The Lee Family: The Broadmoor

Grandma arrived on Tuesday afternoon to watch the girls so CK and I could escape for a few days to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO. CK had a banking conference there that ran Wednesday through Friday evening, so we planned to return to Texas on Saturday morning. CK visited the Broadmoor a few years ago for another conference and returned to tell me that if he ever had another conference there, he would take me along since it's so spectacular.

On Wednesday morning, CK took Sofia to school and ran a few errands before returning so Connie and Olivia could take us to the airport. Olivia could barely stay awake on our drive to the airport and it was great to give her hugs and kisses goodbye and know she was just as happy to be with Grandma and wouldn't hardly miss us while we were gone. Our flight went well and we arrived early afternoon in Colorado Springs and took the shuttle to the Broadmoor. The hotel is absolutely breathtaking as is the view of the lake and mountains (snow capped still). The hotel opened in 1918 and retains a lot of it's original details, including amazing trompe l'oeil on the walls and ceiling. I included my tennis racquet as my carry-on since the Broadmoor offers one of the top vacation tennis facilities in the country and booked two hour drills for both Thursday and Friday.

On Wednesday evening, the conference had a cocktail hour and it was interesting to meet so many of CK's colleagues and clients who I've heard about. Toward the end of the evening, one of CK's accounting contacts asked us to join him and his colleagues for dinner in the Penrose Room, which we learned is Colorado's only five star and five diamond restaurants! Once we arrived, the hosts asked to take my jean jacket since "jeans aren't allowed in the restaurant" but luckily I was wearing a blue and white skirt with a white top that looked nice. It was a fun, if slightly reserved group, with Dickie and CK doing most of the talking. The 3-course dinner was amazing, although it was a lot of food and I was full by the middle of the second course.

On Thursday, CK headed off to his conference and I dressed in my workout clothes and took a walk around the lake after breakfast. It was crisp outside but a beautiful day and I enjoyed exploring. I played tennis from noon until 2pm which was fun, although the altitude made me feel a bit light headed and left me gasping for breath. Great tennis facility though. That afternoon, CK and I got ready for dinner with Texas Capital at Cheyenne Lodge. We took a shuttle to the Lodge and were able to walk around and talk to the bird handlers for a Great Horned Owl, Bald Eagle, a Peregrine Falcon and a Red Tailed Hawk. The owl was beautiful and had broken it's wing years ago while the Bald Eagle had fallen from it's next as a baby and identified with humans once saved. The bird handler, who was originally from Guam, told us his history of becoming a bird handler and his love of birds. It was a great story and they were all incredible animals. We had our picture taken with the Bald Eagle, which is a huge bird! The bird handler also demonstrated flying the Peregrine Falcon and explained characteristics of each bird. It was such a special treat! After, we had dinner and enjoyed the evening with our table before heading back to the hotel.

On Friday, I played tennis from 10-noon and took part in a 4.0 drill which was hard work and a lot of fun. I met CK for lunch at the Golf Club Restaurant that overlooks the putting green and part of the golf course, which is almost neon green and would make anyone want to take up golf, it's so lovely! After lunch, CK had a last conference meeting, before we reconnected and sat out on the terrace to enjoy the sun and clear day. It's a spectacular hotel and location, but it's felt a lot colder than I packed for with temperatures in the mid-30s in the morning warming to maybe 75 at the most. Friday afternoon was perfect and we enjoyed it all! We had dinner at the restaurant Summit, which wasn't a great view but excellent food. Then we visited the famous Golden Bee to listen to the terrible singer and piano player for a while before heading back for bed.

On Saturday morning we packed and headed to the airport at 9am. I must confess I was excited to see our girls. We'd talked to them every day which was rather stressful since Olivia hogged the phone and took her sweet time talking and rambling on with only about 5% of the words recognized. She would pitch a fit any time we wanted to talk to Sofia and would say "No. I can't do that." when we asked to talk to Grandma. Thanks to CK's status, we were upgraded to First Class and we enjoyed the luxury while telling each other "I don't know how those people back in Economy do it...." (our own private joke). We landed and the girls were excited to see us as much as we were excited to see them! It was such an amazing few days and we had a great, relaxing time, but it was fantastic to be home with Grandma and the girls!

View of the lake and far side of the Broadmoor