I was sitting at work when I saw my weekly Ticketmaster deals of the week and upcoming shows email show up in my inbox. To my surprise, one of Brea's favorite guys and band, Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20 was the "new arrival" of the week. He was scheduled to perform at the American Airlines Center on Monday, October 5th.
I immediately got on Facebook and put a posts informing Brea that he would be in Dallas during one of his tour stops. The response I received would eventually get me to see Brea after almost 3 years and go to Denver and on top of that see Rob Thomas in concert.
Brea responded back that if I made my way up to Denver, she would get us to the concert. I could not believe it, but being that the concert was months away, I kind of put it on the back burner and forgot all about the offer.
October quickly rolled around and it was time to start finalizing my plans if I wanted to make the trip up there. I won't go into much detail, but everything pretty much fell right into place. I was able to get round-trip tickets (FREE) to Denver and had enough time to take off from work. The plans became finalized and I was set to leave Dallas on Saturday morning, October 24th and return on Wednesday, October 28th.
My departure day finally got here and I honestly did not believe I was actually going. It wasn't until I was waiting to board that it hit me - I was going to Denver, a whole new place for me, to visit with my good college friend, Brea, and enjoy some time off.
My flight was scheduled to depart Dallas Love Field at 8:45 and arrive in Oklahoma City at 11:15 and then arrive in Denver at 12:30. Of course nothing can go without incident when it comes to me. I left Dallas and arrived in Oklahoma City just fine, only to discover moments before the plane landed that I did not have my pass to get on the other plane that would take me to Denver. I was honestly panicking and as soon as I got off the plane, I headed towards the ticket counter and explained to the gentleman that back in Dallas they had kept both of my boarding passes. He was really cool about it (considering he was a Sooner and I was in Sooner country) and printed me out another boarding pass and stressed not to let the Denver folks do the same on my return flight.
As if nothing else could go wrong since I had managed to calm my nerves, I start seeing what looks to be mechanics go towards the plane we were supposed to be getting on to go to Denver. Not long after that on the intercom comes a voice saying that due to some "mechanical problems," our plane is being serviced and that there is another one en route from Houston to pick us up. I was like great..the wait would be about another hour or so. Honestly though, I much rather would wait on that terminal than get on an airplane that something might go wrong on just because we were being antsy.
Our new plane finally arrived and we were all able to board and off to Denver we were. The flight was only about an hour and a half. I was in shock of the size of the Denver airport but do take into consideration that I don't fly much, so to someone else, that might seem like a tiny airport. I had previously notified Brea of my flight delay so she knew I was getting in later. It wasn't long after I landed that she was there to get me.
Before we headed to her house we stopped by the Olive Garden so I could get something to eat that could help settle my tummy from the bumpy landing. After that we headed to her place to relax for a little bit before we went out to Governor's Park downtown & meet her parents to watch the UT vs Missouri game.
We headed downtown where Brea and her parents along with a whole lot of other Colorado UT fans gather to watch the games weekly. The game was not a disappointment except that because the game was practically becoming a blowout the local tv station switched games on us (that was kind of the sucky part), but still I had a really good time.
We headed home and called it a night. The plans for Sunday definitely would require some rest, if I could get some, as I was so excited about them.
We woke up early Sunday morning because the weather predicted a lot of snow by the afternoon. Brea had planned to take me up to the mountains to see some snow and hopefully get a good view of the beautiful Colorado Mountains. We headed out and the drive down West I-70 was just spectacular. At first we thought it might turn out to be a bad day because there was a lot of haze but as we continued driving we made one slight turn and all the haze disappeared and there was nothing but clear blue skies and the best view of mountains like I had never seen before.
We started heading up and I was seriously beyond excitement. We must've driven about 15 minutes or so up the mountain looking for a specific trail that Brea had wanted to go on but never found it. We ended up stopping off to one side anyway to get some pictures. It was a crisp 22 degrees but it did not feel that cold at all. After snapping a few pics, we decided to get back home.
On the way back home, Brea made an exit to show me "Red Rocks Amphitheatre." This place basically serves as an open amphitheatre to host mainly concerts. The name is obviously derived from the surrounding rocks that cover this place that are a naturally red in color. You know, when I was in the mountains I thought that was cool, well, driving up to this place was just beyond cool. It was snowing pretty hard by now and so everything just looked a bit surreal.
We hung out there for a while and visited the visitor's center and then decided to head home. We went to go watch Amelia later on, as the weather was just not cooperating to do much else. For someone like me who rarely goes to the movies, it was a nice little escape...I also wanted to see that movie which didn't let down...it was pretty good.
Before we headed home, Brea took me to Sloan's Lake Park. She said that since I was snapping pictures of everything, she'd take me to the place that in her opinion, has the best view of the city skyline. Let me tell you, she was absolutely right.
After we got home, we ordered some Chinese and that was it for Sunday. :)
Monday rolled around and though I had offered Brea to let me do some winter cleaning, she refused and said that all she wanted was for me to enjoy my time away from home and chores and responsibilities. She basically wanted me to relax and taking it easy. I'm pretty antsy and can't stay still for very long so I must admit this was a bit hard. I decided halfway through the day I'd go for a walk a couple of blocks down the road to the local Walgreens and see if I could find something to munch on. I came back and before I knew it, 5 o'clock rolled around and Brea was home.
Brea decided we would hit downtown for the night view of it (and no, I don't mean the clubbing scene - it was Monday night!). We went to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory and had a yummy dinner - Brea enjoyed a slice of velvet cheesecake. Afterwards we hoped on the train that takes you basically all around downtown. We made a stop at the Convention Center that has the biggest blue bear I've ever seen in my entire life. It was really neat to see that thing up close - Brea had told me about this fascinating bear, but I didn't appreciate just how cool it was until we got close up.
We then went to the Hyatt Regency and up to the 27th floor to Peak's Lounge. This very hip bar had the best view of the city...everything was all lit up, just beautiful. We got a little carried away and lost track of time chatting away. We finally left and as we got back to her car, we noticed we got a parking ticket - crappola. Brea took it pretty calm though, and said she'd just make her $25 contribution to the City of Denver.
We headed home, watched a little tv and then called it a night. One more night and we would be headed to see Rob Thomas.
Tuesday rolled around and I couldn't believe that my time in Denver was down to the last day. I spent the day at Brea's actually doing some work from emails I got. Brea got out of work a little early and we headed to dinner to Jack-n-Grill. I had some enchiladas and tasted the famous "green chile" that I kept confusing for green chili. Brea thought I was so weird being Hispanic and all that I insisted I'd never had green chile....little did I know she was referring to hot sauce.
We left with a little over an hour for the concert to begin. It was pretty cold that afternoon and we feared the worst, as the weather guru's were predicting the worse snow to hit Denver this early in the season. I thought to myself I couldn't possibly see anymore snow that what I had seen at Red Rocks and that to me Texas girl was a lot, well, I will say I was wrong.
As we drove closer to the concert, the snow was starting to come down pretty bad. We finally got indoors to the warmth and settled into our seats to watch the opening band One Republic. They put on quite a show....loved it.
Then Rob Thomas finally came on. Man, all I can say is what a show. He really knows how to entertain a crowd. It was all spectacular.
It was finally time to head back to Brea's. We walked out and sure enough, the snow was all over the place and was still coming down, harder than when we walked in. We made it to the car and safely home. It was time to get to bed and try to sleep for a couple of hours because we both had to get up really early, like 4am early, and head to the airport. It just so happened that on the same day I was returning to Dallas, Brea was flying into Irving for training.
We woke up bright and early fearing the worst and luckily the roads were not too bad. I had to say goodbye to Brea as she was going on another flight and headed to my gate. The wait, since we were early, seemed eternal, but that was just the beginning. All the while I waited, the snow just kept coming down. By the time it was time to board my plane, I had already seen other airplanes being de-iced. I don't fly often, well, hardly ever, so this was all new to me and mind you, very, very scary. We got to board the plane eventually, but ended up sitting on the tarmac for about an hour while our plane got de-iced just like the others.
Finally it was time for take off. Though I was ready to get home, it sure was a bit sad to say goodbye to Denver - it was so much fun! Hope to come back soon!
A big thanks to my cool chica friend Brea, for making my stay so much fun. Love ya chica!
My ticket to the "Mile High City!"
The plane we were supposed to board to go to Denver had to be serviced so we had to wait an hour and a half for another one to come in from Houston.
On Denver ground.
Oh, the beautiful mountains.
Stetson using my one piece of luggage to get comfy.
Headed downtown!
The building on the left is where they make money...real $$$$!!!
Denver is home to the Chipotle restaurant.
Brea & I!
Brea & her "parentals, (as she calls them).
Leave it to Brea to introduce me to my very first ever Bagel at Einstein Bros. We stopped here before we headed out to the mountains. They were out of white bagels so she suggested I try the potato, said it tasted the same. It was Delish!!!
We are about to go into that tunnel that is cut right in the middle of the mountain. How cool is that!!!!
Colorado used to have many mining towns. Idaho Springs was one of them!
An old mining mill!
Going up the mountains!!!! The scenery was breathtaking and the air was the cleanest I have ever breathed.
The Prius that could. Brea's car was doing all it could to get us further up the mountain!
We finally decided to stop as we went sure we could come back down without being in trouble. This is me with the mountains in the background. This place is absolutely beautiful.
Brea...the best chica ever!!!!
She takes good self portraits.
On the way back home, we stopped off the side of the road near this stream. Isn't this just beautiful? (And yes, I took this picture with my very own camera.)
Me!!!!
Brea was quite the guide. She pulled off and took me to the famous "Red Rocks." This place really is something else.
As you can see, it was snowing pretty hard. I have never seen the size of snowflakes that I saw here.
At the bottom down there is the Amphiteatre. Many great artist have performed here and put on great shows. Maybe someday I can come back and enjoy a great show!! BTW, the little people down there were doing yoga...now this I thought was crazy....yoga in the middle of a snowstorm?!?
Brea made me wear a jacket...I guess it wasn't such a bad idea!!!
Inside the tourist center.
A replica of the Red Rocks Amphiteathre!!!!
Cool guitar!!!
This wall has posters of the many concerts that have been held at Red Rocks.
Invesco Field - home of the Denver Broncos!!!!!
We headed back downtown to catch the movie "Amelia." It was snowing pretty hard and the forecast predicted even more snow so a movie was basically all we could do. This is Brea walking towards the teathre.
Brea took me to Sloan's Lake Park because she said you get the best view of the Denver skyline from here -----she wasn't kidding!!!
The beautiful Denver skyline...this is truly an awesome city!!!
A picture for the memory book.
We headed back downtown on Monday night for dinner!!!!
Clock tower!(by day)
By night!
The big blue bear outside the Colorado Convention Center. He really is blue!!!
Can you see me?
We went up to the 27th floor of the Hyatt to the Peak's Lounge to get a great view of Denver!!!
The Peak's Lounge!!!!
Denver at night!!!
My beautiful friend.
Brea's drink....martini? I don't know!!!
My drink....water...with ice!!!!
We ended up staying longer at the bar than we had planned and when we returned to the car to go home, Brea found this awful parking violation ticket on her windshield. That sucked...but as she put it, all to contribute towards this great city.
Stetson really loved my luggage!!! :)
Before we headed out to the concert, we stopped to eat at "Jack & Grill." The food here was very yummy and I finally got to try me some green chile!!!!!
As has become my tradition, I get a picture of every ticket for the concerts I am attending. I can definitely say this was did not let me down...I had such a good time with the best chica in the whole wide world.
**Amigas**
Carolina Liar put on a great show!!!
One Republic was even better. I had no clue I would get to see them.
Of course the man of the evening was known other than Rob Thomas himself. This guy can really put on a great concert!!!!
When we got out of the concert we realized that apparently it had snowed the entire time as there was a full sheet of snow and still coming down on the floor and everywhere.
We woke up on Wednesday morning not really knowing if we would be able to depart on our flight because the weather conditions seemed to be deteriorating by the minute, but we still headed towards the airport. Once we arrived, we realized the severity of the matter...I don't fly very much but apparently there is a thing called de-icing when the planes get ice or snow on them. The word was enough to put my nerves on end.
Iceman 7 took care of our plane. We sat on the tarmac for about an hour before we were cleared for take-off. It was definitely an experience to remember.
I made it home safely about an hour and a half later than originally planned but the most important thing is that I made it.
I cannot thank Brea enough for making me feel so at home and for allowing me to chill while at her place. Denver is by far one of the prettiest cities I have ever been too and would recommend it to everyone.
BREA & DENVER, CO.......THANKS FOR A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!!
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