It was around 10:30PM on a Saturday night in early May and we were in Denver, Colorado. KC was about to jump into bed next to me when I jumped out of bed and started putting on clothes. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Getting ready to go out. I’m not going to be that boring person who goes to bed at 10:30PM on a Saturday,” I said. He looked at me like I was crazy (I probably was).

Earlier that day, KC planned a date night that included a nice hotel in downtown Denver and surprised me with baseball tickets to see the Rockies versus the Dodgers (one of our hometown teams). An hour before the game started, it started to rain heavily and by the time we walked to the stadium, we had heard that the game was cancelled due to the storm. With no other plans, we grabbed a couple of beers at a pub across the street from the stadium and caught a cab back to the hotel to avoid the rain (which was coming down heavily at that point). By the time we made it back to our room, the rain had turned to snow. We decided to watch the snow fall from the bar at the top of the hotel. As we watched, snowflakes danced across the windows and made their way slowly to the streets below.

Arriving at the stadium in the rain to hear that the game was cancelled

Around 9PM, we decided to enjoy the snow in the rooftop hotel hot tub. Shortly after we got into the hot tub, a stag party joined us and I got to talking to one of the bachelor’s friends. They were starting off their evening in the tub and had dancing and drinking plans for the rest of the night. “The night has just started!” he proclaimed. A little while later, a group of girls joined us in the hot tub (this was a big hot tub) and we found out that they were celebrating one of the girls’ 23rd birthday and they too were just starting out the night. Opposite to the stag and birthday parties, KC and I were ending our night here.

As we returned to our room, I realized that we were the “boring” people ending a Saturday night early. So, at my request, KC searched for a music venue or something else to see or do in Denver, but most of the venues were already sold out. With no night plans, I gave up on going out and started getting ready for bed. As I was laying in bed, I was thinking about the stag and birthday parties heading out for the night as we were winding down. This thought cause me to jump out of bed.

As we were walking towards the hotel exit to the street, KC asked where I planned to go, since he already tried to look up things to do in Denver. “I’m not sure,” I responded, “I just don’t want to be a boring person.” Once we opened the door to the hotel and the freezing air hit my face, I almost turned right back around, but I pushed forward, into the night. We started walking around outside, aiming for Sam’s #3 diner (featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives), to get a late night snack. The city was dusted with a fresh layer of new snow, which gave the streets a charming look. At Sam’s #3 Diner, we ordered a burrito with the famous Colorado green chili. After the diner, we wandered around downtown, appreciating the snowy city at night.

Streets of Denver dusted in snow

At some point in our wandering, KC asked me, “Why do you think you’re boring?” I said, “I don’t know; maybe because we were going to bed so early when others are just starting their evening.” I was thinking about the stag and birthday parties. “Look babe,” he said to me, “This is their weekend. They go back to their jobs or classes on Monday while we continue on our trip. We left our normal and safe lives to travel around the world. We have spent the last couple of weeks hiking and rock climbing in some beautiful places in the US. How are we boring?” he asked. I thought about this.

The streets of Denver while we wandered at night

He was right, my perspective was skewed. I’ve never been much of a party-er and seeing the younger groups of people going out for the night reminded me of that fact. Going to bed early on a Saturday was subconsciously linked with being boring in my mind, with no other context. KC confronted this thought and reminded me of this incredible trip we are on that takes away any chance of us being “boring”. We started walking back toward the hotel as I thought about this subconscious connection. What other prejudices and presuppositions did I hold against myself?

KC wrote our initials in a freshly covered planter

The snow-dusted downtown was quiet as we wandered around, two southern Californians appreciating the late spring snow. After some time, we made our way back to the hotel. “Are you ready to go to bed now or do you still feel like you’re ‘boring’?” he asked. “Well, you might have to buy me a beer before we go to bed but I’m feeling less boring,” I said, winking at him.

Wandering the streets in the snow flurry

You can see more pictures from our time in Colorado on our Colorado Adventures Photo Journal page.