Chris
Broadmoor Story
In the summer of 2010, my family and I took a trip to Colorado. We stayed there for 10 days and in two different places. We first, stayed for 2 nights in Denver. We stayed there and sort of just wandered around the city. After, that we went to Colorado Springs where we stayed at this hotel called the Broadmoor. On our way to the Broadmoor we stopped at the United States Air Force Academy. At the end of my time there I would have a new hobby, and many great memories.
Our trip first started at 6 o clock in the morning. When we woke up at this time we hurried and got dressed. Then we had bagels, which my dad had bought that morning. After this the cab came. The cab smelled like cigarettes. This made the long, crowded ride even worse. When we got to our terminal at Logan it was very crowded. I waited with my mom sister and brother, while my dad checked us in. we then went to security. I HATE air port security. The lines are always so long and the people at them are really cranky. When we got through security we got a something to eat, as we were all hungry and headed for our gate. I had a sausage egg and cheese on a croissant with chocolate milk. I was HUNGRY. There was a fair amount of people waiting in line to board the plane to Denver, Colorado. After five minuets we finally were able to board the plane. I took my seat and 15 minuets later we were off and in the air.
The flight was boring. I watched a movie and a couple of TV shows the guy behind me was kicking my seat so it was really annoying. I got really hot so I tuned on my air conditioning. Then I got too cold so I turned it off. I think I had at least six or seven sodas. Then I listened to some music on my iPod. Another thing I hate about flying is the smell. It really bothers my nose. I also do not like the tight squeezes on airplanes. I like having wide-open places to move. I also feel that airplanes have this really distinct smell that hurts my nose. I hate this because it gives me headaches. After a long and boring flight we finally landed in Colorado. When we landed we took a cab to the hotel in Denver that we were staying at for a few nights.
It, was about 2 or 3 PM Denver time so it felt later to us. We had burgers at the hotel and just relaxed in our rooms the rest of the night. We did however go for a short walk around the hotel just to see a little of the city. The next day we got up and had breakfast. After breakfast we went to this boring art museum in Denver. We saw an Egyptian art exhibit. This exhibit was only there for a limited time. It was all things that had been found in different pharos tombs. My favorite ones were the mini soldiers and boats. I also liked the exhibit because we had studied Ancient Egypt in school the previous year so I knew some things about it. We then went to the Colorado State House. After getting a tour of the building, and learning some of the history of the state we went back to our hotel got dressed, and met some family friends for dinner. Dinner was fun we went to an Italian restaurant that had very good pizza. The walk home took a while, and my legs hurt when we got back. We had to walk because my parents wanted to “See the
Chris
Broadmoor Story
city,” even though you could see it form a cab. My brother, dad, and I went to the pool at hotel, even though it was late. My mom and sister went to bed. When I finally got to bed I was really excited for the next day.
The next day, I got up and was very excited. We were going to Colorado Springs. After breakfast we packed the car we were renting and drove. We drove for about an hour before we stopped. We went to visit the United States Air Force Academy. And let me tell you I thought we were going to a maximum-security prison. Driving into the place there were long polls stretched out with security cameras everywhere. The place look amazing it was nestled between some mountains and the trees in these mountains went for DAYS. The academy was crowded with “civilians” as there was a soccer tournament being held there. We visited the Academy’s visitor’s center, which talked about how the Academy was founded, how many students they had, etc. we then walked a little ways to the academy chapel. It was very nice. The roof and sides were meant to look like the wings of airplanes. The inside was cool, although it was rather dark. We then walked a little longer, but could not go in any more buildings. “Only Cadets and staff are allowed beyond this point” this is what sign on the fences that were around all the buildings. And to get passed the fences you needed to scan a card in a machine that would unlock the gate for you. So yes the place was a prison.
We journeyed, on into Colorado; we finally arrived at the Broadmoor. The hotel was large and was made up of several buildings and properties. The first building included a bulk of the hotel rooms and restaurants. The hotel had 5 or 6 restaurants; they also had 4 golf courses and many tennis courts. The also had 2 pools, one indoor and one outdoor, a spa. When my dad checked us in the bellman led us to out room. The room that my brother and I were sharing was pretty big and was designed like it was the early 1900’s. The bathroom was the size of my room at home. After we unpacked we went to the pool. It was about 4 o clocks so there were not many people at the pool. There was an endless pool with two hot tubes. There was also a kid’s pool (warm as always) and a pool with TWO water slides. One slide was short and fast, and the other was long and slow. I liked both of them.
I was excited, the next day when we got up. My Dad, brother Nic, and I were going to play golf. We got up and had breakfast; we then went over to the golf shop. The shop was quite large. Outside the shop was a putting and chipping area, so there were many people and carts were around this area. Because we feared something happening to them we had not brought our golf clubs out with us. So when we got some rentals from the hotel we went out and practiced. The air felt very nice because there was no humidity. The course was very nice, and was very flat which made it good for walking. But it was very crowded and slow moving, so we only played nine hole, but it was ok, we would get 18 later in the week.
Chris
Broadmoor Story
Then, on day 4 we went white water rafting. We got in the hotel car (there were multiple families going that day) and drove. We drove about 45 minuets to the rafting headquarters. Once there we checked in and got out swimsuits on. The building was pretty small and was on a huge property. There were a dozen or so trailers parked behind the building for the instructors to sleep in. We then loaded up in a truck with everybody who was going (about 30). We drove down the road about 20 minuets. When we got to the river where we were going to be rafting. We received a long safety lecture by the guy who drove us; he seemed to be the head honcho. The other employees who were all college students set up our rafts. When we got assigned our raft we got in and started paddling. We stayed as a group. There were about 5 or 6 rafts. When paddled a little until we reached the first whitewater. We rocked a little but nothing bad happened to our raft, or the others, guy in the safety lecture made it sound like someone was going to die. That was the way it was for most of the rapids. When we got to the last and hardest one of the people in the raft behind us fell out! The employee who was in charge of his raft started blowing his whistle. We stopped and pulled over to the side. Luckily they were able to pull the guy back in. They then pulled and checked on him. He was ok. We then finished the next 5 minuets or so. We then got out and were picked up. We drove back to the site and changed. Then the hotel van picked us up and took us back.
The trip ended as it had begun, pool, golf, and tennis. When we left the hotel after 10 days in Colorado I was happy. The week had been amazing. The time in Denver had been nice to see the differences between a city out west and one in the east. The time we spent at the hotel had been amazing. And the hotel was super nice! I LOVED the whitewater rafting, I really hope I can continue that in someway, and I have, my goal is to someday kayak raft down the Grand Canyon! The trip to Colorado was amazing and I would love to do it again.