Colorado Vacation Part I

Ryan had to start his new coaching gig the Monday after we got married, so we were a little late on the honeymoon trip side of things.  We saved and saved  for a vacation, and I got to research my heart out; we wanted a sizable city with enough stuff to do but that didn't feel crowded and claustrophobic/lots of traffic.  It came down to Portland, Maine and Boulder, Colorado.  Ultimately we went with Boulder as neither of us had been there before and the outdoor, active lifestyle looked right up our alley.  Also, we live in Southeast Missouri and we "enjoy" 90%+ humidity all summer long, so we both wanted a break from that!

This vacation was a rarity for us.  Ryan travels so much for work August-June that traveling for fun has that work-feel to it for him; plus, we're only freed up to travel from mid-June until mid-August with his schedule, plus we're frugal folks and traveling is expensive.  It was actually our first vacation as just us-when we got engaged in Boston his parents and some friends were along, and we went to the beach with my family 2 years ago-all of which was great and they were wonderful trips, but it was fun to do something just us too.  I was SO looking forward to this trip, and then some!  

We flew to Denver, took the bus to Boulder, got our rental car and dropped our bags off at the apartment we rented.  Instead of staying a hotel, we decided to give AirBNB (VRBO.com is another option) a shot and rent an apartment for the week.  Here's where we stayed:

Nate and Suzy rent out their basement level apartment.  They were very well reviewed on Air BnB, and it ended up being an absolute perfect fit for us.  The kitchen was super handy, as we could cook, have our own breakfast and save leftovers from meals out.  More than that though it really let us enjoy Boulder like the locals do, and we both really loved the different experience it provided.  The only thing we would do differently next time is look at renting a detached space, as Nate and Suzy's adorable 2 year old twins have some loud little feet!  All in all though it was a great choice for us and one we'll definitely be looking at for future travels.

By the time we got settled, it was early evening.  We hit the grocery store and ate at Under the Sun, a Boulder local favorite.  We had our first local brews and took advantage of the yummy Happy Hour menu. We headed back to our apartment and settled in pretty early...we wanted to be up bright and early the next day to explore!

Boulder FlatIrons from Chautauqua National Historic Landmark

More in Part 2, this is getting wordy!