~*~ Take Me Out to the Ballgame! ~*~

“…and twins!”

Date: Sunday, July 29

We didn’t have to be up early, but that never seems to stop us. We were both awake by 6:30am but refused to get out of bed on principle alone. When we finally did get up, we actually did a decent job of getting our stuff together in a fairly quick fashion. That is, of course, until OCD Boy stepped in again and reminded me that we had to properly repack the Jeepasaurus. Car Camping 101 seems to entail repacking everything and placing it neatly back into the car. What ever happened to the days that you just threw everything in, hoped it all fit, and dealt with it when you got home? <sigh> I don’t really mind, I just like to give him a hard time about it. You can see the efforts in the picture to the right. Gear everywhere, coolers everywhere…stuff…everywhere! Car Camping 101 is fun!

The other day while cruising through Estes Park, we found a place that looked like it would be a good spot for breakfast. After checking out of the campground, we said our goodbyes to Rocky Mountain National Park and hailed John Denver, who is most certainly and verifiably not full of shit. Back in Estes, we stopped at the Egg & I for breakfast. It was a 10 minute wait but it was well worth it. We both took a minute to wash up in the bathroom. While Brad was in there…the waitress brought food to the table next to us. It resulted in a kid being a little too excited about his breakfast…so much so that I couldn’t look Brad in the face when he returned. Yet another reason we will be in hell together.

Our breakfasts were incredibly yummy! I’ve never seen so many egg dishes in my life…it was eggs-cellent, even. We were good and stuffed by the time we left and the place was packed! I guess we should have figured that on a Sunday morning, it would be.

We decided to take 34 down through Boulder for a little change of scenery. It was a nice drive along the outskirts of RMNP and I continued to take pictures out of my window. We passed through Lyons and right by Stone Mountain Lodge, where we had been for the family reunion. Boulder wasn’t really what I expected but it was definitely in line with the other towns I’ve seen. All of the buildings out here seem to be so beautiful and nice compared to New Jersey. I think it’s because they are actually set apart from each other rather than being stacked on top of one another. Even the architecture makes Target and Denver Mattress look good! So strange.

We arrived in Denver around 10:30am, which left us plenty of time to walk around and explore before the game started at 1:00pm. I had purchased the tickets online so we just needed to pick them up at will call when we were ready. We set out walking through downtown Denver, checking out the sites and desperately searching for a place that I could get a cup of coffee! I’m an addict. After several city blocks, we found a nice little square across from ESPN Zone where there was a Starbuck’s…that’ll do. I got myself a big hot cup of coffee and Brad got himself one of those foo-foo iced mocha-choco-lala things…with whipped cream. I should mention that I tried it and it was actually very tasty. They had a raspberry chocolate one on the menu and now I’m dying to find a Starbuck’s to get one.

We sat outside at a table drinking our coffees and people watching while I called my mom and checked in with her back in Vermont. It was turning out to be a gloriously hot day in downtown Denver. After our beverages, we decided to head towards Coors Field and pick up our tickets. I am a big fan of going to baseball stadiums in cities that I visit. I wish I was able to do it more often and in more cities. Sitting in our seats in row 117, we would be almost a mile high! The stadium is huge and really quite beautiful in a classic sort of way. As we stood in line, we realized a bunch of people were carrying in soft coolers filled with beer. What the hell?!? I’ve never seen that before! Immediately we were sorry that we left the cooler in the car because you know that in the stadium, beers are going to be at least $6.00!

We grabbed a couple of beers and went in to watch them practice. It was damn hot in our seats…we had managed to score some great seats along the first baseline but we were right in the middle of the sun shining down on us. I was sweating within 5 minutes of sitting there and knew that we would be sitting in it for the next 3-4 hours. Fabulous!

The game started right at 1:00pm…Rockies vs. Dodgers. For awhile it seemed as though it would be a really close game, but eventually the Dodgers just stopped playing and the Rockies took over. The guy next to us said it was time for batting practice for Colorado – apparently he was right because shortly after there was a homerun hit. What I learned is that because of the difference in air…balls are actually hit farther in this stadium than most. A 400’ hit at Fenway would be a 440’ hit in Denver. It makes sense but I never really thought about it and found that to be interesting.

We cheered, laughed, had fun picking on the goobers on the jumbotron and just enjoyed the afternoon, some beers and a couple of really huge hot dogs loaded up with mustard and relish. The Coors twins made an appearance for the camera too, of course. The Rockies won and all was well in the world of Colorado.

After the game, we went to the hotel Brad was staying at and he checked in. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s and then went back to the hotel to hang out until it was ready for me to leave. I had a midnight flight heading back to New Jersey. My first red-eye.

I was sorry to leave CO, I had an amazing time and a great weekend. It was wonderful to meet Brad’s parents, his brother Ryan, and all of the other family members that were at the reunion. We had a spectacular weekend running around RMNP, doing some hiking, playing tourists, driving, and just enjoying each other to the fullest. I know that someday I’ll be back in Colorado…I still have a 14’er to bag and Longs Peak is calling my name. I said goodbye to Brad at the airport, elated that I would be seeing him again in just 5 days when I go back to Montana. It has been one of the most amazing summers I have had. A whirlwind from start to finish and beyond…

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