Friday, August 31, 2012

adventure is out there!

Listening To: Lost in My Mind by The Head & The Heart
This article by Addie Zierman: made me laugh. Sound & Spirit! Does anybody else remember that?! I'd forgotten about it but I so remember. And I WAS a Brio Girl. So I should get like a thousand bonus points. Haha :) 
These are not the Rockies. This pic is from last year's vacay so these are the....
uh ... Pacific Northwest Mountains. Ish.
So, last summer my brother and I traveled to the Pacific Northwest in search of gorgeous mountains, great coffee and The Goondocks. That adventure became the stuff of legend. We decided we should most definitely go somewhere exciting again this summer. I began saving/ counting every piece of spare change, a la Scrooge McDuck. (Like, I'd see a penny on the pavement and dive for it shouting "COLORADO!". And last week in Starbucks when my favorite barista said, "I haven't seen you in a while!" ... I sighed and said, "Indeed. Colorado.")

But seriously. COLORADO! :) 

And now my Rocky Mountain Adventure is almost here. I'm fairly certain that I won't be able to sleep tonight. I'm barely withholding myself from TYPING IN ALL CAPS. For as long as I can remember, I've felt this crazy-awesome nervous energy before I leave on vacation. Are you this way as well? I'm so grateful that I get to sneak away for a week. 

Last year, Chase and I started a tumblr to document our trip, mostly so our parents could follow along. I can only imagine their pride when they saw the pic of Chase doing the truffle-shuffle at the Goonie house. A few of our peeps followed along as well, which was fun. If you'd like to read about our adventuring, you are most welcome to pop over! 

You can find us at: http://natandchase.tumblr.com

Last year I updated Le Tumblr with my Blackberry, which was a slooooow and tedious process, but now I've got an iPhone. (Girly note: it sounds so much prettier to call a phone a Blackberry, doesn't it? Such a lovely name for a piece of technology! Where was I? ... UPDATES!) So updates should be more frequent. We'll post some gorgeous picks, make jokes that probably aren't funny, keep you posted on our playlist (my brother has excellent taste in music so his travel soundtracks are awesome) (occasionally we listen to my not as awesome playlist b/c I don't care what he says, everybody needs a little N'SYNC in their lives!!!), and update you on general shenanigan-ness. It's going to be so fun. I wish we could rent a giant bus and all travel there together. 

COLORADO!

As a matter of FYI, I also have a personal tumblr that I don't use very often. But you can find that up in here

So! 

I would also love to hear from you about must-see, must-do things in Colorado. Obviously, we're going to Rocky Mountain National Park, sand dunes, garden of the gods. We'll also be spending a day(ish) in Denver, Telluride, and Boulder. Have you been there? Any recommendations for swanky stuff to see? We've got a good list of eateries to try, but we'd love some feedback about fun things to see within the towns. The more random, the better ;) 

My dear friend Susie Shellenberger has been raving about a Mexican restaurant. She says that, at this restaurant, whenever you run out of tacos, you raise a white flag at your table and they bring you more. (!!) And that there are also man-made caves and people jumping off cliffs or some other such crazy. I don't really understand. It's like Dystopian Mexican food or something. 

Hope you're had a wonderful week. Let me know if you're reading along on the tumblr!

See y'all in the Rockies! ; )



If you could jump on a plane right this second and fly anywhere in the USA, where would you go? 

10 comments:

  1. I would go back to Vegas. I just came back from 8 glorious days in the desert - best vacation of my life! There's something about the bright lights and the bustling business of the strip and the performers on every street corner and the hot desert sun that makes you feel like you can do anything. Also, I got to go for a weekend and hang out with some of the best people EVER, so that helped. :)
    Hope you have a GREAT time in Colorado. I've never been there, but my dad went to college there so someday I'd love to check it out

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  2. Fun things to do in Denver: I come and get coffee with you ;) I'll bring the oreos!

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  3. Oh! I just reread this...Casa Banita! (...I think that's how it's spelled.) It's so fun. There are these cliff divers jumping into a pool, and if you get a good table, sometimes the divers dive off right next to you, and they have amazing dessert. It's great.

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  4. I want to go to that restuarant really bad. i live for mexican food. of course i will be following along on the tumblr. have fun. colorado is beautiful!
    LF

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  5. I would love to go to Scotland. Maybe it's cause I'm back at school and am watching the David Tennant seasons of Doctor Who. But Scotland seems to be everywhere I look lately. The literature, the history, the beautiful country-side, the brooding weather (I think it's wonderful to give weather human attributes like brooding...and I'm not sure why but brooding weather is some of my favorite-maybe it's because it encourages me to drink hot drinks and read good books).

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  6. Can't wait to follow along with your trip on tumblr! I loved the posts last time. :) I don't think I'll be going anywhere this year, so I need to read about other people traveling!

    If I could go anywhere in the US, I'd probably pick the Grand Canyon or one of those other landmarkish/famous national parks that I've never seen. :) My traveling experience pretty much consists of the east coast, from VA down to FL, plus one trip to Memphis. So I'd be open to very nearly anywhere. :)

    Hope you guys have an awesome trip!

    ~Kristin

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  7. Hi Natalie we love your blog and want to give you the Liebster award. You can check it out at our blog rlifeastwinz.blogspot.com

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  8. Yay I live in Colorado!!! So this made me happy :) Yes, that is Casa Bonita! And I would suggest the Celestial Seasonings factory tour if you're going to Boulder! But Colorado is wonderful and I absolutely love Garden of the Gods and Rocky Mountain National Park! Excellent choices :) Have a lovely time!

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  9. I hope you have a blast in Colorado! I would hop on a plane straight to Texas right now if I could! Some of my best blogging friends live there and have been bugging me to visit them for months!

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  10. Hi Natalie! I hadn't spent much time out West before, but this summer I lived in Fort Collins for 6 week (I was doing the kids' program for Cru's pre-field training for missionaries. As an MK myself, it was wonderful.) If you're going to Rocky Mountain National Park, be sure to take some time to hang out in Estes Park -- it's a charming little mountain town :] I'm excited to follow your adventures!

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