Avery moved to Colorado after we graduated to do Teach for America. After a stint in Colorado Springs, she's now a teacher at an elementary school in the heart of Denver.
Allie and I left Memphis on Wednesday and headed to Nashville, where our friends Melanie and Andrea kindly hosted us for the night. We had a great dinner at a new (to Nashville) Italian restaurant, Mirko. Loved the restaurant's concept of "build-your-own" pasta.
Melanie took us to the Nashville airport Thursday morning, and we landed in Denver just before noon. Avery had to work Thursday but left us detailed instructions that helped us navigate our way to her home.
Allie and I made ourselves at home and headed to lunch at Vine Street Pub, Avery's recommendation.
After lunch, we strolled down 16th Street -- a downtown shopping area. It was during this walk that I developed one of the worst headaches ever! I thought I was just a little dehydrated, so I chugged water and took ibuprofen once we got back to Avery's apartment...but it didn't get better. We picked up Avery from school and toured her classroom around 4:30 p.m. We had plans to head straight to Alma, Colo., where Avery and some friends had rented a house for the ski season, but my headache kept getting worse. By 5 p.m. I was nauseous, and the pain hadn't subsided. I called my parents who worried I was feeling symptoms of altitude sickness, which can get pretty serious. Hoping for medicine to cure my apparent sensitivity to Denver's elevation, the three of us headed to a local emergency department. (There were no 24-hour clinics nearby.)
Our experience at the Rose Medical Center emergency room was pleasant, though. I was seen right away -- no wait! An IV of drugs and a CT scan (and an expensive bill) later, we headed home, and I was headache free! We ordered pizza and enjoyed a night in, just the three of us.
Our second day in Denver started off much better, but I'll save the rest for tomorrow's post!
