Weekend in Denver

February 19th, 2009. Family

Denver is quickly becoming one of my favorite towns to visit. Not only do I have family there (brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew to come, uncle, aunt), but now I have a couple good friends there too. Oh, there are also some pretty nice mountains, the weather is always sunny, and the city itself has good food, great parks, good shopping and nice people. So yeah, it’s a good package.

My niece entertaining me

My niece entertaining me

This time I spent most of my time with my brother’s family in Westminster which is NNW of downtown. My niece turned one in January and has been walking for about three weeks, so she provided most of the entertainment. My sister-in-law spoiled us with an amazing homemade spread of all my favorite meals that will be dearly missed when we go to China: lasagna, calzones, cinnamon rolls, burritos, waffles, ham & potato soup and chocolate brownies. My brother is my brother. I loved watching him take care of his daughter and then go out into his shop to make a steel latch for his back gate. I was also there when they found out that they will be having a son in June!!!! He will be my first nephew, and they couldn’t be more excited to have a little boy.

My sis-in-law with the most amazing cinnamon roles EVER!!!

My sis-in-law with the most amazing cinnamon roles EVER!!!

See what I mean?

See what I mean?

My brother and niece search for the playground at the mall.

My brother and niece search for the playground at the mall.

I also went to the Sweetheart Balloon Rally in Loveland, CO with my aunt and uncle on Saturday morning. We left their house at 6:15am to arrive in Loveland by 7:30. We arrived….and there were no balloons. The rally had been canceled due to weather conditions, which was disappointing, but we made the most of it and went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

The location the balloons did not launch from.

The location the balloons did not launch from.

Then on Sunday, I went into downtown Denver to meet up with a good friend who just moved to town. He lives in the LoDo area, so he took me on a little best of tour. Mona’s for breakfast. The Tattered Cover for book browsing. Commons Park for relaxing. Little Man Ice Cream for delicious treats. Savory Spice Shop for olfactory pleasure. Then we returned to his apartment to look at some of my travel photos and to catch up.

It was one of those long weekends that seemed like two weeks…in a good way.

My flight from Denver to Salt Lake City was the emptiest flight I have been on in a very long time. I guess Delta isn't doing so well.

My flight from Denver to Salt Lake City was the emptiest flight I have been on in a very long time. I guess Delta isn't doing so well.

I think we flew over the Grand Canyon between Salt Lake City and Dallas, which is pretty high up on my "I want to go there next" list.

I think we flew over the Grand Canyon between Salt Lake City and Dallas, which is pretty high up on my "I want to go there next" list.

Nik and I leave early tomorrow morning for China, so this is my last post from America for a while. We were both on the phone all morning notifying banks and credit card companies that we’re traveling, and I have just finished packing my bags. I’ll try to post photos of our new apartment and our neighborhood soon!!

Oh, and in case you don’t already know this, the Design Sponge website has some great city guides from all over America, including Denver. This is where I found out about the Tattered Cover and Savory Spice Shop.

Just one more of this adorable little girl! She has the Sinz blue eyes.

Just one more of this adorable little girl! She has the Sinz blue eyes.

One Comment

Dad:

That super cute little gril is my grand daughter. Great photos. Have a great trip over to China. Say hi to Nik. Love ya DAD


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