Between our assignment in Woodland Hills and starting our assignment in Reno, we took a trip to Colorado to visit Omi, my grandma, for her 90th birthday! Since we were there for a week and we did lots of stuff, I figured I should make a post for it. Not to mention how amazing it is that my grandma has made it to 90 and that alone calls for a post!
Omi comes from Oma, meaning grandma in German. She was born in Weisbaden, Germany and after she met my grandpa she moved to America where they got married and started a family in Colorful Colorado! Just north of Denver is a wonderful little city called Longmont and that is where my dad grew up and where Omi still lives.
When we first got there we sat in the living room and talked. This was also the first time she met Aaron! My Uncle Alan and Aunt Denise also flew from Florida for her birthday. It was so nice to catch up with everyone.
The next day Aaron and I stopped and Winchell's for some apple fritters. Winchell's is AMAZING! If you look at my Grand Junction, CO tab you can see that Winchell's is a must. We decided to split a fritter with Omi and my dad and also get a few breakfast sandwiches. Somehow I didn't take any pictures of the fritters, so you'll have to Google it or look back at my posts from Grand Junction.
At Omi's we sat on her patio and saw her friendly squirrel come up to the door! Apparently Omi has been feeding him occasionally and he looks very well fed.
Omi wanted to relax a bit so Dad, Aaron, and I headed to the Flat Irons in Boulder, about a 20-30 minute drive from Omi's.
Originally we were going to do the easier hike, but my dad wanted to do the First and Second Flat Iron. I did this when I was on my way back from Grand Junction and I knew it was hard... Aaron was not ready for all this...
Once we got to the top it was worth it!
On the way down we saw a girl hiking with her cat!
Then we went to West Flanders Brewing Co. on Pearl Street.
The burger was amazing my dad said! Afterwards we went to Oskar Blues Boulder Taproom.
We ended up stopping at one more place on our way back to Omi's, Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids. While we were gone, Omi spent time with my Uncle and Aunt! The next day we went and grabbed some coffee and smoothies from Red Frog Coffee. We were staying at the Hampton Inn in Longmont and it was right around the corner!
That day we all headed up to Estes Park. Aaron and I took a quick drive into Rocky Mountain National Park while Omi and everyone else were at Saint Catherine's Chapel on the Rock.
We all met at Penelope's for some elk burgers and hot dogs. Everything was great!
Then we all walked around Estes Park and checked out the little shops.
Omi was determined to go to a store at the end of the road and there was no stopping her! Aaron and I stayed with her on her quest to the store. Once we got to the store we looked around for a little while and then went and checked out all the elk!
Eventually everyone else caught up to us and we went to a little candy shop where we bought a chocolate covered Twinkie and a ton of popcorn!
Then we went over to Estes Park Brewery and Omi ordered a hot cocoa with amaretto. She said it was delicious!
On the way back, Dad rode with us and showed us where Saint Catherine's Chapel on the Rock was. They were closed, but we were able to at least see the church!
The next day Omi said she wanted to relax in the morning and go to Chili's for dinner. Aaron and I worked on travel assignment paperwork and went to the Pumphouse Brewery on Main Street for lunch. Everything was great!
That evening we went to Chili's for an early birthday celebration. Omi wanted a quesadilla and their lava cake for desert. Our food was horrible, but Omi was happy!
We all drove up to Johnstown to meet up with my grandpa's brother, his wife and my dad's cousins. We all ate cake and caught up. For Aaron, this was his first time meeting any of them so it was great having them all meet him.
Since all we had to eat was cake, Omi, Dad, Aaron, and I all went to The Roost in Longmont. Everything they serve is from local farms and it was fresh and delicious! When we went it was prom weekend, so it was very busy and kind of loud, but I am sure it is not that loud regularly.
After dinner, we somehow still had room for desert. Winchell's was the winner! We headed there for some donuts and fritters and all went home with full bellies.
I told Omi I wanted to go get our nails done as a little birthday present, so the next day we went. Since she has never gotten gel, she was getting the regular polish and as the busy body she is, it all smudged! The staff at the salon were very friendly and after explaining gel polish to her, they quickly did that and she was much happier!
The day we left for Colorado, Meredith started her drive back to New York. She planned to visit her brother in Denver over the weekend and it worked out perfect that she was able to come up to Longmont for a few hours! Omi stayed back while we went to Left Hand Brewing Company!
Afterwards we went to Dicken's 300 Prime on Main Street. Everything here is amazing! I highly recommend any food item that has steak in it. Aaron loved his steak and I loved the steak on my salad!
Following that we went to Winchell's...again since Meredith had never been. We brought it all back to Omi's house where she was surprisingly still awake! She came out onto the patio and we all sat and talked. Meredith had to drive back to Denver that night, but it was so nice having her there for a few hours!
Aaron and I had an afternoon gym session and we went to Modern Market next door. The food was so fresh and healthy. It was the perfect thing to have after the gym!
Then we headed over to Omi's house to sit and chit chat. She is always up to something in that house!
That evening, Dad, Aaron and I went to Bootstrap Brewing Company and Wibby Brewing.
Then we finished off the night at Pumphouse!
Sadly, the next day was our last day in Colorado. Thankfully, the flights from LA to Denver are only 2 hours so we got a flight at 10pm at night so we had practically the entire day to spend with Omi. She wanted to get lunch at Goodfella's Diner so off we went!
Then we went back to her house and we sat and talked until it was time to leave.
It was so fun visiting Omi! I am so lucky to still have her in my life and that she is so healthy! We had such a fun time together and we can't wait to see her again.
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