Two Weeks in Colorado

A few days ago, Patrick and I returned to Pasadena from two weeks of fun in Colorado. We stayed with our great friends, Pat and Lindsay, who we always celebrate Thanksgiving with. In the weeks before Thanksgiving, we had a blast. We went to The Cheeky Monk, a great Belgian beer pub, for happy hour one afternoon. We also walked around downtown Denver and walked through the historic hotel, The Brown Palace. Pat and Lindsay showed us around their neighborhood and we got to hang out in the evenings after the guys got home from work.

This year, our Thanksgiving celebration was better than ever. On the day of, we went for a run in the morning, got coffee at a local cafe and watched some of the Macy's day parade on TV. It was such a warm, beautiful day in Denver that the guys decided to smoke the turkey in the backyard for an hour before putting it in the oven to cook. They sat outside, around the smoker, drinking beers in the sun. After transferring the turkey to the oven, we had snacks outside on the patio and then played a couple games of washers.

That evening, we sat around their dining table to give thanks and stuff ourselves on the wonderful meal Pat and Lindsay had made. It was our first Thanksgiving at a dining table since we started this tradition (we have always eaten Thanksgiving dinner at a coffee table before because neither of us has had room for an actual dining table in our apartments). Just one sign of moving up in the world! We had a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which was the fact that we have been able to continue this tradition for 8 years now. Wherever we have been, we have always made it a priority to be together on Thanksgiving. This year, however, it wasn't a sad farewell when it was time to leave since we will be returning for good in just a couple weeks. Here are a few photos of our time in Denver:

Pat and Linds enjoying happy hour at the Cheeky Monk

All the mugs/glasses were specific to the beer. This one was really weird but the beer was delicious!

Visiting The Brown Palace

Smoked turkey mission complete

Our traditional picture with the 4 of us and the turkey. One of the best photos and best turkeys yet.