Rocky Mountain High

We took a little trip out to Denver last week and almost didn’t come back we loved it so much.  My two years of riding the company bus (US Airways) back and forth from Philadelphia to Charlotte finally paid off as we were upgraded in both directions, which was a nice change of pace – especially when you’re not traveling for business. 

The great part about this trip, one of many, was that we got to enjoy the hospitality of some very close friends.  Gayle and Bryan Connell hosted us the first 2 nights we were in town.  Denise and Gayle rowed together at the University of Delaware, and we were lucky enough to attend their wedding back in 2003 right before the left for a multi-year assignment in Australia.   Sad we never got to visit them there, but we were very lucky to get to spend time with them in Aurora at their beautiful home with their two kids Emerson and Weston.   Gayle and Bryan took us up to Boulder on the 20^th for some hiking along the Flatirons and lunch in town. 

 We were completely oblivious to the fact that it was April 20^th (4/20), the unofficial holiday for all things cannabis and the University of Colorado at Boulder has traditionally been a hot bed of celebrations for this event.  Unfortunately for the students, the school had taken measures to interrupt their festivities by treating the main greenway on campus with a fish-based fertilizer.  We made a point to avoid campus and found a nice little spot for lunch before heading home to pick up the kids from daycare and fix some dinner.

Saturday we made our way to Highlands Ranch to visit Jen and Trevor Giampietro and their two kids, Nick and Hannah.  They just moved to Colorado last summer.  Jen and I worked at MBNA/Bank of America together for almost my entire time there.  Saturday night we had plans to all get together, the Pages / Giampietros / Connells, in downtown Denver for dinner and drinks.  It was a beautiful night and a great way to kick of the next couple days leading up to my birthday.

Sunday we were up early and out the door headed for Colorado Springs to check out the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak.  We made the long trek all the way over to Cripple Creek and stopped there for a late lunch, before heading back to Highlands Ranch for dinner.

Monday, our last day in Denver, Denise and I drove all the way up to Rocky Mountain National Park to take in the sights and do some hiking.  Estes Park is a pretty neat little town along the way, with plenty of places to stay overnight for an extended stay near the park.  With snow still up to our waists in some places, the hiking from Bear Lake up Flattop Mountain was a little more “technical” than I had anticipated, but we survived.  The views were totally worth it as we made our way up.

 

Tuesday we flew home a little sore from our adventures, but definitely had a different perspective on what a vacation out west can really be.