Sunday, June 1, 2014

Liz Visit - June 2014

Liz and Keith
After seeing Liz on both coasts (NYC and SF), she came to Denver for 100 hours of fun.  Keith's flight from SF was to arrive about an hour before Liz, but with a delay leaving SF, Keith only had 15 minutes at the airport before Liz arrived.  After driving home and giving Liz the tour, they both crashed for the evening.

On Thursday, Keith headed to the office and Liz borrowed the Audi and drove down to Garden of the Gods and then for a hike up the incline.  Keith dropped by Whole Foods on the way home from work to pick up picnic supplies before he and Liz drove out to Red Rocks to see One Republic with their opening act The Script.  The show was fantastic - the only disappointment was that Shawna was still in SF at a conference so could not make it.

OneRepublic at Red Rocks
On Friday, Keith worked from home in the morning before heading out with Liz.  The first stop was Beso de Artes in Morrison where they chowed down on guac and fish tacos.  To burn that off, the next stop was Matthews-Winters Park where they knocked the hike out in 2.5 hours.  After heading home, Keith had a nap in the afternoon before going to Linger for dinner.  Shawna's flight was on time so she went straight to Linger in the cab and met Keith and Liz in time for drinks on the rooftop bar before dinner.  We shared a delicious dinner of dates, salmon, fish tacos, shishoto peppers, BBQ duck buns, and masala dosa. Despite every plan to go to Little Man Ice Cream to wrap up the evening, we were way too full so just headed home.

Keith on Matthews-Winters Park Hike
On Saturday, we slept in a bit before packing up the car and driving out to Vail.  Our first stop was a hike just up the road from Georgetown but the trail was covered with snow so we bagged that.  Instead Shawna found a hike just off I-70 in Frisco - Mt Royal.  It was 2 hours total and had some great views.  We called the Lodge at Vail to make sure the room was ready - and it was!  After checking in, we went for a couple of beers at Tavern on the Gore - paired with some hummus and some truffle fries.  We topped that off with a cupcake before Keith and Shawna headed back for a nap and Liz wandered around Vail Village.  After the refreshing nap, we showered and headed to the bar at Mountain Standard for a couple of drinks.  Dinner was at Sweet Basil - Blue Crab Salad and Venison Carpaccio to start, Monk Fish and Beef Cheek for main course, and Sticky Toffee Pudding all around for dessert - plus a couple of bottles of Viognier.  Since we didn't want to call it a night, we dropped by the Red Lion for two more beers where we also listened to a live band.

Shawna and Liz on top of Mount Royal
Is that Keith Checking Email?
After sleeping in until about 9am, we grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then packed up and headed out.  We did a quick 1 hour hike in Dillon - Tenderfoot Trail - which was relaxing but nice.  We dropped by Mod Market on Colfax for lunch, stopped by REI for 30 minutes for Liz to buy some shoes, then headed home.  Shawna and Keith did some things around the house while Liz got organized and packed up for her trip to England.  Keith then drove Liz to the airport.

View from Tenderfoot Hike - Lake Dillon and Breckenridge