Day 37 (PM)-
We drove through the day and the one thing we most looked forward to was eating at the first Chipotle in Denver, Colorado. We held off eating Chipotle the whole summer because we really wanted to make this experience special. I ordered a quesarito. They took a tortilla and made a quesadilla and wrapped my burrito within. There was melted cheese in every single bite of my burrito... so delicious.
I got in touch with my old friend from high school, Fidel. We met up at their brother's house. He took us to the Flatirons overlooking Boulder, Colorado. We saw the sunset and then explored downtown Pearl Street. We saw a street performer that juggled fire. Fidel took us to a few fun places in downtown. We went into a candy store that has nearly every soda flavor imaginable. It is called Rocket Fizz. They had fun toys and gadgets too. We checked out Pearl Street Pub and tried their fried mac-n-cheese. It was good. It had a dive bar feeling with low basement ceilings and games like darts and pool. We met with some of the taco tribe at Conor O'Neill's Irish Pub & Restaurant. There was a reggae band performing. There were a lot of young drunk people. I was happy to spend sometime with the lovely taco family. They had been exploring Colorado and fell in love with Boulder. We still didn't have a place to stay in Boulder but hoped for the best. I figured I could try the taco route and befriend their hosts. All we needed was some floor space. Eventually we pieced together some couchsurfing hosts. We ended up sleeping in my minivan that night. We quickly checked out one more place before we left downtown Boulder. Press Play is an arcade theme bar. They had walls lined with video game machines and arcade games. There was a live karaoke band playing that night. I don't sing karaoke and we had a long day. Their decor was really cool.
Day 38-
We went to Red Rock Amphitheater early in the morning outside of Denver. I know that I will return and experience a concert at this venue one day. There were so many people there exercising on the steps. Christina took the opportunity to run. It was insane! Afterwards, we went to the Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium where the Broncos play. Christina explored their sports museum. We went to Masterpiece Deli for lunch. We split a Beef Brisket Sandwich and a salad. They even had horchata in their fountain soda machine.
We connected with our couchsurfing host. He hosted many travels and was also a traveler. He was into bicycles and had several in his garage. It was a great opportunity for Christina to learn how to ride a bike. It was the first time I rode a bike in possibly over 10 years. We decided to try the local option of riding bicycles to Avery Brewing Tap Room. It was my first time riding a bike on a main road. Christina rode a tandem with our host. At the brewery we enjoyed several rounds of samplers. I really enjoyed their "The Reverend Belgian-Style Quad." We befriended a couple that recently moved to Boulder from Northern Virginia. We invited them to join us for a hike the next day.
Day 39-
We met the next morning at Moe's Broadway Bagel. Fidel would be our guide to the top of Bear Peak. The summit as at 8460 ft. we began our hike near 5000 ft. It was intense. There were large rocks to climb. I am afraid of heights so that was something else I had to deal with as we got higher and higher. It was totally worth it. The view was amazing. We saw the entire city and the Rocky Mountain range. We stopped inside NCAR, the National Center for Atmospheric Research after our hike. The had really cool exhibits. You could feel what a cloud felt like in one of the exhibits.
We went to Odd 13 Brewing for dinner in Lafayette, CO. Our bodies needed carbs. They had an amazing pizza food truck in their patio that day. Odd 13 has a food truck rotation. We were lucky that there was pizza that night. I learned that I really like the pineapple, pepperoni, jalapeno styling. As for beers, Odd 13 creates brew personalities like superheroes and villains. I really liked the "Big Jim." Fidel's family came and joined us at the brewery.
We had to leave to connect with a different host for this night. They were at work and their friend who is also hosting and made the connection would meet to give us his apartment key. He was really welcoming and made us feel at home. We binged on "Orange is the New Black before going to sleep. Out host had previous plans that night. We didn't connect for long since we had to leave really early in the morning.
Day 40 (AM)-
The last place we checked out in Colorado was Glazed & Confused Donuts in Denver, CO. We bought a box full of donuts for the long ride back east. They have so many different flavors and styles. They even have their version of the cronut called puffy nut. It was sweet.
No comments:
Post a Comment