Happy Colorado-versary

My Colorado-versary was two days ago.  It was the day that I moved out here and embarked on the biggest adventure I'd ever been on.  It was the scariest, but most wonderful time of my life and I don't think I could have been more mixed emotion through the months that followed.  So here is what I've learned in the past year.....

Colorado Drivers get crazier the further away from Denver you get  You'd think this would be the opposite.  Not so.  People are more inclined to cut you off and give you the finger in the outskirts.  There are a lot more passholes out that way and there are DEFINITELY a lot more people with an inability to properly merge.  Still, Colorado drivers are NOTHING compared to Georgia, Florida or California.

While we're on the topic, Denver drivers need merging lessons  Maybe a lot of them are people that moved here as adults (as did I) but here's the deal: merging works like a deck of cards when you're in rush hour traffic.  When you're NOT in rush hour traffic, it is NOT the responsibility of the highway drivers to speed up or slow down.  The merger is responsible for getting up to pace and fitting into a properly sized gap.  Period.

Eventually  you start using "south" or "North" as opposed to "left" or "right."  In the Midwest, when giving directions, it usually sounds like this:  Go to the stop sign and turn right, then four blocks and turn left by the Safeway, three blocks down on the left is a brown building with red shutters where you'll turn left again.  In the great state of Colorado, it sounds like this "Go to Vine Street and go South then turn East on Colorado."  I find myself more and more using this terminology....thank God in Denver the mountains are always West. Hahahaha

The Denver Zoo is laid out perfectly  I've visited the zoo a lot over the past year and I can tell you with complete and total honesty that I love the layout.  The bathrooms are laid out in great locations, the animals are spread out but there is a definite easy path to follow to see them all without backtracking like crazy. 

The ability to smoke marijuana here does not make everyone a stoner  Okay I didn't really LEARN this but I'd like to state it.  Just because we CAN smoke it here doesn't mean that we ALL do.  I support the right but have no desire to do so.

You literally CAN'T go somewhere in Colorado without seeing something beautiful  You could try...awfully hard....and it doesn't happen.

and finally....

This state is built to make people healthier  I'm not gonna say that everyone here takes advantage of it but this state is definitely built to accommodate it.  If you don't choose to hike, walk, bike, or do something else active, it's a choice.  It's definitely readily available to you here.

So I guess the question is "do I love Colorado as much now as when I moved here?"  The answer.  NO.  I love it MORE.  I love living here and I feel more at home than I have in my entire life.  I look forward to more adventures here.  Happy Colorado-versary to me.