staycation : part 3

Hey all! Thanks for joining me --- if you missed the first parts of the "Staycation Chronicles" --- you can click HERE.

After spending a lovely Sunday with my family perusing spice shops at old town (and picking up some delicious lemon sugar!) and having a relaxing evening in, the Aurora crew (myself, hubs, and puppies) left for home early on Memorial Day. 

Memorial Day side note --- the past couple of years I have been really into celebrating the meaning behind our holidays, instead of just being ecstatic that I had another day off of school. Memorial Day especially means more to me the older I get and the more people I know who serve our country. Having my little brother as a Marine for the last 3 years, I have gained a lot of insight about the sacrifice and bravery involved in serving. My brother is to be deployed to Afghanistan this summer, which scares the crap out of me...but I also respect his pledge to protect the USA. It is a bittersweet holiday, one in which we are reminded of the many losses our country has experienced over the years, but we are also reminded that our servicemen and servicewomen never stop working toward what they believe in. And that is inspirational.

Okay, side note taken care of :) Back to Staycation. Monday was SO much fun because we decided that we weren't going to really have a set plan (how shockingly spontaneous of me, I know!). We took the puppies to Camp Bow Wow (an overnight dog boarding facility), and I definitely almost cried when we dropped them off. Haha. I'm silly like that. From there, it was off to the BROWN PALACE!!! :) I have ALWAYS wanted to stay at this hotel - known for its luxury spa treatments. Here are a few pics of our hotel:

Travel-sized bottles of luxury :)

Super excited to be there!!!

Tyler insisted on jumping on the bed! haha --- that's my man!

After checking in, we carried on with our plan of not having a plan, and just began strolling down 16th street. We decided to go in to whatever bar/store/restaurant seemed fun, and just do whatever we want! This game plan turned out to be awesome! Because we decided to have small meals everywhere we went, we were able to try out lots of places we have never been! In a nutshell, here is what we did on our "no plans" Monday :) 

Bought a new book --- because it's not like I have a bookcase already full of books I need to read...but I've heard this one is really good! And I had a 20% off coupon, so had to use it obviously!

Stumbled upon Appaloosa Bar and Grill --- where we had the BEST Thai Curry we have EVER ever ever had. So delicious. I could eat this for every meal for the rest of my life. Did I mention we HIGHLY recommend this?!?!

After walking around with a thai-curry-induced smile on my face for a while, we decided to pop into Mellow Mushroom, a pizza place I have wanted to try out for a long time! We weren't very hungry, so we ordered beer tasters and a slice of pepperoni and pineapple pizza to share. This place has EXCELLENT pizza! That greasy on top, crunchy on bottom, not too much sauce style that makes it comparable to NY pizza. Fabulous!!!

After Mellow Mushroom, we popped into Sports Column for a few beers while we waited to head over to Coors Field for the Memorial Day Rockies Game. We went to the game with our friend Manuel, and we had such a blast! 

Coors Field, Denver

Indulging the 7-year-old within me :)

 I swear --- the best sunsets in Denver are from Coors Field!!! LOVE THEM.

The game was tied 6-6 after 9 innings, and I was admittedly getting a little antsy by that point. I mean, turns out I really only enjoy about 5 innings of baseball, then I'm over it. Luckily, at the bottom of the 10th we scored a few runs! Big win for the Rockies! Beat the Astros 4 times this week --- I like it!

After the game, there were even FIREWORKS!!! It took awhile for them to get set up, but man it was worth the wait! They did AMAZING! Plus - I am pretty sure I saw 3 types of fireworks at this show that I have never seen before! Since I'll be gone for 4th of July (working at a Diabetes summer camp for kids), I was thrilled that I at least got a summer fireworks show in :)

After the game, we were a little hungry from all of our snacking throughout the day, so obviously the most logical food option was a late night slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! We got a heavenly White Chocolate Blueberry cheesecake and enjoyed it in our luxurious Brown Palace hotel room --- doesn't get much fancier than that, folks!

And that tops off Monday :)

CHEERS --- stay tuned for Tuesday's adventures!!!