Weekend in Denver

August 15 was Magen's 25th Birthday, so Joel planned a big weekend in Denver to celebrate my birthday and our last hurrah before the baby comes. We left Isabel with Magen's parents for the whole weekend and we took off for Denver on Friday night. We were going to go to a nice dinner once we got to Denver, but we got really hungy on the drive up there so we stopped at Taco Bell and ate it in the car. It was fun feeding Joel his dinner and then wiping his mouth for him when he was done!! So, we got to our hotel which was way more luxurious than we thought it was going to be. When we pulled up the valet attendant was waiting for us. He unloaded our luggage and then whisked our car away to the safety of the underground parking garage. We checked in and went up to our room which was VERY nice! It was complete with a pillow top king size bed, a flat screen TV, an iHome alarm clock, and a mountain view. Once we got settled, we decided to walk around the hotel and check out the accomodations. There was a lounge on the 27th floor that overlooked downtown Denver and the mountains and there was a gourmet restaurant on the bottom floor. We decided to try the restaurant for appetizers and drinks. Joel ordered a Bruschetta appetizer and I ordered a bowl of soup and topped it off with a Shirley Temple. It was the best Shirley Temple I've ever had! MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! The next morning we ordered room service for breakfast. They brought up a beautiful spread of food, complimentary smoothies, ice water, and mini condiments! It was very impressive. After breakfast we walked a block to the 16th Street Mall. Seeing as I am 8+ months pregnant, we didn't intend to do too much walking so we went to the movie theatre and saw Hairspray. After the movie we rode the shuttle to the other end of 16th street and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory!! YUMMY! Then we went back to our hotel for a nap (a getaway with a pregnant woman is a wild experience). After our nap we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see the Titanic Exhibit that is in town for a few months. The exhibit was so cool! It took us 2 hours to go through the whole exhibit and it was packed with actual artifacts that were recovered from the Titanic. They had a HUGE chunk of ice that was the actual temperature of the iceburg that the Titanice hit and you could walk up to it and feel it. It was freezing. They say that, because salt water freezes at a lower temperature, the water was actually colder than the iceburg was. I cannot imagine being submerged in that water. My fingers hurt after a few seconds of touching the iceburg. We were also given a boarding pass when we walked in. It had the name of an actual passenger on the Titanic with information on who that person was travelling with and why they were on the Titanic. At the end of the exhibit they had a rememberance wall with the names of all the people on board and whether they lived or died. Joel and I both died. The exhibit was awesome and well worth the time and money. After the museum, we went back to the hotel for more appetizers and Shirley Temples!!! The next day we drove around Denver doing little things here and there. We went to lunch at a great place called Sweet Tomatoes (similar to Souplantation -for you Cali folk). Then we went to get my wedding ring cleaned. While we were waiting for that to finish, I looked for and tried on bigger wedding rings!! On our way back from Denver we stopped off in Castle Rock at the outlet stores and purchased a newborn outfit for Gabriel's arrival. Then we headed home to pick up our Isabel. She had so much fun at Grannie and Grandpa's that when she saw me she said, "No, I want Grannie". She came home with a new Barbie, a new purse, and a couple of new habits she picked up from Auntie Mady. It was a great weekend for all of us!