Front Range Getaway

This past Saturday, I packed up my little red Forester and took the scenic drive to the front range of Colorado to see my boyfriend Austin and his family. The drive along 285 never fails to impress even the oldest of Colorado natives and continues to make me feel grateful for living in such a lush area. Arriving at his house, I was greeted with the warmest of hugs, hugs that I could never grow tired of. It had only been two weeks since seeing each other and while some would laugh and make fun of us for having such a young love… we would also laugh and make fun of ourselves for the same thing. Our little break from work had begun and it already felt so nice to be back with the one I love.

On the following day, that Sunday, we drove down to the heart of Denver to grab some brunch at Sam’s No. 3 Diner. When we arrived, the line looked way too long for our growling stomachs but thanks to Austin who had called in earlier, we were seated right away and our orders were out in a matter of 10 minutes it seemed. The food was delicious and perfect for two very hungry young adults.

Afterwards, we embarked on  the main adventure of the day, my first Rockies game at Coors Stadium! It was a great game if I do say so myself (we beat the Cardinals 8-4). While I may not be the most “sporty” person in regards to sports like baseball, basketball, or football that are watched on TV, watching the game in person is a completely different situation. Being there in person to watch the athletes is something I could never really grow tired of. It’s amazing to watch everything in real time and to hear the crowds cheer. We spent some time walking around to get the full experience that Coors Stadium had to offer and explored the immense amount of food options available with everything from classic hotdogs to fresh popcorn to salads to Austin’s favorite “Tornadoughs” which I have yet to try but no worries, I’m sure I’ll be back soon enough. They even had veggie hotdogs which was a very pleasant sight to see for your fellow vegetarian.

The game was great and we managed to score perfect seats in the shade and while we weren’t the closest, I enjoyed being far enough away to avoid any chance of being pegged in the face with flying baseballs. With my luck, it would’ve happened if I were any lower.

The next day, we headed towards the hills or rather, towards the looming hills that we call mountains. We drove along winding roads that took us deep into the mountains with views so beautiful, they could make someone drive off the road which we almost did (Austin would beg to differ). We weren’t able to make it to the hike that we originally planned on going on because the road was closed and it had also begun to snow. We were at about 11,000 ft. and quite underdressed for snow in late May. We decided to drive back down a ways and hike to St. Mary’s Glacier. The hike was short and steep (but still sweet) and provided the most stunning view. It was pretty cloudy and grim looking but it was such an obvious gem that even the clouds couldn’t dim it’s beauty.

I also of course had to bring the cheesy popcorn along. It’s a necessary hiking snack, the professionals can back me on this. We sat, talked, and enjoyed the view and the incredibly fresh mountain air for a while until the snow decided to make a little appearance. We headed back down to explore Golden, a town I’ve never been to but was pleasantly surprised by.

While we were in Golden, we explored some of the areas down by the river and walked up and down main street with a horribly redone rendition of Highway to Hell playing in the background from one of the local restaurant patios. All in all, Golden was pretty fun to explore, despite it’s bad taste in music covers of AC/DC (the second picture below is how we felt about the live music).

Our trip came to a close on Tuesday. We went to Fort Collins and hung out there for a little while. We had a little lunch date at Twisted Noodle (the best noodle spot you’ll find in Fort Collins) before I had to head back home.

This past long weekend was a much needed break and I’m lucky to have gotten to spend it with my favorite. Until next time!