Gettin’ Carried Away

Have you ever driven down a road surrounded by forests? When you look down the road, the trees in the distance seem as if they were far away mountains. As I see the leaves on these “mountains” change from fresh greens to vibrant oranges and bright reds, I can’t help but reminisce about my trip to Denver, Colorado last October. I went to visit my good friend, Lindsey. We had been apart for about eight months, and I thought it was about time I saw one of my best friends.

Lindsey and I met while studying abroad in London, England (don’t worry - you’ll hear all about that in much later posts). We instantly became very close best friends and bonded as we traveled throughout the UK and Europe. So one day, long after we returned from our trip, while I was bored at home searching for cheap flights on the Internet… I found one!

Carrie and Lindsey in Dublin, Ireland (October 2006)

Lindsey and Carrie in Denver, CO (October 2007)

Southwest Airlines had a flight to Denver that only cost $79 each way. What a steal! If you missed it check out my post about affordable flights so that you too can travel on the cheap! Anyway, I called Lindsey and booked my trip all within 10 minutes of finding the deal.

I love the fall weather in Chicago, so I was really excited to experience it in Denver. The very first thing we did when I arrived was take the very scenic drive to her lovely abode. The monstrous mountains that seemed so distant from the airport became even bigger as we headed towards Lindsey’s house. Her beautiful home offered breathtaking views of the mountains, and I couldn’t help but stare out of the sliders in the kitchen every chance I got.

We then headed up into the mountains. I was not used to the altitude, so my ears popped as we weaved around and around on the winding roads that lead to the top of the mountain. We came across a quaint town called Evergreen. The center of the town featured a long, wooden boardwalk full of unique shops and yummy restaurants. Much of the clothing and jewelry inside the shops was one-of-a-kind, and I jumped at the chance to own a gorgeous silver ring and a black cowboy hat. The perfect end to this amazing day: seeing Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D at the movie theater.

My final day in Denver, Lindsey took me into the city, which is actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be. In 2007, the Colorado Rockies were in the World Series facing the Boston Red Sox. While the game was being played in Boston at this time, I felt so lucky to be amongst all the hype in Denver. Fans were walking around the city wearing black, purple and white to represent their Cinderella-story team. And I think I already mentioned that I am a huge baseball fan, so this was such a sight to see! Even one of the skyscrapers had the lights left on in several offices to form a mountain and the letters “CR” below to support the team. I also caught a glimpse of Coors Field!

Near the baseball diamond, there are tons of bars and restaurants. Lindsey and I spent some time in a few them dancing, singing Karaoke and just having a good time… like we used to in London. I also ran into a friend of mine from back home - how random! At the end of the night, we schlepped back home, completely exhausted.

The next morning, before I left for the airport, we carved pumpkins (it was October after all) and chatted more about all the fun we had in England together. Being with Lindsey again was a great feeling. And it just goes to show you that you can develop lifelong friendships with people from anywhere in this gigantic world.