Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Colorado Weekend

In early March I had to fly to San Francisco for work. As I hate, hate, hate flying across the entire country, I decided to stop in Denver for a long-overdue visit to my friend, Sara's, house in Greeley, CO. I hadn't seen her daughter, Elly, since she was a baby and I had a really good time seeing the whole family and their not-so-new-to-them house!

3-6-15 - Dinner @ Sonic with Elly & Sara!
On Saturday, we were invited to have high tea at the Brown Palace Hotel. It was fancy AND delicious (the organic green pomegranate tea may be the best tea I've ever had). Sara is really causing me to become a fan of this crazy "having tea" thing.

The main room where we had tea at the Brown Palace Hotel.


Mmm, scones!
We stayed in Denver that night and enjoyed several spots near the 16th Street Mall, including the re-imagined Union Station and a place called Rio with deliciously cheap baby margaritas.

Union Station

The next morning we had lunch in Golden and headed up the Lariat Loop road to see mountains, Buffalo Bill's Grave, and the Red Rocks amphitheater. My favorite place was definitely Red Rocks and I've made a mental note to return, perhaps the next time Wait Wait Don't Tell Me is being recorded there.

Buffalo Bill's Grave
Golden, CO

Mountains!

Red Rocks Park






This was a short little weekend, but I had so much fun in both San Francisco and with Sara in Colorado that I'm dying to do this again. Where should I go next time?!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Shenandoah Pi Day

Because last Saturday was the pi day of the century (3.1415!), I felt it was important to go on an adventure to find some really good pie. There had been a cute, local restaurant near Shenandoah that I'd always wanted to try. In lieu of having a Park Cafe or Johnson's around, The Apple House is probably the next best thing. Plus, who can resist a place with donuts and BBQ?

3-14-15 - Maddie experiments with "double-straw" at The Apple House
Lunch was good, cute, and reminded me of our small-town park days. We took a drive through Shenandoah National Park and the weather was perfect for a short mountain hike, so we stopped for a walk through the woods and to eat our donuts as it began to rain. Alison and Madeline are turning into excellent hikers!





In short, we had an excellent Family Adventure Day! Then again, how could it not be when the day ended with pie?