What do you do after planning a wedding for a year, getting
married, going on a honeymoon, coming back only to have your husband lock
himself away for nine hours out of the day to study for the Texas Bar Exam,
wait three months to find out he did pass, and find out he has an attorney job
in a month? YOU CELEBRATE, YOU DECOMPRESS, AND YOU GET AWAY! You go to a place
where you forget about reality and get lost with each other and in the surrounding
nature and culture and enjoy being married.
We took one of the later flights out of Austin on Thursday
night so that we would have two full days to explore and relax. A quick stop at
the Aurora Wal-Mart and adult beverage store was a must before heading up the
mountain. Friday morning started with a drive in Denver. We took the scenic
mountain route rather than the main highways and made a pit stop at the Red
Rock Amphitheater. Red Rocks is a site to see and is definitely going on the
list for next time to actually attend a live concert. I definitely had no idea
the hike that entailed getting to the top, although it was definitely worth it.
The amphitheater was covered with exercise addicts running up and down, with
and without dogs, push-ups here, burpees there. Red Rocks is a fitness gym by
day and a concert venue by night. Who would have thought?
After feeling completely out done by the work out
connoisseurs, we headed into Denver. We sat outside and enjoyed the lovely
sunny Denver weather at Marg’s in Uptown. Marg’s has some killer exotic
margaritas and delicious tacos. I had the coconut-vanilla margarita and it was
as if a margarita and a pina colada had a love child. The pork taco and tempura
shrimp taco were delicious, however, I would advise if you come with an
appetite, order the three taco plate (the tacos were neither pequeno nor
grande).
Full of tacos and tequila, we adventured around downtown
and then managed to snag the best parking spot Coors Field has to offer. After running around I have
to say, Denver runs a close race with Austin when it comes to being dog
friendly. Dogs are everywhere, dog bowls are everywhere, and everyone welcomes
them.
Prior to the game, we headed over to Tavern to enjoy the
roof top views of Coors Stadium and happy hour (this trip was all about
relaxing right?). Happy hour didn’t last long because when you marry a baseball
player and you buy tickets to an MLB game, you go 2 hours early for batting
practice, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. I probably shouldn’t admit it, but I actually
enjoyed it. Took me back to the childhood days with my dad going to Astros
games in the Astrodome and begging Jose Lima to throw me a ball during batting
practice. RIP. The Red Rock athletes had Hillis and I convinced we needed to
continue to diet, so we settled for two foot-long hot dogs and fries. Oh how I
miss the ballpark food! The Rockies pulled out a W thanks in large part to
extremely hot bats during the 5th inning, and we headed home (after
enjoying our quick skip, hop and jump to our car).
Saturday commenced with a delicious five star breakfast at
the cabin, thanks to my chef of a husband. After stocking up on calories we
headed out to hike the Maxwell Falls Trail, which just happened to be 10
minutes away. Spoiler – I give this hike all of the credit for getting me to
the point of complete decompression and relaxation. The nature itself was
amazing and the constant sound of running water throughout the hike soothed the
soul. Hiking is now being added to our bi-weekly schedule, haha, but seriously,
I need to do it more often and take advantage of the hills in Austin. It is
extremely therapeutic and allows your brain to recharge. We even made a friend
on the hike – we think his name is Harold. I think he only wanted to be our
friend because he knew we had food. Maybe Harold will be there the next time we
go back, or at least one of his chipmunk family members. For the sake of
authenticity, I will remind you that there were no port-o-potties on this
trail, so after hiking for four hours, the car bumper and I shared an intimate
moment (#1 of course). Sorry about that National Car Rental…
After stopping at the Safeway in Evergreen (far from the
Evergreen H-E-B), we headed home to cook up some onion and garlic infused
burgers on the grill. They were delicious and a perfect end to our Red Rock
attempt to be fit.
Since this entire trip was pretty much centered around food
and drinks, we finished off Sunday lunch at the cutest and tiniest café,
Wildflower Café. The café consists of roughly ten tables and has a killer
mountain-man of a chef. The chorizo skillet was killer enough to motivate
Hillis to buy a personalized skillet when we get back because “all food must
come in skillet form”. I devoured the turkey club sandwich, that was paired
with the most crisp and fresh French fries. NOM.
We ended our lovely trip to Denver/Evergreen with a three-hour
housing tour, brought to you by yours truly. I had one heck of a chauffeur. We
drove down the many streets that make up Cherry Creek. We found out where they
keep the really good homes but some lady who claims she was security wouldn’t
let us through the gate. We were just looking…
Needless to say, this trip was exactly what Hillis and I
needed and more. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, drank a fair amount, and most
importantly enjoyed being married. The past year hasn’t exactly been the
easiest one, lots of ups and downs, but this trip restored my heart, my mind,
and my soul. I am sure if it is up to Hillis we will be coming back here…a lot.
And if you were wondering what Hillis’s thoughts were for
the trip, here they are:
“This is a trip you need to take that you didn’t even know
you needed. I didn’t know I needed mountains to relax.”