Linda Elaine's Food, Travel & Gear Guide for Health, Wealth & Happiness!

18 Aug 2025 | Trip to Lakewood, Colorado
Colorado is one of my favorite places to visit, especially because our daughter lives there with her two kids. We went there to see them this year over the last week of summer vacation - a great way to end the summer! We hadn’t been to Colorado in over a year, and I was really looking forward to this trip. Our daughter, Anna, had just moved, and we were so excited to see her, the grandkids, their new home, and to help get them settled.

We bought our plane tickets through Southwest when they had a 50% off sale, and we got a great deal, but they no longer offer two free pieces of luggage. Bummer! So we bought new carry-ons beforehand (on Amazon Prime Day) and used those for the trip. (They paid for themselves and then some by not having to pay for luggage both ways for 3 people.) I thought it would be tough packing due to the small size of the carry-ons, but we did just fine. Everything we needed to bring fit! I even had a few pieces of clothing I didn’t use!

We had direct flights both ways, and so the airplane trips were great, even with the delay on the way home. We got good seats both ways, with all three of us together. We brought snacks for the ride and munched on those, and we enjoyed the free (nonalcoholic) beverages. So we were happy travelers.

Anna’s new house is so nice and much bigger than we expected. She has lots of nice, functional living space, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, and a finished basement (kids play room). The master bedroom is massive, and the other 3 bedrooms are pretty big too. She bought a new couch and recliner while we were there, and so we had to move the sectional down to the basement. What a job that was! Pat and Anna had to take off all of the stairs going up in order to get the sectional downstairs. It was a BIG ordeal to say the least. But they did it, and now both rooms look terrific and complete.

Her community has a lot to offer via the HOA. There are two parks real close to her home that were perfect for the kids’ ages. Plus, there’s a community pool, a game room, a library, a workout room, and a large gathering room with a full kitchen and a piano. PJ loved the piano, and I took a few videos of him playing – he’s so good! We’ll have to get him a piano and some lessons.

We went to the pool every day, and the kids had so much fun! The pool is huge and geared for kids. Most of the pool is 3-4 feet deep with a much smaller 8-ft-deep end. Guess where the grandkids hung out. Yep, in the deep end. They always swam in the deep end! It was a bit nerve-racking, but they were happy as larks and swam for hours each day.

The game room kept us in fun mode too. We played foosball and ping pong, and thought about playing pool, but passed. We checked out the work-out room too, and the kids tried all of the equipment. Plus, we hung out in the library and skimmed over all the books it contained. We even brought a few home for some interesting reading.

After a couple days of unpacking and swimming, we were all ready to venture out around Lakewood. We took the kids to Slick City. It’s a big indoor slide park with so many different slides of all sizes. Most of the slides were manageable (i.e., kid-friendly), but some were a bit steep looking, and too scary for the 5-year-old. But PJ went on every single slide. He was a brave soul! They had a blast and were nothing but smiles! All of them said it was their most favorite thing we did all week.

And you can never go on vacation without getting some delicious donuts for breakfast at the local donut shop. Anna took us to We Knead Donuts by her new house. Everyone said they were the best, even the Dirt with Worm flavor! PJ and Kason both got that one, of course. It was perfect for the two boys. Yum

We also went to downtown Arvada (old stomping grounds where Anna lived a few years back) to check out our favorite ice cream store, Scrumptious. It was scrumptious! The ice cream is home-made, and they change the flavors all the time. But we lucked out and got the very last two scoops of our favorite flavor Blackout, a dark chocolate ice cream with chocolate chunks and a touch of whisky flavor. Oh man is it good! PJ got cotton candy flavor and said it was his favorite of all time. The store also has old fashioned candy, and so we had to get a few Smarties and a pixie stick too. And of course, we had to get a snapshot of PJ on the painted pig in front of the store. It was another fun afternoon.

All in all, we had a great trip. It flew by, but we got a lot done, and Anna’s new home is ready for her and her kids to make new traditions and fond memories. I can’t wait to get back there!