Sunshine and Ice Cream

On Labor Day, I went exploring in the Highlands neighborhood. That's an area just north of downtown where Kris and I spent some time exploring when we were in Denver for a visit in July, but this time, I saw some new places and took some fun photographs! 

Recently, I've been loving my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 wide-angle lens. It's great to have lots of awesome places at which to play with it! I left it in the States when I was living in Europe, so it's been needing some attention. I must say, the old girl has been giving me some great photos.

First things first, I stopped by Denver's REI store to check out the end-of-season sales. Denver's REI is the second biggest store in the country (behind Seattle's flagship store), so of course there was about $200 worth of stuff on sale that I could have bought, but I was a good girl (and was thinking about the impending costs of school and living) and walked out empty-handed.  

No matter! I treated myself in a different and better way than traditional retail therapy: ice cream!! In the Highlands neighborhood is this adorable and delicious ice cream place called Little Man. The place is in the shape of a giant old-school tin milk jug and the ice cream is inventive and amazing. This was my first visit, and I tried a new flavor of theirs called "Space Junkie"; black raspberry base, brownie chunks, and marshmallow cream. YUM. It was a fun place to check out and the perfect way to cool down on yet another 90ºF day.

Also, today was my first day of orientation at DU! A lot of information was thrown at us, but it was most excellent to meet people and start making acquaintances and friendships. I can already tell that it's going to be a busy and fantastic year! I'm looking forward to starting classes on Tuesday. Plus, I met with my advisor this evening, and he gave me all sorts of good ideas for scholarships, internships, and study abroad opportunities that would take me back to Europe in my second year. You know I'll be researching and applying for those!! :)