Colorado Springs Day 1

I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted something new on here until just now when I logged in to write about my recent trip to Colorado Springs.  It's kind of crazy how fast time passes these days.  I think I'm getting old.  I remember being a kid and it seemed like an hour was an eternity and now weeks can pass in the blink of an eye.  Even crazier is the fact that if I had not extended my contract in Wyoming this would have been my last week of work here.  It seems impossible that three months have gone by already. I guess I'm going to have to make the most of the next three months because it will be gone before I know it!

Thankfully I had the chance to spend a few days slowing down and playing tourist.  One of my fellow travel nurses and I took advantage of our proximity to Colorado Springs this weekend and it was wonderful. 

This is Colorado.  Once I saw it I couldn't believe I had never made the time to come here before...what is wrong with me?  Where are my priorities?

We started our trip at Garden of the Gods.  It is stunning. And some of the rocks look like the spines on a stegosaurus.

And some of the rocks look like strange creatures...use your imagination, it looked a bit like a face to me.

Here's a little promotional shot for my friend Bek's business...Wright Printing for all your advertising needs! (she gave me this shirt for free, gotta give her a shout out..hehe)

There's also a really fun rock formation called the Siamese Twins.  You go up this path...

Stop to enjoy this view...

And end up here...

 

If you look right through that hole, you can see Pike's Peak.  It was a little foggy the day we were there, but here's what it looks like:

It's pretty amazing.

After Garden of the Gods we decided to explore the town a bit.  The downtown of Colorado Springs is adorable.

Cuteness!

We also checked out this place.

 We were actually searching for dinner, but discovered something completely different.

 

This is an old school that has been converted into a bunch of shops.  There is a bakery, a pub, a bicycle shop, a small grocery, and a deli.  It was pretty interesting. I like the idea of re-purposing an old school. 

What we did not find here was actual food that we could sit down and eat, so we turned to the internet for help.  We ended up at a restaurant called Shuga's that had gotten great reviews online.

The place was packed which is always a good sign. Shuga's definitely lived up to the reviews. The salmon pita that I got was delicious and even though there was some false advertising and they were out of carrot cake, my disappointment didn't last long once I had a piece of almond butter cake and an Americano in front of me.

 The only disappointment was that it was gone too quickly.

 

Who knew that my feelings about this trip could be summed up in pictures of cake? Ok, I'm done being overly dramatic.  I'll post pics from our second day in Colorado Springs soon!