Phew! That was quite an adventure! Two weeks of vacation. It was long, but wonderful. And, we spent entirely too much time driving.
May 7: Left at around 1:00 AM.
May 7: Arrive in St. Louis, MO at about 12:00 PM. We spent the night there. We stayed at the Westin. It was AMAZING. It's an extraordinary hotel. We decided to splurge a little bit in St. Louis because we were only going to be there for one night and it was the first (and possibly last) time either of us had been to the city. We wandered around the city for a while and we did a tour of the arch. A shuttle took us to the top and we got to look out through windows at the top down on the whole city. It was quite an experience. :)
May 8: Leave around 8:00 AM for Denver.
May 8: Arrive in Denver at our hotel (Boston Commons) at about 6:30 PM. We check in and just relax. :)
May 9: We visit a possible house. It was really nice and the owner was very friendly. That night, we went to the casinos in Black Hawk. It was a cool experience, but the slot machines stole all of my money. lol
May 10: Philip had an appointment at the Sysco in Denver for his transfer and then we visited another possible house. It was 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with a 3 car garage, fenced in backyard, small storage shed, and finished basement. We really fell in love with the house, but it was outside Denver.
May 11: We visited two houses. One was a definite NO (overpriced, small, bad neighborhood, seriously outdated and dirty). The other was great. In a nice neighborhood, decent sized, close to Denver, and the people were very friendly. We spent the evening going over choices (there were other appointments, but they were rented out before we arrived in Denver). And, we thought that since we had 3 pretty good choices, we didn't really need any more to muddy up the waters!
May 12: After we slept on it, we decided on house number 2. It was further out, but we liked it the best and it was the best deal. We set up an appointment for Friday to settle all the details for the lease. Philip was supposed to have an appointment for his physical for the transfer, but there was a mistake and we had to reschedule. Then, we went to the aquarium. It was AWESOME. I loved it. If you're ever in Denver, definitely do not miss out on that! :)
May 13: We spent the day wandering around downtown Denver. It was really nice. We mostly stayed on the 16th Street Mall. It's not actually a "mall." It's a street with lots and lots of shops and restaurants. It is closed to vehicles (except for the bus that will take you from one end of the street to the other, for free). It was really nice. :)
May 14: We went to the
Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. It was VERY interesting. I got closer to tigers than I have ever been before. They rescue wild animals from abuse situations. There were lions, tigers, bears, wolves, bobcats, leopards, and even more unusual animals. It was definitely worth a visit. Then, we went shopping at the
Northfield Stapleton Mall in North Denver. It was enormous. It's all outdoors and it seems like it goes on forever. We didn't make it through very much of it before it was time for our house appointment. We spent three hours talking to the owners. We actually have a great deal in common with them. We gave them references, etc., and we should be hearing from them soon to see if everything was satisfactory (which it should be!).
May 15: Our one year anniversary. :) We went to a local park and relaxed at our hotel. We got packed up and then we went out to a nice dinner to celebrate. We spent a while researching restaurants in the area (ones with plenty of vegetarian options) and decided on a restaurant called
Venice Ristorante & Wine Bar. It was DELICIOUS. Philip started off with pear salad (mmmm...) and I started out with a pureed potato soup (it was amazing!). I had grilled pear ravioli in a gorgonzola sauce. Philip had some sort of chicken with roasted red potatoes. I don't remember much about his because mine was absolutely finger-licking good. He said that his was equally as good. We had creme brulee with strawberries for dessert and it was also great. The meal was absolutely perfect.
May 16: We left at about 9:30 AM (Mountain Time) for home. We drove straight through to Charlotte. We arrived on May 17th at around 11:00 AM. It was a not-so-pleasant drive, mostly because of the length, but we made it through all right. :)
May 17: When we did arrive, we did several loads of laundry. We relaxed and played games with some friends.
May 18: We left for Virginia Beach. haha... yeah, I know. We are definitely gluttons for punishment. We arrived late afternoon. We met up with a friend there, checked into our hotel, and then wandered around for a while. We walked on the beach, but it was dark by then and the water was FREEZING.
May 19: We slept in late and then went down to the beach. The water was still very cold, but we braved it anyway. After a few minutes, our bodies adjusted and we had a great time in the water. I forgot how much fun the ocean is! I read on the beach for a while and got burned on my backside. Some friends joined us at the hotel late that night.
May 20: We went down to the beach again. I got burned on my front side this time. lol The water was still freezing cold, but we braved it again. After a while, we went to get lunch and then bought some floaty toys for the water. I got a boat, Philip got a stingray, and Aileen got a dolphin. We spent a while riding our floaties in on the waves. It was an excellent idea! Then we dug a giant hole on the beach. I am not really sure why. haha
May 21: We went to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was definitely overpriced and overrated. The Busch Gardens in Floriday is WAY better. There were not many coasters (and only 2 that were really good). There weren't a lot of smaller rides either. And everything was overpriced (especially admission). I wouldn't recommend it unless you just really like to throw away money. haha We headed back that night. We got home at about 9:30 PM. We unpacked and started some laundry. Then we relaxed and hit the hay.
Today, we did some grocery shopping and made dinner and have just been relaxing. It's been a wonderful vacation. It FLEW by. Philip heads back to work tomorrow night. I'm not sure that they're going to recognize him anymore since he's been gone for so long. ;)
