Last fall, as I started my last semester of grad school, I got to thinking about what was in store for me after I graduated. I was already working in public accounting full time and I still needed to hammer down and take my CPA exam. I decided to tackle the exam during tax season, because I figured any delay after graduating would result in me putting it off forever. Sensing that I would suffer a mental breakdown of nine months straight of studying and working, I decided I wanted to plan a vacation for when it was all over. That way I had something to look forward to and thinking about it certainly pulled me through the 20 hour days I was keeping.
At the end of May, I ended up heading to Denver. Many people asked me, “with who” or “what for”, but I went to just go, and I went by myself. After debating which city to venture to (international was out of the question…my mom would’ve had a heart attack if I went anywhere outside the US alone), I decided on Denver mainly because of the following reasons: 1) I’d never seen a mountain, 2) I love being outdoors and wanted to take advantage of hiking and biking trails, 3) Dave from high school lived there and I could crash for part of the trip.
I spent the first 2 days and nights staying all by my lonesome in a hotel in downtown Denver. I went for a run to explore the city, rented a bike and took a ride out to Bear Creek Lake Park, and pretty much just tooled around. I rented a car and headed up to Estes Park to see mountains for the first time. I attempted to hike through Long’s Peak, and I stopped for dinner and window shopping in Boulder on my way back to Denver.
I spent the last couple days in Denver crashing at Dave’s. He was a fabulous host and dragged me on a trail run with his buddy (I opted to take his dog on a shorter version of the run – he is kind of a super athlete…I can’t hang) and let me tag along on the night of Dave and Busters and the Washington Park Grille. Super Athlete Dave was doing a bike ride while I was there, so I kept myself occupied by driving to the top of Pike’s Peak.
While it was awesome having a friend in the city, I loved every second of traveling alone while I was there. I didn’t really have an agenda. I knew I wanted to get out to the mountains, but didn’t know where I wanted to go or when. Somehow it all came together into a very successful trip. I actually really enjoyed being able to do what I wanted without feeling like I had to meet someone elses agenda. Overall, it was a wonderful experience that couldn’t have come at a better time. I definitely plan on traveling alone again – its something I feel everyone should try.
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