Colorado and Chicago

The Colorado portion of our trip was amazing. We both have strong attachments to that area and had high expectations. We were not disappointed. We kicked it off in Denver with dinner at Cuba Cuba, certainly my favorite restaurant in, well, maybe the world. Their mojitos are dangerous and the food is incredible. We met up with Mike, Joan, and Peter Ashmore, my Colorado-based family, and then retired to their home in Evergreen. Therese and Peter cuddled and napped while i played pool with my sister and brother-in-law.

The next morning i woke up early and watched from the living room as a red fox dug in the snow outside. Later during breakfast, and before the hot tub, we were blessed with another visit. Prepared with camera and energized with coffee, i followed him from room to room as he made his way around the house.

Who's a good doggie? The one in the first picture, that's who.

The next two nights were in Boulder, our home. We stayed with my college friends, Will and Andrea, and their beautiful little girl Ellie. They are such relaxing people to be around, and great hosts. Dinner at the Southern Sun and breakfast at Lucile's was the perfect combination to welcome us back. We even caught some live music at Saxoy's, a new cafe on Pearl. Kat and Pete are good friends of therese, and now myself. He's a truly great musician. Check him out when you have a chance.

First picture courtesy of Emery Cowan.

Monday morning we headed for Breckenridge in our Prius. I'll take this moment to say, the Prius is a great car. We couldn't have been happier. My only complaint was the awkward visibility through the back window, but overall we were very impressed.

We went snowboarding at Copper for two days, and a fresh snowfall in an otherwise poor winter made it amazing. Even better, another close friend from college drove up to spent a night and day with us. Seeing Jordan again for the first time in maybe 6 years was indeed another highlight. That, and mango salsa slathered tacos at Rita's. ohmygodtheyaregood.

Back to boulder for a few more days, we ran errands, went on a shopping spree, ate more good food, enjoyed happy hours, and hosted a big party at The Med. Eight people quickly doubled in size. My sister's family drove up through a snowstorm for one last goodbye, and many friends turned up unexpectedly. We enjoyed Larkin and Chris, Laura and Erin, and my good friend Ted. So much love crammed into one table is a very, very good thing.

Our goodbye sunrise, on the way to the airport after Laura's birthday party.

Chicago was a whirlwind, but it was good to see the family. We spent some time with Ray's and Carolyn's families and saw a few old friends from high school. We had less than two days, which is not enough, but therese and i finally managed to conquer jet lag on those final days. Over two weeks, we rarely managed to sleep past 6am. Now, back in Beijing, we're once again trying to reset our internal clocks. No matter, such is our life. And life is good.

~Kev