Live at Red Rocks

This weekend, I experienced an amazing thing. Red Rocks. But that wasn't all. (More on Red Rocks later...)

Not only did a dear friend, Brad (one of David’s groomsmen for those who were there) come to visit us, but we took him on a whirlwind tour of Denver/Colorado area.

Now, Brad was supposed to arrive Friday night. However, with the trillions of severe storms and hail we’ve had lately, the Wednesday night hail storm actually damaged lots of Frontier Airlines’ planes. Like, damaged them to the point where they couldn’t fly and had to cancel lots and lots of flights.

Luckily, Brad was able to get another flight Saturday morning. We picked him up around 11a and drove straight to Snarf’s. Snarf’s is one of my favorite sandwich places in Denver. For those Austinites: imagine Thundercloud with servers who aren’t high all the time and sandwich ingredients that don’t suck. (info about Snarfs, for those who are wondering: http://www.eatsnarfs.com/).

After stuffing our faces full of deliciousness, we decided to head to the Nature and Science Museum to take in an IMAX movie called “Under the Sea.” This movie would have been much better if Jim Carrey wasn’t narrating. It was really hard to concentrate/take a scientific movie seriously when a comedic genius is talking about cuddlefish. Also, it got a bit preachy at the end. I mean if I want to ruin my environment, I can do that. I mean, I’M not going to be here to see it ruined, so why do I care? I got to enjoy the dolphins. I got to see coral reefs. Maybe you should have been born in a different generation and then you would have seen them too?

After this, we took the light rail downtown, walked around the 16th Street Mall and then went to the Colorado Rockies game. They were playing the Brewers. Unfortunately, they lost. But not without a fight. In fact, some would say the incredibly questionable call at home plate that led to the ejection of not only the catcher, but also the manager, contributed to the loss.

Once the game was “over,” we took the light rail back home and drove to get second dinner at the Cherry Cricket (a restaurant that my loyal blog reader Danny Davis knows well). We made our delicious burgers and inhaled them.

We waddled back home and fell asleep.

Sunday was supposed to be our less busy day. However, a long wait at the best place for brunch in Denver – Snooze – led to a shortened day. After ingesting some quality brunch, we drove back home and prepped for America. And by America, I mean the US-Japan U.S. Women’s World Cup game that is. Brandan and Ian came over to enjoy in the America.

After Japan atom-bombed our American spirit, we grilled some kabobs. After filling our stomachs again, we decided to dodge to City Park to show Japan that our pick-up game could have brought the trophy home. A slight sunburn, a couple of mosquito bites and sore thighs later, we decided it was time to head to quite possibly one of most beautiful places in the United States: Red Rocks.

Brad, David and I all drove 30 minutes away to Red Rocks. For those who are http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifunaware of what Red Rocks is, observe: www.redrocksonline.com.

We went to see Idina Menzel (of Wicked, RENT and Glee fame) sing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Now, as if that wasn’t awesome enough, (dork moment coming up for you, Ashley and possibly Christine and Emily…) the famous conductor/composer Marvin Hamlisch was the conductor during the concert. For those who do not know who he is, he is one of the exclusive members of the EGOT club (otherwise known as a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). Not to mention the Pulitzer Prize and two Golden Globes he has sitting on his mantle. He is practically responsible for A Chorus Line – which is one of my favorite musicals.

So, overall, beyond this music being beautiful and Menzel showing off her musical balls, the view from Red Rocks is nearly indescribable. Not only does it have a stunning view of downtown Denver and the gorgeous red rock formations, but we also witnessed a moonrise that I cannot explain. I have never seen the moon that bright. I assumed that it was hot-air balloon, until I saw the “man in the moon.”

We came home, all pretty exhausted. I fell asleep pretty much the instant my head hit the pillow.

All in all, however, a pretty amazing weekend with a very good friend. Thanks to Brad for visiting!