Summer 2012--The Colorado Files (June 21st through June 25th)

Well, I have finally returned from what I can only describe as a wedding festival in Boulderado (Boulder, Colorado; that's what the natives call it, anyway). It was a pretty jam-packed long weekend, but I had a lot of fun meeting new people, doing new things, and generally participating in a lot of craziness. Mom and Dad are just about ready to move to Colorado after this mini-vacation, but I'm holding back a bit. I mean, I absolutely loved being so close to mountains and going for little hikes and things, but the air there is so terribly dry. I drank more fluids in that four-day period than I usually drink in a week. Oy vey. Anyway, I will now outline the various things we did so you can get an idea of the tone of the trip and see what I've been up to since my last post. And, of course, I took plenty of pictures! I know how you all like those so much.

The place we stayed was a nice house at the foot of the Flatiron Mountains. The owner lives in the house, in the master bedroom on the second floor, and she is sometimes there when her guests are. We saw her on her way out the door when we first arrived. She was off to a mini-vacation of her own, and she did not return until after we had left on Monday. I felt a little better not having her there just because it might have been a little awkward. Mom, Dad, and I stayed in the basement, which sounds bad but was actually really nice because it's finished with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small living room/TV room, and a little kitchen. I absolutely loved the bedroom that I stayed in, nicknamed the Ivy Room because of the ivy growing outside the east-facing window. The only downside was the sharp corners poking out from the bed frame. The room was sort of small, so I bruised my thighs almost every time I walked past the bed to the dresser. The bed itself was really comfortable, and I really slept great in it.

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream.

Thursday was a pretty early morning for us. We got up at 5 AM for an 8 AM flight. I never sleep on planes, so I was pretty much up for the day by the time we got to the airport. However, I felt surprisingly alert. Everything moved along pretty swiftly, and I was through security and munching on a veggie breakfast sandwich washed down with a chai latte from Caribou Coffee in no time flat. After a bit, we boarded the plane. Having flown eight hours to London, two was nothing. I couldn't believe how quickly we landed in Denver. Picking up our rental car also went pretty smoothly. We were upgraded to a midsized Nissan Altima with push-button start by our friendly Enterprise agent for no extra cost (Dad cajoled him into it). The drive from Denver to Boulder was pretty spectacular. The high rolling plains slowly gave way to the Flatiron Mountains as we approached our destination. We pulled up to the house around 11 AM Mountain Time (one hour behind Central). We exchanged greetings with Nanno and Kathy, unpacked our things, had a quick lunch, put Dad down for a nap, and headed off to the grocery store to buy ingredients for dinner. The local grocery store is called King Soopers, which I think must be close to Piggly Wiggly on the dumb-name scale. It has good stuff though, including a nice olive bar and a lovely bread case from which the most delicious aromas waft when the door is opened. We chatted as we walked through the store, paying for our things before we headed to a nearby wine store to pick up some libations for dinner. The cashier asked Mom and I both for our IDs when she went to pay for the wine, and I made a move to draw my driver's license out of my wallet when I saw that its normal slot was blank. I thought Oh, no! Where is it? Then I remembered how I had tucked it safely in a pocket of my rain jacket after we had passed the security checkpoint, and the jacket was hanging back at the house. We apologized profusely to the cashier and explained that we had just flown in from Minneapolis and that I had forgotten my ID at the house. He kindly let us off. I had to admire the laid-back Colorado attitude at this point. As we were heading to the car, we realized that we had completely forgotten to buy linguine for our dinner. Mom laughed with chagrin and headed back to the grocery store to finish our shopping.

Back at the house, I spent some time conversing with Nanno and Kathy while admiring the house. The kitchen and dining room on the first floor were particularly nice, and I looked forward to enjoying some meals there. We ended up actually eating out a lot, so I didn't get much time to enjoy it, but it was still nice.

The dining room of the house. The table is adorned with sunflowers that we placed in jars on the tables at the wedding reception.

After Dad got up from his nap, the three of us (Mom, Dad, and I) went to downtown Boulder to do some exploring. Boulder is home to a bit of an artsy street called Pearl Street, which is replete with numerous shops and restaurants and an eclectic mix of families, musicians, artists, shopkeepers, and the like. We poked around some random shops before Dad had to stop and have a couple of microbrews at the Lazy Dog bar. I had an Arnie Palmer, one of my favorite summertime pick-me-ups. We shared a batch of seasoned french fries. After that little pit stop, we walked a bit more just to say we had seen the whole thing. We welcomed the exercise after the various plane, bus, train, and car rides we had experienced during the course of the day (the train got us around the airport, and the bus took us to Enterprise). The mountain air, though dry, felt very refreshing, so I was glad for that, too. Because of the dryness, even heat feels bearable.

A view of the Flatirons from the house.

An elk statue on Pearl Street.

A Pearl-Street snail intended for people to climb/sit on.

Back at the house, we made dinner and ate then headed out to the deck for some nice post-meal conversation. It was really nice to relax before the craziness began on Friday. I enjoyed watching the onset of dusk and seeing the various crepuscular animals--like dragonflies and hummingbirds--appear. However, I was very glad when it became cool, and we were forced to head inside. By this point, I was pretty exhausted and ready to sleep, knowing what a big day was ahead of me.

The next morning, Dad and I went for our first hike up the foothills. There is a very distinctive outcropping of rock near the house called the Devil's Thumb, and I got lots of pictures of it as we climbed and saw it from slightly different angles and distances. Dad and I found a low nob of a hill to climb a little ways up the path, so we veered off and started up the sharp incline to the top. It was slow and hard work getting there, but the view of Boulder and the surrounding area was totally worth it. Since I could not really run at the high elevation (nor did I have time), I was glad to get some early-morning exercise in nature. We saw some really interesting birds, including a type of jay that is black and blue all over instead of blue and white.

Dad and I getting ready to head off on our morning hike.

A view of Boulder from "the Nob."

Another view of Boulder from the Nob plus a view of a nearby hill.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), which is open to visitors, as seen from the Nob.

A Nob view of the Flatirons.

Another Nob view.

And another. This time with the infamous Devil's Thumb visible in the upper center of the picture.

It's a bit hard to see, but this is one of those interesting black-and-blue jays, which I later found out is called a Steller's Jay.

After our hike, I fueled up with granola and almond milk before guests started arriving at the house for a ladies-only brunch. We ate a lovely Greek meal of pitas, hummus, salad with feta and kalamata olives, Greek chicken, and biscotti with lemon sorbet for dessert. Okay, you're right. Biscotti are Italian, but it was pretty darn delicious anyway. After the meal, we played a couple of wedding games, including a Greek-Italian trivia game with questions written by the men before we shut them downstairs. The other game was a marriage-quotation game where each saying was split in half (A and B), so we had to find the other person with our number by the other letter. For instance, mine was 7B, so I had to find 7A. It was a good way to meet new people. We then read all of them aloud to each other, for Danielle's benefit.

After the brunch, there was only about 90 minutes before I had to get dressed for the rehearsal and dinner. The church was a cozy little Greek Orthodox establishment with a dome on the top. Apparently, the dome needs some repair, but it would cost the church money it does not currently possess. I brought along a book because I figured I would be pretty uninvolved in the process. I was so wrong. First, I ran out to Danielle's car to get wedding decorations, then I stood in for her while Nanno walked me down the aisle to "give" me away to Uncle Nick (who I love, by the way). Danielle took over after that, for which I was grateful. It seems it's bad luck to practice the whole "giving away" thing with your actual father. It was pretty embarrassing, but soon enough, I was allowed to return to my seat next to Mom, Dad, and Aunt Elizabeth.

The front of Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church.

With the rehearsal over, it was time to go to dinner at the Blue Parrot, one of Louisville's oldest restaurants. The food wasn't that great; it was Italian, but the spaghetti noodles were huge and largely tasteless. The sauce was pretty good, and so was dessert, but on the whole, I was really unimpressed. I was again fairly exhausted by this time, so it was hard having to make yet more introductions and to keep up conversation, but I suppose it was better to meet everyone before the wedding so that the wedding itself was less taxing. At the dinner, I finally got to meet Uncle Pete, Elizabeth's husband. He, like Uncle Nick, is a really great and warm guy. I met Nick's Greek relatives, too, including his charismatic sisters Stephanie and Tippy (short for Santipi) and his wonderful mother Vicky (who makes mean biscotti and baklava). It was funny because I re-met a lot of people who all remember the baby version of me, but nothing between then and now. Of course, I did not remember any of them, but that's the fun part of these gatherings, I suppose. You become better acquainted with family and acquire some new relatives. Most importantly, Danielle and Nick are so cute together, and I was glad to be able to see my aunts again after so much time. After the dinner, Danielle invited just me, Mom, and Dad to her condo so we could see it and meet her cats Dylan and Frisco. They have the same coloring (greyish brown and white), but Dylan has short hair and Frisco has long hair. Frisco is more affectionate, but Dylan came up to see me, too. You can tell I was missing Emmie from all the animal stories I am telling you.

On Saturday, Dad and I took Mom out on a hike an hour earlier than Friday. We went a bit farther on the main trail than we had the previous day, but we did not hike at so steep of an incline. Basically, we skipped the Nob because we didn't want to tax Mom too much. I was surprised that I got more tired on the second day. I thought it would be a bit easier, but I think I was really tired from the rehearsal dinner and from the physical exertion of Friday morning. After the hike, I got to see Aunt Gina again and meet her husband Richard, another great guy. So basically, all of my new uncles are fantastic. They had gotten in late on Friday night because their plane was delayed, so I felt sorta bad for them. After a good breakfast, I was able to watch the season finale of The Legend of Korra. I badly needed the alone time after all the meeting I did on Friday. When the show was over, Mom did my hair for the wedding. It turned out really great, with some twisted pieces near the top. She curled (yes, curled!) the rest of the hair, so it looked very 1940s.

A view of a ridge from the path.

Some lovely blue mountain flowers.

Our tree-shaded path through the mountain forest.

 I did some reading, resting, and writing for a bit before Mom and I got dressed and headed to the hotel to see Danielle and everyone else as they got ready. Mom touched up my hair at the hotel while we ate leftovers from the brunch. After a short time there, we all piled into cars and headed to the church. I had a really good seat in the first row, right near the aisle in my own black folding chair. Why? Well, I held Danielle's bouquet throughout the long, ritualistic Greek Orthodox wedding service. It was very impersonal because there is just a script that the priests read while inserting the couple's names at various points. The most exciting part was when the priests stopped looking at the script and said something heartfelt and not written down on a page. There are no vows in a Greek Orthodox wedding because the man's and woman's very presence conveys their commitment to the marriage and each other. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, Danielle and Nick got to have their first kiss as a married couple. It was beautiful. At the reception, I was separated from Mom and Dad; they sat at Table 1 with Nanno, Kathy, and some older adults, while I was placed at Table 3 with younger people. I was a tad upset at first; then, I realized how much more interesting it was to be with people close to my own age. And these people were all basically my cousins by marriage, plus my aunts and uncles. In the end, I was glad that I could spend some time with these relatives. I really had a good time with them. The reception was outside the church with a beautiful backdrop of mountains, but the temperature climbed to 100, remaining there even at 5 or 6 PM. I made sure to drink lots of water as I ate my reception meal of pea gnocchi, potato salad with mushrooms, spinach salad with strawberries and feta, tomato couscous, and an assortment of desserts that Vicky made herself (including that delicious baklava I mentioned before).

The view of the mountains from the reception tent.

I know my place(card).

The simply-decorated bags that held the traditional Jordan almonds.

Remember the sunflowers? Here they are again as a table decoration!

When dinner was over, the music began. I loved watching the newlyweds dance their first dance together, as Nick sang the song to Danielle. I got to dance with Mom and Dad, just silly party dancing like jumping around and stomping our feet. Later, Nick started a train with us for the song "We Are Family." I even got to participate in the throwing of the bouquet, set to Beyonce's "Single Ladies." I did not catch it, but it's okay because marriage is very far from being in the picture for me. It did go to another Hannah, though, who has a steady boyfriend and says she might get married in the next few years. I really hope it is her. The funny thing about Nick and Danielle's wedding is that it was almost fated. Nick's family has a tradition at Epiphany called a Coin Cake. Vicky bakes a couple of cakes and puts a coin in one of them. Whoever gets the coin will be the next married. In December of 2010,  Nick took Danielle to the Epiphany party, and he wound up with the coin. Now, Nick had never before gotten the coin in his entire life, and the last four relatives to get the coin had all been married or engaged within the year. Well, 11 months later, they were engaged! I just thought it was a great, cute story. I guess that coin really is lucky! All in all, I am glad to have a new uncle and so many new Greek relatives. Let me tell you, they really know how to party. Nick danced with some of his male relatives in a traditional Greek war dance. It was really cool to watch. And since I'm pretty silly, I even picked up some ideas for my own very-far-off wedding (we're talking years and years, probably, since I need to find the guy first). I think I would do away with the brunches, lunches, and other festivities and keep everything simple with just a rehearsal dinner. I want a simple ceremony and a small guest list, no more than 200 people. I liked how Danielle had no bridesmaids or groomsmen and simply had her siblings and Nick's siblings walk down the aisle with their spouses. The couples would light a candle at the front before taking a seat in the family section at the front. I might also limit alcohol intake because a couple of people got a little out of hand. But that's my own opinion. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a long night, and I did not get to bed until close to 12:30 AM Mountain time (so it felt like 1:30 AM Central time). I realize that there are relatively few exciting wedding pictures, and that's because I wanted to enjoy the event in real time without hiding behind my camera. Mom took some good ones though, so hopefully I will be able to show them to you when she gets them uploaded. Stay tuned!

The next morning, I felt absolutely horrible. I even slept in until 7:30 AM Mountain time, but I was the most tired I have ever been in my entire life. I think it was all the physical activity (hiking, dancing) combined with the heat. Even though I was hydrating as much as I could, I probably did not get enough to drink. I would have liked to stay in all day, but Mom made breakfast plans with her counterpart at Itasca Denver, Liz. We met Liz and her family at the Buff Restaurant, named one of the top breakfast spots in Boulder. Mom and I split a Valley of the Sun omelet, complete with sun-dried tomatoes, cream cheese (sounds weird, but it's fantastic), spinach, and mushrooms and served with a side of spiced hollandaise sauce, tomatoes, and fresh fruit. I washed all that down with a sweet chai latte. With just a couple of hours before the wedding luncheon, Mom, Dad, and I did not think it was worth it to go back to the house. Instead, we went to World Market, which left Minnesota a few years ago. I was very sad. I really love the store and all of its cool products. I was about to buy a set of three rings for $7.50 but decided against it because I need to save my money. Now I kind of regret it, and I can't find the rings online anywhere. Oh, well. I'm sure I will be glad I did not get them later. After that, we visited a couple of stores to find a University of Colorado Buffaloes hat for Dad. We searched for awhile before finally locating one at a Sports Authority. We then headed to Le Peep restaurant after stopping at a whole-foods market to sniff around and see what we could find (which turned out to be organic seven-grain granola, which was delicious with raspberry yogurt). At Le Peep, we gave Danielle and Nick their wedding gift, a couple of mugs with packets of hot chocolate for a cozy night in. For lunch, I ate a nice, light apple-walnut salad with blue cheese and their House Apple Vinaigrette; the salad was fantastically satisfying after the relatively food-rich day I had on Saturday. We did not stay long at the restaurant because we wanted to get to the nearby Celestial Seasonings tea factory to catch a tour before they closed for the day. We said goodbye to the newlyweds before heading off with Aunt Gina in tow.

We made it to the factory just in time for a 2:45 "Camomile" tour (our tickets were sampler packets of Camomile tea, hence the name). It was so interesting to learn the history of the company as well as taste a wide variety of teas, some of which are not easily found in stores (like the spectacular Cranberry Apple Zinger). I was delighted to walk through the gift store and purchase some gifts for the writers of my letters of recommendation. Even though I did not do anything vet-related on the trip, I did talk a lot about my application process and my hopeful future at one of my chosen five vet schools. Our tour guide was so great. I never got his name, but he was super funny and enthusiastic, the perfect person to lead us through the factory on a quiet Sunday afternoon. We saw all of the cool facilities for washing and cutting the ingredients (known as "milling"), mixing them into tea blends, and packaging the blends into bags and then boxes and crates for shipment around the country and around the world. We had to wear hairnets throughout the tour, and Mom thought it was so funny that she made us take a picture with them on.  Not that it's anything out of the ordinary for me. I don one at least once per week when I shadow Dr. Jill.

Yeah, we all look like mushrooms. Also, we are standing in order of increasing darkness/thickness of eyebrows. Just an observation.

After the tour, we had to get right back to the house so that Aunt Gina could finish packing. She and Richard left at about 5 PM. Afterwards, we went to the Southern Sun for dinner with most of Kathy's family. Our server, whose name was Nick, was really friendly and enjoyable. I had a basil blue cheeseburger and delicious fries. I was really worn out again, but I kept up my cheer and sociability as much as I could. I said goodbye to the people with whom I had spent the last few days. It was sort of bittersweet because I enjoyed spending time with them, but I was really looking forward to being home.

I was happy to get into bed that night, knowing that the next day would bring me home again to my own bed and my own nice pace of life. Our flight went quickly and smoothly again, and I was soon back at the homestead, looking forward to another busy week of shadowing and work. I will shadow again tomorrow, so I hope to blog about it on Thursday, my next free day. I'm concerned about how little I am working, but I will get some money from pet-sitting for the Hergenraders, so that might make up for it a little bit. In a touch of sad news, I will not be able to go back to the Piper Clinic at the University of Minnesota for a third shadowing opportunity. I went twice last summer, with the hope that I would have one more chance to go before I submitted my application, but now they do not allow shadowing at all, so I will have to do without it.

Whew! Well, this was quite the long blog post. I hope you have hung in there and read it all the way through. I completely understand if you had to break it up a bit. It's just that so much happened in so little time. I feel like I packed a week's worth of activities into half that time. Which is probably true. Anyway, thanks as always for reading, and I hope you look forward to the next post, as it will be back to vet stuff again. I know I am. Yay!