Stan and Chris Get High...

....mile high, that is. Stan and I took a very quick trip to Denver to bother spend time with Scott and Kelsey. We had a wonderful time with them. We flew out Friday afternoon. Scott and Kelsey own a beautiful home, built in the 1920's that Scott has beautifully remodeled. Here's a good example: Scott turned the tiny upstairs bathroom into a functional space by pushing back a wall, adding new sink and corner shower, and putting up subway and glass tile. He has done a lot of work, and the result is gorgeous. We are amazed at his remodeling skills! Scott also gutted, reconfigured, and remodeled the kitchen and added a bathroom, bedrooms, and family room to the unfinished basement. Scott, I'm totally going to wave this picture under Dad's nose for inspiration as we prepare to do some bathroom remodels of our own....

Kelsey, on the other hand, is a fabulous cook. I could get fat(ter) eating at their house on a regular basis. On Friday Kelsey made marinated salmon, steamed asparagus, and a kind of noodle-type thingy made of potatoes and other ingredients that is rolled into a long rope and cut and shaped. Delicious! On top of the last dish was this sauce:

Romesco Sauce

1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced

1/4 cup extra virgin oil

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

kosher salt and red pepper flakes

Pulse in food processor until sauce-like. Store in fridge for about a week.

I wish I'd taken a picture of our dinner that night-my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

On Saturday we went to a brand-new history museum in downtown Denver.

It is so new that we were there not only for opening day, but also for the *ahem* fascinating 30 minute speeches, opening ceremonies, and ribbon-cutting. Most everyone was out in the cold and wind. We had the sense to come inside and watch it on the giant screen.

 This is a great museum. We learned among other things, about mining, Indian massacres, Colorado KKK history, and that Colorado had a Japanese interment camp, recreated here.

They have lots of ancient artifacts, such as my last year's swimming suit

toys that currently also reside in my toy cabinet,

and the food not unlike that which is sitting in my cabinet. 

Do you think I should I be rotating more? I thought Campbell's mutton soup was good forever.

 This is a four story building with 3 levels of museum.

Inlaid stone floor of Colorado map, as seen from the second level.

There are interactive displays

and demonstrations. Here a young girl is teaching us how to stack and unstack cups in record time.

Scott tried it and we're thinking he shouldn't quit his day job just yet.

Of course, no museum visit is complete without ice cream. Denver museum has lego ice cream (note the brightly colored chocolate legos at the right of the picture) with exploding whip cream.

I managed to force some down.

After the museum we walked over to the government building area. We sat on the step that said we were officially "One mile above sea level".

It's hard to see in this picture, but the outer capitol building is being refurbished, and the gold dome was intensely bright.

Looking across the way to the Justice building.

The Denver area is just full of beautiful old restored ginormous mansions. One day I just want to spend a week or two finding and exploring all of the mansions that give tours. This is an example of a home that had stunning stain glass windows, lovely wrought iron, and beautiful tile work under the eaves--I brought my cheap camera and couldn't get a good picture.

Next we went to Scott's latest job site. This is the old train station.

It's being turned into the new light rail station, with the old upstairs office space being converted to hotel rooms.

Scott explaining the light rail system--the part he is working on.

Here's a look at coming rail system--the first parts will be done in phases between now and 2016 and there are more parts to follow

There's still much work to be done--note the hideous fluorescent light fixtures hanging from the lovely old ceiling medallions inside the station.

Next we walked to another section of town where we saw some

funky art.

Kelsey, my very favorite daughter-in-law, suggested we stop at this place. Yep, I forced down more ice cream--this time I had strawberry balsamic gelato. We did lots of walking--ya gotta fuel all that calorie-burning somehow! I love how walk-friendly Denver is.

That evening we went to Wicked. So fun!

Sunday we arose at the crack of dawn to catch our flight home--I'm guessing all four of us are going to need a good afternoon nap.

Thanks, Scott and Kelsey, for letting us come and have fun. 

We had a great time and can't wait to do it again!