my summer vacation :)

i spent this week in boulder visiting allison...my bestest friend from savannah...i haven't seen her since she moved out to CO almost three years ago...i know it is totally horrible...we had an amazing time...and it felt like we just picked up where we left off...only both of us were much happier and healthier than we were when we last hung out...it is so nice to have seen us both grow and both change but in similar ways...i think that means it is meant to be....

day 1...

got to the airport early CO time...koos picked me up and we drove to boulder...about an hour from denver...stopped by her BFriend's house...(roger...he is super great)...then on to catalpa house to drop off the suit case and head out for a three mile run...coach chrissie altered my schedule for me this week...i was w/o a bike (a tri bike) so it was an up in the running...allison is training for her first half marathon (on week 1 or 2 of training! yeah!) so we could do that together...yeah...we ran towards the mountains...and around a really pretty wildlife sanctuary lake...saw a deer...some diving ducks and a few other odd wildlife creatures all in the back drop of the rockies...totally took my breath away...well the altitude helped too :P

back to the house and out on bikes to vitamin cottage and whole foods to grab some stuff for cooking...making hummus and dinner...and some breakfast stuff too...back to the house to make/eat hummus...yum...and then off to visit becky....another friend from savannah living in boulder...total coincidence...we rode past the boulder community gardens....then we chilled with her cat and had bloody mary's....forgot that you have to watch becky with the booze...she mixes a stiff one :P

the off to allison's to cook and chill with roger...just chatting and getting to know each other over some wine, polenta with portabella mushrooms in a cashew Alfredo sauce...sooo good...

day 2...

allison and i got up around 7am and had some coffee...got our act together and went for a run...we ran to her school...where i got to check out her class rooms...the meditation hall and the really pretty garden where she hangs out...she also told me about the hike that she would do between classes...hike up a mtn...eat her lunch...hike back...uhm...yes, i am totally jealous of that :)...back from our run...koos cooked me some pancakes that were really delicious while i check my e-mail and chatted on-line with my hubby...then she was off to her nanny job for a few hours and i was left to chill...but of course i couldn't...and went for another run around the lake...then back to read for a little...roger came by and got me to go to the y to get my swim in for the day...i was riding a schwinn ten speed that was wicked old and that was stuck in a wicked tough gear but totally fun to ride...we split a lane for a bit then he was off (he's also a triathlete and racing this weekend)...i finished up my w/o and rode back to catalpa house to shower and read a bit more...koos got back from work and we went to the farmer's market...totally sweet...we grabbed carrots, apricots and some local raw granola for our movie later and the we all went to our respective booths to grab some dinner...i had some wicked good thai rice noodles with tofu and peanut sauce...then off to red rocks to watch labyrinth...wow that place is awesome...

day 3...

up early to swim at the y...then off for a hike at chautauqua...it was totally amazing...drive for 6 minutes from her house and you were at these amazing mtns...we hiked to royal arch...and then back down for a total of 3+ hours of hiking...



then it was time to head out to sleepy time drive to visit the celestial seasonings tea factory...we took the tour, had some samples and bought some tea from the tea shop...they had ALL the flavors that they make...very cool...i loved it...and would totally do it again...how cute is this...the tickets were tea bag samples...

then we cleaned ourselves up and headed down to the pearl street mall to check it out and have some dinner...we stopped at kitchen for a drink...way too crowded for eating but i had a really good glass of wine and can say that i hung out there...then off to sunflower for a really yummy dinner that included awesome eggplant dip, a beet salad and undon noodles...yum...

day 4...

up early for coffee and toasted pancakes...then on the AB bus to the airport...it goes from boulder to denver with a few stops in between...totally easy...and fun...simple flying process...saw a former co-worker at the denver airport also getting on the austin flight...got in to austin and saw jimmy who i trained for cap tex with...weird...

any way...a great vacation and now back to training for the weekend...this is a big week with a recovery week next week :)