Home brought love, laughs, and good times. Of course, the time flew by and now I am leaving for Florida! In the 3 months of being home, I was able to do some traveling locally and outside of the state! If you haven't read my last post, you'll find a few great places in the CNY area to check out.
A friend of mine accepted a travel nursing job in California. She was going to drive from New York by herself. I offered to go with her and told her I'd stop in Colorado. We started our drive to the windy city, Chicago!
We then traveled through a horrible snow storm that I hope to never experience again and stopped in Omaha, NE.
Once we arrived in Longmont, CO, we walked around downtown with my Dad who flew in the week prior. The following day we headed to Boulder, Vail, and Grand Junction. From there she went on with her drive to California.
We were not sure when we would arrive in Grand Junction, or if I'd get there at all. Last minute, my old co-worker, Kristin said come on in! We walked around Main Street, one of my favorite things to do. While she was at work, I went to the Lunch Loop and walked around remembering all the wonderful hikes I was able to experience in my 13 weeks there. After work, we got drinks in Fruita and listened to live music. Of course, I couldn't help myself but to have Hot Tomato pizza!
The following day I took the bus back to Denver. Thankfully, I had the pleasure of meeting really nice people on the bus that I hope to stay in contact with. Once I arrived to Union Station, I took the bus to Longmont where my dad met me. From there we went to a few bars to watch the Saints and Cowboys game and buy some famous Winchell's apple fritters. The next day we spent time with Omi, my grandma. We drove around with her and ran some errands. Of course she fed us a ton of sweets in between each trip.
Our flights were delayed 8 hours while we were in our layover in Chicago. It worked out since there was a Syracuse game on and the airline gave us food vouchers!
After arriving at home, my friend from LA that I met playing tennis at Elmira College came to visit 2 days later! A spontaneous last minute trip she made while visiting NYC. The first day we decided to check out Destiny USA where we rode the carousel and walked around the stores.
We then headed to Dinosaur BBQ where we ordered enough food for 6 people, but of course we took home all the left overs.
Clinton Square is always so beautiful this time of the year, so we went ice skating while listening to Christmas music.
We then headed to the Syracuse vs Northeastern basketball game. Last minute we bought really cheap tickets and Danielle was very excited to get to experience a Syracuse game!
When the game ended, we went to the Biergarten for a couple drinks. Then went to Taco Bell since Syracuse had more than 75 points and we get free tacos with our tickets!
The next day we slept in and missed the lovely Oswego Tea Company breakfast, so we went to Port City Cafe and Bakery. It was a cold, but beautiful day so we went for a walk on the river and looked at the art drawn on the walls. We then walked over to Breitbeck park where the sun was setting over the water. To end the day, we went to the Cellar Door for a few beers before heading home.
Danielle left the next day and that night I had a work Christmas party. During my time at home, I went back to my first nursing job perdium to keep my skills up and it was amazing to work with my old co-workers again. The Christmas party was a blast!
December seems to be such a busy month. The following week was my 25th birthday! The day of my birthday, my mom and I did some Christmas shopping. We went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and they sang to me.
That night we went to Daniella's Steakhouse which was absolutely delicious.
We ended the night at the Biergarten where I got my 2L boot and hung out with my friends.
The next day, my roommate from college, Paige, drove in from Buffalo. A few of my other friends came over and we had Brunch. Then we headed to some wineries in Fair Haven.
The holiday season was great and I have tons of backpacking gear now that I can't wait to use next summer in the Adirondacks. New Years a good friend of mine had a party at her loft in Syracuse.
It's amazing how leaving home for Colorado did not seem as difficult as it is for Florida. New adventures are always great, but I'll miss home!
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