More family bonding in Colorado

After my last post, I stayed a few days at a hotel in downtown Boulder to explore Pearl St, then stayed four nights with cousin Dave's family in Erie, outside of Boulder. I can hardly describe how much I enjoyed being part of a busy energetic household filled with sports, music, video games, sleep overs, cooking, errands and all the normal stuff you'd expect with a pair of pre-adolescents and two work-from-home parents. I'm thrilled that Karrie could take a bit of time to share her family's world with me.

Some highlights:

In Downtown Boulder, I did my usual walk-the-grid to get my bearings and enjoyed soaking in the hippy-chic ambience of the Pearl Street pedestrian mall. The Boulder University Inn was simple and comfortable a few blocks from the center of everything. They loaned me a big pink fat-tire 3-speed pedal-brake bike to cruise the Boulder Creek trail for a few hours. I found some great restaurants, including Frasca Food and Wine with a four-course fixed-price white-tablecloth wonderfulness, and Aji with authentic Latin American cuisine that took me straight back to my recent GVI trip. Both are top-notch and worth a repeat visit.

With the Bach family we did a bit of exporing near Boulder as well, including a tour of the Celestial Seasonings tea factory complete with tastings of all the latest concoctions. Keeping with the tea theme, we girls had afternoon high tea at the Dushanbe Tea House. The building was a gift from Boulder's sister city in Tajikistan, and the tea service included a fancy salad and three-tiered tray of yummyness, plus great tea of course.

Back at the house I was treated to an amazing jam session in the Bach basement. Keelie has an amazing voice and the versatility to pick up the bass, guitar, drumsticks, or play the piano. Dave was on the guitar and Von rocked on the drums for this performance. No wonder the kids are so good at Wii Guitar Hero!

(Link to jam session photos)

Karrie invited me along on a climb of nearby Mt Bierstadt with three of her girlfriends. This turned into a memorable day including my first summit of a Colorado 14,000 ft peak. We all made it to the top, where Amy broke out the beer and we all celebrated Wendy's 40th birthday at the summit in style. If I make it back to Colorado I expect I'll attempt a few more of these "14ers" with the girls. Though the climb itself was nice, the bext part was hanging out with great women.

(Link to Mt Bierstadt climb photos)

It was sad to leave Boulder and my new-found relatives and friends. I'm seriously considering the Boulder area as a possible new home. Last Sunday (8/9) I began the drive back to Seattle and I'm now staying with Keith and Sarah in Redmond WA while I begin look for a new career, which could be in either the Seattle or Boulder area. A few other cities might make it on the candidate list, but those are the top two for now.

More to come...