I got home on Thursday after work and started to pack up my stuff. I knew we would need clothes for every occasion. I expected it to be cold and possibly snow since it was the middle of November so I brought those type of clothes with me. I debated whether or not to bring my waterproof hiking shoes but didn't want to carry them around with me. I left them home. Ben got all of his stuff ready when he got home. We made sure the dishes, the garbage and the cat box was cleaned and let Erika know our schedule so she could feed the cat while we were gone. We tried going to bed early but that really didn't happen. It was going to be a really long day with an hour ahead time difference.
We set our alarm for 3 a.m. and we were going to try and leave our house no later than 3:30 a.m. because it was going to take at least an hour to get to SeaTac from Lacey. We ate bananas on the way there. We parked in the Ajax 2 parking lot again (so far we've had a great experience here and state workers get a discount) and the shuttle was right there ready to pick us up. I made sure we had all of our stuff and got on. They dropped us off at Southwest and we went in, printed our boarding passes and checked our bags because we each get a bag for free! We went through security...which took a long time for some reason this time and then chilled a bit at our gate. Our flight was scheduled to leave a 5:55 a.m. If I had it my way I would have left last night and took a late flight. Fitzy didn't want to stay up that late to pick us up.
It was finally our turn to start boarding and we were the last ones of the last group. We had to sit in the back of the plane with one of the dead head flight attendants. She talked to us for a little bit. She told us she was from Georgia and was heading back there for her time off with a stop in Denver. We told her why we were going to Denver and she thought that was pretty cool. Since it was a short flight, we were served drinks and plane cookies. I looked out the window every so often to watch the landscape change since I got the window seat.
We made our descent into Denver. Once we landed it took a little bit of time to get off of the plane because the passenger boarding bridge was broken so we had to go to a new gate. I let Fitzy know that we were delayed and that it would be some time before we got off the plane because we were at the back of the plane and we had to get our luggage. She said that was fine. She was hanging out in the cell phone lot anyway. She told us to let her know when we were done so she can drive up.
We finally got off the plane and had to get on the train to get to the main part of the airport to grab our luggage. The train was quick and even grabbing our luggage was pretty quick. I texted Fitzy and told her we would be standing outside of Southwest arrivals. She said she would see us soon. It was a little on the cool side but it was a pretty nice and sunny day for the most part. Fitzy pulled up and we threw our stuff in the back of the truck.
While we drove to Boulder, we talked about an array of things but mostly updates on family, jobs and our current situations. We stopped really fast at a Starbucks just outside of Broomfield to grab Ben a coffee. Fitzy told us a little bit about what was going to happen today once we got to the house we were renting for the weekend. I was going to be pretty tired by the time today was done.
We got to the Airbnb and we met everyone who was going to be staying in the house. Chaise's brother, his wife and two kids, the wife's dad, Chaise's mom and dad, Fitzy, Chaise, Ben and me. It was a full house. Ben and I got to sleep on the air mattress in the living room. Not too excited about that sleeping arrangement but we had no choice. We got settled in and everyone decided it was time to go eat and explore town. I checked my caching app to see if there were any geocaches along our route. There wasn't any until we reached downtown.
We all walked the few blocks to Pearl Street and looked for Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery. The 11 of us found a table and we ordered drinks. I ordered the Annapurna Amber to try out. I like red and brown ales so this was a good choice.
It was tasty and very smooth. I ordered a hamburger and fries because I am a boring food eater when I go out to new places. I needed the food to stay awake. I was running on fumes at this point of the day. We all ate our food, chatted about the latest stuff we've all been doing and discussing what we were going to do afterwards. I just wanted to walk around and so did most of everyone else. Fitzy needed to go to the store. She and Chaise headed to Target while the rest of us broke up and walked around Pearl Street.
Since I have been here once before I did recognize some stuff. I wanted to get a few souvenirs and a couple of caches in the area. We decided to walk down to the northside of the mall. There, we checked the app to see if any where nearby and we saw a traditional and two earthcaches. We chose to do the traditional, The Whispering Statue (GC5T2CE) first. That one took some maneuvering because it was in an awkward place with a lot of muggles wandering around near us. I got on my phone to make it look like I was on the phone while I was looking. I felt every nook and cranny and finally found it. I grabbed it and took it over to the nearby bench to write our names on it. I put it back exactly where I found it. We moved onto the statues that were nearby.
If there is a fun statue nearby you bet I will take pictures with it. We took a few goofy ones with the slugs with campers (snails).
Then walked down to the two earthcaches. We started with What Are Those Short Rocks on Pearl Street All About? (GC7FYTK) and we answered the necessary questions which were right there on the plaque. It was the same with What's That Tall Rock on Pearl Street All About? (GC76B6D). I took pictures of the plaques and our necessary shots of ourselves to prove we were there.
We walked to Where the Buffaloes Roam, a souvenir shop I have been to before back in 2012 when I was here last. I needed to get a few things and I knew they had what I wanted. I needed a few postcards, magnets, I got a sweatshirt, a bag and Ben got a scarf and a sweatshirt. We paid and went back out to the mall area to go see more places. We went into a snow sports shop and a bookstore. We also got a picture with the buffalo right outside the bookstore.
We corresponded with everyone about heading back to the Airbnb and figuring out what we were going to have for dinner eventually. We all got settled in after the walk and because our sleeping arrangement was in the living room I asked Fitzy if I could take a nap upstairs on their bed. She said sure. While I slept, Ben, Fitzy and Chaise went to Hazel's, a giant beverage store. Ben brought home a six pack of random beers he thought we'd like to try. Some were local and some were from all over the world. I woke up and wondered where everyone went. They showed up shortly after I went downstairs.
We didn't really have "dinner" but more appetizers such as cheese, meat, bread, crackers, veggies etc. I decided I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich...something more filling. I paired it with my Goldfish crackers and my Pepsi that Fitzy bought for me while she was at the store. We watched some of the Friday night college football games while we ate our food.
Around 9ish is when everyone started winding down and getting ready for bed. I went and took a shower. Fitzy and Chaise helped us put our bed together as we settled into the living room. I asked what time everyone was getting up and making breakfast. She said around 7ish since the game started at 12:30. Everyone retreated to their rooms and headed to bed. Ben and I had to be careful not to move a lot on the blow up mattress because it made really loud sounds. I got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and I'm sure I woke everyone up getting off of that blasted mattress. I was excited for my first Cougar away game. I hope they played well and none of our players got hurt.
Next Adventure: Cougar Football Saturday: in Boulder against the Buffaloes
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