COLORADICAL!

Well here I am in my new home - DENVER, CO! I've been here for a few weeks so I suppose I'll just give a quick update on my adventures in this amazing state thus far.

The TWENTY hour drive. True, that's a long time to sit in a car. But luckily, as a child, my parents would toss us in the car for cross country road trips so this 4 state, 1200 mile trip didn't even phase me. Plus, I had two fantastic companions: Alana (my cousin) and Marshmallow (my teddy bear). A few highlights from our travels: lunch with Eve in Truckee, seeing a double rainbow (what does it meeeeean?!) in the middle of a Nevada rainstorm, visiting the thriving metropolis of (what the) Helper, Utah, getting lost in Grand Junction, admiring the insanely beautiful Rockies and listening to my (self proclaimed) awesome mixed CD's (including "Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls" by TLC which was the theme song of our 1994 Colorado road trip). And finally, we descended onto the Front Range and arrived in the Mile High City!  

The most patriotic day of my life. I realize this is quite a statement to make so I'll explain further. On September 11th, I went to an Air Force Academy football game with my cousins (Alana and Ian), cousin-in-law (Annie), Annie's whole family (they're amazing!) and Alana's friend Steve. Throw in the national anthem, a fly over and a demonstration with the largest American flag I've ever seen and yeah, I was pretty darn proud to be American that day. Only thing that would've made it feel more patriotic is if Jeannie was there too. But then Erin would've ended up bawling her eyes out ;) Miss you hermanas!

G.A.B.F. otherwise known as the Great American Beer Festival is one of the largest beer festivals in the world and it is held in downtown Denver every fall. I went with my friend Caryn (it was her birthday!) along with her husband Bryan and her brother-in-law Nat. From making homemade pretzel necklaces (cleanse the palate between each taste...obvi), making new friends at my favorite Seattle brewery (Redhook) and sampling a ton of amazing microbreweries, we had a fantastic day! Also here's a fun fact: While California has the most microbreweries total, Colorado has the most microbreweries per capita. I think I moved to a great state :)

Fall Colors! Yes, this deserves it's own section because I am slightly obsessed with the gorgeous seasonal colors here. Coming from a state where "seasonal color" means adorning your front door with an autumn wreath you bought from Michael's, I have instantly fallen in love with the aspens and maples that light up the mountainsides with their radiant orange, yellow and reddish hues. I've gone hiking and driving through the Rockies to experience this beauty and will hopefully have a few more chances before the first snow arrives.

Other fun stuff: Boulder, CO (more on that fantastic city later), the abundance of outdoor activities here is simply amazing (probably why it's the thinnest state in the nation) and I am LOVING the insane amount of bike paths, bragging about my Giants in a sea of Rockies fans,  the downtown REI store (I'll argue that it's better than the Seattle flagship), discovering my new favorite ice cream place (Maroon Bells) thanks to Annie and exploring new districts of the city every day :)