Tenth Anniversary Vacation: Day 2

On day two of our trip, the morning greeted us with blue skies and plenty of sunshine, a welcome change from the day before. It was still cold, but the day held promise of warmer weather.

After breakfast, our first stop was at Target, where we purchased some warm gloves for the kids.

View from the Target parking lot.

After leaving Target, we headed back to the hotel where we parked our car and headed for the sky tram. We then rode up to the top of the mountain, where our day of fun began.


The tram ahead of us.

 

My three kiddos bundled up for a day outside.

Once we reached the park at the top of the mountain, Timo headed off with AJ to ride the Alpine Coaster, and I took K to the 4-D theater. She watched a short show while I stayed outside with H. I took him over to a little climbing cube, but he was more interested in brushing snow off of the nearby picnic bench.

H playing with the snow.

After the show, K came out and wanted to climb around the Speleobox. H then decided it was okay for him as well.


At the exit of the Speleobox




H taking his turn.

 Soon, AJ and Timo came back from the Alpine Coaster, and he took a turn climbing around the labyrinth while Timo took K for a ride on the coaster.


AJ




H wanting to pose for the camera again.

 While Timo watched them climbing, I walked down a path for a photo of the trams ascending the mountainside.

When the kids were done climbing around, we decided to go ahead and eat lunch. The restaurant at the park had an incredible view from the dining area. It was very peaceful to eat and look out across the valley.


K admiring the view

 After lunch, Timo took the older two kids to play a couple of rounds of laser tag. Then, we headed to our 1:30 tour of the caverns.

Waiting for the tour guide

As everyone filed in the first room of the cave tour, I started snapping some pictures.

AJ isn't so sure about this

Always ready with a smile

Strategically-placed lights illuminated interesting portions of the caverns, and I tried to capture their beauty as we walked through the narrow passages.

The second portion of the cave tour takes place in a cavern below the first ones. This one holds many formations that look like other things.

A fairy

Bacon hanging from the ceiling

Oscar



Snow White and the dwarfs on the left, and a castle on the right



Looking down into the most decorated room in the caverns

A crab



The cave's "heart"

After the cave tour, the kids were anxious to get outside and get back into the activities.

K conquering the climbing wall

Almost there

Repelling down

AJ climbing

Daddy and AJ on the Alpine Coaster. This looked like so much fun, but it is not recommended for pregnant women.

Daddy and K

H and I found a huge sandbox, where he happily played while the older kids took their turns on the other rides.

H sifting sand

AJ on the bungee trampoline

Pure joy

A view of the valley from near the bungee trampoline

K enjoying the bungee trampoline

Way up high

Doing a flip. She got really good at back flips.

K and AJ back at the climbing wall/tower

AJ did much better the second time around.

Both kiddos climbing

Around 5pm, we decided to head back down the mountain. We played one last round of laser tag, with H and me joining the rest for a family laser tag feud. Then we rode the tram down the mountain, stopped at the hotel for a few minutes, and headed out to dinner.

I think the weather ended up working to our advantage. It kept the crowds away, but it was nice enough to enjoy being outside. It actually ended up being a beautiful day in the park, and the kids were able to visit the attractions without waiting in long lines. Everyone seemed to enjoy the trip, and the kids even asked if we could do this every year for our anniversary.