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Monday, September 27, 2010

A Walk in the Woods

So today we went on our first Colorado hike. Scott (the pastor at Grace Church) and his wife Amy took us hiking up to Grey Rock. Apparently, this is like the essential Fort Collins hike, the initiation if you will. It was pretty brutal, an hour and a half of straight up hill followed by another half hour rock climbing to the summit. It was so much fun, and the views were not too shabby either.



Let's just say it was way easier going down. When we got to the bottom, there was this beautiful river (I think it was the Poudre?) near where we parked. We just sat on the rocks and sighed great sighs of relief and accomplishment. I guess this means we are official Coloradians.

Here are some things that have surprised me about Colorado:
1. It actually gets pretty hot here during the day.
2. Men like to walk around with their shirts off... I thought they just did that in the South.
3. Not everyone here skis. Not everyone here snowboards. The natives, for example, largely don't. The transplants (like us) generally do. Interesting.
4. They have football rivalries here. Apparently, CSU (in Fort Collins) and CU Boulder are big rivals. Who knew?

Here are some things that have not surprised me about Colorado:
1. People are way into conserving and preserving.
2. Wal-mart is an evil empire.
3. People love their dogs. They ride their bikes pulling their dogs behind in car seats.
4. Sometimes, especially up in the mountains, it's freezing!!!

We are settling in really well, so far. It's been cool to get to know everyone. Fortunately, Fort Collins reminds me a lot of Athens, so it already feels a little like home. And there's a Chick-fil-A. Yes, please.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Our Apartment

We finally got all moved in (almost). Yay!



Sadie already claimed her "spot".



Our weird, under-the-stairs shower... You have to step down into it.




Friday, September 24, 2010

We made it!

We finally made it to Colorado! I would have posted sooner, but we just got our internet hooked up yesterday. We arrived Tuesday evening, moved our stuff in on Wednesday, and took a sight-seeing day yesterday. So much fun!


We saw some elk in Rocky Mountains National Park... It's mating season, so the elk were... erm... active.




In Estes Park, we stopped by the Stanley Hotel (as in the Stanley Steamer), which is apparently where Stephen King was inspired to write The Shining. The hotel looks very similar to the hotel in the movie, and they have ghost tours you can go on, if you choose to pay like $50. We did not do this.




Driving into the sunset... 

When we arrived in Fort Collins on Tuesday, the sun was just setting behind the mountains. This made driving difficult, but it was beautiful!!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Going West, Day One

So, we made it to the bustling metropolis of Columbia, Missouri. Here are some pictures from our journey:









Morgan and I decided that the next time we make this road trip (hopefully without our two dogs and a truck full of all our stuff), we are going to visit some of the exciting attractions along the way, such as the National Quilt Museum and Ruby Falls and the Chattanooga Choo Choo.

Story of the day: By the time we FINALLY arrived at the hotel, I was on the phone with the sweet family who is letting us live in their basement apartment. Morgan had gone out of the room to get something, and I thought I heard him knocking at the door. I went to open the door, only to find that it was someone knocking far off down the hall. Sadie and Georgie (still a bit trigger-happy from being in the car all day) exploded with deep, guttural barks and took off running down the hotel hall. (Let me just add that this is a nice hotel, and it's late at night, and people are sleeping). I took off after them, only to realize that I was now locked out of our room (and still on the phone, trying to politely explain what was happening). Fortunately, Morgan showed up soon after with a room key, and we wrangled up the dogs and put them back where they belonged. We have never been more ready for a good night's sleep.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Goodbyes

I hate goodbyes. I used to think I was good at them, but now I am not sure. We have had to say goodbye to so many people in the last few days that I am sort of emotionally exhausted. At first, it didn't really hit me that we are actually moving. But this morning, as I was sitting in church, it started to sink in. And then, as we were driving off into the sunset (literally) and leaving Athens behind, it sunk in even more. Boo. Not a fan of goodbyes - it's official.

Last night, we had a send-off party. It was really fun and really strange at the same time because at that point, I still had not processed everything, and it just felt like any other party. Here are some photos from the evening:








Tomorrow, we set out for Colorado. It will be a long 12-hour day of driving. If Morgan and I don't kill each other, we will be spending the night in a small town in Missouri. I can tell that we will have stories :) Many of them.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Local Love

Tonight, M and I went to the farmer's market at Little Kings in downtown Athens. Usually, we go to the Saturday morning market in Bishop Park, but this was really fun and a cool atmosphere. All the local growers and bakers and candlestick makers (seriously) come out and sell their wares. It's an awesome opportunity to support local farmers and sample plenty of delicious local goodness.




M at the coffee brewing station... shocker.

When we got home, we cooked some dinner with our farmer's market finds: grilled cheese on Terrapin spent grain bread, cayenne pepper corn on the cob, and blue berry crisp topped with vanilla ice cream for dessert. I am so full right now. I feel like the blueberry girl from Willy Wonka.


Me right now...

Monday, September 6, 2010

No-Labor Day

I have always thought Labor Day should be called No-Labor Day, because that's just what it is. M and I celebrated by doing absolutely nothing. I took a nap. M watched the Braves game. We cooked dinner and ate out on the porch, where we could watch the sun dip down behind the trees. It was glorious.



In summer, the song sings itself. William Carlos Williams