Mills' First Flight and Second Trip to Colorado

Author

Austin Lee
December 04, 2023

Hello Friends and Family,

It has been a BUSY few weeks! On November 13th, Austin and Willow left Atlanta via car and on November 15th Courtney and Mills left Atlanta via airplane.

The destination: Colorado. (Shocker…I know.)

Getting to Colorado

I sold our Tesla Model Y and bought a 2005 Lexus GX470 just in time to head out on the trip. When I say, “just in time”, I actually bought it, drove it home, packed it, and left for Colorado after lunch on 11/13.

This vehicle is a much better choice for the type of travel we do; not to mention I am much less concerned about wet dogs and messy kids in this car.

Filling up the new car at Buc-ee’s. - Calhoun, GA | 11/13/2023

Our first stop was Jackson, TN where we dropped off some of our clothes and items we didn’t need in Colorado. After 5 hours of sleep, Willow and I headed out at 6am on 11/14 bound for Hays, KS.

It’s an 18 year old car…so there were bound to be some learning curves. Here I am checking out a part that was rattling around under the hood. (Good news…it was already replaced, but the old part was left.) - Somewhere in Missouri | 11/14/2023

After 12 hours on the road, Willow and I arrived in Hays, KS and pitched our tent for the night. Yes, that’s right…we camped. Every time we stay in a hotel, even when the room is free, we pay around $100 for a pet cleaning fee.

The campsite, which we found on Hipcamp, only cost us $40. Which was a good thing because we arrived at 8pm and were gone at 5am the next morning.

It was dark when we arrived and dark when we left. - Hays, KS | 11/14/2023

Willow had fun on her first ever night camping. She was very unsure of the coyotes she heard howling in the hills, but quickly found her way into my sleeping bag and feel asleep.

Austin and Willow in the tent getting ready for bed. - Hays, KS | 11/14/2023

The next morning at 5am Willow and I woke up to temperatures in the low 30s. We packed up camp and hit the road, but not before lots of warning lights on the dashboard.

Every warning light on the dashboard is on! - Hays, KS | 11/15/2023

To make matters a little more stressful, there was no cell service or internet at my campsite. I was able to communicate via my Garmin inReach Mini 2 but without internet couldn’t trouble shoot on my own.

I made the decision to drive to the main road very slowly where I discovered the likely culprit was the gas cap. With fear vanquished, I was off to pick up Courtney and Mills at the airport.

Courtney was up and going around the same time I was, but her morning was a bit different. She loaded Mills into his car seat and our neighbor drove them to the airport in Atlanta.

Mills sleeping his way across the country. - Somewhere between Atlanta and Denver | 11/15/2023

Courtney was able to land a one-way first class plane ticket for the same cost as a roundtrip coach ticket! So, Mills’ first flight was pretty cool, even if he will never remember it.

We don’t have many other pics from the flight or airport because traveling with a diaper bag, stroller, stroller cover, and baby doesn’t leave much bandwidth for picture time, but Mills did manage to meet the pilot and get his wings! #DeltaLoyal

Mills got his wings on his first flight! - Denver, CO | 11/15/2023

There were some really great people who helped Courtney get the stroller checked at the gate and helped her get situated on the plane. Thank you to these anonymous strangers!

Hanging out in Colorado

Courtney had a work retreat in Denver, which is why we decided to make our third Colorado trip of the year as a family. So, while Courtney worked, me and Mills hung out around town.

Drying out the tent and rainfly in our hotel room. - Denver, CO | 11/15/2023

Once we got settled into our TINY hotel room we unpacked, got organized, and had to take care of our gear. Storing a wet tent is a big no-no, so as soon as I could get it out of its stuff sack, I hung it up to dry.

Once Courtney’s work obligations were over, we changed hotels and it was family time!

Mills loves to snuggle with his great grandmother, “Grammy”. - Lone Tree, CO | 11/18/2023

Aunt Jaime was in town from California so that meant EXTRA snuggles!

Jaime and Mills hanging out after dinner. - Lone Tree, CO | 11/18/2023

Mills laughing at Uncle David. - Lone Tree, CO | 11/16/2023

Willow enjoying some snuggles with Auntie Les. - Lone Tree, CO | 11/16/2023

I also went on a really great hike with my executive/life-coach and friend, Chris Strouthopoulos. After the hike I got cleaned up and Courtney, Mills, and I went to dinner with Chris and his wife Sarah.

I can’t believe I didn’t get any pictures from the hike or dinner! So…here’s a screenshot of my Strava for proof.

Strava screenshot of Austin’s hike.

This was the shortest trip to Colorado we’ve ever done. Arrived on Wednesday and headed out on Sunday morning. I’m so glad it worked out even if it was a little bit stressful.

Mills wanted to help drive to go see Queen, B-Daddy and the rest of the family in Tennessee. - Somewhere in Missouri | 11/19/2023

Until our next Adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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