Let's all read Organic Squirrel Gets a Bike Helmet

Once we got back to Boulder it was kind of like the trip was over and we were home again, but the trip wasn't really over and we certainly weren't home again. It was just that we were in a place we had been to before with people we knew and that the road trip portion was over. We cooked dinner, or a team effort with Bob and Aly and Sandor led to a tasty dinner on Friday night. On Saturday we had pancakes for breakfast, courtesy of Brother Bob. Then we rode bikes and met up with Aly, Ruthie, and Joel. We rode down the Boulder Creek Path and came upon this rope that swings out over the water and that Bob had always been wanting to try. Other people were doing it and it seemed relatively safe, so Bob and Joel took turns. The girls (wisely, I think) stayed out of the cold water though. We went to the Boulder farmer's market for lunch and key lime pie and a pretzel as big as Bob's head, then to 7-eleven because it was free slurpee day! July 11th, 7-11, get it? You get a free 7.11 ounce slurpee, or if you're Bob and I you go more than once and get two. We were a bit limited because Boulder only has one 7-11. In Williamsburg alone I can think of 6, and I think there might even be more, but one was enough this time. We hung out at a pool with Aly's brother for a while, then headed home to change for dinner. For my birthday dinner Bob and Aly reserved a little room with a table recessed into the ground at Sushi Zenmai. We got a boat full of all different kinds of sushi--the number 9 roll was definitely the tastiest. Then we happened upon the Boulder Big Wheel Rally. I wish I had a picture of this...just imagine adults in costumes riding big wheel bikes. Not big wheel bikes meaning bikes with big wheels, but big wheel bikes meaning those bikes little kids ride, just made for adults instead. It was weird. Then we got gelato to conclude the evening.

Saturday Holly and I actually went our separate ways, so here's my recap of my time without Holly. I'll try to make it sound not-so-fun so she won't be jealous. We (me, Bob, Aly, Ruthie, and Joel) went for a hike near Lyons, then got lunch at a place in Lyons, and then tried to go tubing nearby, but a rain downpour during lunch cooled things off a bit, so only Bob was willing to get in. The look on his face when he sat in the cold water in his too-small tube was quite entertaining. So we gave up on the tubing and went to watch Dan's bike race in Longmont. Then came the best part of the day...outdoor movie night at Kim and Ken's! It was a group effort to set up a sheet hanging from the house and attached to a pole somehow, a projector and speakers, a snack table (did you read that Holly? a snack table!) with popcorn, beer, Ruthie's homemade apple pies, vanilla ice cream, red vines, m&ms, and junior mints. Eleven of us sat outside and enjoyed Bedtime Stories under a clear, starry sky. Very nice.

And then our time in Boulder was pretty much over. Holly returned from her trip-within-a-trip the next morning. We packed up, got the best sammiches in Boulder to take with us as our lunch, and arrived at the Denver airport. But that's a whole other story...