We ran out the door kissed the kids, thanked Mom and Dad, and we left. We grabbed two-for-the-price-of-one Arby’s combo meals (thanks to Mom’s handy coupons) before heading to the hotel. The hotel, by the way, was a complete surprise to Papa Bear. I picked it because of the onsite bar equipped with pool tables and air hockey for him.
A pool for me.
And a gym for us.
(Above photos courtesy of Doubletree Colorado Springs)
I forgot to take any photos before we completely trashed the room. So, I waited to snag a few before we headed home. Yes, I do always leave a hotel room stripped and cleaned. I’ve cleaned up after others enough times to know what a grueling job it can be.
It was a beautiful and sunny room. We absolutely loved it!
We checked in to hot cider and warm chocolate chip cookies (and we may or may not have gone back to the front desk repeatedly throughout our stay). When we arrived in our room we sat down to plan, to some extent, our next forty-eight hours. We both wanted to see the new Harry Potter (which has been a tradition for us for awhile), so we were happy to see a big theater across the street….and a Chili’s.
For months now, I’ve been planning for a clothes shopping trip, and the plan had been to accomplish that on our weekend together. But, you know, life happened, and there just wasn’t the money for shopping. We did need to head to a Goodwill, though, to look for a swimsuit for Papa Bear. While we were there, I applied my thrift store knowledge*, and I left with four great tops for twenty dollars (which is really more than I needed for the winter).
*Always look for vibrant colors. Because thrift store clothes have been worn and washed repeatedly, you can spot a well-made item more easily than you can in a department store.
After the shopping, we headed out to dinner and a movie (both were great). Then we returned to our hotel for drinks (and free cookies and popcorn) and pool. I didn’t win one single game. But I did get better throughout the night! Apparently, the only picture I have from our first night is of Papa Bear stuffing a Chili’s fajita into his mouth. Oh, the plans I had for pictures. Oh, well. Just know that we had fun.
Day two: we slept past breakfast (which is good for saving money). Actually, we woke up ridiculously (and annoyingly) early. But we were too lazy to worry about food until lunch time. We dressed, grabbed a coupon and headed out to lunch just before eleven. Deciding it was a little too early for the restaurant, though, we cruised a nearby mall and fell hopelessly in love with every single puppy at the pet store (I don’t know why we do that). Next, after roaming Boarder’s for thirty minutes, we decided it was finally time to eat. However, the only coupon we grabbed was for a restaurant that had recently gone out of business (I knew it was a really good deal)! In desperation, we pulled into the first shopping center with a sign for sushi. It wasn’t our usual spot, but it was pretty good; we left happy.
The rest of our trip was spent at the hotel.
We swam and worked out and watched movies and snacked and, ummm. Oh, and we ordered a pizza so we wouldn’t have to leave the room for dinner (less expensive than room service). It was the first pizza we’ve ordered in at least three years…probably since we moved back to the mountains. It wasn’t as good as mine, but it was better because I didn’t have to make it.
We can’t wait to go back! We loved the hotel so much that we’ve set a goal to stay there twice a year. Actually, our only complaint from the whole weekend is with Burger King who refused to redeem our “Buy one Croissanwich, get another Croissanwich of equal or lesser value for FREE” coupon for two of the double Croissanwiches instead of the single. I’m seriously holding a grudge about that, Burger King.
I feel like I should thank everyone for this weekend. I was so low last week and things are still very hard in many ways. But thank you, so much, for prayerfully supporting my family. I know we wouldn’t be here without prayer. And, obviously, thank you so much to those of you who actually paid our way last weekend! We are extremely grateful for you!
Also, thank you to the fabulous and friendly folks at Doubletree Colorado Springs. Look for us in about six months.
