An exciting part about traveling is being able to share the experience. I like to think I make up for being the rebel child who lives far away from my family by providing a free place for my parents to stay in a variety of locations. My parents have somehow been able to sneak in a visit to almost every assignment I've been on. It's fun to let them in on a part of my ever changing lifestyle. I like to give them an excuse to have a taste of the travel bug and Colorado was next on the list.
When Becky and I arrived in Colorado, I couldn't stop bragging to my family about how nice the weather was and how gorgeous the views were. The sun seemed to always be shinning and the snow-capped mountains were the perfect backdrop as I drove into work. I laughed and said I had a much easier time navigating the city because I always knew the mountains were to the west. It didn't take long for my parents to book their trip to see if I was telling the truth.
As luck would have it, a few hours before my parents' plane landed a freak snow storm waltzed through Denver. I suppose I can't really call it a freak storm because the weather in Denver is always changing, but the amount of snowfall was definitely unexpected. At any rate, I hopped in my Jeep and picked them up at the airport. We decided to grab dinner at a restaurant close to our apartment so we wouldn't have to worry about driving too far if it got really bad and started planning a few adventures to fill their time during their visit.
The next morning the snow had stopped, but it was one of those cold raw New England type days. Poor Becky was outnumbered by 3 northerners, and we all decided to brave the cold weather and head out downtown. We stopped by the Tattered Cover - a bookstore you can easily get lost in for hours, meandered down the 16th Street Mall, and we found our share of delicious restaurants. We even chowed down on some unusual game meat at the iconic Buckhorn Exchange that my parents had heard about from a family friend. Despite the cloudy days, we ventured down to Colorado Springs and took the trusty Jeep through the Garden of the Gods and then up as far as we could drive toward Pike's Peak. It was fun twisting around the bends and curves in the road but it's unreal how high some of the peaks actually are. I have a new appreciation for true mountain climbers.
Before my parents went back, the three of us decided to check out the Coors Brewery out in Golden, CO. It's one of those small town friendly feel kind of places and the Brewery provided free tastings!
Glad you guys could make the trip! Next stop - Hawaii!
Becky's mom and sister were also able to come for a little visit. We showed them around downtown and managed to get a much better shot of us on the mile high step. We also found shelter from an unexpected downpour and checked out the Molly Brown House. While down in Colorado Springs we took a tour of the Olympic Training Center - the closest to the podium I'll ever get.
The Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs were definitely interesting to walk through.
Why not get random tickets to see Wicked on our last night?
Colorado - you were fun, hope to see you soon!