On the drive through Denver from our house, we decided to take a picture of the streets we usually drive down. A lot of streets in Denver are lined with trees (like on the South Hill in Spokane) and it is REALLY attractive. Denver is a city that has a lot of trees--which we dig! :) Some of the leaves on the trees are starting to change colors, so we're looking forward to the next few weeks when the trees have all their reds, oranges, & yellows for autumn. Autumn is my favorite season!
Here is the picture of the tree-lined streets:
Pretty, right?
Before we headed to Boulder, we had to stop and get Starbucks (gotta show WA some love). I have been craving the Pumpkin Spice Latte lately and am trying to get my fill of them before they stop making them again. Here is my lovely Pumpkin Spice Latte (w/ soy):
We had decided this morning before we left that we would bring our bikes and take a bike ride. We wanted to try out our new toddler seat and see how Johnny would like it. So, we had our bikes attached to our bike rack on the back of the Landcruiser (a hatchback Thule bike rack)...and John didn't have them on the bike rack correctly so the bikes kept bouncing around when we were on I-270/US-36 so we ended up having to get off the freeway in Broomfield at the Flatirons Crossing Mall (where I had the play date a couple of weeks ago) to fix it. Fixing it meant we had to sit for 20 minutes in the parking lot while John took the bikes and the bike rack off & redid it. Johnny was watching "Robin Hood" on his DVD player anyway, so he didn't really care. I was impatient however, because I was excited to see Boulder and to get closer to the mountains.
After John fixed the bike rack as best he could (it still bounces a little) we were on the road again! Pretty much right after we left Broomfield the view of the mountains was BEAUTIFUL!! Here are some of the pictures I took when we were about to enter Boulder. (The pictures don't do it justice--trust me.)
This is once we got inside Boulder:
Once we got inside Boulder we headed for the Historic Downtown district. Unfortunately it was SO busy that we couldn't find parking (it was lunchtime on Sunday). There was also bikers and pedestrians EVERYWHERE!! This was due to the fact that Boulder is a very active city with a lot of sporty people (it was voted #1 city in America for sports & recreation) and also because it was a really nice sunny day with a breeze (and not too hot!). We ended up driving around looking at stuff in the downtown area but parked right off of the shopping district at a park. We fed Johnny some lunch in the car and then we loaded up our bikes for a bike ride along the Boulder Creek trail.
Johnny usually hates wearing hats, but he loved his new helmet! :)
He also LOVED his new toddler seat on the bike (his first time EVER):
This is me with my new helmet & my adorable little boy before our bike ride. (Please ignore the shirt--it is my shirt that I wear when I think I might get dirty or sweaty since I don't care much about it. Also, notice the extremely grumpy look on my son's face...)
Here is my oh-so-dear hubby & his more photogenic smile:
The bike ride itself along the Boulder Creek trail was gorgeous. There were beautiful trees, a little stream, rock bridges, and awesome views of the flatirons and the mountains. There was also a ton of people biking and running on the trails too. Johnny had a BLAST on the bike ride. He just sat in his toddler seat and looked around at all the nature. He giggled most of the way--I could even here him back on my bike too! Every now and then Johnny would look behind him to make sure I was still following him and daddy.
After the bike ride (we did about 4 miles total) we were both exhausted. I also got stung by a bee right under my eye while I was riding my bike (these things seem to happen to me). The bike ride went pretty well though considering it has been a few years since either of us have ridden a bike. I was out of shape (not like my basketball & prebaby days), but I wasn't in as bad of shape as I thought. :)
Johnny played with his whale and his sharks in the car (his new favorite obsession which is ironic since his mommy & grandpa are terrified of sharks)...
After the bike ride we stopped at Illegal Pete's for some Mexican food--it was delicious! I recommend the chicken tacos. :) Yum.
After our late lunch we headed home begrudgingly. We really wanted to stay and see more of Boulder (we wanted to LIVE in Boulder). But alas, we needed to get home so we could unload before Mass.
Goodbye mountains. :(
The good news: sleeping toddler. :)
The departure from Boulder was made even more bittersweet when we drove to the Denver Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception for the 6.30pm Mass & couldn't find any parking. Every single street within a reasonable and safe distance was taken except for the $5 parking lot, but we didn't have any cash. That was a big bummer, since we go to Mass every week and look forward to it. Maybe we should have stayed and went to Mass in Boulder... I did get some nice pictures of the Cathedral when we were circling it trying to find a parking spot, though. :) Unfortunately they were vertical and this blogger picture tool won't let me rotate them before posting....so, I'll have to get better pictures and post them later.
We are tired, we have cleaning to do, and my bottom is very sore from a very uncomfortable bike seat, so I will leave you all with what I've already written. Until next time--with love!
No comments:
Post a Comment