It was a long day of driving yesterday. We needed to get all the way to Colorado Springs which, at best, was a 7 hour drive from Salina so we decided that we wouldn't do too much stopping. Of course, we couldn't resist a cute town or two!
We were getting hungry so we pulled off the interstate at Glenwood Springs which is the gateway to Aspen. What an incredibly appealing town. We had lunch at a place called the Daily Bread Cafe and Bakery which was on the main drag. There were lots of funky stores and a not-to-be missed bookstore called Book Train. We've noticed that we have met the nicest people on this trip and everyone in Glenwood Springs was warm and welcoming. There are lots of day spas there too so, if you are going to Aspen to ski, this would be a welcome respite for a day of pampering.
Another stop was Edwards where I went looking for a Starbucks. We found it in an area of town called Riverwalk and, wouldn't you know it, there was a French bakery there that was calling to us. They had an almond cookie that was so good I would consider going back there just for another one! Again, more stores, one of which was a kitchen store extraordinaire!
At one point on our journey we were at the Vail Pass - 10,617 feet up and it was beautiful. Even though it's June, there was still snow right next to the highway!
We didn't get to Colorado Springs until almost 6:00 p.m. due to an accident on the freeway near Denver but we decided to venture out for some take-out and explored another very quaint downtown area. Colorado Springs is very much a college town with lots of funky individuals and some real characters. It would be worth the visit just to wander around.
We had planned to take the COG Railway up Pike's Peak this morning but I was having a lot of trouble breathing so we decided to pass this up. If any of you go there, please let us know how it was. I have a feeling we missed some amazing views.
Instead of the train ride, we stopped for a quick breakfast at King's Chef. The food wasn't much to write home about but, when I asked for a spoon to stir my coffee, the waitress told me that they didn't have spoons. She suggested I use my knife as a "stir stick." I will make a note not to order soup at that place if I'm ever there again!
Since we were still in Colorado Springs, we made a visit to the US Air Force Academy. We couldn't see much because a funeral was going on but we were able to drive through some of the grounds and go to the visitor's center where we saw an informative movie and went through a museum dedicated to the history of the Academy. The grounds were beautiful and I learned much about what it takes to be a cadet. Unfortunately, we couldn't visit their famous chapel so that's on our list if we are ever able to return.
As a child, I used to take ice skating lessons and I have always loved to watch figure skating. Colorado Springs is also home to the Figure Skating hall of fame and museum. We spent a very enjoyable hour there, looking at memorabilia from the famous skaters I have watched all my life. It was totally worth the $5 admission price.
We finished our visit to Colorado Springs at the Old Colorado City section of town which is basically one street with lots of restaurants and shops. We were told not to miss La Baguette which supposedly has the best French onion soup around and we weren't disappointed. After lunch, we wandered through the shops before leaving to make the one hour drive to Denver.
Tomorrow will bring what I think will be one of the highlights of the trip - a behind-the-scenes tour of Hammond's Candy Factory where we will actually get to help make the candy. I'm going to sleep with visions of Lucy and Ethel in my head!
Please look at our Facebook page for some pictures. I'm still having trouble posting them to this site.
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