1200 Miles West

Last Wednesday we were treated to a night out at the ballpark by Sara. For Mike’s b-day she bought us two tickets to the game and two beers!

It appeared to me that there were more St. Louis fans in the audience then Rockie’s fans, but during the bottom of the 7th inning the team took charge of the game while down 0-3 and pulled out a 4-3 win!

We participated in the Home Run for the Homeless 5k this weekend and by doing so we each get two free tickets to future Rockie’s games. I wonder who we’ll take???

Today, Sara and I proved that we are Iron Girls as we participated in the Iron Girl 5k run/walk at City Park in Denver. It was another early morning, but thankfully it was much warmer today. After finding each other somewhere around 16th and Steele we proceeded to check in. This was by far, the best organized event that I have been to in a long time.

We took some time to walk around the tents, got our Aflac ducks and then decided that we didn’t want to carry our t-shirts and what not with us during the walk so we jogged back to the car to ensure that we didn’t miss the start of the race.

It was a beautiful day for a walk and we averaged approximately 15 minutes a mile. Not back for a Sunday stroll. After the race we walked around a little more before we the following picture was snapped.

For those of you who heard me talking about the event ahead of time, I was hoping that I’d end up with a shirt that had the Iron Girl logo and the duck, but this was even more thrilling as Sara and I got to pose in front of a giant one with our race medals on!

Check out this brightkite link to a picture that Sara snapped with her camera after the race - this sums up the day perfectly!  (At some point I need to learn how to use brightkite!)

Looking forward to next Sunday when Mike, Sara and I participate in the Home Run for the Homeless which is another 5k run/walk that will take place at/around Coors Field. Although, if Sara doesn’t figure out if she’s registered or not, it may just be Mike and I…I hope I don’t have to walk alone!

No, I’m not talking about the Kentucky Derby even though it did take place yesterday.  But what fun is it to watch a bunch of horses run around a track with tiny men on their backs?

What I’m talking about is roller derby! The Rocky Mountain Roller Girls were back in action last night and unlike the first game we attended, they CRUSHED their opponents by more than 100 points.

If you remember my post from our last trip to the Derby, Mike wasn’t especially happy as he had to stand the entire bout. This time we were fortunate to have chairs to sit on. Thanks go out to Sara for reminding us of the event, even if we did show up before her and save her a seat!

Also, I should mention that we also attended a Tercero de Mayo party hosted by Cris and Jen. While we were only able to stay for an hour or so, I have to say that I sucked down three of the best margaritas I’ve ever had. Plus, Cris and Jen cooked some excellent tamales and one plate was all vegetarian! Yeah for me. Thanks guys for inviting us over…I promise we’re going to have a party soon.

I’m not going to compare my time to Mike’s, but I will say that while I didn’t run the Cherry Creek Sneak the walk was just as fulfilling. I think the last time I walked 5 miles without stopping was last Summer, so it had been a while. The time flew by as it was a beautiful sunny day here in CO and I enjoyed some good conversation while hoofing it around the course with Sara.

After the race we met up with Mike and Angie to check out the vendor tents. I stocked up on vitamins, power bars and these chewy things with caffeine.

On Saturday, I spent the day downtown with Sara at the Colorado Women’s Expo. We enjoyed talks given by both Suze Orman and Bob Greene. We also enjoyed lunch at Cooks Market, a trip to the nail salon and a peanut butter caramel apple. What more could you ask for on a Saturday?

Our day started at the Dushanbe Tea House where we enjoyed a light lunch and some wonder green and oolong teas. For those of you who haven’t visited the tea house, I highly recommend it. We sat on the patio by the stream and enjoyed the April sun while chatting. It was definitely a great start to our day in Boulder.

After finishing up with lunch, we strolled through the farmers market. I have to say that it’s one of the better outdoor markets that I have been to. We even found gluten free chocolate cookies that we enjoyed later in the day.

Next we headed out to Pearle Street to do a little shopping.

While shopping we stopped into JJ Juice and Sara enjoyed a broccoli, carrot and apple juice, while I had a mango flavored smoothie.

By the end of the day we had walked 6,200 steps, however we still stopped to smell the flowers!

Hugs to Sara for spending the day with me!  It was fun and I can’t wait until this weekend when we head out to the Colorado Women’s Expo and then the Cherry Creek Sneak on Sunday.

Last Friday we were treated  by Indigo to dinner and the Mammoth game.  When I say “we” I mean Mike as he put in some long days and nights working on the Botanic Gardens website.

At the Mammoth game Mike disappeared for a little while and when he returned, the above picture was snapped.  The Mammoth came out on top winning the game 14 - 3.  They are headed to the playoffs, so maybe we’ll make another game before the season’s over!

A week ago last Saturday (I know I’ve been delinquent in updating the blog!) we met up with some fellow Indigian’s to celebrate Heather’s 34th b-day and her recent promotion to Director of Marketing. Sara was nice enough to make a reservation at McKinners which is known for their pizza.

We had a blast hanging out with everyone while enjoying a few beers and maybe a tequila shot or two. Here’s a cute shot of Heather, Ronnie and Jesse.

Mike and I headed out around 10pm as we had been to a BBQ earlier in the day out in Broomfield at Jess and Chris’ house, but from what hear Heather and the boys closed down the bar.  Happy Birthday Hebs!

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but there is a group of girls that I work and we have fondly nicknamed ourselves the Indigo Girls. The name is a result of the fact that 80% of the people who attempt to say the name of our company pronounce it wrong. If you haven’t noticed, there’s an extra “i” in Indigio.

Anyway, here’s some highlights from the weekend that I spent in Frisco with Sara and Heather:

1. We participated in the Stomp for a Cure snowshoe event helping to raise $250k. We were all inspired by the participants and survivors who participated in the event and look forward to doing it again next year.

2. We stayed at the Frisco Lodge where we shared a Victorian Delux En-Suite which basically equated to a bedroom with three beds and a small bathroom. Each of the beds had it’s own unique feature as Sara’s was the squeaky one, Heather was lucky enough to get the one that was slanted and mine had a soft spot right in the middle.

3. Frisco is vegetarian friendly! Technically Sara is a vegan, but regardless we were able to find something delicious to each at each of the restaurants we frequented. I especially enjoyed the lettuce wraps from the Friday night.

4. During our first night in Frisco, we were awoken at 4:30am by the sound of Heather’s cell phone. She had set the alarm in order to wake up early to pack before work on Friday, but unfortunately she “forgot” to turn it off. Thankfully we all fell back asleep and awoke again at 7am to prepare for the snowshoe trek.

5. Frisco has some of the best coffee we’ve ever tasted and it can be found at Abbey’s Coffee shop. I enjoyed two wonderful vanilla soy lattes while in town.

6. On Saturday Sara and I did a little shopping in Dillon as there is a good sized outlet mall there. While we were bargain shopping, Heather stayed in Dillon to watch the Avalance game. When we returned, we met up with for a nice Italian dinner and then headed back to the lodge. Heather had some other friends in town, so she decided to out with them while we stayed back and hung out. After two puzzles and various conversations with John who worked at the lodge, we headed to bed. At 2:30am my phone rings and I immediately answer it and to my surprise it’s Heather and she can’t figure out how to get into the lodge. Ironically earlier in the evening while we were chatting with John we found out that only the front door is open 24 hours. I provided Heather with the details of how to get in and we all laughed about it the next day.

7. Snowshoeing at Clinton’s Gulch was amazing! We originally tried to find Mayflower Gulch as it had been recommended by the lady at the bookstore where we bought our matching socks, but we couldn’t find it.

If you ask me, it worked out for the best as we were the only three people on the trail which meant that the only sounds we heard were each other talking when we stopped to take a break. Check it out, isn’t it absolutely beautiful?

My first experience snowshoeing was wonderful, but maybe that’s because I was accompanied by two of my favorite people. Special thanks to Sara an Heather for letting me tag along!

7a. This piggy backs on the above, but I could let Heather forget that she left my car door open at Clinton’s Gulch. Thankfully someone in the parking lot that was heading out on a ski trip was nice enough to flag us down and ultimately shut it for us. Did I mention that Heather was out until 2:30am the night before?

On Saturday, March 8th I participated in a Breast Cancer Snowshoe event in Frisco, CO. It was my first experience snowshoeing, however with help from my friends Sara and Heather I made it the entire way which was 5k!

Snowshoeing is much like hiking except for the fact that you have two big tennis racket type contraptions on your feet. They are actually much more high tech then you would think, but I always think of the old school ones that the Eskimos wore.

When the event first started I found it rather difficult to maneuver, but that might have been due to the 2,500 that were all trying to trek down the same path. Randomly Sara would start running, however I am happy to say that was able to keep up!

Overall $250k was raised for the local Denver affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and I was happy to contribute. I’m already looking forward to next years event.

I think I am officially a Coloradoan now as I finally got out and went skiing. My friend Chris Gilliam, who I met because he is married to the daughter of good friends of Erin’s parents, and I went to Vail on Saturday. I don’t have any pictures of my skiing because my big honking camera doesn’t fit in my pocket and Erin wasn’t there.

The beginning of the day was a complete catastrophe as I lost my wallet at the park and ride in Golden where I met Chris. I discovered it was missing when we stopped for Breakfast in Frisco. About 20 minutes after I discovered it was missing, I received a call from someone that had found it. He was headed up to Loveland and agreed to meet me. Fortunately I only had to back track about 15 minutes to meet him and I was reunited with my wallet. I was very lucky.

Once we finally made it to the resort we were greeted with what was an excellent day for skiing. Chris has a season pass and he as able to get me a good discount for my daily pass with his “Ski with a Friend” option. We excitedly made our way up the mountain and began skiing. It had been a few years for me and Chris was very patient as I got my legs underneath me. Chris is a good skier and with my limited experience it was very tough to keep up with him.

Here are the beginner runs I went on:

• Lost Boy
• Eagle’s Nest Ridge
• Cub’s Way

Here are the intermediate runs I went on:

• Dealer’s Choice
• The Woods
• Baccarat
• Born Free
• Lodgepole
• Hunky Dory
• Christmas
• Northwoods
• Snag Park
• Avanti

Here is the advanced run I accidentally went on:

• S. Look Ma

It was an accident as I was only trying to traverse across the top but instead ended up having to go down the run. It had moguls the size of Volkswagens and I am sure I looked pretty funny trying to make my way down. My one and only fall was on this run.

My favorite part of the resort was in the Game Creek Bowl as there were several intermediate runs that were quite challenging and long. Unfortunately there is only one way out of the bowl once you reach the bottom and that is by ski lift. On about our fourth run the lift broke and we were stranded at the bottom for about half of an hour. It was very frustrating but once the lift was finally repaired and we rode up we were greeted with a gift. Vail gave us each a free lift ticket for our troubles. Wow, that is great customer service and no small token given that a daily lift ticket is $92.

All in all it was a great day and I thoroughly enjoyed my first ski trip. I am sure I will be getting out much more in the future.