Bishop's Castle

 This weekend, my friends Stephanie, Liesel and I took a girl's road trip to Rye, Colorado -- about two hours south of Denver. We had planned this trip earlier this month but we were all glad to be able to have time to explore and hangout again. Corona ruined so many things....but not our ability to enjoy each other's company! 

We arrived at the castle around 1 pm and it was already pretty crowded. Just looking at it from the street it was HUGE! All made of stone and iron. We found out later it was built by one man who wanted to make sure the public could enjoy his work for free! The government (no surprise here) tried to force him to sell tickets to the public. Even defamed him. The government doesn't like free....

On a sale of one to ten Stephanie is a nine when it comes to being scared of heights. I would say I am a seven. Liesel is a six. Because of a fire not long ago, the castle is under construction so you do have to be careful walking around. The iron and wood platforms are not sturdy in some places. The top floor had a flyover you could walk on. It used to span the entire building but now it stops about halfway. And...the iron structure shakes a little when walking on it. Thank goodness there was a railing otherwise I would have never walked on it. On top of the tower, there was an overlook spot but this area had NO railing. HECK NO! None of us went up there. I had to keep telling myself not to look down when we were walking around the balcony that was made of see-through iron. 

After eating lunch and checking out the gift shop, we drove down the road to Isabel Lake and hiked around it. Beautiful views of the Fall colors and the lake. Not as beautiful as the NorthEast, but it was perfect weather for a hike. We got turned around a few times trying to get back to the car, but we made it! 

Another Colorado adventure completed! 

The Last Year of my 20s!

 I am so grateful for all the friends that I have made since living in Denver both Deaf and hearing, from states all over the country, different backgrounds and religions. There is really not a lot I can nor should complain about considering we are still in the mist of a pandemic and I still have a roof over my head, a job and money to buy food. While there are things I wish were different, I can still say I am blessed. 

Yesterday, I had a Tacos and Margs themed party and of course, like I always do, I made way too much! I will be eating Mexican food for awhile I think. I'm okay with that though. Those who know me are probably already cracking up as they are reading this. 

Some friends brought paleo cornbread (yummmy even though it's not real cornbread), pigs in a blanket (one of my favorite snacks - Morgan who brought this, didn't even know that), jalapeno corn (OMYLANDS delicious) as well as chips, guac and other taco accessories. We had plenty of food for the 15 or so people who came. 

AND of course, my mom mailed me my cake per tradition. Cinnamon cake!! :) 

Sunday was 100 degrees in the morning but cooled down significantly by 4 or 5 pm so I was happy about that. Unfortunately, the fires in the area have brought on smoke and ash over Denver which we saw towards the end of the party. 

Overall, it was a fun day and I enjoyed chatting with friends I had seen the day before as well as those I hadn't seen since before COVID. 

I feel weird being 29 (young but old) however, most of my friends are older than me so I shouldn't feel this way. 28 was hard but I am hoping 29 is even better!