Our 2026 Denver, CO Trip - Days 3, 4, & 5

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Day three of our trip, we got up at 6:30 MDT and we got showered, refilled our waters, and grabbed some fruit from the hotel breakfast place.  We had plans to eat breakfast at Voodoo Doughnut since we’d never tried it, so we didn’t eat anything at the hotel.  (Well, I think I did eat some scrambled eggs first, because I always like to start the day with protein!)

We had to drive into Denver to eat there, and we assumed that they’d have tables in the doughnut shop, but shockingly, they didn’t, even though the place was huge.  Since they had no tables, we had to take the doughnuts back to the car and eat them there. 

Brian got a banana cream pie and a blueberry cake, I got a maple old fashioned and a blueberry cake, Jacob got a Marshall Mathers (the one covered in M&Ms – LOL) and a blueberry cake, and Olivia got a Marshall Mathers and an ODB (the one with chocolate frosting, Oreo cookie crumbles, and peanut butter drizzle).  They were all so delicious.

We’d parked in the Denver Botanic Gardens parking lot to eat since that’s where we were headed next, and we got there just before they opened at 9 AM.  They were already letting people in, so we were able to get started a little early, which was great!

We toured around there for nearly an hour and a half, and it was the most beautiful place… and it’s HUGE.  It just kept going and going and going and we had no clue that it was going to be that big.  We got to see a few bunnies hopping around there, too, so that was fun.  We have them here in Georgia, too, but it’s not very common to see them around, although in the last year, we’ve been seeing them occasionally in our neighborhood!

We left the Botanic Gardens around 10:15 AM and we stumbled upon the end of a Pride race.  There were tons of people in the streets, and everyone was dressed up so fun and festive!  That’s one thing about Denver – they go all out for Pride month!  There were flags and various other sentiments of support all over the city, in all the shops and restaurants, and there were special displays in all the stores. 

We wanted to do a little shopping after that to kill time before lunch, so we headed downtown and parked near the Simply Colorado store.  They had tons of souvenirs, as well as other random stuff, and we all got a kick out of this chihuahua stuffie in a taco purse. 

After that, we walked down the way to the I Heart Denver store in Denver Pavilions.  It’s a souvenir shop, but items in the shop are created by local artists, so purchases support the artists.  It was kind of like Etsy, but in brick-and-mortar form.  They had the best stuff in there, too, and we ended up getting a few things – a Colorado hat for Olivia, a Denver sticker for my bulletin board, and a Red Rocks mug for me as well.  We always love bringing a little something back home when we travel, and it was so nice to be able to support local creators instead of getting our souvenirs from those standard souvenir shops that you see in every city.

We had to find some lunch after that because we had reservations for Meow Wolf at 12:20 PM.  5280 Burger Bar was right there in Denver Pavilions, so we decided to try that, and we were so glad we did because we all enjoyed it.  None of us were very hungry yet at that point after eating all those donuts, so we were happy that they had a few small options.  I grabbed a hot dog and fruit, Brian got a French dip and shared my fruit, and the kids both got mac n cheese which is exactly what they’d both wanted.

When we were done, we walked back towards the car, and on the way, the kids got up in this big jungle gym in the middle of downtown.  While Brian and I were waiting on them, my cousin, Rob, and his girlfriend, Lindsay, just happened to walk by, so we chatted with them for a bit.  We knew they were going to be in town for my cousin’s celebration, but it was wild that they just happened to be in the same place at the same time as us in that big ol’ city!

The only thing I Heart Denver didn’t have was a souvenir frame for my souvenir frame wall, so we had to go back to Simply Colorado and get one there.  Then, we walked back to the car and drove straight to Meow Wolf.

Now, if you’ve never heard of Meow Wolf, then you’re in good company, because we’d never heard of it either until I asked everyone for recommendations of what to do in Denver.  Several people mentioned going to Meow Wolf, and Brian and I were like, “What on earth is that?!” so we looked it up, and after telling the kids about it, that’s the main thing they wanted to do on our trip.  Haha.

Meow Wolf only has five locations – one in Denver, one in Santa Fe, NM, one in Las Vegas, and two in Texas.  It’s an immersive art adventure.  You get to step inside the art, explore, and touch everything.  There was no rhyme or reason to any of it, and it was just such a crazy place.  Honestly, it was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen and I’m convinced that whoever designed it was on an acid trip.  Haha.  It just gets weirder and weirder the whole time you’re in there and 99.9% of the time you have no clue what you’re looking at. 

There are hidden tunnels and doors and staircases and every single one of them leads to yet another place that makes no sense.  Haha.  And there’s also some puzzle or riddle or something that you’re supposed to solve by collecting data from different exhibits, but most people don’t even know that’s in there.  Since I’d read a blog post about it, our kids knew there was a mission going in, and they ended up solving it with a little help from someone else who’d been there before. 

Not sure exactly what else to say about it, so I’ll just let the pictures do the talking…

Weird, right?

We stayed nearly two hours, and we were all hungry and so tired by the time we were done, so we looked up places to get treats/snacks, and we ended up at Tiff’s Treats… a bakery with cookies and brownies.

Brian and Olivia both had brownies and Jacob and I both had a lemon sugar cookie and a snickerdoodle.  While the cookies were good, they weren’t really special or unique, so I wouldn’t go out of your way to get them if you’re ever in town.  It was a good place to stop and recharge, though.

After we were done eating, we walked to the Denver Central Library.  I do love checking out libraries in big cities, and I’d hoped that the Denver library would be as cute as the one in Nashville, but it wasn’t impressive at all, other than the fact that it was big. 

None of us had any other ideas of what to do or where to go since time was limited (it was almost time to switch gears to the family portion of our trip and the main reason we went there), so we just decided to hang out at the library for a bit so we could cool off.  The kids played a game of chess, and when they were done, we walked back to the car.

We got back to the hotel with just enough time to rest for 10 minutes and freshen up, and then we met my Momma, Daddy, and two brothers, Zach, and Alex outside, because they’d finally arrived in Colorado and they were staying at the hotel right next door to ours!

My Aunt Maureen and Uncle Chris who live here in Georgia part time and in Colorado part time were hosting my whole extended family at their house Saturday evening, so we followed my parents to Walmart to pick up a few things to bring to the gathering – beer, wine, and dessert… the essentials!  Haha.

And can I tell you just how weird it was walking around Walmart in the middle of Colorado with my Momma, Daddy, and brothers again?  The last time we were all in Colorado, it was just the five of us, and I was 12, my brother Zach was eight, and my brother Alex was only two.  I guess I just never expected to be out in Colorado with all of them again as an adult.  Haha.

We drove to Uncle Chris and Aunt Maureen’s house after that and spent the rest of the evening over there with my extended family.  Mama Cass had arrived along with my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg + my cousin Shelby, my Aunt Mary and Christa and my cousin Cat and her boyfriend.  And my Aunt Becky and my cousin Courtney were there, too.  My cousin Taylor and her fiancé, Chelsea, arrived on Sunday, so they couldn’t make it Saturday evening, and my cousin Rob and his girlfriend Lindsay were in town, but they didn’t come to the gathering on Saturday evening.  While most of my extended family was able to come to Colorado (32 of us were there), there were 15 who couldn’t make it.  We have a very big family, as you can see!

I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my cousins married Matthew Perry’s sister (yes, the Matthew Perry from Friends), and since it was my cousin’s sister who we were celebrating, some of his wife’s family came, too, including her mom, which is Matthew’s stepmom.  She and Mama Cass are good friends, so she came over to hang out Saturday night, too, and I was able to spend some time with her.  I’d met her before at my cousin’s wedding in California many years ago (that was also when I met Matthew), but I hadn’t gotten to spend a lot of time with her. 

Saturday evening, I was able to sit with her and Mama Cass and chat, and I was able to tell her just how loved Matthew was and how much he has meant to me my whole life.  Friends has been my favorite show since I was 12 years old, and I literally watched it nonstop in my bedroom growing up – first on VHS tapes, then on DVDs (I own all ten seasons and I have the collector’s DVD glass case), and eventually on streaming.  Chandler and Monica were (and still are) my favorite characters on the show, so Matthew has always been a big part of my life since I grew up with him on my TV all the time.  It was a HUGE privilege getting to meet him, and I only wish he was still around, so we could spend more time with him.  I miss him so much.

After everyone chatted for a while, we all had dinner – pizza, wings, salad, dessert, and beer.  We ended up staying over there for nearly five hours talking, practicing our dance for the celebration (more on this later), and reminiscing.   

We all went outside at sunset and took our shoes off and put our toes in the grass, and it was just nice quality time with everyone.  We all get together several times per year but this seemed extra special since we were all so far from home.

Brian and the kids and I got back to our hotel around 9:45 PM, the kids showered, and then we all went to bed at 10:45 PM.

Sunday morning, we didn’t set an alarm, and we all ended up sleeping until 7:30 AM.  We walked down to the hotel lobby for breakfast after that, and then we all got showered and ready for the day.

My cousin’s celebration of life was at 10 AM at the other Botanic Gardens that we hadn’t already visited.  And this celebration of life was a first for everyone because the person who we were celebrating was still with us.  My cousin Zoe’s request was to have a celebration of life before her time comes, so that way she could see everyone one last time and say goodbye.

We had a private area in the gardens under a big pavilion, and it was a gorgeous day – sunny, blue skies, a cool breeze, and it was the perfect temperature in the shade.  There were rows of chairs up front and big tables in the back, and there was a screen with a slide show of photos of Zoe through all her stages of life projecting on the wall.

We all mingled for an hour or so, spending time with family and friends and meeting new people and catching up with people we hadn’t seen in a while, and then it was time for the presentations.  We all grabbed drinks from the bar and took our seats and then things got started. 

My cousin, David, (Zoe’s brother) was the host, and he started by reminding us all what a unique event this was.  He said that it was likely a first for everyone there, so we could navigate it however we needed to – by crying.  Laughing.  Breathing.  Leaving.  Getting out and walking the grounds if we needed a break.  Everyone handles grief differently and there’s no right or wrong way to navigate it.

Zoe was a dancer her whole life – her entire life has been all about moving your body and feeling comfortable in your skin and taking care of and nourishing yourself.  She was a professional dancer in New York City and then she went on to start her own business helping women reclaim their bodies after childbirth.  She is creative, artsy, and so very talented, and therefore, all her friends and the people she surrounded herself with are also very creative, artsy, and talented.  So, the next four hours celebrating her was an absolute treat. 

We watched old videos of Zoe dancing, some of her dancer friends performed dances for her, her brother and husband and many others gave speeches, we all meditated together, some of her friends performed poetry that they’d written for her, we all got up and danced to Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay while waving white satin sashes that one of her friends had brought, Zoe’s brother performed a song for her along with two of his friends, one of Zoe’s best friend’s and Zoe’s daughter sang Long Live by Taylor Swift (I cried buckets during that one), and my parents, aunts, uncles, and Zoe’s sister-in-law and niece performed I’ll Fly Away per Zoe’s request.

We took a break from the presentations after that to eat lunch, and they had a huge spread of food catered – chicken, rice, vegetable wellington, mac n cheese, salad, and bread.  I lose my appetite in times of grief and/or stress, so I didn’t each much, but everything that I did have was delicious.

After lunch, they opened the mic to anyone else who wanted to say something in addition to all the planned presentations that we saw before lunch.  There was a steady stream of people for the next hour telling funny stories about Zoe and beautiful stories about Zoe and generally talking about what a beautiful soul she is.  Then, we closed out with a guided meditation from one of Zoe’s friends.  Her friend walked us all through taking energy from the earth and the sun and the moon and the stars and sending it to Zoe and each other and ourselves, and it was really beautiful.  I don’t think there was a dry eye in the whole place after that.  I mean, there really wasn’t a dry eye in the whole place all day.

We didn’t want to leave on a sad note, though, because that’s not who Zoe is, so after that was done, my whole extended family and I ran out on the dance floor, flash mob style, and we did a line dance to Drunk and I Don’t Wanna Go Home by Elle King.  We were the comic relief, I guess you could say.  Haha.  When we hit the dance floor we were all still crying from the meditation, but then we were laughing and dancing and having a great time.  It was such a roller coaster of emotions all day.

My Aunt Mary had planned the line dance before the celebration as our family’s contribution.  Zoe participated in many flash mobs over the years, including one in Times Square in New York City a few years back.  We knew it would be just the thing to make her smile, and it did, indeed, make her smile.

After our dance, we all took a couple of family pictures, we said our final goodbyes to Zoe, and then we were on our way.

It was a beautiful day, but it was a hard day.  We laughed.  We cried.  We laughed and cried at the same time.  Over and over over again for five straight hours.  By the time we left, we were all emotionally drained (and physically drained from everything else).

My Uncle Chris and Aunt Maureen (Zoe’s parents) invited my whole extended family back over to their house again after the celebration and Zoe and her family headed to their own home to rest.

We all hung out over there for the rest of the evening.  I got to hang out with all my cousins again, and we talked and joked and laughed and cried together all evening.  My aunts and uncles warmed all the leftovers from the celebration of life and dinner the night before, so we had a hodgepodge of leftover pizza, bread, mac n cheese, salad, wings, and chicken for dinner.  I had to snap this picture of Mama Cass because she had her own little cocktail holder while she was walking around.  Haha.  This particular evening was pretty subdued, though... we were all completely drained emotionally.  And that's really saying something because I have a very loud family.  

We said our goodbyes at 7:30 PM, headed back to the hotel, and we were in bed at 8:50 PM MST.  Just exhausted.  Shockingly, I barely slept Sunday night.  I thought for sure I’d be dead to the world after being so emotionally and physically exhausted, but I just couldn’t stop my brain from thinking about all the things. 

We didn’t set an alarm Monday morning because we knew we’d be up with plenty of time to get to the airport for our flight.  We woke up at 7:30 AM, we went down to have breakfast in the hotel again, and then we all got showered and ready.  We took our time packing because we had time to spare before we needed to be at the airport, and Olivia Facetimed with her friend, Maren, so they could compare schedules for the upcoming school year since they’d just been updated in the school’s app.

We drove back to Denver to return our rental car, and then we shuttled to the airport.  On the way, Brian realized that our airline for the flight we’d booked was requiring us to check our bags, so I had to shuffle a few things around from my suitcase to my carry-on when we got in the airport.

Once we were through security, we found some lunch.  The kids wanted McDonald’s, but Brian and I opted for Shake Shack, and then we went in a couple of shops to kill some time.  Allen Levi’s book is just everywhere, and always in the #1 spot!  <3  Oh, and I took my new travel outfit for a spin... and I LOVE it.

Our flight was on time, and as we were taking off, our captain told us that there’s always turbulence when flying out of Denver.  I was expecting mild turbulence, but this was most definitely not mild.  At one point, our plane dropped so drastically that everyone’s stomachs dropped and one lady screamed.  That is the first time I’ve ever been on a flight where somebody screamed and it was not ideal to say the least.  My anxiety went through the roof.  Haha.  The kids both looked at me wide eyed, but I assured them it was okay, and thankfully, it was. 

The rest of the flight was smooth, but when we landed, the jet bridge was malfunctioning, so they had to call a mechanic.  Thankfully, it was fixed quickly, and we were off the plane soon enough.

While we were waiting to deboard, my Aunt Joy (who had landed in ATL a few hours before we did), texted me to let me know that the entire highway (on our route home) was completely shut down due to a shooting that was being investigated.  They’d been sitting there for hours, and they weren’t allowed to proceed or turn around since it was a crime scene.  I was grateful for the warning, but I knew we had an extra-long drive ahead of us if we had to take the backroads.

Baggage claim was slow, which is rare for the Atlanta airport.  They’re usually quick, so we were surprised we had to wait so long.  We shuttled back to our car after that, and then we swung by Chick-Fil-A to grab dinner to eat in the car on the way home.  Just as we were approaching the area of highway that was closed, the GPS told us that it was starting to clear, but we went ahead and took the backroads just to be safe, and it only took us a couple of minutes out of the way.

My Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg (who also had Mama Cass with them) ended up waiting nearly FOUR HOURS just sitting on the highway, and I was so grateful we didn’t get caught in that mess.

We made it home just before 9 PM our time, and then we unpacked a little, and the kids were in bed by 10 PM. 

This was such a beautiful, bittersweet trip, and it’s one that I’ll remember for always.  I’m grateful that we were able to experience so many new things as a family, and I’m even more grateful that I was able to hug Zoe’s neck one last time.   

Thanks for following along, y’all.  If you missed the first two recaps you can see them here and here.  And please keep Zoe and her family – especially her children (they are Jacob’s and Olivia’s ages) – in your thoughts and in your prayers as she navigates this last stage of life.