The first time I had been introduced to this gem of a city was by my dear friend, Darby. Having lived in Colorado for a good period of her life, she knew the ins and outs of what to see on my first trip to the Mountain state. One at the top of her list was Estes Park, or as I knew it as, “that place with the Shining Hotel.” Darby had these amazing memories with her dad at this cute burger place (Penelope’s) downtown; so, we had to try it and I honestly made sure to try something different with Craig because it was a special memory, I wanted just between her and I.

Fast forward to Craig and I checking Estes Park out with Emily in 2019, and then just a couple months ago for our Birthiversary. There is just something about this city that is so comforting, like a hug from a friend you haven’t seen in a while. We just love it here. Staying at the Estes Park Lodge, we were right in the heart of the action, and we LOVED being so close to everything.

We decided while we were planning our trip that we were going to buy new wedding rings for our 29^th Wedding Anniversary. With all the twists and turns in our marriage, we wanted to put the old to rest and celebrate the new. We didn’t want anything expensive because neither of us believe in the “bigger diamond, better marriage” mantra. We could care less about the clout, we want the us. Just a small symbol, a memory of love shared between us, and we wanted to do it in Colorado.

We shopped several stores before we found “The Ore Cart Rock Shop.” I know, it SCREAMS romanticsm- didn’t care. We tried on several before finding the two you see below in the picture. We smiled, walked out of the shop, and on Main Street we put them on each other and kissed. That was it, and it was enough.

To celebrate finding rings, and honestly, in a timely fashion, we found a cozy little Mexican Restaurant, named “Chelitos,” tucked onto the third floor of a shopping area off the Main Street.  Famished, we giddily sat in our booth, drooling over the thought of nachos and anything else with cheese and sour cream. We settled on ordering a HUGE plate of nachos as an appetizer and then splitting a large family size fajitas platter. Craig was super impressed with how they laid out the shells with the chicken, onions and peppers on one plate and the cold on the other (sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and guacamole).  We sat in Mexican heaven, devouring every bite. We were also pleasantly surprised to be dining on Mexico’s Independence Day, September 16^th. They treated us to a super sweet chocolate milk, it was delicious! Great Restaurant, great staff, great food!

The rest of our afternoon we just strolled and looked at gift shops, buying sweatshirts, stickers, taffy, and of course, a magnet. We really just took our time, and looking back, it was one of our favorite memories of the trip.

I highly recommend coming to check out Estes Park, and hey, if you like the spooky, stop by the “Shining” hotel, aka “The Stanley”, and sign up for a ghost tour. Dining in the area? You MUST try “Twin Owls Steakhouse” – one of the best meals we have ever had, period! So much to see and do, come see it for yourself. Thanks for stopping by!

****Side note, thanks to EVERYONE who have donated to my hard work. This is what I do for a living, and it is a passion for me, so tossing me a couple bucks below helps me SO MUCH with everything needed. If you can’t, please consider subscribing to the blog, LIKING the blog post, and sharing any content you enjoy– it helps me out SOOOO much! I love being able to bring you all these amazing places so that YOU can do them as well. I work mostly on donations so thanks again.

Published by Amy Joy

Inspiring adventure and joy, one day at a time. View all posts by Amy Joy