denver, co

DENVER BOUND on monday! with excessive turbulence, the flight to DIA was nothing short of heinous. my motion sickness was on a red alert and i was thrilled when the wheels touched down on the tarmac. we went directly to the grocery to pick up a few things for dinner before the football game started, and then tessie made dinner for tara, andy and i which was so lovely. we cheered on clemson (TO VICTORY!) and devoured the delicious meal. afterward we played the accent game which had us all in tears before we tuckered out and went to bed.

tuesday the day started bright and early so we could get rolling to the mountains. tess and i had a little breaky & coffee while we wiggled to dancing in the moonlight (my favorite) and rich girl (tess's favorite.) we packed rocky up with our boards and backpacks and set out for the road. typically as passenger i play dj, but tk said she had a playlist in mind. she hit play and was all giggly and so i asked what the playlist was called. "70s road trip! she said and it cracked me up. so unfortunately i drank a lot of water and coffee before we left for the slopes, and i almost had an accident when we were stuck in traffic on 70. i am happy to report that i made it, dry pants and all, but boy was it close. back on the road with an empty bladder and overall relieved disposition -keystone here we come.. 

boarding was SO fun. there was a ton of fresh powder - the mountains have been getting slammed with snow over the last week. no major wipeouts but my legs were legitimately weeping because they were so sore. the wind was blowing so hard it stopped me completely when i was going down the hill. with excess amounts of snow comes excess amounts of traffic for two reasons. 1. people can't drive and 2. there were avalanches (casual, right?) and they were shutting down the highways. tk and i made the best of it listening to 80's oldies and stopping for starbucks. we arrived back home, showered the most heavenly shower, and ventured out for a fresh salad and glass of beer & wine. an exhausting but fun day indeed.

wednesday we slept in a bit, i worked on a video for zeta recruitment, and tessie and i skipped breakfast and had a little guac dip while snuggled up on the couch watching friends for a bit. we made our way into the city, taking bridges with pretty views while

the denver sun warmed us. we walked down 16th street mall and popped into ya few places. i snagged a north face on mega sale and dress possibly for graduation (! panic people) and then we ubered over to a brewery where we met tara, andy and ty for apps and brews. after drinking them dry (kidding) we went back to t squared'a place for some games and giggles. we were up pretty late and everyone started to glaze over so the boys headed home and the gals packed it in.

thursday tk and i started the day off with some eggs & friends - because how else would one start a day? after we drove to golden - about 20 minutes from home - to go to the coors brewery for a tour. tess is an avid coors drinker (rightfully so) but i am a budweiser gal for life. the tour was really neat, and we got a few samples at the end and because coors is partnered with so many distributors they had quite the selection. after the tour we drove home, walked to a cute little place for a burger and finally had little mans ice cream which i was beyond thrilled about even in 20 degree temps and heavy snow. we bundled and off we went to the pepsi center for our first NHL hockey game.

we've both been (habs) fans since living in montreal, but we've not had the pleasure of attending a game. tessie led the way to our seats and she kept walking down towards the rink and i started laughing and looking around wondering where in tarnation we were going. five rows back from the glass, tess moved her way into a row and parked it. i just gaped at her and squealed OH MY GOSH!! as it set in we'd be sitting so close. thank you a million times over for the lovely surprise tk, i can't imagine anyone else that i'd want to spend my first professional hockey game with. we giggled our way through the entire game - high energy and exceptional music (more 80s inspiration for the video) and had a blast cheering for the not so valiant avalanche. "im going to go off on a limb here and say we really need to work on our defense for next season." tess' thoughts on the team accurately describe the 4-1 deficit after three periods. nonetheless, we grabbed a beer (i found a budweiser!! colorado disowned me the second i ordered it, i could feel it) and cheered for the home team and enjoyed every second together.

friday rolled around much too soon, and i wasn't at all ready to go. i wanted to get moving so tess could rest before work (yes, she is in fact a superhero) but i just wanted to hang around for another week (or two.) we walked in the denver sunshine one last time to a cafe where we shared a cozy breakfast before she dropped me off at the train station. teresa, i am infinitely grateful for sharing my last christmas break with you. thank you so much for sharing your time, home, friends and love with me this week - i'll be back so soon denver!

cheers, jkro