Mile High Vacation!

This past Memorial Day Weekend I had the pleasure of hoping a plan to the Mile High City to visit my dear friend, Steph. I was super excited to visit Denver for a variety of different reasons:

1. I missed Steph. Duh.
2. I hadn’t been to Denver since I was a freshman in high school
3. I really needed to get away from Seattle

The weekend was absolutely fantastic. Not only did I get to hang out with Steph for nearly 4 days, but I got to meet all the boys in her life—Brian (the boyfriend), Brodie and Solo (the dogs).

Friday night I got in around 7:00, so we hoped the Light Rail for some dinner downtown (sushi!) and then hit up a few of the bars in downtown Denver.

Saturday we headed over to Littleton to see Steph’s folks and then off to the Castle Rock outlet malls! Steph and I shopped until we dropped. I got some great summer clothes and only 1 new pair of shoes (that’s pretty good for me)

Sunday I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the other man in Steph’s life, her 2-year nephew Lucas. I’m not even kidding when I say this is probably one of the most adorable little boys I have ever seen! He entertained us all at breakfast. Then we headed to Coors Field to watch the Rockies take on the New York Mets. We were perched high above the field in “The Rockpile”. The sun was out and so were the Rockies! I got a little sunburned and the Rockies got the win.

The view from The Rockpile!

Steph and Jen: front and centerfield.

Brian and Steph!

All 3 of the bleacher creatures.

Monday began bright and early as Brian, Steph and I hit the road to Boulder to partake in the 30^th Annual Bolder Boulder, a 10K road race through the streets of Boulder. We had to race to the starting line in order to start with our specified group. I have to admit, Jen totally wussed out. I have my 3 excuses as to my lackadaisical performance:

1. Altitude. I went from sea level to about 5000 feet above sea level. The mountain air was a shocker to this girl’s lungs
2. I didn’t tie my right shoe tight enough at the beginning so my ankle hurt, then I tied it too tight during the race, making it hurt even more
3. And finally, I’m a wee bit out of shape.

I walked a little ways into it because I thought my chest was going to explode, but then I sucked it up and jogged the rest of the way, finishing the 6.2 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes. (Which, btw, is right around my best time for Bloomsday. A 7.46 mile race. Pathetic.) Apart from my lack of performance, it was a really fun race! It was great to see all of Boulder. I apologize but I do not have pictures of the race yet. We got a disposable camera and I still have a few pictures left before I can develop them. But I will share them when they become available.

And then it was time for me to head back to Seattle. Sadly. I really liked Denver—like I could totally see myself living there. Denver is a lot like Seattle in many ways. They would be like cousins or something. Maybe Step-sisters. Steph and Brian showed me a good time and it was hard coming back to Seattle.

Here are a few other pictures from the weekend:

Post game refreshments. The Coors Light represents me being in the middle of Coors Light Country.
Breaker One-Nine. Breaker One-Nine. Brian rolling in the big rig at EspnZone.
We had our own sweet rides too!
This is, by far, the best Starbucks sign I have ever seen!
The Rock Bottom Brewery Sampler that turned into a race.