Discover Mills Mall

Our last little adventure in Georgia was to the Discover Mills Mall.  It is sponsored by Discover card, but it is a very unique mall.  The mall wraps around in a big oval, with the food court as kind of a center.  There are six different "zones" and each zone has a theme.  I can't remember all the zones, but I do recall the Olympic zone and the Coca Cola zone.  We started out at The Great American Outdoor Store.  If you look at the banner just above the door, it reads: Welcome Fishermen, Hunters, and Other Liars.  I laughed so hard and had to get a picture!

Zuri rode a couple rides...

...and played in the bouncy house.  They had a whole store dedicated to the bouncy houses and slides.  For the very cheap rate of $7.00, the kids could play for half an hour.  Too good of a deal to pass up!  Zuri definitely had fun!

Inside the mall they also had a Medieval Times place.  Basically, it was a restaurant where they have a two-hour tournament show and a four-course medieval feast!  We didn't have a chance to go, but it would have been fun to see!

Missouri

We said goodbye to Georgia early Monday morning.  J loves to get an early start, so we were out the door by five.  We pretty much drove straight through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois.  When we reached Missouri, we stopped and ate lunch with J's cousin, James, who has been in St. Louis doing installations for security systems.

Zuri did fairly well in the car.  She slept quite a bit of the time, which was nice.  I was really surprised at how gorgeous Tennessee is, I mean, WOW.  I didn't pull out my camera and take pictures, mainly because Zuri was sleeping and I didn't want to roll down the window and wake her.  We went through a canyon that completely took my breath away.

St. Louis:

What trip to St. Louis would be complete without stopping and seeing the temple?

The temple is really beautiful.  We have a few closer shots but in the interest of space, I have limited to just this one!

After lunch we drove to Independence, where I have three uncles living.  They had a big family dinner and Zuri got to meet her great uncles and cousins for the first time.  Unfortunately, we were so worn out from the drive that I didn't think to pull out my camera that night.

We stayed at my Uncle Jared's house, and spent Tuesday morning relaxing and visiting.  Uncle Joe and Aunt Randy came over with their kids.  It is crazy to see how they have all grown!  I remember them all as little kids!

My Uncle Joe, Aunt Randy, and cousin Annie.

My Aunt Randy, Annie, and Rebekah (Rebekah is my Uncle Jared and Aunt Rachel's daughter).

 Uncle Joe and Zuri

I had my first experience with cicadas.  Wow, are they loud!  This dead cicada was in the flower pot--it gives you an idea of their size, even though this is only half of one.

 My Uncle Jared has a very big dog, Pepper.  Pepper is very sweet, but even she couldn't take all the attention Keira lavished on her.  Surprisingly, even though Pepper is taller than Zuri, Zuri was not afraid in the slightest.  She was almost more excited with the dog than playing with her cousins.

Since we were in Independence, we took advantage of seeing some historical church sites!  We went to Liberty Jail and the Visitors center.  We didn't take the two hour drive to see Adam-Ondi-Ahmen just because we had been driving so much the previous day and we had another long day of driving the next day.

Liberty Jail was amazing though.  It really gave you a feel for what happened and what they had to go through.  My only complaint is that we didn't have enough time inside because another tour group was coming through.  I would have liked to linger and soak up the Spirit longer.

After Liberty Jail, we went to the Independence visitors center.  Zuri had fallen asleep so J and I took turns going in so she could sleep. 

Right across the street from the visitor's center in Independence is the world headquarters for the Community of Christ and their temple.  Very unusual design.

 We spent Tuesday night with my Uncle Jared again, and we said our goodbyes since we were going to get up really early again for the drive.  Wednesday was the kids' first day of school so they were sent to bed early, but none of them wanted to go.  They all ended up playing and being distracted by Zuri. 

 Zuri and J playing--those two really got along well. 

Josh

 

Jacob

Zuri and Jared--all the adults were in the other room talking and when we went to check on the kids because they were finally settling down, this is what we saw!  Zuri really took Jared!

And she almost fell asleep with Rebekah!

My Uncle Jared and Aunt Rachel--all of my uncles are six feet plus, so I barely make it above their shoulders!

 

 

We had such a blast in Independence and it was great reconnecting with my family--and getting to know them better!  We wish that we had more time to spend with them!

Colorado

Our next stop was Colorado.  We drove through Kansas to Colorado and stopped in Estes Park.  We love Colorado--absolutely love Colorado.  It is so beautiful.  We are also partial to Estes Park because that is where we spent our honeymoon!

 Four years ago

Now

We had fun, but it was much cooler than we were anticipating.  Coming from the heat and humidity in the south, where even the "mountains" are still hot and humid, we forgot that Colorado is much higher and naturally cooler, so we didn't have any "warm" clothes with us.  When we arrived it was a nice 92 degrees--and I do mean nice.  It is amazing the difference between dry and humid 92.  The temperature cooled considerably as the evening drew closer.  Not too cold, but definitely cooler.

We spent Wednesday evening at a local outdoor concert and being a tourist through the main part of town; just walking the shops and along the river.  Right outside our hotel room we spotted the first (and only elk) of the evening.  The elk had no fear and as we drove by to leave, we were literally ten feet away from him.

The outdoor concert

Zuri playing in the grass.  She wasn't all that excited about the concert, but she would clap at the end of each song with a big smile on her face.  It was pretty funny.  I miss her curls!   As soon as we hit Colorado, her curls visibly diminished.

We also went to see the Stanley Hotel, where The Shining was filmed.  I have never actually seen the movie, but I have heard about it!  They even offer guided Ghost Story tours, which we wanted to participate in, except they only have them on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Thursday was overcast, so we relaxed and did a bit more sightseeing.

 Feeding the ducks

I really wanted to go hiking, and we were waiting for the weather to break.  Finally, in the early afternoon, we decided that it was just going to be an overcast day and we decided to go on a short, two-mile hike to Gem Lake in the Rocky Mountain National Forest.  

The lake itself wasn't much to look at, but the view on the way to the lake was worth the two-mile uphill hike.

This rock is just sitting on the smaller rocks!

Gem Lake

By the time we reached Gem Lake, it had started to sprinkle a bit, and then stopped.  We were more worried about lightning than the rain, but luckily there was only a rumble in the distance.  The sky continued to grow darker and more ominous, so we picked up the pace on our way back.  Not too long after we started, the wind and rain began.  It was really cold and we got soaked.  J and I protected Zuri the best we could, but she got really cold and wet.  We ran the two miles back to the car.

Trying to get Zuri warm and to stop shivering.  Luckily, she didn't get sick or anything!  What an adventure!

Later that evening we were on our way to dinner when J spotted some elk.  There were four or five bull elk just wandering in people's backyards.

 

Funny story about this bull on the side of the road.  J pulled ahead to take some pictures and the elk kept staring at him.  Then the elk started crossing the road to our side.  We kept on driving at that point, but it had paid the other car no attention and noticed us even though we were a whole lot further away!

I think we wore Zuri out that day because we had turned on a movie to relax with and the next thing we know it had gotten quiet.  Zuri curled up on the floor next to the bed and fell right asleep.  So, we made a makeshift bed for her on the floor and we all had a peaceful nights rest!

This is how we found her in the morning!