mule deer watching us walkHi everyone! So after a nice long relaxing week in Colorado, we are back and (trying to get) settled into our daily routines. The trip was fantastic! I have always loved Colorado and used to visit often to ski, but this trip was different- this time we were looking for where we would like to live after J. graduates. Primarily, we were looking at Boulder, but since we have never actually been there we were a little worried that the reality wouldn't meet our expectations.
boy were we wrong.
part of downtown
While maybe not for everyone, it is perfect for us. Artsy, outdoorsy, friendly- just overall wonderful. It barely took an hour for us to realize that this is exactly where we wanted to move! It felt as though we had been there forever- none of the uncomfortable and uneasy feelings sometimes associated with being in a new, unknown city.
We arrived in Denver super early and as soon as we picked up our luggage and rented our car, we were on our way north to Boulder. We spent the whole week exploring, looking at real estate (we found where we want to live!) and eating. After living in Athens, Georgia (for all of college and then the year after) we were pretty spoiled when came to restaurants. Athens offers EVERYTHING you can imagine and is home to many of our favorites, so we hoped Boulder would offer some of the same.
It offered even more. The restaurants were amazing. The town has the same vibe as Athens (it's still a college down thanks to CU Boulder) but is much bigger. I won't bore you all with the details, but I will name a few places you have to try if you ever visit.
Restaurants
Illegal Pete's- Moe's done right. Eclectic, fresh, and a mesh of American favorites and authentic Mexican flavors. Oh! and they let you order the burrito in a bowl with chips- just the way I like it.
Foolish Craig's - amazing breakfast, really artsy vibe, super friendly, great prices. For all of the UGA grads, it's a lot like Big City Bread but with mimosas and breakfast burritos.
Lucille's - One of our waitresses told us about this place, and then one of our friends who used to live in Boulder emailed me about it while we were out there, so J. and I figured we should try it out. So happy we did! Set in an old house downtown, this restaurant really satisfied. Their grits were great (which says a lot. You rarely find great grits outside of the south), as were their potatoes, bacon, eggs... everything. Not to mention they brought out huge squares of "biscuits" (more of a cornbread concoction) before our meals which were amazing. Mountain Sun- I think this was our favorite place! We walked in for a late dinner (9ish) and given the place was already packed we knew it was a good choice. The food was wonderful (a section just for different grilled cheeses? yes please. Greasy fair-like fries? go ahead and add those too.) and the service was awesome. The waiters rotate around so you are never having to find "yours" and they all have a really fun attitude about them. Our first one went ahead and sat down with us to figure out exactly what type of beer J. would like and when he was unsure she came back with 5 different samples for him to try- complete with a diagram she drew telling which was which and what each one offered. She rocked. Oh, and I forgot to mention the place is a microbrewery so they really know their beer. The whole back wall was filled with taps and they had something for everyone- even a non-beer drinker like myself. Oh, and it's cheap. Which is always a positive!
Other fun things to do (special thanks Kelly for all of your guidance!)
view in Boulder Mountain ParkDrive up Baseline Road into the Boulder Mountain Park. The views are phenomenal! I actually have one as my phone's wallpaper :) We went twice and just sat and talked while gazing out at the white caps. So relaxing and beautiful.
beautiful aspens in the national parkDrive out to Roosevelt National Park. I'd never actually been to one, but J. has. (He and his best friend actually went on a 3 month road trip to visit and camp in as many of them as possible, and this was one of his favorites.) He loved getting to share the experience with me, and after seeing it I now understand why he loves national parks so much. It was magical and so humbling to see. If you ever need a recharge in your faith, this is the place to go. Majestic is the best word for it. Having a picnic with that view is a memory that will never disappear!
Red RocksWe are huge music fans so while looking around Denver to see if maybe we wanted to live in a city again (we don't :) ) I saw that Red Rocks was only 15 miles away and not wanting to miss out on seeing it empty, we ditched the house search and headed there. It was so cool! First, the fact that it's a naturally built amphitheater is amazing enough, but to see everyone who has performed there (they have huge timeline-esque plaques on the wall of the visitor's center) and how much it means to all of them, you really feel like you're part of something there. It's an awesome venue and we can't wait to visit it often for shows! I'd definitely recommend visiting it if you are near by.
Pearl Street Mall- their downtown is fabulous. So many shops, restaurants- everything. We loved just walking around and spending time there.
Lastly, Eldora Mountain Resort is only 30ish minutes from Boulder and while it's not the biggest, the fact it's practically in Boulder's backyard is wonderful. We spent a whole day skiing and can't wait to be able to make that a regular occurrence!
So main point- the trip was wonderful! We got to spend some quality time together, saw a lot of possible places to live (that was a stress reliever all in it's own) and went on a great vacation all at the same time. Hope everyone had a fantastic week as well and that this week is starting off just a great!