Boulder, CO

This weekend, two of my favorite people and I went on a quick but amazing trip to Boulder, Colorado. The decision to take the trip was made on really short notice, but we’ve always been good at acting on a whim. We decided to leave on Friday after my friend got off work and drive through the night to Boulder, where we stayed for three nights at my other friend’s aunt’s house. It was a really great trip and her aunt made us feel so welcomed and at home.

Of course, all of Friday afternoon and early into Saturday morning was spent driving there. We arrived at the house at around 3:00am and let ourselves in through the garage; my friend’s aunt had given her the code to open the door. We then went straight to bed.

We woke up Saturday to fresh coffee, mimosas, and fresh breakfast burritos on the way. Her aunt was such a wonderful hostess. Our plans for Saturday were to go on a hike along the foothills. The views were wonderful along the bottom of the mountain. The only problem was how thin the air in Colorado is compared to the rich Iowa air. We were out of breath much faster than normal, and we had to take it easy with the hike. I really want to get into hiking and backpacking when I move to Colorado, so I’m really going to have to up the cardio before I leave so I’m able to hike like I want to.

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After we hiked as far as we could (we hit the snow-covered top and had to turn around due to lack of proper footwear), we hopped in the car and drove to the top of the mountain. The view of the valley was incredible, even though my friend was scared of how high up we were!

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We stopped for a quick drink before heading back to the house, then we headed to a dispensary where I picked up a taffy edible and a joint. I ate the edible right away and we went to a little bakery and a used bookstore. I had a little slice of carrot cake at the bakery that wasn’t bad (not my favorite because there was so much frosting on it) and I found a book at the bookstore called Trapped. I started reading it on the way home and I think I’m going to enjoy it. After the bookstore, we returned to the house, where we were greeted with a supper of fried wontons filled with pepper and cheese and topped with green chile- an amazing kind of sauce that’s apparently very popular in Colorado; I had no idea it existed. Then we had drinks with my friend’s family. We played darts, cards, and games. It was a really great night filled with fun and laughter.

We got up Sunday morning, got ready, and left for Estes Park, a little mountain town that was a little over an hour away.

We ate brunch at a local restaurant, I had banana crepes with a side of hashbrowns, and they were phenomenal.

We walked down the busy street of Estes Park for a few more hours, strolling in and out of various souvenir and candy shops. I found a cute sweatshirt and coffee cup, two things I knew I would use. We also decided to have some of those old-time photos taken, it was really fun trying on the different clothes and handling the props!

After we finished shopping, we hopped in the car (not before snapping a couple cute pictures in Estes), and headed back to the house.

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My friend’s aunt had a wonderful supper ready and we ate family style in the dining room. We stayed up and talked for hours before heading to an overlook on the side of a mountain nearby. We could see the city for miles, and it was so beautiful. I will never forget the amazement I felt at the lights that went on for as far as I could see. It seemed so quiet at first, but when we really quieted down we could hear the roar of the city. It was so beautiful.

We had fresh Mojitos Sunday night!

 

Monday morning we woke up and went to downtown Denver. We stopped at Union Station, a train station in the heart of downtown, for brunch. I had a delicious latte and browsed the bookstore within the station as we waited for our table.

Brunch was great! I had veggie breakfast tacos. After we finished, we walked down the 16th Street mall. We stopped to look in a few stores, but we didn’t find anything worth spending our money on. After a couple hours of browsing, we headed back to the house to pack up our things and say goodbye. It was hardest to say goodbye to my friend’s aunt because she had gone through so much trouble to make us feel at home.

We said our goodbyes and headed for home. The drive home seemed twice as long as the drive to Colorado. The trip was jam-packed full of adventure and fun. We felt at home and welcomed and everything we did allowed us to see some of the best Colorado has to offer. I’m so thankful to have been able to visit!