Fall Break

As Fall Break ends for Erin we're reminiscing on all that we've done over the past week.  In fact, it's been a few weeks since I've written.  There were some high points since then such as our supper club at "Bones" in Denver and dinner at our friend's Rachel and Cameron's house followed by drinks with our friends Pete, Leah, Erich, and Brad at the Candlelight.  But much of the time was spent working as Erin has been trying to keep up with grading and I've been programming.

That's why this week has been so fun as we've taken time to enjoy some free time together.  The break got off to a shaky start as Erin pulled a muscle in her neck last weekend and needed to not move too much for a couple of days.  But on Monday she was ready to go as we drove down to Penrose for some fall-time harvesting.  We had found an apple orchard down there that also had a pumpkin patch.  It was fun to get out and do some picking.  It reminded me a lot about picking apricots from the tree in our backyard when I was growing up.  While at the orchard we were also able to pick out a nice big pumpkin.  It ended up being a fun time even though it included a lot of driving in comparison to picking.

On Tuesday we left on a surprise that Erin had planned for me.  We ended up on a beautiful hike above Boulder before the weather turned bad.  Then Erin continued the surprise by checking us into the Bradley Bed and Breakfast in Boulder.  It turned out to be one of the best B&B's that we've stayed in and was quite romantic.  To top it all off we went to a wonderful French resteraunt on Pearl St. called L'Atelier.  While we had been planning on going on another hike on Wednesday the snow that had come over night and the continuing rain drove us back to Castle Rock.

Thursday night is was my turn to plan the evening.  Based on a movie we had watched the previous weekend we decided to have a "James Bond" night.  We got dressed up and went out on the town (Castle Rock) to find the best martinis.  While the first place we went to, Uniscali, didn't have martinis, they did have some very good appetizers that served as dinner.  Our next stop, Sienna's, proved to be better for our evening with $5 martini happy hour and a wide selection.  After a quick stop at the video store we finished the evening back at home, curled up in front of the fire watching another cheesy Bond film.

On Friday night we came to the part of the week that we had been looking forward to for a long time.  Back in April Erin had gotten tickets for us to go see "Wicked", a musical based on what happens in Oz before Dorothy gets there in "The Wizard of Oz."  It is a very interesting and compelling story that I enjoyed very much.  Having seen it once before, Erin was convinced that if I was going to like a musical, this would be it.  We both had a great time at the show and I would see it again.  We had also decided that we would make the night extra special by staying for the night at the hotel Magnolia.  We had stayed there once before and found it very nice for the price.

On Saturday our adventure continued as we went to Littleton for a walk along the Platt river and lunch at Tres Jolie.  My aunt and uncle had gotten us a gift certificate for the shop and it was very nice.  The teas were delicious as were the pastries that accompanied them.  Having some time we then went in search of Halloween costumes.  Our first stop was the popular Reinke Bros. in downtown Littleton.  While they had several traditional costumes and accessories we were narrowing in on something a bit more creative.  A stop at the nearby Goodwill store provided the clothes we needed for our costumes.  I'll leave the surprise of what we're going to be for my next post.

To finish off Saturday, Erin went out with her friends to "Canvas and Cocktails" where they all enjoyed drinks while painting.  At the same time I met up with my friend Andres to play some video games and just hang out.  It turned out to be a fun night for both Erin and I. 

So today as the Fall Break comes to an end it has been nice to look back at all the fun things we've done.  We're going to catch a movie with our friends Brian and Cassie this afternoon before descending into the reality of the early wake-up and return to work that comes tomorrow.  Still, there's always next weekend to look forward to!