & Ford Winter Homes
• We generally do this every year with Tim's parents (who can resist an old home?), but this year we even got to go inside the homes on the tour! 

1. Bunches Beach & Fort Myers Beach
• We went over to Bunches Beach for a morning walk one day. We also went over to Fort Myers Beach to walk around one evening and walk out on the pier.

1. Watching the sunset
• My favorite thing to do in Florida and my request

1. Getaway to Disney World!!
• Tim and I took a mini getaway just the two of us and went up to Disney for a day and a half. I had been begging him because I'm just a bit of a Disney fanatic....and we also really needed some sunshine and time for just the two of us. These last few months (or years...?) have been pretty hard and our souls were in need of some Disney magic. We drove up super early on a Friday morning to get to Animal Kingdom when they opened. We rode some of the rides there and got Dole Whip (my favorite). We even got a fast pass for one of the new Avatar rides and loved it! The whole "Pandora" area was really well done and really fun to walk around. Next, we went to Epcot to have a late lunch (Tim's request). We loved both the Mexico and China foods we tried. We then hung out at the World Mall for awhile and rode a few smaller rides before meeting up with some of Tim's friends (Allen & Rachel) from his Team Effort Days (it's a small world - they were there as well!). We then went and took a break at the hotel - we needed a rest after getting up so early! After, we went back out and headed to Magic Kingdom. We arrived just in time to see one of the shows on Main Street and then met up with Allen & Rachel again to watch another show. Disney did an awesome job with both shows! Last time we were at Disney we didn't really slow down to watch them but this time we were so glad we did. After watching the show, we went on a couple other rides with Allen and Rachel and on our own and then headed back for the night (It was almost midnight and we'd been up since 4 am with our drive!). The next day, we took our time getting up since we had been out so late and then headed to Disney Springs once we were up and going. We walked around some of the shops and went to Bongos for lunch (Tim's favorite - a cuban restaurant). They even specially made us tostones with mayo-ketchup when we asked! After this, we headed back to Fort Myers to spend the rest of our time with Tim's parents!

Pandora at Animal Kingdom

Pandora at Animal Kingdom

In front of the castle at Magic Kingdom

Outside Magic Kingdom

Disney Springs

Lunch at Bongos in Disney Springs

Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom

On board the tram at Animal Kingdom

1. Biking Sanibel Island
• Tim & I took his parents' bikes over to Sanibel Island one morning and rode around - we were able to see the lighthouse and get coffee. Perfect morning for both of us. 

Sanibel Island Lighthouse

We found some rocking chairs to relax in and drink our coffee along the ride!

1. Being with family
• We really enjoyed getting some time away with family - to relax and just hang out in the sunshine!

The second trip we went on was to Colorado Springs! Tim had a business trip out there on his calendar around his birthday and my family decided to tag along. I joined Tim for an early weekend so I'd be with him on his birthday and my family joined later that weekend and we all stayed for the next week. It was the first time in a long time my family has been able to take a vacation where all of the siblings got to go and it was one for the books! We loved everything we got to see but most of all we loved being together. Here were some of our highlights:

1. Garden of the Gods
• Tim and I went here on our own before my family got out to Colorado and we also went back after they came and all went hiking together. It is really gorgeous and reminded us a lot of Valley of Fire in Nevada! Tim and I hiked a couple hikes on our own and then hiked a couple with my family, including the Siamese Twins trail.

Along the Central Loop

Along the Central Loop

Hiking toward the Central Loop

Outside the Visitor Center

These two 😍

Siamese Twins Trail

1. Manitou Incline
• For Tim's birthday we went to Manitou Springs and hiked the Manitou Incline. When they say it isn't for the faint of heart - they aren't joking. Multiple times Tim joked afterward that he was worried I wouldn't make it and he'd have to carry me back down. The Incline is only 0.8 miles, but the incline is intense, making it basically straight up - at points leaving me (who is afraid of heights) crawling up the side of the mountain. In addition, the hike down (if you choose not to go down the incline) is a lot of switchbacks and pretty long! I was pretty proud to say I'd done it at the end but I am definitely not ready to do it again anytime soon! 

Looking back down the incline on the way up 😣

Birthday Boy at the top

Hiking back down..we miscalculated and hiked down in the pitch black 😮

1. Manitou Springs
• We spent a couple days exploring the little town of Manitou Springs on our own. We loved walking around the little shops and even found a cute river flowing through the town. We also toured an old castle while we were in town.
2. Coors Factory Tour
• We took a day trip the day after Tim's birthday to the Coors Factory in Golden, CO just the two of us as a surprise - they offer free tours and samples and I knew Tim would enjoy it. He really enjoyed learning how everything was made and the samples were a nice bonus as well. 👍

Outside the Coors Factory

1. Idaho Springs and Boulder, CO
• While out to see the Coors Factory, we also drove to Boulder, CO (where the university of Colorado is) and Idaho Springs. We got a coffee and walked around the campus in Boulder and really enjoyed the drive after to Idaho Springs - it was through the mountains along a river so it was really scenic. 

1. Red Rock Canyon Open Space Park
• We only briefly took a couple hikes here but it was a gorgeous park!

1. Pikes Peak 
• We took a morning and drove up toward Pikes Peak! We were able to stop at a couple points and get out and walk around and see some really awesome views. We all especially loved climbing Devil's Playground!

At the top of Devil's Playground

1. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
• This may be one of our very favorite things we did! This zoo was phenomenal. The views were stunning since it is built into the side of the mountain. Also, they did a great job at cultivating experiences with the animals! There was an area you could feed a giraffe up close, pet a wallaby, feed birds, etc. The adults loved this zoo just as much as (if not more!) than the kids. They also had a shrine at the top (the Shrine of the Sun) that had awesome views.

At the top of the Shrine of the Sun

1. McGuiresville
• We were able to visit one of my dad's friends that has a museum on his property that is awesome! He had multiple old homes that he had rebuilt on his property, a teepee, a railcar, tons of old cars and wagons, and so much more. We spent a couple hours walking through as they explained a lot of the artifacts.

1. Royal Gorge
•  We took a morning and went to see the bridge over the Royal Gorge and explore the park. You could walk over the bridge or take the Gondola (we did both!). They also had zip lining but none of us were quite that adventurous :) They also had a carousal and playground which my niece and nephew loved.

Brothers and Kiddos on the Bridge

Gondolas going across the Gorge

Cheesin' on the Bridge

Not a bad view :)

1. Visiting with family
• We have extended family on the Matthews' side out in Colorado Springs that we got a chance to meet/visit! My mom and dad had not seen them in a long time and most of us hadn't met all of them. We were able to get together for a couple meals and outings and it was fun to meet some family we didn't know too much about!
2. Cripple Creek
• After going out to the Royal Gorge we drove over to Cripple Creek to look around. We were able to see an active gold mine, explore a museum on the city, learn about some of the family history of our relatives, and meet wild donkeys while there!
3. Helen Hunt Falls
• We hiked to the Falls and up a trail behind the falls as well. It was a bit of an incline but so worth it for the views we got! And the kids enjoyed getting some help getting up and down the mountain :) 

In front of the falls

Brax gettin a little help from grandma and grandpa

Both Kinsie and Brax getting help down the mountain

1. Family Pictures
• We hadn't had family pictures done in a long time and really wanted to get them done for my dad's birthday....since my sister-in-law is so great at photography and awesome she did them for us while we were in Colorado! They turned out awesome. 

The whole family

Immediate family

Siblings

Tim & I 

As we got snow on our first day of spring in Indiana, we were glad to have had some of this time away in the sunshine. Mostly we were happy for some time with the people we most love. We were sad to come home, but happy to return to our puppy. Now as we wait for the sunshine here in Indiana Tim and I are looking forward and ahead to camping season!