For Dan’s birthday in late July, we went on an overnight trip to nearby (about 90 minutes) Colorado Springs. The primary purpose of the trip was to do a bike ride down Pike’s Peak on Saturday morning. Our bike trip started at 7am, so we wanted to stay close to the excursion office, so that we wouldn’t be exhausted when navigating one of the tallest peaks in Colorado!

We left on a Friday morning and our first stop was the Bass Pro Shop in Colorado Springs. This Bass Pro Shop is huge and even has a bowling alley! Dan bought himself a birthday present; pair of fancy Maui Jim sunglasses.

Many activities, primarily indoor places like museums, were closed due to Covid. For example, The Peterson Air & Space Museum was closed.

We went to The Garden of the Gods, a very popular nature park. Unfortunately, we arrived midday and it was jammed. We struggled to find parking and felt overwhelmed by the crowds, especially since it seemed difficult to social distance. We drove through the park and enjoyed what we could from our car. It reminded me of Red Rocks Canyon in Nevada.

We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Colorado Springs. This hotel was a great base for us, just a fifteen minute drive to the bike excursion office and walking distance to local restaurants. The indoor pool was available by reservation and we picked an afternoon slot giving us an hour to swim. The covid restrictions limited the pool capacity to fifteen, but no one else came during our hour. It was a perfect first swim of 2020.

Phantom Canyon Brewery is one block from the Garden Inn and it provided a great spot for our first meal of the trip. We ate lunch on the upstairs patio, enjoying burgers, humus, beer, and cocktails. We both commented on how relaxed we felt, likely due to the alcohol and warm weather.

Downtown Colorado Springs is comprised of several blocks of boutiques and restaurants. It’s charming without being flashy. In particular, I enjoyed the local bookstore called Hooked on Books.

We had a treat for dinner. Originally, we had planned to keep it cheap and simple, but as we walked around downtown, we came across a restaurant called Mood Tapas Bar. We were woefully under-dressed, arriving in scruffy tee-shirts and shorts, but we were greeted with a friendly welcome and excellent service.

We ordered the Chef’s Tasting menu for a hundred dollars, which came with wine pairings. This was an absolute steal. The tasting menu was a delight of unique flavors and stunning presentations. It was hearty too, about nine different courses. The executive chef, TJ Curry, personally served our two desserts. He explained how their ingredients are sources from around the world. Chef Curry is young, in his early-twenties, but he will certainly be a name to watch for in the culinary world. This was one of the best meals that we have ever eaten and we will certainly return.

One final picture of Colorado Springs is this perfectly named tattoo parlor that was in a dodgy alley near our hotel.