CO Pics

Red Rocks in the background

Denver from the top of Morrison North

Red Rocks Amphitheater

At the top of Morrison North

Bye For Now

Well this is my last morning is Colorado. I am now sitting at a place called Baker's Way. I just got done with breakfast at a place called Benedict's which was really good. Yesterday was another good day albeit long. I started by eating at another coffee place called Mile High Coffee and got myself ready for my meeting with DU.

It was a long morning. First I could not find the building that housed the Morgridge College of Education. Then I couldn't find a place to park because they have NO visitor spots. Let me repeat, NO visitor spots. Next I found that the admissions dept of the college of education is NOT is the same building as everyone else that works in the dept. So now I have parked illegally and trekked all over the damn campus to find my meeting place. Finally making it, on time I might add, the meeting went well. I got a lot of information that I did not have before so that is a positive thing.

Next I went to visit a property management place called Classic Properties. The woman working in the office was really nice and also happened to be one of the owners. She sent me to one of her properties where a guy named CJ was waiting for me. He showed me 1 apartment that was fine, but nothing to write home about. Now a little bit of info on Classic Properties. They own all historic buildings in Capitol Hill and the City Park neighborhood. CJ was as nice as Lisa in the office. It turns out he played football and Central Michigan and moved out here to get his MA at DU. He offered to drive me around to show me the other properties although the insides I couldn't see because they were all filled and I just dropped by with no meeting. They were all impressive but 1 in perticular stood out to me. It was right across from city park and had a "mansion" style feel. It also had a large balcony which had nothing to do with my liking it. Once done I saw two more properties both were pretty nice and I felt like we would be happy with either. I finished and went to a place called the tilted kilt for lunch and a Guinness. Afterward, with nothing to do I went back to REI to play for a little while. When done, still with nothing to do I went to the Denver Bouldering Club to climb. It was a really cool place that you weren't allowed to go to unless you are a member, or are brought by a member. Luckily I had emailed the owner a few days earlier and he gave me the "go ahead." It was a great place that was very exclusive. Each member has their own code to get into the building. After a while I retired back home to learn how to play the harmonica, (I bought a really cheap "how to" book at REI with Jenny's mom's giftcard).

Now I'm going to pull a Tarantino on you and go back to Monday. After my breakfast at Pikes Perk I went to meet Joe Bonnett. He was incredibly helpful and a fun guy to tour around with. It turns out that when he lived in Oxford he and his girlfriend (now wife) lived in 13 Applewood. Sound familiar to anyone? So we toured around the campus for a while and saw just about all of it seeing as though it's pretty small, only about 1900 students. We had lunch at a local place called Paninos which specialized in making...yep you guessed it, Paninos. A Panino apparently is a bunch of ingredients wrapped in a thin flaky crust, which was quite tasty; I had a philly. Afterward he and I went back to his office and I got the rest of my stuff together for the interview. It seemed to go well but I feel like interviews are like tests, where you can never be sure how you did. I then went to the Gwozdecky's house for dinner, which was a lot of fun. We sat and had dinner and wine and talked for a long time about everything from movies to his daughter crashing a rival high school's homecoming. At 10 or so I made it back home for an early bedtime.

Beautiful Morning in Colorado Springs

Well, here I am back at another coffee shop. Today I am at Pikes Perk coffee shop in Colorado Springs. Cleverly named after Pikes Peak which lies just West of the city. I made the drive from Denver this morning which was long but manageable. It took just over an hour with busy but moving traffic. It seems it will be more similar to that than slow because I will be going the opposite way of most people, (away from Denver vs toward). Coffee and breakfast were wonderful again this morning. I am just doing some more research on CC and coming up with questions to ask them during my 2 hour interview.

Yesterday was another great day. After breakfast I drove around downtown Denver to get my bearings and figure out where some things were. The city is laid out pretty nicely except that numbered streets switch from east/west to north/south in the middle of the city, which threw of course upset me. I walked around downtown in the Lodo district (Lower Downtown) and went to a few cool places. One of the was a local place called the Tattered Cover bookstore. Local to Denver it was a really cool little place. Afterward I obviously I went to the original REI and gawked at all the pretty things. Once done I went back out to Morrison for some more climbing. I could not get ahold of the guy from yesterday but met up with another guy who I climbed with all day.

I came back into the city at about 3 to look at 2 more apartments, both in Lodo. The first was nice but I couldn't remember anything that really got me excited about it, and with as expensive as it is to live in Lodo I need to be in love with it. The second place I really liked. It was a really nice building, lots of really cool amenities and the apartments fit the bill for "trendy downtown apartments". They had the nicest work out facility of any I've seen and had a rooftop terrace with a fireplace and hot tub which gives you a panoramic view of the city and the mountains. Oh, it also is right across from coors field. When leaving I drove to Lone Tree CO to meet up with a friend of mine from my year playing football at Miami. I spent several hours with him and retired back to Englewood to sleep for the night. Great day although I wish Jenny and the animals could be with me. Soon enough though.

PS-A person just came in and sat down on the couch next to me with a dog!? Also the dog is wearing a sweater and I can only assume he is going to an ugly sweater party. Yuck

Colorado Bound

Good morning everyone! I am currently sitting at a coffee shop in downtown Denver called Illegal Grounds, which concerns me a little bit; however the coffee and breakfast are great and they have internet access. I wrote this last night recapping my day...

On the plane, Three Days Grace filled my ears, however when the tips of the Rockies came into view, it all got shut out and a smile came across my face that could not be suppressed. Everything else just faded away.

I don’t know if it is the aesthetic beauty of the mountains, the endless possibilities for exploration and adventure, or just the simple thought that soon this would be my new home. A successful flight with no delays or problems to speak of puts this one in the win column. There were no passengers next to me so I was able to sprawl across 3 seats as apposed to the normal ½ of a seat each person gets. Once settled in at a family friends condo I went to see an apartment complex that was recommended to me by the front desk manager of the complex at which I am staying now. The possible living local is called The Crescent. It seemed like a great place with a gated community, and with my history of bad luck with security issues that is good. The apartments seemed quite new and were very reasonable price wise… and they had cookies in the lobby.

Once finished I selfishly decided to go rock climbing. I made my way to Morrison CO, which is best known for the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. After a little negotiating with directions, or lack thereof because I’m stubborn, I found the bouldering area. I spent some time climbing and taking self timed photos. It was a beautiful peak that was scattered with boulders. Some very short climbs of only 8 to 10 feet and some others closer to 30. I made my way to the top of the area for some photos and reflection. It was also beautiful. From one side you could see Denver in the distance. Turn to the left and you can see the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and to the right is another ridgeline filled with boulders (Morrison South) and a gorgeous lake.

On the way back down to the car I ran into a couple local climbers and started up conversation….this is where it led. He is from the Midwest. He was a Miami University graduate. He helped build the very first climbing wall at Miami (it was in Phillips). He has bolted numerous classic lines at the red. He was an Outdoor Pursuit Center Trip Coordinator when it first came to be, and finally he made his way out to Colorado because he loved the mountains. Familiar yes? Anyway he and I are meeting tomorrow (Sunday) so that he can show me around the bouldering area more completely than I was able to see today on my own. Locals always know more about an area. Goodnight….More to come!

Hello all, tomorrow is my first day as a substitute teacher. Wish me luck.

Vaca Update...pictures

Vaca Update

Jenny and I currently returned from a trip to Vermont and NYC to visit 2 of our good friends. It was a fantastic trip. I spent a good bit of time snowboarding while Jenny made her way to the spa. In the city we did typical NYC things such as nice dinners, ny pizza and broadway shows. Now back home we are each returning to work as well as back to taking care of our animals.

A New World Of Possibilities

Hello Everyone! This is the first entry in my new blog that will hopefully keep me in contact with people and keep people updated on what is going on in my life. I am doing this mainly because as of June I will be living in Denver CO and it will be more challenging to keep in contact with the people I love. So hope you all enjoy.