April 5 - 6 Anniversary and birthday in Denver (Heidi)

Tuesday April 5

When we did the online check-in the night before our flight to Denver, the only seats we could have had side-by-side were the very back row and I was less than excited at the prospect. So, we decided to select seats that weren't together and then ask the next day if something could be done, in the hope that it might mean an upgrade. If we were simply given the back row seats then so be it. But this time, I got my wish! We arrived at O'Hare and proceeded to the bag drop where I told the lady that when we had done the check-in there wasn't any seats together and that, seeing as it was our wedding anniversary, we really wanted to sit together, could she help? She went away and came back and handed us our tickets to seats 13A and 13B - American Airlines' Economy Plus class. All it really meant was some extra leg room but we were very happy.

There was a little turbulence along the way but otherwise it was a pretty smooth flight and a good landing. Soon we were inside Denver International where we had to catch a little train to get to the other terminal so we could collect our luggage. It reminded me of Narita in Japan. We grabbed our bags and then went and jumped on the Avis bus to go collect our hire car.

The guy at Avis tried to upsell us to an SUV, but after much debate between the two of us we decided to stick to the original plan and go with our Ford Fusion - so far we've been very happy with that decision. The Fusion's fuel economy is nearly as good as the Mini! Not quite, but close and when you've got thousands of miles to drive, the economy is important.

While in New York we decided to buy a GPS rather than renting one. We bought a Garmin which is the same brand that we rented last time and we were very happy to discover that this one has the same voice - Jill. So once we had piled all our junk into the car, we set Jill and told her to take us to the Four Seasons in Denver. It was our anniversary after all!

Arriving at the Four Seasons was almost like being in a different world. The kind of hotels we stay in normally are the kind where you park your car outside your room and cart all your own crap in. No such thing at the Four Seasons. There was immediately 2 valet parking assistants there to open the doors of the car for us. They then unloaded everything and put it into a trolley for us. We got our ticket for the car, handed them the keys and were told to just go inside, they would bring our luggage to the room. We checked in and were told that they had given us an upgrade (score!) and were soon on our way to the 13th floor - third from the top! The room was amazing. A bathroom the size of our bedroom in Paris greeted us on the left complete with a TV screen in the mirror, a shower, a bath (I'm used to showers in baths!) and two basins. The room was enormous and best of all was the massive king bed with the most comfortable pillows I have ever slept on. I'm still kicking myself for not checking what brand they were. And we had a pretty nice view out to the mountains too.

Despite the lush surroundings, we decided to venture out and check out the 16th Street Mall and the State Capitol Building before we doubled back down the mall to go check out Millennium Park and then cross the river to have a look at a local adventure store, REI, where there was an information centre about the Rocky Mountain National Park. Unfortunately the info stand had already closed for the day but we poked around and got some brochures which proved very helpful the next day.

Once we were done at REI we made our way back into town and stopped at the historic Tattered Cover bookstore before getting dinner at the nearby Wynkoop Brewery which is just near Union Station. The brewery was established by the former mayor of the same name and had some very interesting beers, including a stout made from milk - really good! They also had a restaurant so we ate there - ribs of course! Afterwards James wanted to look at their merchandise and struck up a conversation with some of the staff. They must have liked him as he was given some tokens for free beers! On our way back to the hotel I stopped at 7 Eleven to buy some water for the next day while James went to make a dinner reservation. Soon we were back at the hotel enjoying a soak in the tub.

Wednesday April 6

We had grand intentions of an early start but they went out the window. My family called at 5am to wish me a happy birthday and then I went back to sleep and didn't wake til closer to 8. I'm allowed a sleep-in on my birthday though, right? We made our way down to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast - James had french toast with huckleberry sauce and I had waffles with strawberries. Both very nice. Once again I was amazed at the level of service - our waiter joked that I was doing him out of his job because I poured my own cup of coffee! So this is how the other half live, huh? James even liked the latte they made for him enough that we didn't have to go out in search of another coffee place to get his fix - hallelujah!

We had preplanned our trip with Jill so once we had the valet bring our car around, we hit the road towards Golden to take the 'scenic' route into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was well worth it. Although it was an overcast and foggy day, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We stopped for lunch at Backcountry Pizza in the ski town of Nederland where James continued the theme of the trip and tried a Steel Head IPA beer. Soon after we hit the road again we found ourselves driving in very light snow! It melted as soon as it touched anything, but it was quite magical and the first time James had seen falling snow which made it pretty exciting. We arrived at the information centre at Beaver Meadows about 2pm and, just as we were about to go inside, we were stopped by a journalist from AP who asked us if we were aware that the potential government shutdown thanks to their inability to agree on a budget would mean that we wouldn't be able to access national parks as they would be shut down. Um... No... He then interviewed us about how a shutdown would affect us if it went ahead. I haven't seen if the footage was used anywhere yet, but I'll definitely be having a look through our AP resources when I get back to work. Thankfully the shutdown did not happen - it went right down to the wire, but they eventually came to an agreement on the Friday night, saving us a lot of bother.

We chatted to the staff inside the information centre who suggested a route for us to take and soon we were on our way. Just before the park entry gate we came across a whole herd of elk grazing on the roadside - our first encounter with the wildlife. I was very excited. We paid our entry fee and made our way up through the mountains to our first stop - Bear Lake. I really had no idea what to expect in the snow but wow - it was fantastic! We had to clamber over a snow drift and then make our way a short way through some trees to get to Bear Lake. The view was nice, but the most exciting part was just walking in snow! James got a little bit too excited and stacked it after stepping on some ice, but it was quite funny and didn't slow us down. We had a great time just jumping around in the snow and I now know why it's referred to as powder. Once we were done goofing around we jumped back in the car and headed to our next stop - Spague Lake. It was pretty but the snow wasn't as fresh and fun as it had been at Bear Lake. Next stop was the Alluvial Fan which is a rock formation created by the force of water coming down the mountain when a dam burst in the 80s. Several people were killed in the incident. The rocks were carried down the mountain and dispersed at this spot, apparently in the shape of a fan. Personally I couldn't see it, but I wondered if maybe it would be more obvious from above as it's quite a large area. Unfortunately we were fast running out of time so we had to hit the road and head back to Denver once we were done at the fan. Instead of the scenic route, we took the highway which was considerably faster, but also considerably less scenic.

After a quick wardrobe change we made it to the Vesta Dipping Grill just in time for our 730pm reservation. At Vesta you choose your meat and then you can either go with their recommended side sauces to dip your meat in, or choose your own from their comprehensive list. James sampled some more local beer - Great Divide Denver Pale Ale. Our meals were lovely and the standout sauces of the evening were the sweet corn and the BBQ. We decided to order a dessert and share it and went with an apple dish. It was a little odd - basically it was a whole apple, peeled and cored, which was then rolled in a toffee and crumbly coating. It was served sliced up with a couple of dipping sauces and some ice cream. It was nice, but not quite what either of us had imagined. And most of all, not what James had imagined. Unknown to me, when James made our reservation the night before, he had organised for me to get a special birthday dessert. Apparently the person who took our booking forgot to pass that message on though, so it never eventuated. It's the thought that counted though! We went and grabbed a free beer at Wynkoop Brewery before making our way back to the hotel and having another soak in the tub. All-in-all, a fantastic birthday!