Now the West Truly is Wild...

It has finally come to pass that I have left the familiarity of the Hampton Roads nest, spread my wings and flown the coop. I now find myself living a new life in Colorado, where the air is clean (if not a bit thin) and the elk flows like wine. I got here safely after the longest plane ride of my life, which felt as such due to the unfortunate situation of having to fly with my cat. Although she was drugged with Kitty Valium, she was still a nervous wreck, as was I. She is still vomiting in my shoes as a thank you for such an adventure.

Although getting here was not half the fun, I had a good time on Memorial Day weekend after arriving and getting settled into the Towneplace Suites where I will be living for the month. I have to admit that maid service three times a week is something I could get used to. This makes me believe that I either have to marry rich, or marry a maid.

The first order of business was to find a place to live - although I had hoped to spend that whole first month checking out the Denver scene and touring all the myriad places to live, I was told that Memorial Day was prime time for apartment hunters, and I should act fast. Not being one to ignore advice (unless, of course, it's from my mom), I met with a nice lady from apartmentsearch.com who took me on several tours of local apartment complexes.

Although they were all nice, the winner was Palomino Park Resort...and yes, I just said "resort". The place is absolutely decadent, and more than a bit yuppie, but I was riding around in an SUV at the time (what those crazy rental car people will do!) and I think I was drinking something from Starbucks when I toured, so I just made the cutoff. In any event, those of you who were toying with the idea of visiting me will definitely want to do so after I move in on the 22nd of this month (which would be June). The place has a frisbee golf ("frolf") course, baseball, basketball, a full gym, several pools (including one with a poolside bar), nature trails, and best of all, me.

Doesn't it just look inviting? Here are a few more pictures of the specific apartment I'll be getting - and if you think you can give me any advice on how to decorate, please take a look at the floor plan and give me your thoughts.


The difficulty is that the place has an entirely open floor plan including the dining room, living room, and study. It makes for a nice, airy apartment, but I am not nearly skilled enough at interior design to do it justice. I'll be doing lots of research over the course of this month...by watching HGTV in my hotel room. Then I'll be drinking heavily and crying myself to sleep, but that's a different issue.

It has some nice architectural details, including a beautiful gas fireplace (important for those chilly Denver nights)

and some built-in shelves

and a nice archway into the kitchen. My pictures don't do it justice, because I was rushing through with a nice lady who thought I was strange for taking so many pictures (including of the insides of closets) of the empty place.

Add a cute patio (perhaps I'll even become and "outdoors person" now that I live in a relatively bug-free zone), and you've got yourself a pretty nice crib. All I need are some shag carpeting and lava lamps, and I'll be one classy chick.

Hopefully I can fit all my stuff in this one for a while without having to store all my Christmas decorations at a friend's place.

Other than getting extremely excited about being reunited with my household goods at the end of the month, I've spent a little time exploring the area. My two Virginian-turned-Coloradan friends were having some family pay a visit when I arrived, and they were kind enough to include me in all their touristy fun. We checked out a piano bar in downtown Denver, did some outlet shopping (always a good way to welcome a girl to a new home), and drove to the top of Pike's Peak.

Deemed "America's Mountain" because it was one of the last mountains to secede from the Union during the civil war, this peak rises 14,110 feet above sea level. As I mentioned, I was terrorizing my new town in a Mercury Mariner all-wheel-drive SUV, so it was the perfect tool for making the 3-hour drive to the top and back. It was interesting watching the landscape change, from the verdant fields and bodies of water at the bottom

to the snowy peaks, barren of vegetation, almost par with the clouds.

I was amazed at the view, which extended for miles in every direction.
The air was a bit thin, which didn't really bother anyone until we got back in the car to coast back down, only to promptly fall asleep. Props to Dan, our driver at the time, who managed to stay awake to return us safely to the bottom. At that point, he fell asleep and we crashed and died. But at least he lasted the longest.

There you have it - my first (hopefully of many) Denver adventures for your reading pleasure. As always, please drop me a line to tell me how much you miss me or to remind me of all the money that I owe you (good luck getting it now, suckers!). I miss all my peeps back on the East Coast...and don't worry, the rap isn't any better out here.