OK, I loved it. The trip went awesome! Here is the rundown.
Thursday: Denver, Co
Got in and took a public bus to downtown. It was chilly but not too bad. I walked to a little bookstore called the Tattered Cover (or something like that) and sat and read every local free magazine and newspaper they had. (there were a lot) Jamie was still driving in across the state when my plane landed so I just hung out...which was nice to unwind after the flight. We then went to Whole Foods and on to our friend Fletcher's condo to settle in. His girlfriend Jane came home and we went to a nice dinner around the corner.
Friday: Golden, Co.
We got up Friday and drove into Golden. It was really close compared to what I expected...and beautiful! It was a sunny day but a bit nippy. The scenery was gorgeous and the town was perfectly small. We ate at Woody's Pizza (very fitting) and met some really nice people throughout the rest of the day. Visited the NREL (National Renewable Energy Lab) and was not impressed with their visitors center. It was informative but a little childish. I was hoping to be able to tour the labs. Cool facility though. I visited the School of Mines and got some info on their engineering courses as well as spoke with a few people there about their programs. We then went to a few shops and drove a little ways up the canyon. Pros: whitewater kayaking and fly fishing right through downtown (Clear Creek), rock climbing, hiking and mountain biking within minutes, small town feel, close to Denver for jobs, close to ski areas, affordable school (1 yr to be a resident), local fun eaterys and a cool little brew pub! Cons: not enough jobs, trashy areas really close to downtown and housing is pricey. Came home and I cooked salmon and veggies over rice for dinner. It was nice to just relax with Fletch and Jane for dinner. She has a little bird and Mama loved to stalk and stare at it through the cage. Hillarious!
Saturday: Ski day at Breckenridge.
Snowy weather and flat terrain. Not my favorite by far. Cool little town though!? Went out to eat at the Cricket. Good food, fun waitress. Went home and played guitar hero for the first time. Haha that was fun, but hard since I know how to play the real thing.
Sunday: Ski day at Copper Mountain with Fletch and Jane.
LOVE COPPER MTN! It was steeper and faster. Free parking! Beautiful bluebird day! Long fast runs! Loved it loved it! They went off and did some tree trails early in the day and I was left to my own navigation (bad idea) and ended up somehow on the other side of the mountain and had to traverse for 20 min. What an arm work out! Whew! At least I saw the other side right!? Ha! Can't wait to visit there again! We got stuck in some traffic on the way home but not too bad. We met up with Fletch's parents (Jamie's god parents) for dinner at their house and had a blast. It was a great dinner and we got to see some fun pics of Jamie's parents and Fletch's parents when they were younger.
Monday: Boulder, Co
This was a cool little place. I was really impressed with how small it was. I was expecting a much bigger place. It kind of reminded me of Nashville in size and ease of navigation. (Nashville is much bigger though by far) it was about 25-30 min to get there from Denver, so probably too far away to live and work in opposite areas. We went to a restaurant on Pearl St. called Mountain Sun and I was pleasantly surprised at the menu. It had 8-10 options for me when I usually just have one or two! It was also a little brew pub so that was fun too. After that we walked a bit down Pearl and checked out some of the shops. We bought some root beer and were strolling Pearl with these brown bottles. We kept getting funny looks! Haha! I had an interview at 2 with Action Marketing Group and that went well. Very cool company and great people. After the interview we walked down to a local mtn bike shop and chatted with the guys int here about bikes and moving and trails etc. They were a great resource and told me about a cool marketing company downtown that I ended up applying for a position today. Good to have another contact. There just seems to be a slew of marketing companies and a progressive attitude there. I really liked the vibe. We then went to Mt Sanitas and got a good view of the city form up top. Plus there were some bouldering spots right there too! Cool trail and cool bouldering so close to town! Loved the historic area of homes we drove through as well. Didn't make it to the campus but we did go to the rock climbing gym and WOW! It was amazing! About 15-20 more a month than here at home but really cool! We then met up with Kanen's cousin David who has live there for about 9 years. He offered some advice and knowledge of the area. It was great! Good food too. We went tot he West End Tavern and the guac and yam chips were sooooo good! We then drove back into Denver and went home, but not before Jamie bought a huge kite wing for kite surfing/boarding! Very good price and very knowledegable salesman.
Tuesday: Last Day in Denver
Today I packed up my things and we went to a park in Denver/Lowry area to try and fly this huge kite wing. There was no wind so we had a hard time. Every once in a while we would get a gust in the form of a warm breeze (it was 60 and sunny today!) and we were able to get it up for a little bit. I got a stronger breeze and it nearly drug me across a field! Pretty cool! Looking forward to playing with that more! Then off for a quick lunch and to the airport.
All in all the trip was great. We had a nice time together and it was great to just have a good time and not worry about anything else. Mama had a blast in the snow and in the parks too. It was good for her and good for us to see her have so much fun!
Can't wait to get out there! I mean common 300 plus sunny days a year! and Mountains! I'll upload pics soon.
