Summer Redux

It's hard to believe the summer is already drawing to a close. I'm sitting on my front porch in a nice breeze, just enjoying the rare St. Louis summer day that can be fully enjoyed out of doors. It's been a great summer. We did a lot of stuff, and we had a lot of lazy days. A really good balance, I must say.

I was so thrilled that Shakespeare in the Park was back. The production of King Lear was beautifully done and the actors were amazing. It was one I won't soon forget!

Sophia and I spent some nice afternoons at the pool. Playing and playing. It's always a good time!

We also had lots of fun at Six Flags a few times. I did my best to ride as many rides as my middle aged body would allow. For the most part, I think it was satisfactory.

Kayaking is truly one of my favorite activities. We were lucky to have some weekends that allowed us to not be overheated in the sun. This was a new to us little lake in Illinois. Very lovely.

The summer also allowed us to get out a little more since Sophia was also vaccinated. 

 The summer isn't quite over, but just wanted to give an overview of what kinds of things kept us busy this year. I am so incredibly grateful for the fact that I can enjoy these summer days with Sophia.

Steamboat Springs

I have not posted a thing this summer! I guess I was too busy enjoying it to the fullest. That's what we'll say. Tomorrow, I head back to work - new job. More about that, perhaps, another time. For now, allow me to post some memories from our family vacation to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Since we drove out there in order to avoid planes and airports, we got to make a stop in Omaha and see some very good friends and a former neighbor. Ernie is very special to us, and we were so pleased to be able to see him for a quick visit!

Steamboat Springs was really a great spot. It's a ski town, of course, but we enjoyed hiking a couple times. This one was Fish Creek Falls. It was delightful. If we ever went back there, I'd want to be in shape enough or acclimated enough to make the hike to the second set of falls, but this was a really beautiful spot regardless.

Another short hike we did was up around the place where the lift drops you off. Erick and I tried to hike up to this point later in the week, but it was the altitude again. Everything is just a bit harder.

My favorite thing we did was rent e-bikes. Basically pedal assisted bikes helped us enjoy the scenery without having to push so hard that we couldn't breathe. It was really a fun thing. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to bike but doesn't like to struggle on vacation. 

The food in Steamboat was pretty good. This meal was excellent. A nice little tapas place, which you don't expect to be delicious in Colorado, but it was! Plus, the lighting. Look at our gorgeous girl.

None of us had ever spent any significant amount of time in Colorado, so we were very excited to get a glimpse into what people love. Colorado is the home to the heart of so many people we love. I can definitely see the appeal. It truly is some of the most beautiful landscape you can see all at once! It was a very fun trip.