September 2005 Archives

I had some vacation days that were going to expire at the end of September, so I decided to take a personal day and spend it exploring Golden. When both Scott's dad and my dad came to visit we took them for a walk downtown. It's probably about 2 miles and takes about half an hour... and the way we took them wasn't the prettiest walk. I thought there must be a nicer way to get to town, so I checked out Google maps w/ satellite overview and headed out for a day of exploration. I was right - there was a prettier way! I walked over a cool metal bridge to get over the highway, through a beautiful little park, around a reflective reservoir, and down a path that bordered a creek leading to town! See the pictures to see for yourself.

My dad (aka Pappie) came for a short visit this weekend. It was fun to show off our new home -- the town, mountains, the brewery. We went for a little hike up the mountain behind our house and got a great view of all of Golden.

For those of you who don't know, Golden is the home of Coors Brewery. The factory is a big cement structure protruding from the valley between North and South Table Mountains, it's quite an eye-sore actually. Scott and I thought, if only they would cover it with a brick facade like they had when it was first built (over 100 years ago), that would make it look a little nicer. We'll have to drop a note in the suggestion box the next time we do the tour. At least the tour of how-beer-is-made manages to alleviate some of the mystery behind the big, ugly cement walls and the free beer at the end gives you a whole new outlook once you've emerged from the structure. I'm guessing this'll be a main tourist attraction for friends & family visiting in the future -- well, for those who like beer anyway.

My good friend Sally (whom we visited in London) worked it out so that she and Beanie (one of my Scottish flatmates from Sydney) would be in San Francisco at the same time as I was. It was the first stop on their 3-week trip through the States. I got to hang out with them on the days that Scott was busy at his conference. We did some catching up and a little bit of reminiscing about our days in Oz... but mostly we just enjoyed the streets, shops, and bars of San Fran, as well as the vineyards of Napa Valley. We took a bus tour up there and learned how to taste wine. Fun, fun, fun.

Today was our official celebration day for the 2-year anniversary of the day we met. We started by driving up to Muir Woods just over the Golden Gate Bridge, to walk among the famous Redwood trees. The oldest one there was 1200 years old! Tall, tall trees. It was nice to be in the quiet clean air of the forest. I love the picture of Scott walking through the trees -- it makes him look so tiny.

Later that day, we checked in to the Claremont... where he had reservations for a couple's massage. Ahhhh. Soooo, nice. Back in our room we ordered room service and drank a nice bottle of wine. It was a perfect day.

Scott's company invited him to attend a 4-day conference which took place at the Claremont Resort in Berkeley, CA. Since September 12th would be the 2-year anniversary of the day we met on a plane, we thought it would be nice for me to accompany him in his travels. Not to mention the Claremont is a beautiful hotel with spa facilities that I couldn't pass up.

We decided to come a few days early, giving us an opportunity to hang out with Scott's stepsister, Molly and her little baby Kendall, who live in nearby San Mateo. The weather was gorgeous on the weekend and made for some nice sight-seeing and picture-taking. Thanks to Molly for letting us stay at her beautifully decorated home!

My (Charlotte's) previous boss and friend, Ben, got married to Andrea at Arrowhead Golf Course, in the countryside just south of Denver. We were really grateful to be invited to their beautiful wedding. After Ben left our company for a new job opportunity last February I invited him and Andrea to hang out a few times -- unfortunately, I was faced with the same response over and over again "Sorry Charlotte, we're so busy with wedding plans." We were thrilled when they actually made it to our Last Dance in LoDo party and even more thrilled when they invited us to their wedding. The backdrop to the ceremony was breathtaking; Andrea's dress was beautiful; the music was perfect; the speeches were heartfelt(nice-and-short); the food and wine were good; and best of all, Scott and I got to bed early enough for us to get a good night sleep before catching our plane to San Francisco the following morning.

Wow, have we got a lot to report since our last blog entry! Not only have we packed up and moved out of the loft, we've unpacked and moved in to the new house. Add to that some interior painting work, a wedding(!), and some time out of town, and we have only now begun to settle in.