Casa Bonita

Colorado has many wonderful, beautiful places to explore, see and experience. However, just like any place once you live anywhere long enough, the weird stuff comes to the surface. This is one of those times.

This place

David's work organized a casual get together for his office and employees' friends and family were invited. As you can see from the name Casa Bonita, it is a Mexican restaurant. But it's not just any restaurant.... it is the weirdest blend of Mexican, Chuck E. Cheese, and carnival.

Denver Art Museum

I love it when I go on a trip on the weekend. Since I work at home, going out on the weekend is a real joy. Of course it won't happen all the time (ex: bad weather, illness), but it feels like an extra treat. Besides being the weekend, Saturday called for sunny skies and warm-ish weather, high 50s. Great weather to be out and about. So we went into Denver.

David wanted to go to REI, which is a HUGE outdoor/sporting goods store, because they were having a members' only clearance sale. Apparently it's a huge big deal so we had to get there early. So we headed out early and took the light rail into the city. Unfortunately, we left so early that it was pretty cold so I had to make sure I layered myself so I could stay warm during the morning but not swelter in the afternoon. While David was doing his special shopping, I walked around the store (warehouse really) and was amazed at how huge the place is. Three stories and each department was in its own section of the store. Aside from men, women, kids, there was also, hiking, winter outerwear, bicycles, shoes, winter sports equipment, and I know I forgot a few.

After David's shopping spree, we decided to have breakfast before we arrived at the Denver Art Museum. It wasn't like we were at the store for very long but I need to be fed every couple hours now. So we found a breakfast place that was pretty decent called the Delectable Egg.

The logo is so cute!

It was a nice place. And the food was pretty good. I didn't even finish my food there was so much of it.

Seriously. Who actually needs that much butter?!

After breakfast we decided to walk to the museum since it wasn't too far and the weather was nice.

Nothing like still seeing snow in 50 degree weather.

When we got the museum there were some funny statues heading to the entrance.

One of the entrances to the museum

It was a pretty cool museum. They have a thing every first Saturday where admission is free. And, well, yay free culture! When we first started walking around, I thought it was pretty small, really interesting, but small with only a few galleries. However, we realized that the first three floors were connected and the rest (7 floors in all) you had to take the stair or elevators. The two buildings that made up the museum were also connected. A lot of great things to see. But what made it really awesome was that there were a lot of stations for kids where there were interactive toys the could explore or actual art stations. Then, while we were there, some kind of yoga session was also going on. That's what I call my kind of museum.

I would definitely go back.

Our First Hiking Trip: Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater

A lot of fun things to talk about! Aside from the awesome and fun hiking trip we went on today, we also discovered an awesome pizza place yesterday.

Normally, I cook our lunch and dinner for the week ahead of time on the weekend so we just need to heat up our food during the week. I love this way of eating on many levels. The most important... we don't have to bang our heads to figure out what to eat for lunch and dinner everyday. And it's a great way to eat healthy. You're going to eat what you have already made, right? So you cook a healthy meal for the week and you're guaranteed to healthy for the week. It does seem kind of boring at first, but that's what the weekend is for. Sometimes the food goes into the weekend but not always and that's how we end up going out to eat at least once. I could cook extra food but you never know what will happen on the weekend and I don't feel too comfortable eating something more than a week old. I did think about cooking a whole new meal just for the weekend but that's way too much work for me.

So anyway, we had no food in the apartment and that's how we ended up going to a pizza and wine restaurant Saturday night. And even though it was chilly, it was within walking distance, so we hoofed it. It's called Pino's Neighborhood Pizzeria and Wine Bar. And all my friends would love this place. The pizza that we had was delicious! It was so delicious there was no time for a photo. Taking a photo was an afterthought. AND they had a room that you could see from the restaurant that was full of wine. I don't drink a lot of wine but we have a lot of friends who love to enjoy a glass of wine. The vibe was great and the maitre d' busted out into opera when we entered (it was a coincidence). We will definitely be taking our friends there when they come to visit.

Even before we moved here, we kept talking about hiking the mountains when we finally got to Colorado. Sure you can hike in Florida but there are no mountains in Florida. And I wouldn't dream of hiking in the summer. Way too humid and gross and buggy. I could totally see myself hiking in the summer  in Colorado though.

So we went to a place called Red Rocks Park.Not only is it a park but they have a gorgeous amphitheater where they hold concerts. It is absolutely beautiful there!

This formation is one of the first things you see when you get into the park.

Another awesome formation

We drove up to a lot next to the trading post, which is near the amphitheater, and started on a trail that began there. It was just over a mile and a half but it was pretty amazing. The trail was definitely defined and there were stairs that were put into it, but it was still a decent workout. And we were strolling more than doing a brisk walk.

The beginning of the trail

Stairs!

When we got close to the end of the trail we came across the entrance for the amphitheater so we decided to go have a look. Oh man, you either climb a ton of stairs to get to it or climb a ramp all the way up. I was out of breath by the time we got to the actual entrance to the thing. And I don't know about David, but I was expecting to catch a glimpse of the amphitheater and then just enjoy the view from up there. Not true.

The amphitheater is open to the public when there is not an even going on! There were a TON of people working out or walking around.

People milling around

Some were running up and down the rows, some were running across each row, there was even a workout class on the stage working out! I was very impressed. I know I'm not there yet (Thanks thin air). There were a lot of steps to the top and I was getting winded halfway up. I have a long way to go.

My low level athleticism aside, this weekend was a lot of fun. We found a great place to eat. And our first hiking adventure was a success. In closing, all our friends need to come and visit so we can share these awesome things!!

If you would like to see more photos from the trip here's a link to the album: Red Rocks Park