out and about

With an entire free day on Wednesday, our goal was to stay out of the house and to spend as little money as possible while we were out. Of course that all had to start with a good hearty breakfast to minimize the food spending later in the day :) Shawn whipped up these delicious huevos rancheros which seriously hit the spot. I think I could’ve eaten another entire plate.

We’ve been thinking about getting a kitten so our first stop was to hit up some animal shelters. I sort of lost count but I’m guessing we met about 70 different cats that day. Whoa nelly. I felt like a crazy cat lady, walking into a room with five cats coming up wanting to be pet or trying to climb on my lap. Shawn was quite popular.

There were lots of sweet cats and some kind of crazy ones but no kittens :( We were told that the breeding season isn’t until May so it looks like we have a bit of a wait. I personally would be okay with getting a slightly more grown cat since you can kind of see who they’ll be but Shawn really wants a kitten. Well, really Shawn wants a dog, so I guess I can compromise with a kitten.

After our visit to Cat Land we were off for some more free exploring at Red Rocks. If you’ve never heard of it, I definitely recommend checking it out. It’s a natural amphitheater that has hosted hundreds of concerts. The scenery is awesome.

We had the brilliant idea of doing the mile and a half trail loop first before checking out the amphitheater. At 6000 feet above sea level. It was certainly not a strenuous hike but even just walking up to our third floor apartment at this altitude gets me out of breath.  After the short hike we tackled the giant ramp that leads up to the stage area. And then the stairs all the way to the top. According to a sign, climbing the stairs from bottom to top burns 40 calories. I don’t think that even put a dent in the huevos rancheros, but it certainly had me taking a seat at the top. The views were incredible though and the huge rocks protruding out of the earth that form the amphitheater are amazing. Definitely a cool place. Probably even cooler when it’s a bit warmer out.

Shawn at the top

Searching for our next adventure, we realized that we were awfully close to the Coors brewery. Unfortunately we discovered upon our arrival that they aren’t open for tours on Wednesday. Luckily Colorado is the king of microbreweries so we scouted out another one and stopped in. At Golden City Brewery, we had a bit of a taste test before ordering the Belgian Trippel and a brat with sauerkraut. I am German after all. We were given a tour of the brewing room which smelled an awful lot like a stable to me. (In a non-manure, grain-like way.) This of course inspired us to finally use the brew kit we bought at Whole Foods about a year ago. Once we find a large stock pot at a garage sale that is. The day ended with a couple rounds of $1.75 Coors Light drafts over a friendly game of Words with Friends. Not too shabby.

A bunny spotted on the hike