Boulder, we love you.

Today started out early, but not because we had planned on it. All four of us were up at 6:30 ready to tackle everything the Denver/Boulder area had promised us. Upon waking up, we realized that we had a phenomenal view of the Rockies. Tom had never seen mountains, and it was like Christmas morning to him.

We were so ready for the day, that we were eating breakfast at 8:30 in the morning (which is early for college kids). We consumed a hearty breakfast filled with eggs, oatmeal, muffins, pancakes and even frozen yogurt--we were ready to go.

From breakfast, we took a walking tour of University of Colorado at Boulder. It turns out that this area is a hidden gem, and not actually as cold as we thought it would be. In fact, today was a balmy 55 degrees and abundant with blue skies.

After walking around the university and purchasing a few souvenirs, there was a scenic drive awaiting us. We took our elevation from 5000 feet to an astonishing 8000 feet within a half hour driving up a canyon to the down of Nederland, west of Boulder.

Working our way to the next event, we found ourselves in Golden, Colorado at the Coors brewery. There was a 45 minute tour followed by a 3 beer tasting session. We saw everything from malting to packaging--and to note, there was a considerable amount of Keystone in comparison to Coors original.

And finally, to top off this already great day, we drove to Denver and ate at Casa Bonita. For those of you who are not familiar with this place, it was featured on an episode of South Park. It was a Disney World dining experience complete with dinner theater and extravagant decorations. You were able to get endless food and entertainment all in one place. We took a quick drive through the downtown area of Denver and then back to our hotel to make an early evening.

We found a homey place nestled at the base of the Rockies, and fell in love. Thank you, Boulder.