Bike Race

I was upset when I finally woke up this morning after completely sleeping through my alarm.  It was only 20 minutes before the USA Pro Challenge: Tour of Colorado was set to start and I didn't want to miss the event.  The tour is a seven day bike race through the state that featured riders from 16 international, professional teams.  Denver was the 7th and final stage of the race.  Thankfully, the race was not just taking place in Denver, it was taking place in my little neighborhood and the racers would be passing right by my building.  I stepped out my door and had front row seats....

Chipolte Cultivate Festival

The FREE Chipolte Cultivate Festival took place today at City Park in Denver and was all about celebrating sustainable food.  Farmers were on hand to educate, chefs provided cooking demonstrations, countless booths were filled with free food & drink samples and local bands performed on the main stage.  

Bike Parking Lot

Food Tent

Cooking Demonstration

Goodie Bag
Free Chipolte food coupon, apple crunchers, pretzels, chapstick, avocado slicer, tabasco sauce... 

WashPark

WashPark is the busiest outdoor recreation center in Denver, located about 3.5 miles from my house.  With clear skies in the forecast this afternoon, I rode my bike down to Wash Park to enjoy the sunshine. 

First stop--walk through the flower garden.  

Second stop--reading a good book by the lake.  

Day Two With Mom--Boulder

Early Friday morning my mom and I walked a few blocks, took a shuttle and then hopped on a bus in order to get down to Boulder.  The family I babysit for was nice enough to loan my mom an extra bike of theirs for the day.  I was beyond excited to show my mom around Boulder on bike.  After visiting a few of my favorite places, my mom and I rented a car for an hour to drive up the mountain for a good view. 

About to get on our bikes for a ride around town.

View from the top of Flagstaff Rd. in Boulder

My favorite part of the trip had to be Friday night.  I had bought tickets for an event at Chautauqua Amphitheater, a 115-year-old wooden auditorium.   The night started with a “Taste of Boulder”—three tents filled with beer, wine and food samples from local businesses.  Don’t even ask how many times Mom and I went back to the wine and dessert table….   After grabbing a bite to eat, we went inside the amphitheater to watch Joshua Radin, an amazing acoustic artist.  His music usually consists of just him and his guitarist but we had a special treat Friday night.  The concert was a mash-up in which Josh was accompanied by Time for Three (a classically trained garage band) and a 50 member orchestra.  It sounded amazing!! 

Taste of Boulder

Chautauqua Amphitheater 

As my mom was packing up to catch her Saturday night flight, I asked her what she thought of her trip.  Her answer---“It was sooo HOT!!”  It is usually in the high 70’s/low 80’s with an afternoon thunderstorm.  Of course it was unusually hot the two days my mom was here.  I kept telling her the heat was not normal but she did not believe me.  Until….We took the bus to the airport for her 8:00pm flight.  I looked up at the sign and saw DELAYED.  Her flight was moved to 10:30pm.  Then 11:30pm.  Finally Southwest cancelled the flight altogether.  Why was the flight cancelled???  Because 5 tornados had touched down that evening and many counties were under tornado or severe thunderstorm/flood watch.  One minute it was sunny and hot, the next minute there was an intense storm.   Although my mom was not happy to have to reschedule her flight home, I am glad she got to experience true CO weather before she left.  I wonder if the first thing she will tell everyone now is that is was “sooo HOT!”????   

Day One With Mom--Denver

Just a few hours after finishing the bar exam, I was driving to the airport to pick up my mom.  My favorite picture from her entire trip was when she was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck I rented for the night from the carshare program.  Cool car! 

And my mom was great enough to bring my road bike with her on the plane!  

So so happy to have my Felt here in Colorado!

We spent Thursday in Denver.  

Our first stop was my favorite cafe for a cup of tea.  

My mom loved the skateboard table.  

As we walked through the Capitol Hill neighborhood, we walked by my friend Allison's apartment, visited a few churches (grandpa would be proud) and took a quick tour of the Capitol building.  We went to the State Capitol on the perfect day because it was August 1, 2013--Colorado's 137th birthday!  Did you know the song America the Beautiful was written from the top of Pikes Peak, a mountain in Colorado!?  Colorado is such a great state! 

In the evening we went to an outdoor dinner and a movie in Larimer Square.  We were lucky to have perfect weather while eating such a yummy meal under the lights.   

James Blunt

My old Boulder roommate just moved out to Denver and lives less than a mile from my apartment.  We were looking for something fun to do this evening and found such a great event--James Blunt was singing a few songs at the Viewhouse rooftop bar in downtown Denver.  Great weather, great view, great music.....AND it was all free!  

Rooftop bar concert

James Blunt

You Know You're In Boulder When....

...you see dog treats every place you go!

In my opinion, Boulder is the most dog friendly city in the U.S.  I remember going to Wells Fargo the first week I arrived in Boulder.  I reached into the bowl on the counter thinking I would find a lollipop or piece of hard candy.  To my surprise, the bowl actually contained dog treats.  Same thing happened at the hardware store--a bowl of dog treats sits on the counter at the cash register.  And in the following picture taken at Ideal Market, you don't put a quarter into the machine outside the grocery store for a gumball.  Instead, the vending machine is for the dogs.