Estes Park...and the Chipmunks

Who gets up early on Saturday morning, while on vacation, to hike?

We did...

And we lived to tell the tale. 

Denver, also known as the Mile-High city, is notorious for high altitudes, but we already knew that. In fact, according to Wikipedia, the authority on all things, Denver is exactly one mile above sea level, making it one of the highest major cities in the US. Imagine that. Usually, and for those of us who are not quite in shape, physical activity in high altitude also means shortness of breath. Keep that in mind as you read on. 

We get to the top of Estes Park via Aerial Tramway, take in the view including Lake Estes, snap a couple pics and start out on the trail. As we were walking along we noticed several little squirrel like animals boldly running around. Then we observed tons of peanut shells on the ground. We took a few more steps....all the tourists were feeding the peanuts to the squirrels! Then we put it all together....1) These weren't squirrels, they were chipmunks. 2) The little souvenir shop at the top of the hill was also selling small paper bags full of peanuts. 3) Tourists purchased the peanuts, not as a hiking snack, but to attract the chipmunks and feed them. 4) The chipmunks were snatching peanuts from humans hands left and right. We were intrigued. I must have snapped at least 20 shots of the chipmunks. They kept getting so close! And they're super cute...not exactly what I expected. 

So after I temporarily satisfied my fascination with the chipmunks, by standing there, pointing and basically giggling like a small child, we started the hike forreal. We leisurely strolled up the hill, stopping to take pictures along the way. 

We veered off the path a few times and took pics of some trees and a couple huge rocks. Actually, some of my favorite nature pics are from this trip to Denver. The weather was good and the sky was a crisp blue, we were really fortunate but it was hot...dry heat that will sneak up on you if you aren't paying attention.

For the most part, the trail was easy...and flat. There came a point in the path were that changed.....and the trail went uphill...yikes. (I wasn't ready) But, like the champs that we are, Kira and I trudged onward and upward. You can't tell from the pic below, but the people in the distance there were huffing and puffing like they had just been running the Boston Marathon. Now that I think about it, I probably shouldn't have laughed. It was a forewarning of events to come.

 

You know how when you're doing something that exerts energy, like jogging, and you can start off holding a conversation but then you start to run out of breath and whatever you were saying doesn't seem nearly as important as breathing? Well I do....It's actually kind of frightening trying to catch your breath in higher altitudes. You panic a little but then there's that voice in the back of your head saying, "don't freak out bro!" because freaking out while you can't breathe only makes it harder to breathe lol. 

Alright, we get to the top, I find my breath and pat myself on the back because I made it to the top, I didn't fall off the side of a cliff, pass out, or get eaten by a bear....we were all in one piece. We poked around a little bit, found the view of an awesome summit and then decided to make our way back to keep on track with our itinerary. On the way back down though, we start to see the chipmunks again and I'm like a kid in a candy shop...so excited. These furry little creatures are so cute and totally captivating. They come close enough to take these peanuts and then scurry off into the woods. One would pop up on the trail and then his friend would appear over the rocks to the side. It was like the were playing their own little game of hide and go seek. 

As we came around the bend, there was a man sitting on the ground. Of course, I'm judging him because I'm thinking, this man is gonna get his britches all dusty! But, as we got closer, I also noticed there were tons of peanut shells around him. Now that I had become acquainted with the area, I realized that where there are peanut shells, there are chipmunks. So as we move towards this curious man sitting in the dirt, I finally understood what he was doing! These dusty pants would be well worth the trouble! I got suuuuper excited... Can you why tell from the pic below?

Dude had chipmunks sitting in his lap! He sat really still like a statute, you know like those guys in Vegas and the French Quarter wearing silver suits and face paint? He quietly shucked the peanut and held it in his hand. At first, the chipmunk  was reluctant. Then, after testing the waters, it crawled onto the man's leg and snatched the peanut! I could hardly contain myself. 

Of course, I wanted to try it so I sat down too! The kind, dusty pants-ed man shared his peanuts with me and I waited.....but the chipmunks wouldn't come to me. (sad face) It's like this man was the chipmunk whisperer or something. The whole time Kira was looking at me like I had gone completely insane. hahahaha. 

I gave up and we continued down the trail. 

We made it back to our starting point but I was determined to get a pic with the chipmunks. So I enlisted the help of Kira to snap a pic...those little suckers are quick! They grab those peanuts as if from a burning fire and run off to share with Simon and Theodore....hahahah sorry, I couldn't help it and I'm laughing really hard.

I had saved some of the peanuts that the chipmunk whisperer had given me earlier so I used those as bait. Finally, after the little guy almost got my fingers a couple times, we managed to capture a magical moment! The little fella came right up to me and dern near smiled for the camera! Look at him! After that we got several pics of me feeding them. Here are a few of my favs. 

I was totally satisfied. I fed the chipmunks, got my pic, successfully hiked the trail...I had the whole Estes Park experience. Overall, it was pretty awesome.

See, I told you Estes Park needed its own post. I hope you enjoyed!

**There's no where to go but everywhere...so get going! ~ The Green Eyed Venuist (hereinafter also referred to as "GEV")

Labor Day Weekend in Denver Part 1

Did you know that if you're really, really nice to the rental car people they'll give you an upgrade? To a Tahoe? For free? When you originally rented a mid-sized car? and over Labor Day weekend? Kira and I must have been killing this dude with kindness. He skipped to the computer and promptly handed us the keys. As it turns out, a Tahoe is not the best vehicle to drive up the extremely steep and narrow roads of Rocky Mountain National Park...who knew?

Kira and I have been best buds since college. We both love to travel but never traveled together. So last year, we planned a trip to Denver over Labor Day weekend.

We spent days coming up with the perfect itinerary (which I still have and am willing to share), including a centrally located hotel, places to eat and things we would do during the day. What you don't know is that Kira and I both suffer from a severe case of "I can't decided what to eat"- itis. Lunch time is the worst time of day for us both. In fact, I dread it...I know she does too...lol. We struggle daily with deciding what to eat until we finally frustrate ourselves into selecting something we didn't really want. If I don't prepare a lunch for myself before work (which I rarely do), then I am completely lost. I usually end up wandering around HEB for 30 mins hoping that something will catch my attention. It doesn't help that we both try to maintain some semblance of a healthy lifestyle. I'm sure we're not the only ones who suffer from this affliction. 

We finally decided (yay us!).

We flew in Saturday, for cheaper ticket prices and because we had an extra off that Monday. From the airport, we would spend the afternoon in Boulder. 

Our first stop, the Boulder Creek Winery. I've decided that I love going to wineries and not just for the tastings. (hehe) I especially love the smaller, unassuming wineries like Boulder Creek. Kira and I arrived according to the Google Map directions and were confused. The winery is located among what seem to be several warehouses and is a little difficult to find. When you walk inside, you're encouraged to take a self guided tour lead by footprints on the floor and arrows on the walls. All the information about the winery is right there for you to review at your leisure. I'm used to the tours lead by guide in Napa Valley wineries, but I appreciated this non-pretentious approach as well. It makes for a more personal experience. You get to walk thru and read all about how and where the wine is made....pretty cool stuff. Like I didn't know cork came from a cork tree...did you? These aren't the best pictures but you get the idea.

I've got a good friend who lives in Denver who joined us, on crutches, at the winery (bless his heart). After a few tastings, we purchased bottles of our favorites and made our way to dinner. So, you know how you spend time creating itineraries but something happens and you have to deviate? Well, here's the first deviation. We were scheduled to go to The Kitchen for dinner but that plan fell through. There's a lesson in this though, don't become so overly attached to the itinerary that you are unwilling to try out other things. My friend made another suggestion for dinner and we listened, obviously. He's a native of Denver so we were in for a local treat. He didn't disappoint. We went to The Med Boulder, a sweet little Mediterranean style tapas restaurant in Downtown Boulder near The Pearl Street Mall. The food, drinks and service were all great. Kira and I both highly recommend it. This place was a nice differentiation from the norm Spanish style tapas.

After dinner, we drove up a mountain to take in a view of the city at night. The city from this aspect was beyond spectacular. But it wasn't until I looked up into the night sky that I was truly impressed. I had never seen so many stars so up close and personally. It was as if I could reach out and touch them. Anyone who knows me know I love stars like a fat kid loves cake. This sky was like none I had ever seen. Again, God is good. I wont even disrespect you by adding a picture right here. My camera sufficiently failed in its attempt to capture it all.   

We checked into the aloft Broomfield. I am here for all things aloft. This location, like the others I've stay in, was just what we needed. It was located right in the middle of everything we would be doing that weekend. It had free wifi, gave us each a free bottle of water every day, which we needed desperately after days filled with hiking and high altitude. We arrived later than we anticipated but the front desk clerk was helpful and cheery. 

The next morning (Sunday) we scheduled an early wake up and drive to Estes Park where we would ride the Aerial Tram.  

Pause: Did I mention we also stopped at The Stanley Hotel? You know the one I'm talking about. The one that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining? And where the television mini-series, The Shining, was filmed? Yeah...The Shining. You know what that movie is about right? Not sunshine and rainbows, I'll tell you that. The hotel itself is beautiful and it has all this awesome history but its creepy and believed to be haunted (I don't believe in that sorta thing but I do believe I felt highly disturbed the whole time we were walking thru).

Anyway, the Aerial Tram costs $12 per person and my suggestion is that you arrive early. This is a highly visited attraction. It even warns on the website to ride early morning or late afternoon to avoid crowds, get better pics and calmer weather - and we appreciate calm weather when we're inside a small cable car hanging from a string between two mountain...yikes. 

Oh yeah, if you survive the tram ride, you get to see this:

The hike in Estes Park deserves a post of its own. So does our journey through the Rocky Mountain National Park. You know what....I'll tell you abou tthe Red Rocks Park in a separate post too! This is so exciting! Now that I'm writing all these adventures down I'm realizing that Kira and I got ALOT accomplished in 3 days in Denver. It was all incredible too. Later for now!

You know the phrase...say it with me. There's no where to go but everywhere...so get going! ~The Green Eyed Venuist

Wanna Travel Cheaper? Crash Your Friend's Business Travel - Scotland Edition

I notoriously crash my friend's business travel. In my defense, her company is always sending her somewhere fantastic. Like this year, I'm dying b/c she's supposed to be heading to Rio at some point before the conclusion of 2014. Everyday I've been trying to piece together this puzzle of limited vacation days to accommodate Greece, China and Rio before the end of the year...and I can't seem to make them all fit (insert sad face here).

To me, Krissy's occupational situation is like Chandler Bing on Friends or Tommy Strong from Martin. People ask me what she does all the time and I have only a vague understanding of it. I usually just respond with, "it has something to do with computers and/or IT", not really convinced if it has anything to do with either of those things (Transponster!). Most times I just wanna be like, she ain't got no job man!

Still, with this lack of understanding of her job description, I am able to reap certain outstanding benefits. We (notice how I used the collective "we" there...ha) have been to The Netherlands, Paris, Scotland and Ireland, and that's just internationally. Here comes the cheap part, get ready for it - for each trip I crash, the lodging is totally gratis for me! Yo, if Krissy doesn't mind sharing...I'm in there. These have been reaaaally nice hotels too. 

I'll write individual posts for other experiences but today I want to focus on Scotland.
We started in Dublin and flew Aer Lingus, short flight, cheap ticket - just like I like it. Free hotel + cheap ticket = I can pay my bills when I get back home. 

While Krissy worked, I spent the day alone in Edinburgh. Don't confuse this with the Texas version of Edinburgh down in The Valley. The Scots add extra syllables and it's pronounced Edin-borough. 

We stayed at the Radisson Blu Edinburgh which was conveniently located on High Street, just about 10 steps away from The Royal Mile. In addition to the incredible location, we got one of the most spacious rooms ever! See the pic below:

The hotel staff was great, especially the concierge who helped me map out my itinerary for the day. Radisson Blu also provided a pretty exceptional breakfast buffet with lots of options. I tried haggis for the first and last time at this hotel. But, the thing I cherished the most from this trip and this hotel is the view from that window pictured above. It was there that I took one of my favorite travel pics of all time. 

Have you ever heard the song by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly called "Golden Time of Day"? The lyrics paint a picture of the beauty of time of day when the sun is setting...

There's a time of the day when the sun is going down
That's the golden time of day
It's a time that the sun turns a gold all around
That's the golden time of day
At the end of the day when the wind is soft and warm
Don't it make the flowers sway

When the sun settles down and it takes a lovley form
That's the golden time of day

Ladies and gents, I managed to capture exactly what's described in those lyrics on film. The bona fide "golden time of day" when the sun reflected almost perfectly off the Salisbury Crags as if to intentionally call them to my attention. I was lying in bed after a long day of touring the city and I caught this magnificent sight out of the corner of my eye. I scrambled to pick up my camera and rushed to the window. What's even better is that it appears that the sun light is only kissing the crags and nothing else. I had seen this structure all day as I took in the city but never in this particular light and in the midst of snapping photos I had to stop and just appreciate the opportunity to observe such a sight. God is definitely good. And the whole time, that song was playing in my head...

Keep in mind that we visited in June. The sun doesn't begin to set until nearly 9pm. So this picture was taken a little after 9pm. It wasn't completely dark there until about 11pm.

During that one day in Edinburgh I accomplished alot. I took the Edinburgh Bus Tour which is a city-wide hop on/hop off sightseeing tour to get myself acquainted with the attractions. The tour's route included Edinburgh's Old Town, Georgian New Town (which is home to Charlotte Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Georgian House), Castle Rock and Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile and the Palace of Holyrood House (The official residence of The Queen when she visits), to name a few. 

After the tour, I decided on a few places to investigate further. I started with the Edinbugh Castle then walked the Royal Mile, stopping at The Fudge House of Edinburgh candy store and stocking up on some delectable treats. Here's a few shots of the Castle. I ate all the fudge before I got a chance to take any pics....oops.

    

At the other end of The Royal Mile stand the Palace of Holyrood. You aren't allowed to take pictures inside the Palace but I got a few of the outside. Spectacular living situation, if you ask me.

Finally, I stopped at Melrose Abbey - ruins of a monastery that was originally established in 1136 by Cistercian monks and surrounded by a most enchanting garden. 

 

  

                                             

As you can tell, the garden was my favorite part. Of course I saw all the sights along the way and even wandered down a few windy streets to explore. Also, there are all these open doorways in the buildings that lead you into courtyards or even other historical sites. I found myself inside a few of those throughout the day too.

I'd be remiss (and Krissy would kill me) if I failed to mention the world's greatest Italian restaurant in Edinburgh. You're probably thinking that I'm crazy b/c obviously the world's greatest Italian food should be in Italy. You're right but....Prezzo Italian Restaurant gets my vote. We ate all the pasta  and drank all the wine they had. What's awesome is that during our visit they were offering special wine tastings, three full glasses of wine to "taste"...we ordered 2 tastings each. Good times. 

When I was heading to Scotland I was unsure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by the kindness of the locals were and the beauty in general. I'd surely go back some day.

Alrighty guys.....I hope you feel like you were with me in Edinburgh. Feel free to contact me with questions about visiting. My website will be up and running shortly and I have a bunch of cool goodies planned for all my wanderlusters! Til next time!

**There's no where to go but everywhere...so get going! ~ The Green Eyed Venuist

Paris au Printemps

It doesn't get much better than Paris in Springtime. 

When my cousin told me she'd be visiting, I jumped at the opportunity to join her. With my flight benefits and vacation days waiting to be utilized, the decision was easy. 

I took off a Friday and Monday to maximize vacation days. If you're wondering, Friday-Monday is enough time to explore Paris. It's definitely a quick turnaround but if you have a plan, you'll be able to get it all in. Make use of all the time and wear comfortable shoes. You'll be exhausted at the end but when your vacay days are limited you have to make it do what it do. 

Since United no longer has a nonstop option from IAH to CDG, I had to layover in EWR. United sucks for this by the way. I used to be able to hop on a flight late Thursday evening and arrive in Paris on Friday morning, like a boss. Discontinued nonstop service means I have to leave work early Thursday afternoon to catch a flight that will get me to Newark in time to catch the overnight flight to Paris. If you're like me, you're trying to not to take off days unnecessarily so they can be used later (for Greece and China, for example). Sometimes its unavoidable though. But look at the bright side....you'll be spending the weekend in Paris...in the Springtime!

This was my third time in Paris. By now, I'm familiar with all the tourist attractions, the transit system and I even have some favorites.

So what did we see? We pretty much saw everything. In fact, here's a story: If you've ever been to Paris, you know that no matter what time of day you try to visit the Eiffel Tower, the lines for the elevators are always miles long. For efficiency's sake, Jojo and I decided to split up, we'd take whichever line went the fastest. As fortune had it, the line in which I stood was moving quite quickly....it was much later that I realized that this was not the line for an elevator. Instead, I was waiting in line for the stairs. Yes...the stairs...to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I googled it when I got back to the hotel that night and determine that there are about 600 steps from the ground to the second platform. You can't actually take stairs to the summit of the Eiffel Tower...but you can catch an elevator up there. On this day, the line for that elevators was exceptionally long so we skipped that part.  

 

 Jojo, who cross fits religiously, basically sprinted to the top of each set of stairs. As for me, the first set of 300 wasn't so bad...it was the second set that had me clinging onto the railing, dragging myself and grasping for air. My legs were burning with every step and I had to stop about 50 times. But it was in those moments that I got to catch incredible glimpses of the City of Lights and I was in awe. Once I reached the top, it really is rewarding knowing I walked what seemed like 1,000 steps, secretly hoping I wouldn't die before I reached the top. I had to take more than a few minutes to catch my breath but I survived it, and it was amazing. Somehow, the view is even better after working so hard for it. I will always have that memory and I grateful that Jojo convinced me to go for it.

At the top you have time to take in the beauty of the city, but really its beyond that. Paris is alluring and charming. Paris is dazzling, romantic and it gets better with each visit. Paris is exquisitely designed. I'm especially fond of Paris because I know it has been around for such a long time. You can see it in the architecture. Its got such an fascinating, rich history. The fact that the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 is alone proof of that. When I think of Paris, I imagine scenes from the movie Midnight in Paris. Each era has its own personality, but it was all uniquely Paris, if you get my meaning. This graceful city was built so wonderfully without modern technologies. Yet, the oldest buildings still stand for me to enjoy. The city is like a huge antique store but it's so vibrant and full of life.    

Just so you know, taking the stairs is cheaper than the elevator. So, there are several benefits to it. You spend less money, you waste less time in line, its not as crowded because no one is crazy enough to take the stairs and you can burn off the croissants and croque madame you had for lunch.

Later that night, we froze our butts of on a Seine River Tour on the Batobus. I managed to get some dope shots of the illuminated Eiffel Tower.

And even a video of the hourly light show:

That's not all...but that's enough of Paris for now. Have a great weekend folks! 

**There's no where to go but everywhere...so get going! ~The Green Eyed Venuist