If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that Dan and I were on vacation last week. It’s amazing how much we managed to do in just a week! Dan took about a million pictures, many of them specifically for my blog, because he is a wonderful husband. Over the next few weeks, I will go into almost obsessive detail about our Labor Day vacation highlights. Until then, here’s a quick recap of everything we did!
Saturday, August 30th // Flight to Denver
Dan and I arrived in Denver ridiculously early in the morning, but our Southwest flight was a steal! After grabbing breakfast with my Aunt Kari and her British friend’s visiting son Sam, Dan and I visited my grandmother. She was too infirm to travel to our wedding back in March, so we showed her our wedding pictures. Then we met up with McPhee, one of my best friends from college. After a few great hours hanging out, Dan and I went back to my aunt and uncle’s house where we rested until my parents and brother Jeremy arrived. Uncle Steve and Kari prepared us a delicious meal for dinner.
Sunday, August 31st // Denver
Dan, Jeremy, and I ventured out in the morning to a nearby farmers’ market. Then we met back up with my parents and all visited Grandma again. The rest of the day was a big Haugen party at Kari and Steve’s house! All of Mom’s sisters (Kari, Kristen, and Annie) and her brother Jon were there, plus two of Mom’s cousins. Add in significant others, kids, and kids’ significant others, and we had a full house!
Monday, September 1st // Drove from Denver to Glenwood Springs
Dan and I took the scenic route to Glenwood Springs through Rocky Mountain National Park. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already admired some of the views we enjoyed.
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Tuesday, September 2nd // Drove from Glenwood Springs to Salt Lake City
Dan and I treated ourselves to a couples’ massage, and I added on a mini-facial. Then we took a scenic drive to Salt Lake City.
Wednesday, September 3rd // Salt Lake City
There is so much to do in Salt Lake City, but we spent the entire day in and around Temple Square. I have a new-found appreciation for the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
Thursday, September 4th // Dan’s birthday in Salt Lake City
This day was actually the entire point behind our vacation. Last year, Dan bought a Ford Focus ST hatchback, which is the sporty, car enthusiast version of the Ford Focus. A few months later, Ford announced a free day of high performance driving lessons for ST car owners. Dan spent most of the day at the track. I spent the afternoon exploring the main library. That evening, we had the immense privilege of listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse.
Friday, September 5th // Drove from Salt Lake City to Denver
Friday was a very long day, with a very long drive. The only sightseeing we did was a trip to The Tattered Cover Friday night.
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Saturday, September 6th // Flight home
Dan packed up while I got in a last few minutes with my parents, who also went home on Saturday. When Dan and I finally got home to Findlay, we were very glad to have chosen to fly back on Saturday instead of Sunday, giving us time both to relax and to get things back in order.
All in all, we had a wonderful Labor Day vacation. This was our third trip to Denver during the course of our relationship. We’re very fortunate to live near two airports with direct flights on Southwest to Denver, which makes visiting the Haugen part of my family slightly easier and more affordable. Being able to visit so often also allows us the luxury of taking in different tourist sites on each visit, instead of trying to cram in everything at once.
Stay tuned over the next several weeks (or months) as I share our Labor Day vacation highlights in much greater detail!
Did you do anything special over Labor Day? If you’ve been to Colorado or Utah, what was your favorite part?
I’ve never been to Salt Lake City (I’ve been camping in Utah though) and growing up in New Mexico in the tail end of the Rockies meant that there were quite a few trips to Denver. Denver is one of my favourite cities in America – there’s a lot going on, it’s beautiful and it’s growing at a hopefully sustainable pace. However, I’m most happy that you got to show your Grandmother your wedding pictures! Did she love them? x
I love Denver too! I’ve always enjoyed going out there to visit my family.
I think Grandma loved my pictures? Unfortunately, her body is really shutting down. I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my blog post, but she entered hospice care in June, which is why we rerouted our vacation to include Denver. So even with showing each picture full-screen on my laptop, she had to study the pictures really hard and then point out the familiar faces. Poor thing got a bit confused when Dan’s family showed up in the pictures. We tried to go through those ones quickly so as not to concern her with trying to figure out who they are.
I’m so sorry to hear that!
I’ve been to Denver only once and never to Utah! We’ve been watching a lot of nature shows about both states and really want to go!
Soooo I just discovered you on #TravelTuesday, and I just LOVE your “about me” description! A Christian, libertarian, AND feminist? Are you my French-loving twin or something? 😉 And your husband’s name is Dan, too?! Too much to be a coincidence!
They are both beautiful states! The scenery during our verrrry long drives was quite breathtaking.
It’s always nice to know that all the time I put forth into adding my posts to link-ups actually works, sometimes. 🙂
So… are you saying you’re also a Christian feminist libertarian? Because I thought I was the only one. Maybe we are long-lost twins!!! (Just don’t tell my biological twin brother that).
Brita, I have been to Salt Lake City many a times; I am from Utah! Haha, and I also live in Colorado now while I’m going to school. I am so glad that you had a fun, scenic, adventurous trip through the beautiful states! The Temple Square in Salt Lake during the holidays is GORGEOUS! If you ever get a chance to go back, I highly recommend going to see the lights! Also, downtown Salt Lake has a lot of yummy, nice restaurants to eat at. One of my sisters favorite things to do in Salt Lake is go to a place called “Keys On Main”!! 🙂 Hope you have a great day!
Where are you in school? My mom went to University of Colorado Boulder. My best friend is in grad school at the University of Denver.
I would love to go back to Salt Lake City! We saw so much while we were there, but we only had two full days. There was so much left to do that we didn’t have time to see!
I’m going to school in Grand Junction, CO! 🙂 I hope that you get to go back sometime in the future, and experience even more!
I am so jealous! We were literally planning a trip to colorado for this month and it just never came to pass! Looks like a good time! Happy to be your newest follower!
tattered to taylored
Sad! It’s such a beautiful state. Maybe you can plan a trip next month, when the leaves are changing.
I’ve been wanting to go to Colorado! My boyfriend’s brother moved out there last year, so we are planning to go visit him sometime soon. It is gorgeous!
It is gorgeous! You’ll have so much fun. There’s an endless number of cool things to do, see, and eat, for anyone’s tastes or interests.
Wow this sounds like such a busy week!! Sounds like so much fun and like loads of beautiful sightings!
It was quite busy, much of it spent in the car! But we had a wonderful time. Come back in a few days to read about the Farmers’ Market and adorable if hipster coffee shop.
It sounds like such a great time!!
Thanks for linking up with JOAT!
It was a great time. Bonus: I’m pretty sure I can get 5+ blog posts out of it!
Gorgeous photos! I have always wanted to visit Utah. So much natural beauty!
And those are just the iPhone photos! Come back on Tuesdays for the next few weeks to see what my husband managed to capture with his fancy camera and fancy photography skills.
Ah-my old stomping grounds. I have a special place in my heart for the west (esp. SLC), and I’m glad you had a great time on your trip!
Are you originally from Colorado or Utah? My mom’s from Colorado, which is why we visit so often. I really want to take another trip to SLC, though. There was so much left to do and see, but we only had a few days there.
Those mountains are just beautiful. Utah is on my list of places to visit soon!
I can’t wait to share more pictures, especially the ones Dan took! He’s got a semi-fancy camera and a real eye for photography.
Aww my old home! Denver is a beautiful city, but I think Glenwood Springs is even better-great choice!
I liked Glenwood Springs a lot! Dan took some amazing photos, but they’re all at night. Denver is wonderful too, but it’s also a Big City. I liked spending time in smaller mountain cities.