Days #12-14 in CO: Zip-lining, Tea Factory & Going Home

2018-07-23Friends, Us, USA Standard

[Photos taken on 23-26 July 2018, posted on 26 January 2019.  Gorgeous snow outside, took the younger ones out sledding today. ]

Our last two full days in Colorado were spent visiting a couple of activities, a zip-lining house, and an actual tea factory! Then it was all of a sudden time to go back home!!! (55-ish images)

Monday 23 July 2018

We had tried to find a tree-climbing area with ziplines and ropes, but only found free-standing structures, which didn’t look as fun as climbing in actual trees. After much head-scratching, we ended up at this indoor ziplining venue, as we were about to get rained on.
The room was happily empty, as we’d called ahead to avoid any parties or school groups.
Up on one of the platforms after the safety briefing.
Anna and Emma jumping off (animated gif, wait for it to load)
Bjarki and C about to jump off.
Emma getting swung between two people, while J made his peace with the zipline.
There was a small climbing wall, but it paled in comparison with the one at the rec center, so Bjarki was not very impressed.
Bjarki climbed all the possible routes, easily.
Emma trying out the various slides.
One last swing gif.
There was home-made pizza for dinner, and I got major choice-anxiety regarding which cheese to buy!
The wall of pizza sauces didn’t make my life any easier!

Tuesday 24 July 2018

A peaceful image, but I’m pretty sure they were arguing about the cool hammock. Oh well…
As our last formal activity, we went to go on a tea factory tour!
We arrived a little too late to catch the next tour (they run every 30 minutes), so we had to wait a while. While we waited, we tasted a lot of tea!
By the tea-bar.
My favorite from the tea-bar.
The waiting area.
They had a bunch of crazy looking tea-pots.
A pot in a tree!
The start of the tour.
Very old sewing machine!
Inside the theater. Emma was too young to go, and we knew she would be frustrated with not understanding anything.
Our cheerful guide.
Snapchat of us with blue hairnets.
We were not allowed to take photos inside, so the next photo is from the gift shop by the exit.
The kids were all of a sudden crazy about tea, and we bought three packets!
Snacking in the sun.
Me-time!
Yes, I did end up at the cafe with the uncomfortable chairs again, probably because they had a scone I liked.
After dinner, I took B and C to the rec center to climb a bit. C managed to get to the top of that route for the first time ever!
Bjarki doing a challenging bit. By the end of this visit, he’d made it to the top of all the routes!
This was the bit he really liked, having a person holding the rope allowed him to take short breaks on the way up.
The happy climbers!
Adult time in the evening: Pinochle!

Wednesday 25 July 2018

Pre-departure photos, as it was time to drive to the airport and fly back to Iceland.
Adult-swap!
The car was full!
A very American intersection, that road is called Gun Club Drive.
Goodbye rental car/tank, you served us well.
At the airport.
Trying not to lose my folks.
Wall of Screens. Our flight was on time.
We managed to squeeze into a restaurant.
All five accounted for!
Ahhhh, Icelandair!
They have a good marketing department.
Take-off!
We sat fairly far back.

Thursday 26 July 2018

Iceland greeted us (and our tired children) with a huge rainbow!
Goodbye airport!
After a few hours of sleep, it was back to things as usual. The kids found their friends, and I found my coffee house.
I stopped by at the store on the way home, and was DEEPLY disappointed by the peaches. We are now forever spoiled by the greatest peaches ever! And thus ended our Colorado adventure!!