Day 8: Boulder, CO

Dear Diary,

After our long drive from KS to CO we had a good night sleep, courtesy of the Westin and their Heavenly beds- waking up to breathtaking views we hadn't seen from the night before:

view from our room

Our day was packed. First stop- the Celestial Seasonings factory tour:

hair net for the factory tour; Yes, we got to keep them!

Sleepytime Hillary

For 40 mins we toured the factory, how they source and make their "herbal infusions" and other beverages. Kinda interesting/entertaining. [Spoiler Alert] Did you know they have a whole room to store their mint, otherwise everything would taste minty. ooooh.

From there we decided, per the many suggestions we received, to go to Chautauqua Park for a hike. Combining the elevation, steepness and the fact that I don't workout, I was huffing and puffing within minutes. Again we were blessed with optimal weather - 55f and sunny - so despite the snow on the ground (and elsewhere:)

it was quite comfortable. After the first half hour the inclination leveled out and I was doing a little better. Here's a few pics from the hike:

Framing it!

Maybe this is why they call it Boulder?

Rock climbing

view from the hike

view from the hike

view from the hike

Flatirons 

Yours truly

After the grueling 1.5hr hike it was time for us to check in to our next hotel, the St Julien in the heart of downtown Boulder. Before hitting up the spa for our massages we decided to take advantage of the location and walk around Pearl St (basically the equivalent of Lincoln Road in South Beach). Walking in and out of shops was as expected but then we noticed the sun was setting which created some really crazy views (I know, it's all about the views):

Our massages did the trick and we are now fully relaxed and ready for a great night sleep. This will be our view tomorrow morning:

view from the bed

Room with view

Tomorrow we plan on taking the Coors tour, followed by spending shabbos in Denver with my friend since childhood.

-A