Cripple Creek

We were going to camp this past weekend, but the April weather didn't want to cooperate so instead we found a cheap hotel in Cripple Creek, a mountain town about an hour away from Colorado Springs. Cripple Creek is an old mining-turned-casino town. Our hotel, Hotel St. Nicholas, turned out to be super cute- it was an old victorian style hotel with 15 rooms. Our room didn't have a bathroom in it- we had to walk down the hall to get to our private bath. (Perhaps that is why the room was so cheap?!)

The casinos were full of slot machines and had a few card tables. We didn't do too much gambling, but I did manage to come out $20 up so I was happy! We finally planned our trip to Vegas so I got to practice playing blackjack with my winnings. I am really starting to like that game. Cripple Creek doesn't have much else to do in town except gamble, so we spent a lot of time relaxing in the room and watching cable tv- a real treat for us!

The highlight of the weekend was walking up Third Street, the street the locals have named "Heart Attack Hill." The street is really steep- so steep that they give anyone who can walk up it a certificate saying that they made it up successfully. Will and I walked it, twice! We were very proud of ourselves. Unfortunately we only got one certificate. I guess walking up it twice is just showing off. The picture I took doesn't really do the hill justice- we were gasping for air by the time we made it to the hotel!

I also got a kick out of one of the store signs. Denver is called "The Mile High City" because it lies at 5280 feet. Cripple Creek is at 9400 feet, so I loved that they had an ice cream shop there that was home to the "2 Mile High Ice Cream."

Sunday morning we headed back toward Denver, but stopped by Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. The only time I had been there before was on a family vacation when I was 13. I didn't realize that it's actually a city park. I also forgot how pretty it is! We took some really nice pictures of Pikes Peak from the Visitors Center, but didn't stick around long. It was a busy day there, and we found out there are bike trails, so we decided to go back a different weekend so we could camp and go riding on some trails.

Visitors!

What a fun weekend! Will's sisters Cari and Sue came to visit. We love having visitors come and see us since we don't really live near our families and friends anymore. This trip was their second out here. Last time they came out we had a big agenda for the weekend- A Broncos game, gambling in Blackhawk, a Coors brewery tour, etc... This time it was a bit more relaxed. Neither of them wanted to do much except eat out and watch a lot of movies! I guess when you have kids or you work a lot it's quite a treat to get to do those things! Someday I'll know that feeling. =)

Thursday evening was pretty relaxing. We walked up to our favorite corner bar, Blake St Tavern, for some dinner and a couple drinks, then headed back to the apartment to watch a movie. Cari bought a couch for us last time she was out here so she finally got to see it. (It's an AWESOME couch, by the way. It is loved.)

Friday I had to work (boo) while Will and the ladies walked around the 16th Street mall for gifts and lunch. Friday evening we went to The Keg for dinner. It was such a good dinner. Anytime you can eat steak and crab legs at the same time I'm a happy camper. And for dessert, the best carrot cake I have ever had in my whole life. I will be dreaming about that carrot cake for years to come.

Saturday was a really pretty day so we started out with breakfast at the Delectable Egg (Yay! I love going out for breakfast!) then walked around Confluence park. There were a lot of people out enjoying the weather so we people-watched for a bit. I was especially fascinated by the kayakers that were playing in the rapids. On 16th St Mall there was a Wii demo happening so Will and I played a little Mario Kart, which furthered my desire to get a Wii. What a fun video game!

After that we headed over to Lucky Strike to do a little bowling. I am not a bowler, evident by my scores- 86 and 77. An unusually poor showing, even for me! (In my defense, however, we bowled 4 games last weekend, which I was still sore from...and I pulled my left glute muscle on the second frame of the 1st game. Yup. Walking calamity. That's me.) We finished our afternoon out with a movie- Forgetting Sarah Marshall. That movie is hysterical. I highly recommend it, especially if you love stupid comedy.

Sunday was a pretty low-key day. Went to church (don't gasp in shock- Will and I have actually started attending church pretty regularly. We found a priest that I really enjoy listening to.) then got burritos from Illegal Petes (that was the other "thing" that his sisters wanted to do.) I personally don't see what the big deal is about IP- it's just like Chipotle. But Cari and Sue love it, so we went. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the apartment before we took them to the airport. It's always sad to see company leave, but we are going to see them in about a month when we go to Hilton Head next month!

Sunday night I tried to replicate the carrot cake we had at The Keg. I guess a package cake recipe isn't the same as theirs. But my homemade frosting was terribly impressive! All in all a really great weekend.

Spring!

What a beautiful day! I was moved to a new cubicle on Thursday- with a window! Movin' on up...

The sky is really blue today and my view of the mountains is PHENOMENAL! They are still breath-taking to see, even after 6 months of living here. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the scenery in Denver. Unfortunately this new window corner cube makes me even more anxious for the workday to end...

I am loving the fact that I now get home from work before 6 PM! It's so nice that it's still light out for at least a couple hours after I get out of work. It's 70 degrees today so Will and I are going to go on a bike ride after work. Lately we've been hitting up the gym and watching "Power Hour" (Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune back to back- my favorite part of the day!) but the weather is so nice I think we'll have to skip it tonight.

Australia...?

Will works for an educational tour company that sells trips to HS teachers and students. This means that he is constantly around the buzz and talks of adventures and journeys to foreign countries. Anyone who knows Will and me knows that we love to travel. We have both travelled pretty extensively on our own, and have done a fair amount of travelling together over the past year or so (most notably to Ireland over New Years this year.) So for Will, working in this environment everyday really puts an itch in him to travel even more. About a month ago he got a company newsletter indicating available positions within the company. The majority of these jobs were overseas, which got us talking...

Will has never lived abroad and it is one thing he would love to do. I have lived in Spain for a summer, but I've often thought about living abroad for a longer period of time. He suggested that we think about moving abroad for a year after our lease is up in October. I thought he was joking at first, but am realizing more and more everyday that he is serious! That's one of the things I absolutely love about this guy- he is always up for an adventure, and he makes me want to be a more adventurous person.

He knows a couple people who have lived in Australia on a work visa through a program called BUNAC. No idea what that stands for, but what it means is we can gain a one year work visa from them for about $450 each. This program holds an orientation when you first reach Australia to help acclimate you to the country, then they assist you in finding jobs and housing. With this visa we would be able to get jobs (probably in the hospitality industry) and be able to travel freely around the country for a whole year. The beauty of the program is that you can work the whole time you're there so you can actually fund your trip while you're there. You don't have to save up a huge amount of money before you go. The main catch is that you have to be under 30 to obtain the visa. Will isn't getting any younger (he just turned 28- oh my! dating an older gentleman) so if we are serious about going, next year is pretty much the only opportunity we have.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to going to Australia:

PRO- we already speak the language, so it won't be too big of a culture shock to settle in a new country.
CON- we already speak the language, so we won't be able to become fluent in a different one. (HUGE con for me- my #1 reason for wanting to move abroad is so that I can become fluent in another language)

PRO- There are several job options through this program. We could work in the hospitality industry, in a retail store, on a farm, on a boat, or in a restaurant. Since we speak english we are more likely to get better paying jobs.
CON- If we decided to move to a different country (where we don't speak the language) our only job option would be to teach english. Teaching english does not pay well at all. And it's time consuming.

PRO- I would get to see a different side of the world. I have not travelled to that area before, so it would allow opportunity to get to New Zealand, Fiji, Thailand, Asia. All countries I would LOVE to visit!
CON- The Asian countries are cheap to visit as far as food and lodging, but pricey to actually get to!

So, there's a lot of things to weigh in our decision. If we do decide to go, we will put our stuff into storage at the end of October, spend a couple months at home with our families for the holidays, and then meet in LA and fly out to Sydney after New Years! Then we'd be residents of Australia for a whole year. Wow. Crazy just thinking about it.

The good news for me- I have talked to my bosses about the Australia option because they offered me a promotion at work on Wednesday. Currently I am a "sourcing specialist" which basically means I source candidates and companies online for the recruiters to call on for potential job opportunities. On Wednesday I was formally offered a position as a recruiter. When I joined the company in February they told me I would be in my sourcing role for at least 6 months to a year since I have no prior recruiting experience. So, it's a pretty big deal that I was offered the promotion after less than 3 months. I decided to postpone the offer, though, because of the Australia option.

If I became a recruiter I would have to reach a cap before I began to receive bonuses for the placements I make. As a sourcer, I receive bonuses (although MUCH smaller) as soon as my candidate is placed. If Australia is going to happen, I would much rather make money now and be able to save up. As a recruiter it takes about 9-12 months to reach your cap. For those keeping track, that's about the time I would be heading across the ocean. That means I wouldn't have any bonus potential this year. Hmmm, not a great deal for me (right now at least.) Plus, being a recruiter is about making connections and keeping in touch with those people. It wouldn't serve me well to make contacts and then disappear on them for a year....but, I digress.

Long story short, my bosses Carla and Echo (really awesome women to work for) are very supportive of the idea and assured me that if I decide to go they will hold my position for me here and let me become a recruiter when I return. What great news! It would be like taking a leave of absence for a year and coming back to a promotion.

So, that's the newest scoop on me. Lots to think about, but really exciting, too. Hopefully we decide in the next month so we can start putting our plan into action!

First Blog!

Well, here we go! After enjoying Leslie's blogs so much I have decided that I should start keeping my own blog. Not that anything terribly exciting happens in my life, but it will be nice to keep a day-to-day memento of what's happening with me right now. After reading Leslie's blogs I feel like I don't do much during the day except work and come home, so I guess I'll have to start with last weekend!

On Friday night Will and I decided to try our luck at the local casino. About 25 miles outside of Denver there's an old mine town called Blackhawk. Apparently the town was doing really badly since the mines closed down, so they were approved to have casinos. The town itself is really small, but it's nice to have a place to gamble nearby. Our big goal right now is to get to Vegas by the end of the summer. I have never gone before, and I'm beginning to feel deprived. Almost 26 and never set foot on The Strip?! That's just crazy! We are saving up for flights and hotel, but I also feel like I need to get some "skills" so I know what I'm doing once I hit the blackjack tables. Blackhawk has $5 limit limited gambling, so we headed up there so I could "practice." I actually came home $10 richer, which I was very excited about! Not a lot of money at all, but it sure beats my usual routine of losing $40! Will won $20 so overall we came home $30 richer that night. A successful trip to the casino!

Saturday morning we woke up to a gorgeous Denver day. Definitely one of those days when we are thankful that we decided to move out west. We debated on what to do for the day- a hike in Boulder, or a bike ride in Denver. The bike ride won. Denver has great bike trails that pretty much take you all over town without needing to ride on the streets too much, which I really appreciate. The people here are very respectful of bikers, but it still makes me nervous to bike down busy roads! We packed some sandwiches and a frisbee and biked about 8 miles or so to Washington Park, a big park south of our apartment. We had never been to the park before, but it was great! There were people everywhere just enjoying the weather like we were...that's one thing I love about Denver- people here are so active and ready to play all the time! There were BBQ's and volleyball games and kites flying and people playing catch- it felt like the whole town was out!

On our way home from the park we decided to stop by Coors Field to see if we could get some cheap tickets to the Rockies game- their 2nd game of the season. I will ALWAYS be a Cardinals fan, but I decided this year that it's OK to root for 2 different teams, so now the Rockies are my #2 team (it beats rooting for the Cubs!) We lucked out and got $4 bleacher tickets so we had our night planned, too! I really love going to baseball games. Mostly because I love to people-watch, but I also just really love the game. A lot of people find it boring, but I think it's exciting! And, I adore stadium nachos. You just can't find them that good anywhere else. Too bad the weather changed on us! The game was FREEZING!! It was windy and cold and pretty miserable, so we took off after the 7th inning stretch. (That's a rule of mine- no leaving the game til the 7th inning stretch is over.) We didn't miss much, though- The Rockies lost to the Diamondbacks.

Sunday we woke up to another beautiful, but chillly day. It's amazing how quickly the weather changes here. You can seriously have all 4 seasons in one day! We had plans to meet some friends in the bleachers again, so we headed to our 2nd Rockies game of the season. The night before, we were way underdressed and froze. On Sunday, though, we were way OVERdressed. It was HOT in the sun. I have a strange looking sunburn on my face and arms to prove it. Nothing worse that weird farmer's tan from wearing 3/4 length shirts! Unfortunately, the Rockies aren't enjoying the same luck that they had last season- they lost this game, too. Rocky start (pun intended!) =)

By the way, the picture up top is from the NLCS game we went to last season. Will made fun of me because I took so many pictures of their main screen, but I absolutely love it! It's so vibrant and colorful!

So that's the weekend. Nothing too outlandish and nuts, but a lot of fun. We are enjoying living close enough to downtown to be able to walk, but still having a lot of nature at our fingertips. There's talk of a camping trip this weekend, we'll have to see if the weather cooperates.

Ireland Trip- Day 5

I can not believe how dark it stays in the morning! Set the alarm for 8 AM and when we woke up it was still pitch black outside. The sun doesn't come up til around 9-9:30. Nuts. Had another less-than-stellar shower (the water pressure just blows- I still have conditioner in my hair) and headed over to tour the castle. Unfortunately Irish tourism isn't as eager to open as we were to get out of bed so we had to kill some time before the castle opened. Walked around, grabbed a muffin for breakfast, took some pics, and checked email.



The castle tour was interesting. The same family, The Butlers, lived in the house for 500+ years. They have recreated a few of the rooms and still have some of the original furniture so we took a tour of the rooms. The girl who led the tour had a super annoying voice. It was really fake and rehearsed sounding. Eww. Drove me nuts.



Decided to go ahead and buy a heritage pass for 21 euros (well, only 8 euros for me. Thank you SLU student ID with no expiration date!) We have several heritage places we plant to go to so hopefully it will save us some money. Skipped the Smithwicks brewery in order to get on the road sooner. The Rock of Cashel was listed on our Heritage Pass, so we toured there on our way to Kinsale, our next stop. Stopped at a gas station for some snacks and I made the mistake of asking for directions from 2 old men who worked there. The directions they wrote out made no sense at all, plus I could barely understand a word that they said. We opted to find our own way there rather than use their state-of-the-art road map.



Rock of Cashel is pretty much some ruins of church monestary. It was really pretty, but not particularly interesting. The craziest part was how incredibly WINDY!!! it was there. We tried to take pictures and video to show just how windy it was, but they just don't do it justice. We're talking practically being blown away. Unbelievable. We had to pay 3 euros to park, so we decided to make the most of it and walk down into the town. Bought some shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, since I stupidly left all those items in the shower in Kilkenny. Grabbed some sandwiches for lunch and then drove onto Kinsale.



Kinsale is a harbor town on the southern edge of the coast. It is apparently the closest port to mainland Europe. It has a lot of Spanish influence to it. Our 1st stop was to a bar called The Spaniard (how appropriate.) We read that they play music there on Wednesday nights, but unfortunately not that night. After a pint there we tried to find a room in that area. I ran into what I thought was the Harbor Lodge, but was in fact the Harbor Bar, to check room rates. Obviously not a B&B, but I did have a lovely chat with Tom, the bartender, who was probably going crazy with boredom seeing as he and I were the only 2 people there.

We were on the side of the harbor called Scilly. Not a lot of luck finding a place there, so we drove over to the town and found a B&B called Olde Bakery. It was in our Lonely Planet book so we decided to check it out. The B&B is owned by a very nice couple, Tom and Chris. 40 euros per person with breakfast included. Tom showed us our room, gave us the key (again- nothing needed from us), took our breakfast order, and we were off in search of dinner.

Kinsale is pretty dead in the winter and it was rainy and windy so not many people were out. Found a restaurant called Dino's and both had Fish-n-chips (again). After dinner we walked thru a "casino"- a building with lots of slot machines. Tried to find a bar with music (I thought I heard music at one point...but it was actually the wind blowing over empty kegs in an alley- music to some peoples' ears!) but settled for a pint and a glass of Baileys at a placed called Armada Bar. A very quiet, but nice evening in Kinsale.

Ireland Trip- Day 4

Got up around 9 AM, packed up our stuff, and left our luggage with the reception people. Headed back to the jail and took a really interesting tour with Michael. The jail was super old and pretty creepy looking. And it was COLD! The west wing of the prison was rebuilt and more recently it has been used to film movies. He mentioned that parts of the "Italian Job" were filmed there. I'll have to go back and watch it again. After the tour Michael escorted Will and I back to the exercise/workyard/excecution area so Will could take a picture of a plaque and I asked Michael if the place was haunted. He said there are no official documents saying that it is, but he has seen a ghost or 2. Freaky!! The place where he said he saw a ghost once is exactly where I got a creepy feeling while we were on the tour.

After the tour we bussed it back to the center of the city and stopped into Carrolls to buy some souvenirs. I bought a Guinness t-shirt for Dad and a sweet zip up sweatshirt for me. 1 souvenir down, about 7 to go!

Stopped for lunch at Supermac's. We both had fish & chips, which were quite tasty. Supermac's is basically a beefed-up version of McDonalds, they even have their own version of the Big Mac called the Mighty Mac. Will was rather peeved about it the whole time we were in Dublin. Every time we passed a "Mighty Mac" sign he would gripe about "copyright laws, etc..." Whatever. The fish was good.

Next stop, a city bus back to the airport to pick up our ride for the next couple weeks. It felt like it took way longer to get back to the airport than it did to get to the city a few days ago. We were both pretty tired. I think is was still jet-lag. Made a wrong turn at the airport and ended up at the rental car return area instead of the renter sign in spot so we had to trek back to the arrivals terminal in the cold. Today has been the 1st real cold day we've had since we landed.

The car itself is pretty much a piece. It's a black Nissan Micra, and it is small. We can only fit one piece of luggage in the trunk, so my suitcase rides in the back seat. It was nice to get out of Dublin and onto the open road.

I am playing navigator this trip while Will drives. We were headed to our 1st planned stop- Kilkenny. Kilkenny is maybe 1 1/2 hours from Dublin (a little longer in our case thanks to a missed exit- road construction prevented me from seeing the exit #. We took a "scenic" byway through a charming little Irish town.) It's big draw is the Kilkenny castle. We got to town around 5:30/6-ish. Then we drove straight out of town trying to find our way around to get a room for the night. We only booked our 1st 2 night's hotel stay in Dublin. We plan on winging it the rest of the time. We were trying to use the Lonely Planet map to look for a place, but it was close to impossible- Lonely Planet's map isn't exactly to scale, and Kilkenny doesn't believe in street signs. We drove up and down til finally I found Daly's B&B. It had probably the smallest little entryway/driveway area ever. You had to drive through it to get to the B&B and park your car. It was pretty comical driving through it. It was crazy tiny (like everything else in the town!)

We lucked out and got a room for 30 euros each. The interaction with the owner was crazy- she answere the door, gave us the price (no breakfast included since it was the holiday), and showed us the room. We said we'd take it so she gave us the keys and said "see you in the morning." No credit card infor needed, no names, or anything. They are just completely on the honor system here. How refreshing!

Once we had our room we stopped in for a pint at Langtons, a super nice looking restaurant. After that drink we wandered up the street and ended up at a placed called The Field, where a guy was singing. Unfortunately, he was singing his last song of the night so we didn't hear much. There were about 10-15 people in the bar and I would say 75-80% of them were shit-faced. I guess they were still on vacation. We were about 1/2 way done with our drinks when the owner came over and struck up a conversation about where we were from, etc... He knew a lot about the colleges over here- he knew the CU Buffs and the CSU Rams. We talked for about 5 minutes or so, and the next thing you know, Will was behind the bar! The owner pulled him back there to bartend for awhile. It was so funny and completely random.

While Will was pouring terrible pints of Guinness (and other beer, but particularly Guinness) I talked to 2 older couples- Josephine and Francis, who were sisters, and their husbands. They were so nice and friendly. They put Irish music on and the whole bar started singing along, even me, at least to the songs I knew. Will eventually made it out from behind the bar, and the owner gave him a bottle of Mickey Finns for being a sport. Mickey Finns is pretty much just like Apple Pucker, but I guess it's a pretty popular shot to do over there.

My older couple friends left to get their Chinese takeaway and play cards. Will and I moved to the bar and started drinking pretty quickly. Beer was going down well that night. A little while later the owner came over and got me this time. Not to bartend, but to dance. On a table. Good thing I was a little tipsy! And even better that I knew the song they played. So there we were, me and the owner, dancing and singing to Galway Girl from the top of a table. Such fun, great memories!

Eventually things started to slow down there so we snuck out to grab some food at Abrakebabra. Both got wraps, and more importantly witnessed some crazy Irish relationship drama. A couple was fighting and the guy just upped and threw his whole tray of food and then stormed out. Food flew everywhere! It was madness. After we ate we finished out the night with one more pint at O'Lanalans and then headed to bed. By far the best night since we've arrived!