Summer 2026.... Let's Go!

Our school year ended with the usual flurry of activities.

Geoffrey wrapped up his junior year with AP tests, finals, and his first job tutoring an eighth grader. To top it all off, his band, North Park, performed in the end-of-the-year Battle of the Bands. Katelyn, meanwhile, performed as Tweedledee in Alice in Wonderland and Oliver Hix in The Music Man, alongside numerous end-of-year show choir concerts and dance recitals. This whirlwind culminated in her eighth-grade promotion from Sowers Middle School.

Thursday, June 18 – Friday, June 19: Driving to Steamboat

On Thursday, the day after Katelyn's last day of school, we hopped into the car and headed out to Steamboat Springs, Colorado!

We took the longer southern route to get there. We have Wrigley with us this summer, and he is a fantastic car traveler! It was also wonderful having three drivers to split up the miles. Grant drove the first leg from home to Bermuda Dunes, where we stopped at Mom's house for lunch and a quick stretch. I took over the wheel to Phoenix, where we filled up on gas at Sam's Club and grabbed drinks from Swig, one of my absolute favorite soda stops. Geoffrey then drove from Phoenix to Payson, Arizona, where we met Dad for dinner at a BBQ restaurant with a great dog-friendly patio, and then headed over to check out Dad's house. Finally, Grant drove from Payson to Holbrook, where we checked into our hotel for the night.

The next day took us right through the heart of the Navajo Reservation. I drove us from Holbrook to Monument Valley, where we stopped to take the obligatory photos in the middle of the road at Forrest Gump Point, watching the valley's iconic, towering sandstone towers rise up like giants against the horizon.

Geoffrey took over the driving from Forrest Gump Point to Grand Junction, Colorado. Along the way, we pulled over at Wilson Arch. It’s a spectacular, massive Sandstone structure right off the highway, and we couldn't resist taking a short, steep hike right up into the center of the arch for some incredible views.

We also stopped in Moab to grab some dinner before Grant drove the final stretch to Steamboat. We finally rolled in a little past midnight. It was a long day of travel, and it felt so good to end it "home" in Steamboat!

Saturday, June 20 – Sunday, June 21

On Saturday, we happily slept in and spent the day settling in. We unpacked, hit the grocery store, went to the gym, and just enjoyed being here.

On Sunday, the real muscle work began as we started moving furniture. Currently, the second master bedroom has a queen bed, and the third bedroom has a king. The plan is to move the king bed into the second master, and put twin beds in the third bedroom. We spent the day swapping the heavy beds and their matching furniture so that when the new twin beds arrive on Tuesday, the delivery team can easily haul the queen bed out and set the twins up.

After playing Tetris with the furniture, we took the gondola up to Thunderhead and set off on a scenic 5-mile loop hike. We connected the Chisholm Trail to the Sunshine Trail, cut across to Rendezvous and Duster Road, and made our way back to Thunderhead. It turns out Wrigley is just as great of a hiker as he is a road-tripper!

Back at the condo, we made dinner, relaxed in the jacuzzi, and Grant and I tried out a new board game called Patchwork.

Cheers to summer!

Farewell, Madrid

Last Day in Madrid

We enjoyed our last day in Madrid by getting intentionally lost in the city. It was a drizzly day, but it didn’t slow the city down one bit.

We ate lunch at a casual chain called Rodilla, where we grabbed sandwiches and salads. It’s a very Madrid kind of place—simple, quick, and surprisingly good, especially for a chain that’s been around since 1939.

After lunch, we walked through the park, starting near Moncloa and heading south toward the Temple of Debod for another visit to this cool Egyptian temple. (I described this in a previous blog). 

We wandered through the streets as the sun began to set and the rain finally let up. The city seemed to come alive even more, with the streets filling quickly with people heading out for the evening. Madrid really shines at night—it’s social, energetic, both historic and electric at the same time.

We got churros and chocolate again (because obviously), and just enjoyed those last glimpses of this wonderful city before heading back to our hotel.

Adiós, Madrid. We had a wonderful visit in your vibrant city.

 

Segovia

Segovia

Our next day trip was to the mountain town of Segovia. On the high-speed train, it only took us about 30 minutes to arrive. The train station is a bit out of town, sitting somewhat awkwardly in the middle of a field, so from there you grab a bus and head into town.

The first thing that greets you is one of the things Segovia is famous for: the Roman Aqueduct. Built in the late 1st or early 2nd century CE, it carried water from the nearby mountains into the city for nearly 2,000 years. What makes it especially remarkable is that it was constructed without mortar. The massive granite blocks are held together purely by precise engineering and gravity. It’s incredibly well preserved, and honestly, it feels surreal to be standing next to something that old that still looks so intact.

We walked through the old part of town within the medieval walls, wandered briefly into the newer sections, and then made our way back through the narrow alleys of the former Jewish Quarter.

We grabbed empanadas for lunch and ate them in the shadow of the cathedral, Segovia Cathedral. Built between the 16th and 18th centuries, it’s one of the last Gothic cathedrals constructed in Europe. It’s sometimes called the “Lady of Cathedrals” because of its design and position overlooking the city.

After lunch, we headed to the Alcázar of Segovia. This castle is rumored to have inspired Walt Disney’s vision for Sleeping Beauty’s castle, and once you see it, that rumor feels very believable. Its shape is especially unique, with the front jutting out like the bow of a ship over the valley below.

The Alcázar has a long history as both a royal palace and a military fortress. It was originally built in the 12th century on the site of a Roman fort, and it later became one of the preferred residences of Castilian monarchs. In 1862, a devastating fire destroyed much of the interior and roof. The castle was restored in the late 19th century in a more romanticized, neo-medieval style, which is largely what you see today.

Our tour took us through several rooms, including halls lined with suits of armor, a throne room, a dining hall, and the Hall of Kings, which features statues of Spanish monarchs along with their coats of arms and brief histories. We also saw the armory, which houses an impressive collection of medieval weapons.

We then climbed to the top of the tower, which was absolutely worth it. The views stretch out over historic Segovia and the surrounding valley, and you really get a sense of how strategically positioned the city is.

After leaving the castle, we headed north out of the medieval walls and down a steep path into the valley below. We walked along the Eresma River for a bit, then backtracked and made our way to the Pradera de San Marcos, a beautiful meadow with one of the best views of the Alcázar. From there, the castle looks even more like a ship, perched dramatically above the landscape.

Behind the meadow sits the Church of San Marcos, a Romanesque church dating to the 12th century. A bit farther out is the Church of the Vera Cruz, built around 1208 by the Knights Templar. Its 12-sided (dodecagonal) structure is unusual and symbolic, possibly inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. 

Rather than head back along the river, we kept going west and visited another church at the base of a granite cliff, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fuencisla. This sanctuary dates to the 16th century and is dedicated to the patron saint of Segovia. We were able to go inside, and it was quiet and peaceful—a perfect place to pause for a moment.

As we left, we noticed a path climbing back up the ridge where Segovia sits, near the front of the Alcázar. Of course, we had to explore it, and it led us to another breathtaking viewpoint.

From there, we needed to head back to the train station, so we followed Google Maps down into the valley and up the other side along a road on the southern perimeter of town back toward the aqueduct. We were in a bit of a hurry, which was too bad, because the valley between the road and medieval Segovia was lush and green, with a well-maintained walking trail winding through it. There were multiple access points leading both up to the road and back into the old city. It looked enchanting, and I would have loved to spend more time there, but due to time restraints and not wanting to get stuck in a potential dead end in the valley, we just enjoyed the views from above.

I was trying to describe this area to a friend who had studied here in 1998, but she said she always went by the river and didn’t recognize what I was describing. That sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole.

It turns out this area is part of the Valle del Clamores, near what’s known as the Puente del Piojo. In medieval times, a road ran through here, but over the years it became neglected and overgrown, essentially turning into a forgotten backyard of the city. In the early 2000s, Segovia undertook a major restoration project, cleaning it up, landscaping it, and adding trails, benches, and access points. Today it’s a well-used green space that feels both natural and thoughtfully designed. Brilliant.

That discovery led me to another realization. It’s kind of wild how much Spain has changed in a relatively short time. Following the end of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in 1975, Spain transitioned rapidly into a democracy, joined the European Economic Community (now the EU) in 1986, and underwent massive economic and infrastructure development. Social changes came quickly too. For example, until the mid-1970s, married women in Spain still needed their husband’s permission for certain legal and financial activities, including travel. The pace of modernization over the past 50 years has been remarkable.

I digress. Thirty minutes and a whole lot of Googling later, we were back in Madrid.

We ended the day at a French-style set menu restaurant—steak frites, salad, and a trio of desserts—and then walked through the now-familiar neighborhood back to our hotel, surrounded by a couple thousand other people enjoying Madrid at midnight.

 

Biking in Madrid

Biking in Madrid

Today, we rented bikes to explore some of Madrid’s green spaces. Madrid is a brilliantly laid-out city. The central hub is densely populated with vertical housing, and many of the streets are narrow, which naturally keeps traffic slower. On weekend nights, many streets are even closed to cars altogether, creating kilometers of winding, gloriously pedestrian-only space.

Surrounding the heart of the city are several notable green spaces. To the east is El Retiro Park, with a large lake and manicured gardens at its center and more natural, wooded paths toward the south. The Royal Palace of Madrid sits to the west of downtown, framed by carefully designed gardens like the Sabatini Gardens and Campo del Moro. Farther west is Casa de Campo, which was once royal hunting grounds and is now a sprawling, semi-wild park with kilometers of biking and hiking trails. There’s also a forested green belt wrapping around the northwest part of the city, giving Madrid an impressive balance of urban life and nature.

We rented bikes near the museum district and spent an hour riding around Retiro Park. The park was packed with people, locals and tourists alike, enjoying the sunshine. Near the lake (the Estanque Grande, which dates back to the 17th century and was once used for royal boating spectacles), a trio of musicians played music so good we initially thought it was being piped in from speakers somewhere.

After exploring the park, we headed west, passing behind the palace to ride along the Manzanares River. Riding through the streets of Madrid was a little more harried than we expected—many roads didn’t have dedicated bike lanes, so we were sharing space with cars. We were also slightly deceived by the elevation change between the main part of the city and the river. Madrid sits on a plateau, so getting down (and back up!) is no joke.

Once along the river, we picked up the Madrid Río path, which is a beautifully redesigned green corridor built over what used to be a major highway. It’s one of the city’s best urban renewal projects, with bike paths, playgrounds, and bridges designed by notable architects.

We followed the river into Casa de Campo. The park is massive… we barely scratched the surface. (For perspective, it’s over five times the size of Central Park in New York.) We discovered there’s a dedicated bike trail that loops around much of the park, and in retrospect, or maybe for a future visit, just riding within Casa de Campo might have been a more relaxing experience. I wish we’d had more time there. Fun fact: because it used to be reserved exclusively for royalty, the park remained largely untouched for centuries, which is why it feels much more rugged and wild compared to Madrid’s more manicured spaces.

After an uphill ride back into town (okay, I may have walked my bike up a few blocks… ), we returned to our hotel for a little rest before heading out for date night.

Grant had planned a surprise, and it was brilliant—we went to see Los Misérables musical! He got us seats in the fourth row. The theater felt more like a Broadway-style house, intimate and narrow rather than massive, and our view of the performers was incredible. They used the newer staging that debuted in recent years (we’d only seen it once before at Segerstrom).

The entire production was in Spanish, but we know the show well enough that it was easy to follow. One interesting detail: Jean Valjean’s prisoner number was changed from 24601 to 23632 so that each digit could be pronounced with a single syllable in Spanish, keeping the musical phrasing intact. It was a phenomenal show.

Afterward, we went to a restaurant that felt very Alice in Wonderland—without explicitly saying so. The dishes arrived on whimsical plates with playful presentations. We ordered tapas-style and had fun trying a variety of flavors, ending the night on a perfectly magical note.