Couple's Getaway

We're back from our trip to Denver, and we had a wonderful time. Here's the rundown. We got in Sunday evening, and, after settling in at our hotel (The Curtis, located downtown, about two blocks from the 16th Street Mall--good place, but really only if you get the kind of deal we scored), we headed to get a bite. While we waited for our food, a torrential downpour had us wondering if we should have packed an umbrella, but by the time we were done, so was the rain, so we strolled home quite comfortably.

Monday we slept in and then began our walking tour of downtown. Our first stop was the bakery across the street (we stayed right across from the Performing Arts Center, but, alas, there was nothing worth watching while we were in town), followed by the ballpark. I had seen online $4 tickets for Tuesday's game, and our goal was to pick hose up and get the lay of the land. We strolled through Larimer Square, Writer Square, and LoDo on our way to the stadium, where we did indeed pick up the intended tickets.

We then headed back to the 16th Street Mall before making our way back to the hotel. So far we had logged about 3 miles on foot that day, and a nap was in order. Our next stop was the movie theater downtown, where we watched the new Harry Potter movie and ate too much popcorn for people our age. This was followed by some more strolling (really the theme for this vacation) and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Tuesday was our busy day. After eating at the Paradise Cafe, we walked down to the Denver Art Museum. We spent about an hour and a half there before stopping by the city library (it's like a pilgrimage for us nerds) and eating lunch nearby (Mad Greens=good freshmade salads). We then went back to the museum for another hour or so before making our way back for another nap.

The big event of the day was the baseball game. We had our tickets, and, after getting through the gate, coupons for $1 hot dogs, so we spent grand total of $10 on seats and dogs. Our seats were in the upper deck in right field, a good view of the action (except for long flies to right, where we lost our line of sight), but a lot of sun early on. We strolled around the park for a bit before settling in.

The game itself was good--the visiting Pirates ran away in the 3rd, scoring 4 runs and shaking up the Colorado pitcher, who was making his first big-league start. We left after 7 innings to beat the crowd and make the walk back to the hotel.

We had no plans for Wednesday, which, of course, means that we did more than any other day. Sort of. After a slow start, we headed to the nearby grower's market. We go the downtown Albuquerque market often, and this was a huge disappointment by comparison, so we stopped by a place on 16th for breakfast before going to Elitch Gardens, the local amusement park near downtown.

This was fun. We went on the Ferris wheel and a short but intense roller coaster ride, and we were both doing well (neither of us can handle really hardcore rides). Then we did the tilt-a-whirl, and it knocked Summer out. So, after catching our breath and eating a bit of lunch, we went back to the hotel.

We then made our way to a pizza joint up the street, followed by a walk over to the Auraria campus, a facility shared by the University of Colorado-Denver, Metropolitan State College, and the Community College of Denver. Looping around, we crossed through the Performing Arts Center and back to the hotel. I napped, and we then left for the movie theater, where we saw Julie & Julia and ate dessert at a cafe on 16th.

Our last day began at 5:00, and we caught our shuttle to the airport at 5:25. It's always bittersweet when a vacation ends, sad to see it over, eager to go home, and this trip was no different. It was great to get away just the two of us, to walk and talk and do so many fun things, but we did miss the kids, their silly, fun, happy ways, their joy in new experiences and daily events. It will be fun to go on our next trip with them, and good to have another getaway like this in a few years.