Hello again, old friend...

Hello there!

It's been a while. I know you've missed me-my legions of adoring fans! hah.

Adventures have abounded! First up: Aspen.

Weekend before last, I drove up to Aspen for the weekend to see some family. I wussed out on taking Independence pass, so that's a drive I still really want to take. It was a pretty hefty 4hour drive, not including the times where my GPS decided to have schizophrenic episodes due to dropped signal while traveling through the mountains. LEFT! RIGHT! RECALCULATING ROUTE: DRIVE OFF CLIFF, THEN PROCEED LEFT!

Aspen itself was very lovely, though too small for me. Quaint is a good word. It seemed a very Stepford town...the fancy cars, the designer shops, the inhabitants literally dripping with money weren't really my scene, but I loved the outdoor European style restaurants/cafe's and the beautiful rolling hills. And, we were able to walk around, enjoy happy hour cocktails, take-out crepes, and Shakespeare in the park, all for under $100! The next day we went for a fantastic 10 mile hike and ended up at a surprise costume party. The next morning, it became clear that I had a case of altitude sickness. Too many martinis + not enough sleep+ 10,000ft = owie. Aspen is a wonderful retreat, but not a place I could live year round.

Next up: The Denver Zoo
I had never been to the zoo here before, so this was a treat. The zoo itself is ginormous! We walked and walked and walked. And, walked. I got to finally see the Toyota Elephant passage and we saw the elephant show with Bodie, which was awesome! It was so cool to see an elephant up close, though I would have preferred to have had the experience in the midst of an Asian jungle rather than surrounded by sugar addled 4yr olds. I gave myself major bonus points for finding the sloth hidden in the tropical birds exhibit, as he was perched high atop a tree doing his best imitation of bark. The boy and I shared an ice cream cone, enjoyed the beautiful day, and overall agreed that giraffes smell.

Adventure numero three: First Friday on Santa Fe and El Noa Noa
I had been to Santa Fe before on a Sunday morning when it was next to deserted. Friday night, it was entirely transformed! I couldn't believe it! There were musicians and food trucks and people of all kinds spilling over into the streets. All the galleries were bursting and bustling with life. We went to a repurposed church to see the debut exhibition of paintings by the boy's cousin.  My only complaint really is that it was so crowded that it made meandering kind of difficult unless you knew exactly were you were going. I loved the vibrancy and youth and creative counter culture pulsing all around me though! I will definitely go back again. Our art adventure left us a bit peckish and we walked over to El Noa Noa, which was voted by Westword and others as having the best Mexican food in the city.  We had a delicious margarita and some Fajitas. It was expensive for what it was, but it was still an enjoyable affair. The sounds and smells...it was a city and a culture alive, and I was part of it!

The final frontier: Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark in IMAX.
Another experience you could only have in an amazing city like Denver. The theatre was neat-a knock off of the famous Grumman's Chinese Theatre  in LA. I must say, I didn't get any deeper of an appreciation seeing the film in IMAX.  In fact, the best part was probably seeing the trailer for the new Hobbit movie and the Life of Pi (one of my favorite books) on such a large scale and with such amazing sound.  Today we are going for a bike ride and going to a sports bar to watch the first Bronco's game of the season like the true Denverites we are becoming! :)

Let the adventures continue!...