Boulder Colorado, traveling day

I woke up at 3:00 am on Wednesday to catch a 5:50 am flight out of Cleveland, Ohio so I could meet my girlfriend in Houston where we would get on a plane to Denver pick up a rental car and drive to Boulder, Colorado. This trip is filled with so many firsts for me; I was leaving my daughter and husband alone for six days in our new house, in our new town with no support for my husband (he used to have my folks around in an emergency), I was flying stand-by for the first time. For a control freak like me this is very unsettling. I was driving and hour and fifteen minutes at 3:30 in the morning not knowing for sure if I would make it onto the flight, I was flying out of an airport I had never been in or parked at, I was going to a city I had never been to before and we were staying at a bed and breakfast. I was nervous until I made it thru security and to my departure gate and then everything was smooth sailing! I packed lovely travel snacks (almonds, some fruit bars, veggies, and an apple), not because I am opposed to eating crap on a travel day but because I feel like crap when I do. I had downloaded magazines on my iPad for the flight and the first article I read was from Whole Living Magazine Whitney Joiner wrote an article called Going For It how doing unfamiliar things can improve your happiness and sure enough, every new thing I accomplished made me feel pretty happy!

We arrived in Denver early, picked up the rental car and we were in Boulder at the B&B by 12:45 pm, just in time for a nice lunch. We headed off to the main area of town and wandered. We found The Oak Cafe  on fouteenth street and OMG was it good! Interesting menu options, the drink menu was filled with things we had never heard of, the Kamptal Kooker a combination of Kwack, George Dickel, honey, and Reisetbauer Apfel Cuvée, and while we did not try it we did ask about it! Our sever was very knowledgeable and took her time in explaining what it was (I remember none of it!) We ordered Black Mission Fig & Avalanche Creamery Chèvre Brushcetta, wood fired Shishito Peppers, the Munson Farm Butternut Squash Soup with a Cinnamon Spiced Marshmallow, and Gala Apple & Kale Salad with Parmesan, Togarashi and candied Almonds. Everything, with the exception of the peppers which were too hot, was fantastic! The first thing I am going to do when I get home is try to recreate the kale salad! When I get the combinations close I will post my creation.