Meet The Kirks

All good things must come to an end, and such is true for our vacation this year.  We arrived home late this evening after the long drive.  We battled a grumpy child half of the way and a stubborn storm the  last couple hours, but arrived safe and ready to relax at last.

Our morning began with a trip to Colorado Spring’s Best Breakfast Spot, The Omlette Parlor.  We dined on pancakes, potatoes, and a concoction named after the illustrious Mount Elbert.  It was nice to go out for breakfast, which we seldom do these days.  Afterwards we intended to visit Helen Hunt Falls on our way out of town, but our weary children konked out before we arrived.  Knowing that they needed the sleep (and us the peace), we decided to turn our ship toward home.

The ride was uneventful save endless crying and nasty lightning.  We ate lunch at a Sonic in Lamar, Colorado.  Actually, we brought our veggie tray and hummus and just ordered drinks.  The carhop said,  “That looks healthy.”  I guess she hadn’t seen broccoli in awhile.

Just before crossing the Kansas border, we happened upon the Amache Japenese Detention Camp.  This was one of the interment camps during World War II where approximately 10,000 Japanese-Americans were housed.  It was an eerie sight in the middle of nowhere.

Before heading into the storm, we picked a grassy spot in Dodge City where we dove into our veggies and hummus once again.  It was somewhat subversive to eat a delicious vegetarian meal across from meat packing plants.  In fact, we learned that the train depot across the street shipped approximately 850,000 buffalo hides out in two years.  All in all it took Kansas hunters only 7 years to wipe out most of the buffalo in the Great Plains.  Red peppers never tasted so good.

So, now we’re back, looking forward to Sabbath tomorrow and retrieving Kinley from her vacation home.  It was a wonderful trip, full of new experiences and the challenges of traveling with two young children.  We were blessed to have a wonderful place to stay in Colorado Springs and to have the opportunity to go exploring.