30 is the new 20, right?

Of course it is!

I had a wonderful birthday in Colorado!

I got calls and messages from friends and family all day long that reminded me that I am loved! Not that I needed to be reminded but it is always nice to get reinforcement. :-) Thanks everyone for thinking about me!

Matt and I decided that the day would be best spent exploring and tasting wine. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we woke up early and set out on I-70 West towards the gorgeous mountains.

Again my disclaimer stands that my photos do not do the scenery justice especially since most of the photos were taken from inside the vehicle while driving. Hope you enjoy them anyway!

We drove about an hour and a half to our first destination. I was so preoccupied looking around and taking photos that it felt like 20 minutes.

Right outside of Denver. Wow.

First elk sign

Our first destination. What a gorgeous town!

30!

The first winery we visited buys their grapes from California. The wine was okay but the owner, Ross was entertaining and we had a great conversations about the ski season, mountain lions, bears and being electrocuted while hiking on the mountain. So many things to think about in the wild!

View from the winery

Ross suggested a really cute restaurant for lunch called Red Mountain Grill. We had an amazing view while we enjoyed our lunch.

View from the restaurant

After lunch in Silverthorne we headed back East to Georgetown. We found out that there is significant traffic on Sundays on I-70 East because everyone is traveling back to Denver. Ross said that during ski season, it can take 7 hours to get back from Vail which is only supposed to take 1.5 hours. Yikes! We sat in some traffic but it's like being stuck in the most beautiful place on Earth, it was like a gift. Since we were sitting still a lot, I took the opportunity to scour the mountains for wild life with my binoculars. The only thing I had luck with was looking like a huge dork but that's nothing new for me.

I think this is the highest I've ever been when I wasn't in an airplane

The next winery (actually it was just a tasting room) was Canyon Wind. They grown their grapes in Palisade, CO and taste in Georgetown. I enjoyed a nice glass of Cabernet Franc and aged white cheddar cheese and crackers.

Stuck in traffic and goofing off

Not 1 Lotus but 2!

Matt found this great tapas restaurant Soleil Mediterranean Grille and Wine Bar on an app on his phone. This was my first tapas experience and it didn't disappoint.

The sangria was incredible!

My 30th birthday was great. I am so happy I got to spend the whole day with the love of my life and I got to hear from most of the people that I love. I am excited about what 30 has to offer. I will be starting a new life with Matt in Denver, starting a new job and getting married next summer.

I have some goals I would like to set for myself for my 30th year:

1. Get back into shape again. I love being fit and diesel and I am excited to get back into a fitness routine.

2. Begin a new hobby. Once everything settles down we get our finances in order we are going to purchase a nice camera. I want to take a photography class because photography really interests me.

3. Use the vegetarian cookbooks that everyone so generously gave me for Christmas. I like to cook so I want to do it more often. I want to try new recipes a couple nights a week.

4. Hike a ~5 of the 14ers which are Colorado's highest peaks.

5. Keep in touch with the people I love.

6. Oh yeah and plan a kick-ass wedding!

30 is going to be a great year!!!!