Boulder Archives - Weary Wanderer

The Summer of Yes

Published on August 14, 2023August 14, 2023 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy August, friends! Man, oh man, did that summer fly by! I mean, I know it’s technically still summer, and for most of the country, kids are still out of school. Here in Colorado, though, we’re gearing up for the return of the school season (TOMORROW!), and all the insanity that comes with it.

Traditionally speaking, summer has never been my favorite season. I obviously loved having the time off from school when I was a kid, but as an adult, the heat and humidity, long, lazy days … it’s just not really my thing. So, after returning from New York at the start of the girls’ summer vacation, I vowed to make this year different. I vowed to say yes. Yes to more concerts and more shows. Yes to more swimming and more adventures. Yes to being out in the (hot!) world more. The older girls would be in summer camp for the majority of the break, but I also wanted Emilia to have a stellar time. I enrolled her in swim lessons and a couple half days of camp. I made an Emilia Summer Bucket List and slowly ticked things off as the weeks went by. We took more walks, went to story times at the library and got her a scooter.

All of this is to say … this summer, I changed my own personal narrative. Don’t get me wrong. I was still very tired and had moments of absolute stress. We had illnesses and bumps and bruises and fought boredom (and each other), for sure. But overall, this was a summer for the books, and we didn’t even travel until the last few weeks of it. We made fun in our own backyard, as it were, and I’m here for the results, experiences and memories.

I hope you’re all making the most of any breaks that have come your way, as well!

Library Story Time!

The first-ever toddler story time visit for Emilia was a huge hit! We made it back a few more times throughout the summer and she walked in like she owned the place. I can’t with this little one. I simply. Can. Not.

The Denver Zoo

I took Emilia to the zoo by herself for the first time, and the way that she loved setting our agenda was a delight. Highlights included picking up dirt, eating snacks and watching construction vehicles 😉

We went back to the zoo for Lotte’s birthday because Chris’ parents got us the Feed the Giraffes Experience, and it was EPIC! So much fun!

Taste of Fort Collins

We also made our own pizzas in Moe’s sister’s outdoor pizza oven, and now we can never go back to boxed!

Red Rocks, Red Rocks & More Red Rocks!

I hadn’t been to Red Rocks as much in my eight years of living in Colorado combined as I have this season … including one more to come in September that I’m SO EXCITED FOR!

Chris and I saw the Barenaked Ladies perform at Red Rocks (with openers Del Amitri and Semisonic) and it was SO WONDERFUL! They were awesome performers, and it was really fun to relive my high school days with Chris <3

I went to Yoga on the Rocks (which is exactly as it sounds … performing a yoga class on the stairs at Red Rocks!) with some friends in July. I had been once before with Chris’ sister a few years ago and O.M.G. it is a delight. Red Rocks is always wonderful, but to be doing something so calming and meditative while you’re out in this gorgeous venue in nature … it’s really something else.

My baby is growing up. I took Lotte to her first Red Rocks concert this summer. We tailgated with PB & J in the parking lot and hung out until 9:30 listening to Tori Amos under the stars. It was a magical night.

Swim Lessons For Em

Emilia started swim lessons and she has been loving it. As she’s gotten further into them it’s gotten harder for mom (lots more going under the water … yikes!), but I have so loved having this experience with her while I’m still an active part of her lesson. We didn’t start the big girls in lessons until they were old enough to go in themselves. This feels so special.

Junkyard Social Club

Playdates, Playdates & More Playdates

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … we got SO LUCKY with our neighborhood.

Father’s Day Delights

For Father’s Day we took the girls to their first movie — Elemental — at The Alamo Drafthouse. The movie was super cute, but more than that the experience — sitting in an amazing theater ordering food and drink DELIVERED TO YOU — was so much fun! That was definitely NOT how I went to the movies with my parents as a kid … but then again, nothing is the same from when I was a kid…

We had Father’s Day dinner at Freedom Street Social, a cool food hall that opened in Arvada with lots of different restaurant options in one spot. Look at these cuties that I get to call my own … <3

Camp, Camp & More Camps!

The girls have mostly gone to camps at the YMCA, but they took a break from the Y for a week to attend two different camps — drama and art — with friends at the Arvada Center and they loved it!

Here’s Grace in front of some of her artwork on display at the end of the week. My little love.

Ralston Central Park & Splash Pad

I’ve so loved our adventures this summer, little one. Please stop growing up.

Touristing With Visitors

Chris had a cousin come visit near the beginning of July, and so the girls got to do some adventuring with Matt, as well.

When Grandpa came to visit we checked out Immersive Disney, which was so cool!

The girls had the best time running around and listening to some of their favorite Disney songs. (So did the adults, to be honest!)

The girls even got to check out a Rockies game — on Stars Wars night, so less — with Grandpa!

Birthday Parties!

Camp for Emilia, Too 😉

Emilia’s first camp! She went for four morning sessions at My Gym and had a great time! It was the first time I ever dropped her off somewhere and left and it was … hard. But I made it through 😉

The Book of Mormon

Children’s Museum of Denver

Milestones & Makin’ Memories <3

This has nothing to do with saying yes to adventure, but it’s worth noting that Grace and Lotte lost a collective FOUR TEETH (two each) this summer! They kept the tooth fairy busy.

Chris’ version of a “yes” summer was trying out lots of new recipes. His family was happy to oblige him in his efforts. This was the lobster roll and homemade coconut oil chips he made for July 4th. Yes and yes, please!

Grace read ‘Dragons Love Tacos’ before bed one night and asked for tacos the next day. Dad made it happen 😉

Don’t worry. We made sure to have plenty of down time for snuggle sessions, as well.

I took the girls out for dinner and ice cream to celebrate the last full day of camp. We love The Golden Mill for its multiple restaurants and live music and festive atmosphere. It was the perfect way to celebrate a camp-filled fun summer!

Urban Air

Our Neighborhood Block Party

Our neighborhood had one of its twice-annual block parties the night before July 4th. It’s always so much fun to see everyone, especially ….

All the cute kiddos <3 This is like a third of them!

The Indigo Girls in Fort Collins!

I saw so much amazing live music this summer, including the Indigo Girls at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins with Moe and her sister. I was truly reliving those glory days of high school this summer!

Mordecai Children’s Garden (the Denver Botanic Gardens)

I took all three girlies to visit the Mordecai Children’s Garden — a separate section of the Denver Botanic Gardens — when the big girls were off of camp during the week of July 4th. We hadn’t been in years (and Emilia had never been!) and they had the best time!

Big Soda Lake in Bear Creek Lake Park

So pretty … you can even see Red Rocks in the background on the other side.

Yard Sale Sunday!

We had a yard sale! Made a couple bucks, sold some of our fave things to some cute families, taught the girls some solid lessons and donated a LOT of stuff to Goodwill. It was a solid way to spend a Sunday 😉

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Press Trips x 3!

We were lucky enough to be able to go on not one, not two, but THREE press trips this summer. I can’t write a lot about them just yet, but once the story is out, I’ll post more details. For now I’ll just share the where ….

The first was Grand Colorado on Peak 8, which was a pure delight.

We got to visit the Breckenridge Troll on this trip, too!

Our second stop was the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek! We’ve only been to Beaver Creek once before but we LOVED it, and this hotel was STUNNING. So. Much. Fun!

Mountainside s’mores by the fire pit. Like I said … Too. Much. Fun!

Our third and ALL TIME FAVORITE was C Lazy U Ranch outside of Granby. The extent to which we loved this place — and the extent to which it was incredibly difficult to only include a few photos here — was a whole heck of a lot <3

Breakfast Friday morning was a real highlight …

And we all (except for Emilia) got to ride horses!

Am I a little bit proud of us? Why yes, yes I am.

Tiny Town

When my stepdad was in town for Lotte’s birthday, we took Emilia to check out Tiny Town, a cute little kids’ play area in the mountains that has a bunch of small, kid-sized buildings that make up a “town” they can play in, plus a playground and a train. So cute <3

These two <3 They sure are cute together!

Lair o’ the Bear Park

Taking Emilia to visit Lair o’ the Bear Park was the final tick I needed to complete her Summer of Fun Bucket List. It was even better that the girls had the week before school started off and the four of us got to visit together <3

These cuties had a blast exploring on a beautiful Monday morning.

Dipping our toes in the creek was a highlight!

I love, love, LOVE adventuring with my little ladies.

PHEW! And now, the girls start school tomorrow. We’ve bought backpacks and new clothes, gotten haircuts and had our doc check-ups. I don’t know what to say about the fact that time keeps on flying. Except that I’m sure glad I said yes to this summer, and that we’ve all had these experiences. Starting the summer in New York with our loves was the absolute best, and we did our best to keep the party going all season long. It’s been a summer I won’t forget.

Bis bald, friends … until next time!

2021: A Year in Review

Published on December 30, 2021December 30, 2021 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Welp, friends … there goes another year. As the photo above indicates, we’ve had our highs and lows. I think the year didn’t quite pan out the way most of us were hoping it would, but still, there were bright spots to be found.

Here’s hoping 2022 brings you and your family all the happiness and cheer that you deserve! And here’s what we were able to get up to in 2021 …

April

We dusted off our travel boots for the first time in more than a year (!) this past April for a trip to the mountains. We headed to one of our favorite low-key spots — Granby Ranch — and the older girls even tried their hand at skiing for the first time.

Lotte, Grace & Emilia cuddled up on our couch in the cabin.

Chris and the big girls posing on frozen Grand Lake.

They look a little weathered here because this was after their lessons … but I HAD to get a pic of the two of them with their adorable little set of skis!

We wrangled the kids to take a quick selfie when we got out on the lake in Grand Lake.

June

By the time June rolled around, Chris and I were fully vaccinated, and we were able to start hosting some of our favorite people at our house again. We also went on a fun mountain/lake hike, Lotte continued her adventures in skiing and started running (well, that was pre-June, but I blogged about it in June!) and we continued to find adventures everywhere we could in the great Colorado outdoors. We also spent Father’s Day in one of Chris’ favorite places.

Grandpa came for his first visit in more than a year!

July

The end of June and beginning of July was a busy time for us, as we packed up the car and hit the road for our trip out East! We started in Colorado and made out way out to New Jersey and New York and then back, stopping in a number of states along the way. (You can find all the gritty details here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

Staying at a real, working farm in Pennsylvania was … interesting!

entering Colorado on the way home — Colorado State Line

Then, at the end of July, our firstborn turned FIVE!

August

We hosted more of our besties in August, Lotte started kindergarten, Grace returned to preschool and we managed to make it to Frisco for one final summer mountain visit.

September

We hosted one of Chris’ good friends in September, and they hiked a 14er (a tradition they started years ago). We also spent Labor Day at Standley Lake with friends.

October

We spent October in our traditionally favorite way … with all the fall activities!

December

As the holidays rolled around, we were really looking forward to spending Christmas and New Years with family back in New York. Unfortunately, Covid had different plans for us. Perhaps we’ll have better luck next year. Still, we managed to get a day in Manhattan, and we did get to spend actual Christmas Day with family, which was an upgrade from last year, so we’ll call it a win.

Grace was very taken with the Rockefeller tree 😉

And that’s 2021, my friends. We’re looking forward to a quiet New Years Eve (and wedding anniversary, for myself and Chris <3) and planning for (hopefully) some fun travels to come in the New Year.

But until then … bis bald, friends!

Sweet summer fun with some best friends.

Saying “So Long” to Summer 2021

Published on August 13, 2021August 13, 2021 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

The smoke from wildfires in the West have made it pretty gross outside in Colorado, but we still made the most of it when we had some besties visit from New York last weekend.

I used to think that it was preposterous to even think about school/fall/the end of the year before Labor Day, but as Instagram has taught me, it’s actually fairly common for schools around the country to start before then. Here in our little slice of Colorado heaven, Lotte will be starting kindergarten (SOB) and Grace will be back to preschool starting next Tuesday.

Le sigh. Summer, where did you go?

Besides our big ole’ road trip and Lotte’s 5th birthday, this summer has been but a blink. We’re looking forward to the girls getting back to school (even though they loved summer camp!) and seeing all their old friends, and we’re hopeful that this school year will see some semblance of normalcy. There will be masks, of course, but if we can just keep the kids in school, that would be such a blessing.

Again, le sigh. The world we live in these days.

Anyway, we had one of my good friends and her daughter — Lotte’s best NYC friend, she informed me — visit last weekend, and today was the girls’ last day at summer camp. We’re soaking it in, and keeping our fingers crossed for the fall future.

Bis bald, friends!

Lotte had the best time trying out track this summer, and we had the best time watching her!

We didn’t get around to our annual paddle out on Standley Lake yet, but we did pal around the lake quite a bit, which is always a delight.

There were a lot of porch hangs, as well <3

And a LOT of cuddles with this treasure…

We went to a children’s concert in Boulder when our NYC friends visited, and it was so stinkin’ cute!

Taking it all in while avoiding the crowds, something I’m sure you’ve all come to excel at, as well.

Someone thoroughly enjoyed her first concert experience!

Our “strolley” (as Chris lovingly refers to the collapsible Radio Flyer we have) is such a game-changer every single place we go. Fine, Chris, I admit here, in public, that it was a great purchase!

Fiona brought flower crowns for Lotte’s birthday!

Nothing says summer quite like a run through the backyard sprinklers.

We headed into Golden and hit up the Golden Mill one of the days that Carla and Fiona were here. This place is quickly becoming one of our must-hit spots for guests.

These guys were just the sweetest … even given the occasional complete meltdown 😉

Carla and I were roommates our freshman year of college, then worked one street away when we both started our careers in Manhattan. Now her daughter is five months older than Lotte and her son is two months younger than Grace. Love her to stinkin’ bits!

I don’t know what they were judging here, but something about this photo is very sweet to me.

We saw so many people tubing down the river while in Golden. It was very fun to sit in the park and shovel ice cream into our faces while watching other people exercise.

Last day of summer camp calls for cute summer dresses!

Your 2019 Colorado Summer Bucket List

Published on June 19, 2019August 21, 2019 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

I mean … G is barely even in this photo, but you get the gist — Colorado is amazing in the summer, and summer is right around the corner! I mean, it’s pretty amazing all of the time, but the summer is a great time to check out the mountains, lakes, hikes, breweries … and everything in between.

To help you out if you happen to be in the hood, here are a few of our fave hangouts when the weather gets warmer:

Continue reading “Your 2019 Colorado Summer Bucket List” →

Welcome Summer! (And a Whole Slew of Photos)

Published on June 26, 2018 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy Tuesday, friends! It’s been a hot sec since I’ve blogged, mostly because we’ve been super busy (in the best possible way) with a visit from Chris’ sister. Yes friends, Auntie Kate is here from Australia, and our girls could. not. be. happier. Our summer so far has consisted of birthday parties, breweries, new adventures (like yoga at Red Rocks!), and a brand spankin’ new deck. Kate is here through July 5, and Chris’ aunt, uncle, and their three kids are joining us for the week of July 4, as well. It’s just about the best way to kick off the summer that I can think of.

Hope everyone else is living their best life, as well 😉

^^ Aussie treats from Aunt Kate included all the Snakes Alive treats that were in Australia <3 Girl knows the way to my heart!

^^ We attended a joint birthday party for our little neighbors the first Saturday Kate was here. It was at The Craftsman & Apprentice in Denver, which meant the kids got to run around and create all kinds of arts and crafts.

^^ Grace participated, too!

^^ Grace’s first Father’s Day <3

^^ Celebrating Dad’s Day with some drinks at Westminster Brewing Co.

^^ This little one has fallen head over heels in love with her Auntie Kate. I don’t know how we’re going to let her leave …

^^ Not only did Auntie Kate come with all the Aussie treats, but she also came with all the Aussie clothes. Here, Grace & Lotte are modeling their new Bonds pjs by rolling around on the ground together.

^^ We took Auntie Kate to the Denver Children’s Museum last Friday and Lotte had so much fun showing her all her favorite things – including this bubble room, which is always the biggest hit.

^^ Kate treated me to a session of Yoga on the Rocks at Red Rocks. I was nervous since the extent of my yoga experience was the class Steph’s friend taught for our Mom’s fundraiser back in April, but this was so much fun!

^^ Auntie Kate joined us for Lotte’s gym class last Saturday, too. She’s pretty much the best sport ever.

^^ We’re testing out some books for Parents magazine like we did last year, and this year is so much fun because Lotte is actually into books now. This picture has got to be one of my faves ever.

^^ And this one …

^^ And this one!

^^ This past Sunday would have been my mom’s birthday, so Kate & Chris took the girls to Chautauqua Park in Boulder so I could have some time to myself. They only got a short way into the hike before it started raining, unfortunately, but it still seems like they had a lot of fun.

^^ This past Sunday we christened our brand new deck with our first barbecue with my cousin and her husband and kids. It’s always fun hanging with that crew, but to host our first guests on our brand new back deck made it even more special.

And that has been our summer in a nutshell so far, my friends! We have the rest of our guests to look forward to in July (as well as Lotte’s 2nd birthday, which I can’t talk about …), and another trip back east in August. Other than that, you’ll find us on the back deck if you need us <3

Bis bald, friends!

A Visit to Chautauqua Park

Published on January 16, 2018 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Happy Tuesday, friends! As I mentioned yesterday, we loaded the car up with our two kiddos, some food and the family while Steph & Brian were visiting to check out Chautauqua Park in Boulder. Chris had done a little research before we left and found a trail that was labeled as easy for us to try, but when we got there it was actually a bit steeper than I was ready for. So I stayed with them for about 100 yards, took some pics, and then Steph and I waited in the car for the rest of the gang to finish the hike 😉 Still fun, though! And beautiful! As I type this it’s snowing outside, but just two days ago it was about 60 for this hike.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – Colorado is one crazy place.

Here’s some of what we saw!

^^ Big ups to my bro-in-law for offering to carry Lotte on the hike!

^^ Wanna know a secret? Brian was actually in this picture, and the family one of me and Chris and Lotte and Grace from above, but he ducked down to pretend that he wasn’t! If that’s not an awesome bro-in-law, I don’t know what is 😉

^^ We finished up the day at FATE Brewing Company in Boulder, which was the perfect place for the kiddos, too!

I would highly recommend this park if you’re in the area and looking for some easy scenic views. I can’t wait to get back to see more of it! Bis bald, friends!

Fawning Over Fall Days & Continuing Our Pumpkin Patch Tradition

Published on October 10, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

As I type this, it is snowing like crazy outside. Oh Colorado, and your crazy weather, you do keep us on our toes! This past weekend was glorious, however, and we spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon at the same pumpkin patch where we took Lotte with her grandparents last year when she was a mere tiny thing of two months old. We love Rock Creek Farm and the traditions we’re building with Lotte (and soon-to-be-new-Baby-C). I can’t believe next year when we head back it’ll be with both of our little babes in tow.

Life sure is funny and strange and beautiful and scary, isn’t it?

A Whirlwind Trip With Parents …

Published on May 14, 2015 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

Hey friends,

So we just bid adieu to my Mom and stepdad who were here visiting for the past couple of days. Despite weather that begged us to just stay inside and hibernate (and cancelled our baseball game — thanks freakin’ springtime snow!), we managed to fit in quite a bit of activity.

Here’s a bit of what we did …

^^ Friday night night after they arrived we hit up Jagged Mountain Brewery across the street and had dinner at the food truck that was parked outside that night, Scratch Comfort Food.

^^ When cold, rain and snow forced us to change our (outdoor) plans for Saturday, we headed to the Molly Brown House Museum first, and then …

^^ … to Rio Grande for some delish Mexican and marguerites, yo!

^^ Our baseball game was cancelled on Saturday night, so we decided to go see The Avengers at the United Artists Denver Pavillions Stadium 15, and holy crap guys, they have leather seats that electronically recline allllll the way back so you’re basically laying down in the comfort of a leather chair watching a movie. Amazing! Almost amazing enough to make up for the fact that the power blacked out 15 minutes before the movie ended and we had to wait 20 minutes for it to come back on. Oh well, you know what they say, when it rains it …

^^ Snows! Only in Denver could a freak snowstorm occur in the middle of May. Well okay, probably not only in Denver, but on Saturday night it sure felt that way!

^^ After the movie we hit up 5280 Burger Bar, which, I imagine, would be a meat-lovers dream come true …

^^ See what I mean? Blech! (This was Chris’s, by the way, obviously not mine!)

^^ The ice cream sundaes, however, I can definitely get on board with!

^^ Things were looking up on Sunday, which was Mother’s Day.

^^ I took the rents for a stroll to Union Station so they could check it out, and we of course had to grab some ice cream from the Milkbox Ice Creamery, which serves Little Man ice cream.

^^ That night we headed to the Green Russell for drinks before dinner at Osteria Marco in Larimer Square. This time we all chatted with the bar tender about our drink likes and dislikes, and had him custom-make some concoctions for us, which did not disappoint!

^^ Finally, finally, the sun came out on Monday! So we took advantage and hopped in the car and headed out to Red Rocks.

^^ I think it’s safe to say they liked it here 😉

^^ Monday afternoon I had booked us for the high tea service at The Brown Palace Hotel, which is the oldest (and by far the fanciest!) hotel in Denver. This was so much fun, friends. We got all dressed up and there was a live piano player. We each ordered one type of tea (mine Chai, of course), and were served in our own little pots. The service came with two types of scones (regular and chocolate chip) served with Devonshire butter and jam, as well as three different types of finger sandwiches and four different mini-desserts. I’ve never felt so fancy!

^^ How adorable are these desserts!?

^^ Even though our baseball game was cancelled I still got to walk my parents by the stadium, and Robert even went back and took a tour the day they left. It was $10 and he said it was definitely worth it. They walked the field, saw where the players get ready, sat in the dugout … seems like a dream for baseball fans!

^^ Me & Mom outside Union Station.

^^ On Tuesday we were back in the car and headed to South Pearl Street in Boulder to check out the shops.

27_PearlSt_Candy

^^ The old-timey Rocket Fizz Soda Pop & Candy Shop was definitely one of our favorite stops.

28_Soda_Museum

And that was about it, my friends. They left on Wednesday after checking out Chris’s office and having lunch at Backcountry Deli. Not too shabby for a quick five-day trip, huh?

This weekend we’re heading to A-Basin for some springtime snowboarding, and then next weekend, my friends, we’re heading out to Moab, Utah, to go camping with our friends. This, my dear friends, is why I was so excited to move out here in the first place. Our first real road trip! Wish us luck …

Bis bald!

A First Birthday in Denver

Published on April 7, 2015April 7, 2015 by Cheryl Lock2 Comments

I wanted to take some time here to mention all of the fun things we did in and around Denver for my birthday last week, since it really was such a fun week. Here’s a little bit of what we saw:

^^ Chris surprised me the night before my birthday with concert tickets to see the Ting Tings at The Gothic Theatre in Englewood. The concert was awesome, and we really loved this venue. It sort of reminded us a bit of Terminal 5 in Manhattan, which, if you’ll recall, we have found memories of 😉
02Sonic_Treat ^^ On the way home from the concert we stopped off at Sonic because Chris had never tried it before and, truth be told, neither had I. The Oreo Sonic Blast is to-die-for.
03French_Toast ^^ Birthday morning started out with my traditional birthday French Toast. I’m a spoiled, spoiled gal.
04_Cupcakes ^^ My sister and her fiancee sent some seriously fabulous cupcakes from Happy Cakes Bakeshop.
05Violin_Lessons ^^ Chris lured me out of the apartment on the pretense that we were getting lunch, and instead he took me to Von’s Violin Shop, where he rented me a violin so I could start taking lessons again. Best. Gift. Ever!
06Denver_Lights ^^ I mentioned yesterday that we had dinner on the night of my birthday at Root Down in the Highlands neighborhood, which serves local, sustainable cuisine. Then Friday night we headed out on the town with my brother-in-law’s sister (you read that right) and her husband, whose birthday also happened to be April 2. On Friday we hit up Osteria Marco — an Italian eatery in the adorable Larimer Square section of town.
07Colorado_Pride ^^ After dinner we headed across the street to The Green Russell, a cocktail speakeasy, where I had a traditional Whiskey Sour, made with raw egg and everything. The bartenders here are amazing. They take the time to chat with you and figure out the perfect drink for you based on your tastes … it’s a seriously fun place to hit up. Of course it’s super dark though, so I couldn’t get a good picture. Instead I’ll post another of Larimer Square because, come on … how cute?!
08Downtown_Boulder ^^ On Saturday we hopped in the car and headed to Boulder to take in the Boulder Arts Week shenanigans (which to be honest we sort of flaked on after trying out one spot), and to have lunch at Salt, where I tried out my first quinoa burger.
09Boulder_View ^^ Another view of the adorable Pearl Street

And that’s about it my friends. My first birthday in Denver is officially in the books and, I gotta say, it wasn’t too shabby at all. A huge shout-out to my hubs for making the week so special.

Bis bald, friends — and welcome to spring!

The Year 2014: A Review

Published on December 30, 2014August 27, 2019 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Well, friends, it’s been quite the year! When I’m old and grey and looking back on my travels, this will certainly be one of my favorite years to reference. Here’s how our adventure-filled 365 days played out:

Continue reading “The Year 2014: A Review” →

A Spring Break Trip to Boulder

Published on April 22, 2014April 22, 2014 by Cheryl Lock3 Comments

Hi friends,

So … we’re back! Last week Chris, my sister, her boyfriend and myself all took off on Spirit airlines (hold onto your hats, friends, because I plan to write an article about the notoriously low-rated airline and link to it here!) to head to Denver. Our itinerary for the week included trips to Boulder, Breckenridge and Denver. This was a particularly important trip, my friends, because Chris and I are planning a potential move to Colorado in the winter — but we had yet to actually visit the great state.

So you see — important!

Anyway, we were contemplating both Boulder and Denver as potential new cities for us, and Breckenridge was thrown in there so the boys could ski/snowboard for a day. We hit up Boulder first so that we would end the trip back in Denver, where we would be flying out of on Saturday.

I think probably the best way for me to tackle this trip is to take it by city — so Boulder today, Breckenridge tomorrow and Denver the next.

So Boulder first it is! After landing at the Denver airport and being conned into upgrading our rental car to an SUV (well maybe not so much conned — having the sturdier car to drive in the mountains to Breckenridge turned out to be not so much of a bad thing …), we hit the road for our 50 minute drive to Boulder.

Boulder is …. so many things. It’s beautiful and open and entertaining and relaxing. It’s a lot of things all rolled into one — it’s just not a place that Chris and I can necessarily see ourselves living just yet. So as much as we liked it, I think it’s safe to say Boulder was ruled out as a place for us to take up residence in a few months.

Here’s a bit of what we did …

^^ The Twisted Pine Brewery is an absolute must if you’re in Boulder.
For as many breweries as we ended up visiting, Chris and I both say
this was our favorite. We got the sampler for starters, which had so many
amazing beers for tasting. The food was pretty fantastic, as well.

^^ Yummmm … beer!

Okay ya’ll — here’s where we have to discuss the big ole’ elephant in the room, and that elephant, my friends, is marijuana. So as anyone who’s from the U.S. and doesn’t live under a rock will know, weed is now completely legal in the state of Colorado. This is of course infinitely amazing to some, completely annoying to others, and neither here nor there to even more. Whether or not it’s amazing, annoying or neither here nor there to me wasn’t really the point (although I guess if I were forced to pick a category, I’d have to go with neither here nor there …), because I’m pretty intrigued by it. Like, how does it work? What’s it like to buy a drug that has always been illegal, legally? How much does it cost? How do they sell it? What kind of people go to these stores?

I had to know! So … we found one.

The experience of buying weed is, I guess I would have to say, a bit weird. For this particular store, we walked into the front room and were greeted by “security.” (I use the term “security” loosely and with quotation marks because these guys were so friendly and chill, I can’t imagine them ever actually getting security-ish about anything …). So we showed our IDs (you do at least have to be 21, after all), and headed into the small room where the weed was kept. There were, for lack of a better term, salesmen behind the counters whose job it was to point you in the right direction. How much were you interested in smoking? What type of weed were you interested in smoking? When was the last time you smoked, and how much do you think you could handle?

Completely and totally intriguing.

^^ Weed in the form of edibles. I still can’t get over it.

Our entire experience lasted maybe 15 minutes, and we were out of there. We went in. We saw.

I’ve had enough 😉

That night we drove downtown to check out the Downtown Boulder area and the Pearl Street Mall, which was very adorable. We ate at West End Tavern under heat lamps in their upstairs, lofted area. It was super cute, and very tasty — I’d very much recommend it.

After a long day of traveling we were pretty exhausted, so we went to bed early so we could rise early for our amazing hike of the Flatirons Vista Loop.

The trail was amazing. Obviously very scenic, not too difficult and only somewhat muddied from the recent snow. I’m really glad we did it, though. After the hike we headed over to the Boulder Beer brewery, where we shared an appetizer and drank what turned out to be $1.50 beers.

ONE DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS, PEOPLE! I’m not sure you can get gum for that much in the city, anymore.

We ended our last night in Boulder with another trip to the downtown area (to include the amazing Boulder Bookstore where I purchased two recent releases for less than $20!) for dinner and then drinks and Yahtzee at West Flanders Brewery.

^^ Yahtzee!!

And that was about it for our Boulder experience, my friends. Breweries, hikes and weed. I’d say that’s a pretty good summary 😉

The next morning we were off bright and early to Breckenridge, and I’ll update you all about that tomorrow.

Bis bald, friends!

P.S. In case anyone was wondering, we stayed at the La Quinta Inn that was actually in Louisville, Colorado, about a 10 minute drive from Boulder. The price was infinitely cheaper than anything we found directly in Boulder, though, so if you don’t mind doing a little driving, I would highly recommend it.