First day we took our sweet time getting going (flew in between 9am and 1030am and I was waiting at Stu's gate when she got off the plane so we could do the screamy, reunion thing!), stopped at Einstein bagels for breakfast/lunch and then drove through Boulder to Rocky Mountain National Park. There was apparently a huge flood in September and October and there were felled trees everywhere. The river was actually frozen but underneath the ice it must have been flowing somewhere because we could hear the water when we pulled over to look at it. When we got the south park entrance the road really wasn't drivable, but we were super happy with the pretty drive and we walked around for awhile and had a great time. We stopped in Boulder for dinner on the way to the hotel to check in and it was amazing. Best dinner ever!
Saturday we spent in Denver, walked the shops, had a great relaxing breakfast, found flower earrings for $1 on clearance (for a 6 pack!), went to a German Christkindlmarkt (German christmas fair), saw some live music and has some Gluhvein, (Free mug!!) and then had dinner at Brooklyn's before heading into our first NHL hockey game, the Colorado Avalanche v. Minnesota Wild. It was a really tight game, and went to a shoot out but we lost. Sad! But so fun! Then we walked across town to take the free bus the rest of the way to the Sheraton. The view from that hotel was great!
We had loved Boulder so much we decided to spend Sunday there. We toured the Celestial Seasonings factory, did a bunch of tastings and got really great goodies. Then we went back to our favorite restaurant PastaVino for lunch and then headed to the airport. We got there at 5pm, said our goodbyes, and headed to different terminals. And then we ran into each other again! My flight was supposed to be at 8:55pm, and I was bugged enough that I had to get there so early for Steph's flight. But guess what... bunch of delays later, we didn't take off until about 11:15pm MST. It sucked. Then, I got back into Portland after midnight (PST) and got straight on a bus to Eugene. A three hour bus ride. I had to change buses in Albany, and then they left me at a hotel in Eugene. But the nice bus driver called a cab ahead for me. Thankfully it took credit cards so I could pay. (I had planned on taking the free public bus, but the buses didn't open until 430am, and involved a 1.5 mile walk in the snow with my luggage in a neighborhood I didn't know.) The cabbie was very nice and took me right to my door and was very chatty.
Despite the drama, which was totally exhausting, I had a really great trip. This was the first real vacation I had taken since 2007, so I was thrilled. I didn't even take my computer!
I love bows and arrows! I thought this was so neat looking.
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