Sierra & Don's Colorado adventure

Sierra and Don left this morning after a super weekend in Colorado. We picked them up at 7:30 a.m. Friday, so got an extra day of visiting and doing stuff. We started off going up to Estes Park for breakfast, and then took a 5-6 mile hike in Rocky Mountain national park. We were hoping the elevation wouldn't be a problem for Don, since he'd never been to Colorado before, and he did great. Plus, it was a good warm-up for Sierra and Don's hiking in Peru.


Friday night we all (Q too) went to Cafe Vino in Fort Collins. Sierra had told Don that her Mom wanted to take us out to this great "tapas" bar, but as often happens, he heard it as "topless bar" and was wondering for a second about Marianne! Anyway, the tapas were great as was the beer and the wine flights.

Saturday we had a brunch with Grandma and Grandpa, so Sierra could see them and they could meet Don. It was fun, and Grandma behaved pretty well, only indirectly talking about marriage! Saturday night we went to see Cody in the Caveman in Denver, which we all enjoyed thoroughly. After, he and his parents joined us for a drink at a great British style brewpub in Denver called Pints Pub. They had great beer, including cask conditioned ales, and the largest selection of Scotch outside of the UK! Q was drooling over the Scotch list and on the recommendation of the waitress, ordered a dram of Bunnahabhain, which was excellent. This description from an online site describes it well:

"Bunnahabhain's water is piped from streams in the surrounding hills and is therefore less peaty than might be expected. It is described as being sweeter than the other Islays, with a smooth initial palate and long full finish. Lighter than the Islay style, with a full round flavour. A popular after-dinner dram." Yum!

Sunday was a sleep in late day, and then we met some of Sierra's friends at the Trailhead to watch the Colorado Avs play the Minnesota Wild (hockey). The Avs won in a shootout, and now the two teams will meet in the playoffs starting Wednesday night. Rick and Don have a 12 pack bet on the series - Surly's or Odell's! Then Roberto came back with us for a scrumptious squash, spinach, nut lasagna, and some home made Barolo wine (which we made on his recommendation). Then it was time for some crazy Crokinole action. Don had never heard of it, but caught on quick and is now hooked! Granted he wasn't as good as this guy, but he made some good shots.

This morning we went to Lucille's for breakfast and then made a quick stop at Grandma and Grandpa's place, and then took sierra and Don to the airport. Yeah for family!