denver post 1

Literally STEWING right now!! Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a few customers before us in the coffee shop, according to the baristas, and if I hadn't insisted on first going to the indie craft shop, we would have been here with him!!!! AHHHHHH an amazing, award-winning actor famous for doing whatever roles he pleases (Savages, The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, Almost Famous, Along Came Polly) and WE MISS HIM BY TEN MINUTES. Oh my goodness.

Okay. I think I can get over it. Ask me by the end of the day.

Sipping coffee now. Both of us are slightly sore and a little sunburnt, but don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing! Today is hot and sunny and we were planning on going to the Zoo and Botanic Gardens before we realized it is the fourth of july...(at least for most of the country) and these public venues are not open to the...public. So, restructuring of plans. Happy Hour. Since it's Monday. That's about all we got.

Tomorrow we leave for Colorado Springs. We'll be back in Denver, so no need to cram everything in, but Denver is definitely a much larger city with more to do than Colorado Springs. Yet, even though we both appreciate the big city in a major way, there are things in Colorado Springs that are really interesting depending on what you like to do. They have the Air Force Academy there, which is open to the public and you can tour, and is apparently architecturally interesting. There is also the nearby Garden of the Gods, which is what is most referenced when talking about "what to do" in Colorado Springs. So, we will most likely try to visit both of these, along with our hot springs trip.

Colorado is a great place to get away to and for lovers of the environment and outdoors it is perfect. Your enthusiasm builds for hiking, biking, cycling, walking, mountaineering, and more. I love it here and wish I didn't have to leave, in a way. But of course there are absolutely wonderful people waiting for me at home in Michigan and I miss them very much. :) I already know we will be back to Colorado in the future. It's so perfect here, in a lot of ways.

I've had a lot of time to think and a lot of room to breathe, figuratively speaking. I've been reflecting a lot on my friendships and on friendship in general. I think I've learned a lot about myself this year. It may be in a more lasting way. Before, when I would have issues with friends or anything similar it's like, I would learn about that situation or what was going on but not necessarily take away lasting lessons. Before, it was like "Oh this person is like this" or "oh, this happened" and then that was it. That lesson belonged to that moment, that person, or my relation to that person. Now, I'm finally engaged in lessons that will teach me for the longer term. I think that's a good thing.