A Tourist In My Own City

When it comes to the Memorial Day Holiday, I think there are two types of people. The first group of people are those who are devoted to their country and the people who serve (or served) their country. The second group of people are those who view the holiday as an opportunity for a 3-day weekend of fun. I wish I fell into the first group of people, but sadly, I must admit that this year I definitely fell into the second grouping.

My Memorial Day weekend was spent with one of my best friends from Seattle - meet Carly!

Carly is an easy going, fun loving kind of friend so she's easy to host. I knew she would want to explore Colorado which gave me the perfect excuse to be a tourist in my own city. In preparation for the visit, I researched all the free events going on in the Denver area. Luckily for us, there was a lot going on!

Carly arrived on Saturday and I took her to Downtown Denver for the Day of Rock Festival and for the Denver Art Festival. If you haven't been to Denver before, the downtown area has a nice stretch called the 16th Street Mall. The street is only for pedestrians and the local mall bus so it's perfect for random meandering. The Rock Festival had a number of free concerts and fun street vendors all along 16th Street. We spent the afternoon soaking up all the attractions and even squeezed in a little shopping. 

The husband got to take a break from studying on Sunday and joined us for our adventure down to Colorado Springs. It was a beautiful sunny day so we packed a picnic lunch and headed south. Although the husband and I have been here many times, we HAD to take Carly to Garden of the Gods. It's one of the most spectacular parks with incredible red rock formations. 

 

After our pit stop at the Garden of the Gods, we continued our outdoor adventure to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. This zoo is definitely within my top 5 favorite zoos, if not, my top 1! Many times over again I exclaimed, "This is the best zoo ever!" and both the husband and Carly were making fun of me. I'll try not to bombard you all with pictures but here are a few of my favorites.

The giraffes were quite a hit! We loved getting to pet them!

If you haven't been to a zoo in awhile, watch "We Bought a Zoo" and make the trip. It's a great way to see God's hand at work. 

Monday was Carly's last full day here in Colorado and I still had a few places on the "must see" list. Even though the zoo was built into the mountains, it didn't provide enough of the true Rocky Mountains feel. Carly and I woke up early on Monday morning to hit the road and make our way up to the mountains for a quick hike. The hike is pretty low key AKA safe for visitors who aren't use to the altitude! St. Mary's Alice is a beautiful glacier which attracts skiers year round. Carly and I didn't ski but we managed the hike and the cold wind.

 

After our quick trip to the mountains, we headed to one of my favorite spots in Colorado - Wash Park. The husband and I got engaged at Wash Park before we moved out here making it on the "must see" list for most visitors! Near Wash Park is cute strip of small local shops and restaurants, called Gaylord Street. Since it was Memorial Day, they had a special festival going on with local bands playing and additional street vendors. Carly and I enjoyed perusing the shops and enjoyed some delicious ice cream at Bonnie Brae.

It was a fun filled weekend and both Carly and I definitely took advantage of the extra day off of work! I hope you all had a fabulous 3-day weekend too. If you did anything special or exciting, tell me about it - I'd love to hear!

Thank you Carly for taking time to visit and thank you to all those who serve our amazing country!