One thing I love about my job is that Ironman and I get to travel pretty often and hang out with some of our favorite people and call it "work"! Just last week, we flew over to Denver for our team's UNconvention. But like the adventurer's that we are, Ironman and I had to do some exploring first! So, we flew in a few days before the event, put on our comfy shoes and played tourists...
Ironman's cousin Philip lives in Denver and was able to not only hang out with us Wednesday night, but got us all Row 2 seats at the Colorado Rockies game!
Some VERY excited fans sat in front of us. The three college students were following The Giants around the country and ended up catching a ball!
Thursday morning, Ironman and I decided to go out and walk to the Denver City Park. While walking there, we were debating on whether we wanted to go to the museum or zoo, but by the time we got to the park and were dripping in sweat, we decided to visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (mainly for the air conditioning...just kidding, kinda).
The museum was really amazing and we saw some animals that we had no idea were so large...nature is so freaky sometimes! And we loved how there was a health section. We each got a little card and created a profile and then walked around to the little stations to complete tasks. There was one station that took a photo of our current faces and then showed us what we would look like at 72 naturally, as a smoker or if we are obese. Let's just say, we will both be religiously applying our Frankincense and drinking our Ningxia Red for the next 40 years!
We also got to play scientists and check out our own skin cells.
At the top of the museum, we found this view...
And on the walk back we realized that just getting to the museum was almost 4 miles. Yep. So, by the time we got back to the hotel, we had walked over 8 miles. This didn't even include the time we spent walking around the museum and then the walk to the restaurant to meet friends for dinner. Needless to say, my feet were sore and PanAway was my BFF for the next few days.
On the way to the hotel, though, we found this little face on the side of a cement wall. It's so strange...just sitting there in front of some random house. Is this some type of modern art that has some hidden meaning that I don't get?
As you can imagine, we were hangry after all that exploring. So, Henry's Tavern and their amazing, enormous, fresh pretzels were right up our alley. I mean look at the size of that thing! And guess what I dipped it in...warm nutella. Be jealous. Now, go to Denver and get you one.
Ok, so this is where we "got down to business". We kicked off our event by working, as a team, to pack close to 300 bags for victims of human trafficking with The Sweet Spot! Just like a buffet, we shuffled through the line and filled each bag with essentials such as toiletries, a hairbrush, bandaids, a set of clothing and a bottle of Lavender. The idea is to provide each victim with a bag of things that they need so that they can focus on what matters! I love this non-profit...please take some time to check it out!
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| Dinner at Grimaldi's Pizzeria with a few people from our team! |
Once The Sweet Spot Packing Party was over, we spent Friday afternoon identifying our passions and skills and hearing from Miki Agrawal (author of DO COOL SHIT) on building confidence!!! You know all the adds that you are seeing for THINX (period panties & underwear) and Tushy (bidet)? Yep, she is the genius who came up with those!
Friday night was the kick off party with The Bumbys!!! I had never heard of them before this event. Basically, they dress up so that you can't see their faces, you walk up to their table, they stare at you and then type out their "Fair and Honest Appraisal of Your Appearance"...not intimidating at all, right? So, looking at our appraisal's below, can you guess which one is mine and which one is Ironman's? Hint: Ironman said that he blames his appraisal on sheer exhaustion. And if you are reading this and have had Ayahuasca, please send me an email now because I am so confused.
On Saturday, we spent the day learning about photography, social media, emotional intelligence and then we enjoyed hearing from Jessica Turner, author of The Fringe Hours! She has a great message on making time to do what you love each day. With a full time job, a family and a successful blog, she still makes time for herself. So, as you can imagine, I was thrilled when I saw that she was leading a break out session on blogging! As she spoke, I took notes like a mad woman and hope that what I learned will help me improve here on Simply Us.
And can I say that our team leaders know how to throw a party?! Friday night was fun with The Bumbys, but if you like to dance, you will be sad that you missed out on Saturday night...we had The Fitness Marshall come and lead us in exercise!
If you don't know who he is, you should head over to his website and check out his videos. Some people learn his dances and use the videos for their daily workouts! If you want to see a video of me crushing it, head over to my Instagram and scroll down until you find my short clip that Ironman took (it's right beside me raiding this candy shop in the photo below)...haha!
Sunday was our last day of UNconvention and we basically spent it dreaming, scheming and setting BHAG (big hairy audacious goals). You know that mine was basically just travel travel travel. But seriously, I would LOVE if we could travel the entire world for one year straight and just knock every item off of our Bucket List. Plus, that means that I'd have to create a new one and I'm ok with that! haha! Our final speaker was Jon Acuff, author of DO OVER. If you don't read any other book, at least read this one. Seriously. Click that link and order it right now. You can thank me later. Jon is one of the funniest, most real speakers I've ever heard and he is just as good of a writer. Don't miss out.
Basically, UNconvention was amazing and we had certainly worked up at appetite. We walked over to Menya Noodle Bar for a feast. Big cities just have so many options for EVERYTHING...I try not to get jealous. Even though we ate a lot, I did happen to leave a little tiny bit of room for dessert. All week, I had been listening to others talk about Voodoo Doughnut and knew that I couldn't (in good conscience) fly back to SC without trying them out.
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| Colorado State Capital Building |
It turned out to be a much longer walk than we thought and it took us through some sketchier areas, so once it got dark we decided to Uber back to the hotel. It was my very first Uber...congratulations to me!
I have to say, I started off loving the big city feel and downtown area of Denver. But, many of the areas that we visited felt dirty and not so safe. So, by the time we flew out, I was craving wide open spaces and quiet. I think that's why Ironman and I love going on road trips. We always seek out the roads less traveled and visit places like the Grand Canyon or the Redwoods or Salt Lake City or other area that have beautiful views and fresh air. So, although I had a great time, I hope that next time I visit Denver, I hope we take more time to get outside of the city!
It's already 2pm and I am still catching up on laundry and sitting on my couch in my pjs...my favorite type of day after a big trip!
So, tell me...do you like big city or open spaces? And what do you like to do the day you get home from a big trip?
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