We simultaneously all woke up around 9:30am, I heard Aroo complain how cold it was but I was comfortable. Cactus got up, and went downstairs seemed the heat had turned off. I lay there on the couch for a bit on social media, and Aroo jumped in the shower so she could go down to her new employer and fill out some paperwork. She was currently working at a high end restaurant that didn't pay her well, she got a new job at a brewery that she was looking forward to. She left, and I jumped in the shower while Cactus watched TV. After getting ready, I packed up my bedding and put it in the car. After consolidating most of my things, I joined Cactus in watching Last Man on Earth. A pretty interesting show before Aroo came back home. Her and I headed to breakfast and REI while Cactus stayed home and worked on the house. We went to a little French bakery nearby and I got a really good ham, egg, and cheese on a croissant. We reminisced about the Appalachian Trail, and the fact that being a part of something like that just brings people together. I spent most of my time with Aroo and Cactus the day we summited Katahdin in Maine. Which meant, I didn't know them all that well; and yet Aroo and I clicked descending the mountain that day. When Cactus saw that I was traveling cross country and would be in Colorado he offered for me to stay with them, and so I did! It didn't matter that we didn't hike hundreds of miles together, we had a very intense feat in common and that brought us together like we knew each other for years. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with Aroo and Cactus and can only hope I am lucky enough to visit them again, or they visit the East Coast and come stay with me. After breakfast, we headed to the flagship REI store, it was huge. Three stories tall in an old brick factory building, there was all the gear you could ever imagine; and even a rock wall to climb. We walked around and drooled over all of the gear, I had been meaning to pick up a hammock so I figured what better time. I also came across a yoga mat I fell in love with so I got that too. Curious after all of the hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars spent last year on gear for the trail, I wondered how many dividend dollars I had. I asked, and the cashier rang me up; he turned the screen to show I had $338.00! Guess I wouldn't have to pay for any of my purchase today, pays to give back. Aroo couldn't believe how much I had, and quite frankly neither could I, but I was ecstatic nonetheless. On the way back to the house I asked Aroo if we could stop downtown so I could take some photos of a very unique art piece. Cactus is very knowledgable with buildings, and history, and was giving me a pretty good background of Denver last night while we were out on the town. He mentioned that with every building that goes up, there is a certain percentage that has to be put towards public art which I thought was genius. The city was full of interesting art, but the huge blue bear was surely one of my favorites. He appeared like he was leaning on the glass building looking in, there was no street parking so Aroo dropped me off and circled around. I took some photos and then she picked me back up and we headed home. Back at the house, we set my hammock up in the backyard so I could test it out; it was so quick and easy! I couldn't wait to just set it up and chill in the sun, or read a book in the shade. We headed back inside where we hung out for the remainder of the time until Aroo had to start getting ready for work, I texted with Ziplock and she had a doctors appointment in Boulder at 3:00, it was now around 2:00. I said my goodbyes and told them to send me pictures when they work on more of the house, and drove an hour and a half of so to Boulder. I put in Pearl Street Mall in my GPS and parked on the road, I sat and ate the rest of my leftover breakfast burrito from the morning before, and then worked on the blog a little. There was an old man who stopped right in front of my parked vehicle and was looking down, I am not sure if he was reading my license plate or what, but he was oblivious to me sitting there. Ziplock gave me a call when she was out of her appointment and came and joined me so we could walk Pearl Street. The actual strip was pedestrian only, and I was told in the summer is filled with people and live music. Today was still pretty overcast and rainy so there wasn't as many people, though the tulips were gorgeous and I instantly sent a photo to my mom. We went into Lush to try some free samples and get a hand massage. It took a little while for someone to come over to us but when she finally did, she was the most bubbly, excited, woman who loved the company she worked for. She asked about my trip and then we spun a color wheel and were told to pick the first three colors we saw when we opened our eyes. Mine were rather ugly I thought as a group, but the words on the back seemed pretty fitting; Ambition, Bubbly, and Fantasy. After, she scrubbed our hands down, put some conditioner on them, and then lotion. After she tested out the lotion bar on us which was unique as well. It was like a bar of soap that the warmth of your skin headed up and it applied like lotion. We both decided to buy a small container of the Charity Pot lotion which meant that all of the proceeds minus tax went towards supporting humanitarian, environmental, and animal rights around the world. Being in Boulder made me realize it was my favorite in Colorado so far, it is expansive to live here but the vibe is very fun and alive. After walking around some more we decided to grab a taco snack to hold us over until after yoga. I got two; one carnitas, the other bean, cheese, and rice. We had some time before yoga so Ziplock took me to Colorado Chautauqua where the flatirons were which was beautiful. She used to live in Boulder so she made a pretty good tour guide. We ended up spotting a fox pouncing around so we stayed and watched him for awhile, he was so playful. We walked a little ways up the path but I was in my moccasins and the path was very muddy from the rain we just got. We met a cute guy from England and he was with a guy from Germany, they were driving around the country in a car as well and asked us of a place they would be alright sleeping in their vehicle. We had about a half hour before heading to yoga and the plan was to go to ManBear's house since he had left his glasses at the house the other night, in the middle of driving I followed Ziplock into a shopping plaza. Surely ManBear didn't live in a plaza; I got out, and she said she thought I'd like this instead that we could stop by his place instead. She brought me to a bike bridge that had some beautiful paintings, art work, and poetry. It was a very cool bridge and I am glad we stopped to see it. Next stop was Aleah's 7:00pm yoga class, tonight was vinyasa which was more routine-like and predictable than what I experienced in Sedona, Arizona. The room was hot, and Ziplock bought a bottle of water for us to share since we both forgot. Sara had joined us as well and we all enjoyed an hour of yoga. It was fun having someone you have been hanging out with, now be your yoga instructor. After yoga, we went downstairs in the plaza to Under the Sun for dinner. I was still content with the two tacos I had eaten earlier so I just got a water. Aleah's fiancee had joined us and told us all about his past weekend in Moab for his bachelor party, where there had been a lot of hiking, mud, and psychedelic drugs. After dinner, we stopped by ManBear's house to give him his glasses. Dandelion and Puff from the trail live with him, among 2-3 other people. Two guys were playing pool with music blaring, and shots being poured as we walked in. Dandelion was eating carrots and hummus she had just made, and then ManBear came down to hang out for a bit. His house was overwhelming and I think it is starting to wear on him living there as well. Though I did love the sweet potato hammock his roommate had made. We stayed only for about 20 minutes talking to him and Puff, and then headed back to Golden. Back at Ziplock's house, we had the house to ourselves; Matt was at Kelly's and Emily was at Ben's. We still stuck with the same sleeping arrangements, and headed to bed soon after stepping through the door. She had class in the morning and would be waking up around 8:00am, she gave me the opportunity to just hangout at the house and do what I needed to do the next morning while she was at class until noontime.
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