Staycation

This past week Chris was on leave before he starts ALC then deploys, so I took the week off from work as well and we had a "staycation" in Colorado Springs.  As all vacations go, the week went fast.  I had a good time and it was nice to spend time together, and I am bummed that it had to come to an end.  But here are some highlights from the week:

• We saw The Hangover 3, The Great Gatsby, and After Earth through out the week.  I of course thought The Hangover was funny (my favorite line from the movie came from Allen-"Just got done playing skee ball for the last 45 minutes....sick work out"), and I thought Gatsby was fabulously enthralling.  After Earth was a good one as well.
• We went to Territory Days.  It takes place annually in Old Colorado City, the streets are lined with a variety of vendors.  We had never been before, and it was a good time.  I even ran into one of my best friends while I was there!  And we got to eat at my beloved Jake and Telly's with some friends (absolutely delish Greek food!)

• We did some hiking and trails one day.  We hiked at Helen Hunt falls, followed by going over the Seven Falls.  Hiking at waterfalls is like one of my favorite things to do, and you can't beat some of the views over looking Colorado Springs.
  
  
  
  
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  We enjoyed a steam shower and a couples massage one morning, which was really nice.  Nothing like a good massage to relax you!
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  We went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo...which I swear gets a little better every time I go.  This trip I pet/fed the giraffes, got to see an elephant demonstration where they gave an elephant a bath, pet a 7month old baby wallaby, pet a horse, and got to see lots of great interactions among the gorillas and orangutans.

• And today I was super excited, we went on a castle tour at the Glen Eyrie Castle.  It was built by the founder of Colorado Springs.  I loved hearing the history of the place, and it was absolutely beautiful.  The grounds were breath taking and so peaceful!

One of the rock formations right outside the carriage house.

Walking up to the castle.

In front of the castle...picture perfect!

The view from the front door/porch area.

The fireplace in the front room...an import from Britain.  The armor was a Spanish import.

The fireplace in the Queen's drawing room...made from Italian marble.

Queen's drawing room...my favorite room in the castle.  Just so pretty!

A close up of the plaster work in the room...so pretty and detailed!

The ENORMOUS fireplace in the great hall, where all the big parties were hosted.  The stone work was incredible.

Us on the grounds in front of castle.

The mountain side in the background has remnants from the big fires last summer...amazing how close it was.

The path from the castle to the carriage house.