The Basic-Bitch-Wing-Of-The-Plane-Picture. You're Welcome America.
DENVER, CO
Over the years I have had this huge struggle with being able to afford to go to the places that I want. I have dreamed of traveling the world, but to be able to do this as an adult is so hard. With student loans weighing on my chest and moving to Texas, I was in such an internal fight. Luckily, I have made some amazing friends with similar interest who have moved across the country. Visiting friends is a budget friendly, extremely amazing way to travel. Especially Allegra. This girl was unlike anyone I've ever met, and rooming with her in college for a while was so much fun. The girl makes quiche! WHO MAKES QUICHE?!
Would stay again. Would Recommend to a friend. 10 out of 10. Best futon in Denver.
COUCH CRASHER
Allegra inspired me in so many ways to want to travel to mountains and experience the outdoors differently. (She climbs mountains and rocks with her Man-Arms, Dost Thou Even Hoist Allegra?) So when she moved out to Colorado I knew immediately who I was planning on visiting first. PLUS, I wanted to see snow because I have never seen real snow yet. But PLOT TWIST, It didnt snow when I was there.... so I Still havent...WHOMP. So we decided there was nothing better than for me to couch-crash for a couple of days around Thanksgiving time. She was staying in the state, and I didnt get any vacation days until after a whole year of working at my new job. So there was a solid 4 days I could grace Colorado with my presence.
I was beyond excited to fly again, because it had been a hot-minute since I was up in the air. I think the last time was one my 21st birthday trip to Vegas. But I was EVEN MORE excited to arrive in Colorado where the weather was ALREADY colder than the coldest day in Texas. I remember walking out of the airport and taking my first breath of crisp Colorado air. It was honestly an experience for me. I forget how beautiful a full breath of clean air can be. Texas, Louisiana, and Florida were always so muggy. Its like breathing in fish tank water 24/7. So YES. I am having a moment about my first breath in Colorado.
Get prescription-strength allergy relief from indoor and outdoor allergies without a prescription. Allegra, now over-the-counter
One thing I didnt realize was that the Colorado is way more spread out than you realize. I thought I would be landing in the city, when in reality the airport is a hot-minute from the airport. But regardless Allegra soon strolled up in her little Honda Fit. (Me and Haley used to literally fight for shotgun all the time in that egg-shaped-Allegramobile) It was a very sweet reunion. You dont realize how much you miss someone until you see them after time across the country. We both had been through so much since we last seen each other, and we both had set off into new states; starting our true lives as adults.
Driving through the city is one thing that I will never forget. It felt like driving through Main Street in Magic Kingdom. With more homeless people... There was the beautiful architecture of the older houses that had been kept in shape, beautiful tall men running down the streets, the beautiful parks, and scenes of mountains that come in between streets. It all just makes you feel like you're home. Like you left the Texas desert to visit Grandma Allegra where she makes you watch documentaries and eat quiche. Here is a link to some of the types of houses you can see driving through the burbs of Denver. HERE
To be honest I really didnt have any plans beside to just hang out with Allegra and meet her friends. I'm not one to have a big AGENDA when I travel. I want it all to come organically. I want to experience the best and worst of town. I dont want to spend time fighting off stupid tourist. So when we go to her house I through my suitcase on the couch and laid back and took a deep breath and relaxed. It was a moment of bliss to just lean into the couch and breath in the smell of this old adorable bungalow that allegra lived in. Her house was this light pink, ADORABLE little cottage. It was exactly the type of house I would buy if I wasnt a millenial and had real money. She even had a little balcony, and the door to the balcony was super tiny. Obviously not made for the obese world of 2017.
QUEENS SOOPERS
Just me looking all cute next to this wall. Would recommend to a friend, 10 out of 10. Best Wall in Denver. River North Art District (RiNo)
The first day was simple. I just wanted to go get out and experience the burbs. Once again it was an amazing experiences of clean air, beautiful old houses, and tall men. We eventually walked to this park that looked like something off a movie, Cheeseman Park. It wasnt snowing, but I sure wish it had been because it the tall skinny trees and park benches made it looked like I was in a dream. People were excersizing and throwing frisbys with their dogs, and when we made it to the center of the park there was this huge Roman-looking pavilion that looked like where all the local humans got married.Its absolutely beautiful.
Later that day we hit up the local super-market "Kings Soopers" but apparently Allegra lived in the Gay-borhood and they called it "Queens Soopers." Hella Cute. She got about 30 pounds of potatoes, made mashed potatoes to feed an army, and we headed to a Thanksgiving dinner with her friends. I spent most of the night playing with puppies and I met tons of interesting characters.
Very Art, Much Tourist. Would Recommend to a friend. WOULD DO AGAIN. Denver Art Museum.
I forgot what this is, but it was cute. So I took a picture with it. WOO.
The next couple of days were me and Allegra versus Denver. We started off the next day on bike. IT WAS SO AMAZING. There is something to be said about riding a bike in the crisp cool air through the burbs. PLUS she lived next door to a dispensary, which was an experience unlike any other. Im going to throw it out there that I was THAT bitch and I went to a dispensary. But how could I not? Legalized, recreational marijuana is something thats new to the states, and my whole thing is: I want to experience everything FULLY. So I went in and it felt like I was going into Area 51 or into some secret agency. There was a guard at the door, then a guard in the lobby, and then someone checked my ID and looked me down like he wanted to enter my soul. When I was finally in I was SHOOKETH. I had been naive to think it was like a candy store where you just filled your basket up, paid and left. It was very much NOT that. It was like a bar. They have a bartender and he helps you "fix your drink." Jars of all the weed you could ever smoke, and all kinds of edibles. DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN DRINK WEED?! I took a shot at the Thanksgiving party. It wasnt very potent, but it was interesting.
After leaving I took a wittle baby puff puff, and hit the road with Allegra to bike through the streets. It was pretty Euphoric. And the getting into the city was so much more amazing than I expected. I think people fail to mention how NEW Denver is. Alot of suburbia in Denver has old style homes and old neighborhoods, but the big city is very much new, and thriving. All the modern architecture and big buildings were such a switch from the small old bungalows. Seeing the mountains in the distance between the skyline of a big city is unlike anything I had ever experienced. We also ended up catching up with her Man-Friend Sean who is hella adorable and very perfect for Allegra.
I must mention that I was rocking B-Cylce. I have a love/hate relationship with B-Cycle. I love it because COOL, I dont have a bike and im in a foreign land, but it's the WORST hassel to have to hit a station and reset your bike EVERY 30 minutes so they dont charge you extra. BUT if done correctly you get a bike for the day for only 12 doll-hairs. #ballinonabudget
Me almost getting run over while trying to selfie on the bike ride. #dead
Very historic. Much Denver. Would recommend driving by. 4 out of 10.
Stopping by the Capital and some historic sights first, we wanted to get all the lame stuff out of the way. DISCALIMER: When I say "Lame" It's Not that I dont love history, old architecture, and the beautiful culture that started this wonderful city, but I didnt want a history lesson this trip. I was on vacation #BrainTurnedOff...ANYWAYS... we moved on to Union Station. This place was the center of attention and its easy to see why. It was absolutely breathtaking. It easily beats Grand Central in NYC. Way less people. Way better shopping and food. After that we hit up this meat-market style place where we got lunch and finished off the day with shopping and more bike riding around the city. We also hit up the Denver Art Museum... literally one of the BEST art museums ive EVER been too. Finally a long ride home and almost dying multiple times on my bike it was time to relax because we planned on going hiking the next day.
CRUSHIN' COORS BRO
The last full day in Colorado I just HAD to get out to the mountains. We hit the road for a hike on Mt. Galbraith, and words can not express how beautiful this was to me. It was unlike any moutnains or hiking i had ever experienced. Even the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee didnt compare to the sights we saw here. It was just different. The Mountains in Colorado just have their own style about them that make them feel so comfortable to me. I got to play in little crunchy piles of frozen over snow, and there were frozen rivers that i couldnt help but playing in. AND Everyone on the trail had to say "Hi how are you?" I dont know if this is Colorado Hiking Etiquette, but I took this opportunity to tell myself I was a celebrity galavanting with the common-folk.
Here is my kind-of-boring Snap Story from the hike, but its hard to capture a hike via snapchat.
After crawling down the mountain, we were going to try the Coors factory... but yall... I can not with tourist. I came to Colorado to relax. To be one with nature, not to be one with a bunch of frat-daddies who came to CRUSH SOME SICK COORS BEER. The line was literally like 3 hours long. Me and Allegra literally looked at each other and were like HELL NO. So we headed back to her humble abode and decided to just chill and go have dinner and hit the town later that night. We also visited with her new man who has the CUTEST FREAKING DOG named Panda. Shoutout Panda, miss you cutie.
Nightlife in Denver is where its at. There are so many different types of places that you could go for a good time. The thing about San Antonio and Louisiana Nightlife is, ITS ALWAYS THE SAME OLD SHIT. Literally. All the bars and places to be are just bars with a dj and drinking. Theres nothing special. At this point in my life, I am just over going to the same types of clubs/bars and getting hammered. I just want something a little more mentally stimulating. So when we went to this place called "The 1-Up" I was beyond excited. It was like a video game plaza and bar in this brick building that didnt look too special. It literally felt like the adult version of a Chuckie Cheese. And I had been/heard of places liek this around Texas and been to Barcadia in Baton Rouge, BUT this one was so much better. Maybe it was the plethora of games, or the millions of types of games. But every section brought me life. There were foreign games, 90s games that I havent seen since i was a child, AND not to mention the Four player pac man which I DOMINATED! The funniest part of the night was all four of us in this giant game console, but we had NO IDEA what the hell was going on. It was all in Japanese. Literally, we were just screaming and freaking out and blowing things up/getting blown up.
Just being Hella cute in my Warby Parkers.
THE MILE HIGH GOODBYE
Overall it was literally an eye-opening experience to Colorado. I had so many pre-concieved notions about the way the trip would be. I had been to mountains before in Tennesee, but you forget how different it is. Colorado has a high elevation but it sure is more than just mountains up there. (Which didnt affect me, Luckily) and the cold was so comfortable to me. I looked so cute in all my layers. I just felt like I could really be at peace here. The people were so cultered, and all of the people I met felt very educated. (Except for the homeless man trying to sell us drugs on Coflax, he literally threw up a baggie of crack and tried to sell it to us) I just think it is a thriving place to be as a millenial. And there are a lot of people out there with common goals. I can not express how grateful I am to my love Allegra for taking me in and showing me around. It was something I will never forget and it meant the world to me. And as for Denver I plan on making it a regular trip for me. Maybe even one day moving there if I can ever afford the cost of moving there.