Our adventure continued on Amtrak from Omaha to Denver, Colorado, where we stopped and spent two nights with Derek, Debbie and Dylan. Derek is one of Mark’s good friends from childhood (and he hosts this site for us on his server!). He had a great itinerary planned for us. After dropping our bags at Derek and Debbie’s beautiful new house we took off for brunch in the happening university town of Boulder. Man, we have eaten well this trip and Colorado offered us another great feast. We had brunch at the gorgeous Boulder Tea House which served a nice fusion of brunch dishes. We followed this up with a walk around Boulder and a short hike in the foothills. In the evening Debbie and Derek took us to a fabulous Korean BBQ restaurant where we ate lots of pickled things and barbecued tonnes of different meats. The next morning we rose at the crack of the sparrows and drove with Derek into the Rocky Mountains. We did a 5-6 mile hike in the beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park, where we saw Elk and squirrels and were rewarded at the summit of our hike by a stunning view of a crystal clear lake full of trout, backed by snowcapped mountains. Then back to Denver and out for another yummy meal – local hosts make traveling so much easier.
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On Wednesday night we said goodbye to my parents after a great two-week visit. [See below for a big selection of photos from our visit to my grandparents house in Barnesville and the engagement party that my mom and dad threw for us at their house in Columbus last Sunday]. We boarded a Greyhound bus at the Columbus terminal, bound for Cincinnati two hours to the southwest. The bus ride to Cincinnati was uneventful. We had over two hours to kill in Cinci, so luckily Union Station, where our train ride began, is a bit of an art deco masterpiece that has recently been restored and made into museums. Continue reading…