We decided to skip the airlines and take a Christmas Road trip at the end of the year so we could enjoy being grandparents in Colorado for Christmas and New Year’s.  This trip was the longest driving vacation we have taken in a while, almost 3,000 miles by the time the trip was over.

With a grandson in Colorado, Christmas and New Year’s together sounded fun. One of my goals in retirement is to spend time with family and friends. With an event like a baby’s first Christmas and New Year’s, we could not resist taking a road trip. We monitored the driving weather and thought we could make it without issue, so we set out to drive.

We were also able to make a few stops along the way; it is important to have small stops to break up a long road trip. Our stops included seeing my in-laws, my mom, and friends.

Christmas is best enjoyed with little kids. Our grandson made it special for us and we were so happy to be there with him.

Initially, we were worried about Colorado snow. We did not have any driving issues with snow on our way to or from Colorado. It did snow when we were in Colorado, and it made it fun to play outside.

The Colorado Springs snow did not last long, and we managed several walks and hikes in the sunshine and cooler temperatures.

Playing inside when the weather was cold outside was enjoyable, since as grandparents we are obligated to spoil our grandson.

Other Fun

On the return journey we spent the night in Wichita, Kansas. As you drive through it, most of Kansas is empty fields and straight highways. We found our night in Wichita to be fun and the walk around downtown was neat to see. We saw most of the sights in the Veterans Memorial Park and appreciated the rich history on display there.

We did not know about the Keeper of the Plains prior to our stumbling onto it on our hike in Wichita. You can see the Keeper of the Plains where the big and little Arkansas river join near downtown. We enjoyed our hike around the town, and this was one of the main attractions.

Driving in a January, we expected some weather-related issues. We were chased by a snow storm making its way to the east while driving at the end of our trip near Nashville. Our final stop was a visit with a college buddy who called us as we were a few hours away and warned us about pending snow fall. We enjoyed a few hours at his house, went for a walk and visited and decided to drive home rather than stick around for the almost half foot of snow that fell later that evening.

Playing disc golf in Colorado with the family was a good time and we all had fun on the 9-hole course. Our grandson got to swing which made him happy!

I was able to take my mom out to dinner for her birthday, okay, a few days early. It was great to see family and friends along the way to and from our house. I need to remember to get out and see the world, connect with others and be present.

No bike rides in Colorado on this trip.