On Saturday, July 30th, we left Napa and started our road trip home. We decided to get some coffee first and a bite to eat. We went to the Oxbow market to a place called Ritual Coffee Roasters that Josh had discovered the other morning and claimed they had some of the best coffee he had ever tasted. Katy and I agreed, it was very delicious. We then stopped at Casa, also in the Oxbow market, to grab some breakfast tacos. Once we were filled up we hit the road.
It was a pretty drive during our first day as we drove through Sacramento, drove over the Sierra Nevadas, then once into Nevada the scenery changed and we were driving through desert. After 700 miles and 12 hours on the road we pulled into Salt Lake City and called it a night.
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| Leaving Salt Lake |
Sunday we were up early and back on the road as we were pushing to get to Fairplay, Colorado in time for dinner with our Aunt Cyndi and her partner, Carole. We were going to stay at Carole's cabin up in the Rockies which Katy and I have visited several times, but Josh had never seen, so we were excited for him to get there and see this part of the country. Once again it was a gorgeous drive as the changing of scenery is so dramatic, from the mountains around Salt Lake to the canyons and sandstone cliffs of eastern Utah to the snow covered Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
After 500 scenic miles we arrived in Fairplay. Once there we decided to stretch our legs by hiking up to an overlook behind the cabin. We enjoyed the views and played a little baseball with pine cones and sticks. It was just the kind of fresh air we needed after our day of driving.
That we night we feasted on filet mignon with homemade bearnaise sauce, potato casserole, bread, salad, and for desert we sat around the fire and ate warm chocolate chip cookies! You can never go wrong when Cyndi's cooking!We hit the sack early and all slept like a rock.
On Monday we drove around some of the little mountain towns, but the highlight was going to the Hungry Five Mine and Parris Mill, the remains of what was once a thriving town during the gold rush.
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| Hungry Five Mine |
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| Parris Mill |
After exploring up in the mountains for the morning we headed down into Denver. Once to Cyndi's house we showered, packed a picnic, and then headed to the Red Rocks Amphitheater for "Film on the Rocks." We listened to some local bands perform and then once the sun set we watched the Pineapple Express. We went to Red Rocks with one of Cyndi's co-workers, Alex, who is our age. If Katy gets a roatation in Denver then it will be nice to know some people our own age already.
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| View from Red Rocks |
On Tuesday we spent the morning doing some laundry and helping Cyndi with a few things around the house. That afternoon we went to Golden and toured the Coors Brewing Factory. It is a great tour (best part is its free) and you get three full beers at the end! After touring Coors we went into Denver and met up with Alex and one of Josh's friends, Megan, who also lives in Denver. We had a few drinks and an appetizer and then headed to Coors Field (it was a Coors themed day) to catch the Colorado Rockies play the Phillies. We had awesome seats and enjoyed the game with a Rockie Dog and Coors.
On Wednesday morning we hit the road at 7:30am and our goal was to push all the way to Louisville, Kentucky. It was a great trip visiting with Cyndi and Carole and, like always, we really appreciated their wonderful hospitality. As we left Denver and the Rocky Mountains in our rear view mirrors, we started getting into Eastern Colorado and Kansas, which seems to run together with long flat expanses and farm land everywhere you look. The great plains, as repetitive as they get driving through them, are still pretty in their own way with fields of corn and sunflowers all over the place. We pushed all the way to Louisville, and by that time it was past midnight and into Thursday, so we just decided to keep pushing the caffeine and drive all the way to Staunton. So, after 1,600 miles and 28 hours from leaving Denver we were pulling into Mom and Dad's house! Mom was at work and so Seth and Brittany brought Kylie over to Wilson Memorial High School so Josh, Katy, and myself could meet our new niece with Mom and Dad there as well. I think we all agreed, it was love at first sight and just reinforced the fact of how thrilled Katy and I are to be spending the next three months in Charlottesville helping Seth and Brittany out around the house and spending lots of time with Kylie Ruth!
After 500 scenic miles we arrived in Fairplay. Once there we decided to stretch our legs by hiking up to an overlook behind the cabin. We enjoyed the views and played a little baseball with pine cones and sticks. It was just the kind of fresh air we needed after our day of driving. 
That we night we feasted on filet mignon with homemade bearnaise sauce, potato casserole, bread, salad, and for desert we sat around the fire and ate warm chocolate chip cookies! You can never go wrong when Cyndi's cooking!We hit the sack early and all slept like a rock.
After exploring up in the mountains for the morning we headed down into Denver. Once to Cyndi's house we showered, packed a picnic, and then headed to the Red Rocks Amphitheater for "Film on the Rocks." We listened to some local bands perform and then once the sun set we watched the Pineapple Express. We went to Red Rocks with one of Cyndi's co-workers, Alex, who is our age. If Katy gets a roatation in Denver then it will be nice to know some people our own age already.
On Tuesday we spent the morning doing some laundry and helping Cyndi with a few things around the house. That afternoon we went to Golden and toured the Coors Brewing Factory. It is a great tour (best part is its free) and you get three full beers at the end! After touring Coors we went into Denver and met up with Alex and one of Josh's friends, Megan, who also lives in Denver. We had a few drinks and an appetizer and then headed to Coors Field (it was a Coors themed day) to catch the Colorado Rockies play the Phillies. We had awesome seats and enjoyed the game with a Rockie Dog and Coors.
On Wednesday morning we hit the road at 7:30am and our goal was to push all the way to Louisville, Kentucky. It was a great trip visiting with Cyndi and Carole and, like always, we really appreciated their wonderful hospitality. As we left Denver and the Rocky Mountains in our rear view mirrors, we started getting into Eastern Colorado and Kansas, which seems to run together with long flat expanses and farm land everywhere you look. The great plains, as repetitive as they get driving through them, are still pretty in their own way with fields of corn and sunflowers all over the place. We pushed all the way to Louisville, and by that time it was past midnight and into Thursday, so we just decided to keep pushing the caffeine and drive all the way to Staunton. So, after 1,600 miles and 28 hours from leaving Denver we were pulling into Mom and Dad's house! Mom was at work and so Seth and Brittany brought Kylie over to Wilson Memorial High School so Josh, Katy, and myself could meet our new niece with Mom and Dad there as well. I think we all agreed, it was love at first sight and just reinforced the fact of how thrilled Katy and I are to be spending the next three months in Charlottesville helping Seth and Brittany out around the house and spending lots of time with Kylie Ruth!
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