How Craigslist Landed us a FREE Place to Stay in Denver
/In 2009, we were in search of a nanny to watch Elle and Tag part-time. Mickelle posted and ad on Craigslist and we were flooded with responses. Somehow…we chose the right one.
Through that posting we found a fantastic nanny and became good friends with her entire family. 8 years later almost all of their family is living in Denver. As we were planning our trip they invited us to stay with them. Thanks again Dave, Shelley, Morgan and Marisa! It was great seeing you all again and catching up.
Marisa, Elle and Tag circa 2010 and 2014
Elle styling Marisa's hair
The girls headed out for a run
We also met up with an old co-worker of mine that lives in Aurora. We met up with her at a place called Dad and Dudes Breweria. They make their pizza dough using grains from their microbrews, both were tasty.
Our sightseeing consisted of three primary stops:
1) The Denver Museum of Nature and Science. They were having a special exhibit called “Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed”. Naturally we were interested so we went to a 3D IMAX movie they had playing. Mickelle fell asleep but the kids and I enjoyed it. The museum also had the biggest dinosaur and fossil exhibit that I've ever seen in one place. It was impressive. Elle was enthralled by it.
Tag on the other hand was getting bored so Mickelle asked a volunteer what they had that would interest younger kids and was told about ‘the elves’. The museum has a number of elves hidden all around the museum. Tag spent the rest of the time looking for them. He and Mickelle found 2 of them thanks to the help of other volunteers.
When leaving the museum we noticed a spray fountain that kids were playing in and ours quickly changed into their suits and got out there.
Tag went to battle with the shooting water while Elle slyly positioned herself over the spray nozzles causing water to shoot out at Tag from under her foot
2) Red Rocks Amphitheater. Located just 25 minutes from downtown this outdoor concert venue was impressive. We spent several hours hiking around the complex. Our only regret was that we did not get to see a concert here...we’ll have to save that for our return trip.
Panoramic pic of the theater
Goofballs
More goofing at Red Rocks
3) Golden Colorado. We spent several hours walking up and down the main drag. It’s a really cool suburb and home to the Coors brewery. The most memorable part of the day came as we walked across the bridge over Clear Creek. The banks were overflowed with crystal clear and icy cold waters so much that the stairs leading down to the riverwalk were roped off. Being that there were other families playing in the water we ventured down as well. The water was so cold that Elle said her feet were numb after being in the water for a few seconds. The current was also very strong so both kids had to hold my hands the whole time.
Freezing but having a blast. Thankfully it was 90 degrees that afternoon.
Next up Kansas City, Missouri.