Denver gave us lots of death, good food, and some hockey.

I'm the worst. I know.

I'm not sure why or how I always let so much time pass between blogging bouts, but SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED. Like what, you ask? Well...

• My brother and Elizabeth got married.
• I went on my first cruise (with my sister and parents).
• Wheat and I went to Denver for a long weekend.
• I got a horrific case of bronchitis that I'm still slowly recovering from.
• I got a bizarre fingernail infection (paronychia). Immune system, where are you?
• Scarlett turned two somehow.
• Wheat and I went to the 102nd running of the Indy 500.
• Wheat surprised me with tickets to see Wicked (again!). We also saw Anthony Jeselnik and Lea Michele and Darren Criss.
• The Pacers made the playoffs, but were knocked out by LeBron and the Cavaliers in the first round.

So, yeah. Where do I even start?

I'm going to tackle our Denver trip first since it was the longest ago. Let's roll.

In mid-March, Wheat and I took a glorious weekend trip to Denver, a city I've never visited before outside of long airport layovers. We flew out on Friday afternoon, took the airport train to Union Station downtown (which took about 40 minutes), then rode the free 16th Street mall shuttle as close as we could to our hotel.

Airport train views.

Speaking of our hotel, Wheat absolutely SLAYED his research and chose the most Instagrammable hotel in all of Denver, the Curtis. This downtown boutique hotel has different themes on every floor (chick flicks, sports, TV shows, etc.) and we were lucky enough to get a room on the 13th floor - HORROR MOVIES. No big deal - just my personal heaven. Before checking out on Sunday, we visited every single floor to see the amazing themed decorations and little touches. Also, the elevator said theme-related things when stopping on specific floors. Fittingly, ours said, "HERE'S JOHNNY!"

One end of our floor had a floor-to-ceiling picture of the REDRUM twins from The Shining, a perfect choice given that the Stanley Hotel (the one in the movie) is in Estes Park, Colorado. The opposite end of the floor had a picture from Poltergeist while the elevator area was decorated with tons of birds as an homage to the Alfred Hitchcock classic. We had a mountain view room and since The Curtis is a DoubleTree hotel, we also got some warm, gooey cookies upon check-in. Score.

Once we'd settled into our room, we decided to walk along 16th Street, a mile-long, pedestrian-only street lined with restaurants and shops, on our way to dinner. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we took our time passing through Commons Park and crossing the South Platte River along the way.

For dinner, we settled on Linger, a hip bar/restaurant inside a former mortuary...because I'm morbid, I guess. We arrived when they first opened for dinner service, but there was a power outage in the entire area, so we were asked to wait. Minutes later, however, the power was back on and we were given complimentary drink coupons for our "inconvenience." Since we arrived early (and thank goodness we did - the place got packed), we chose a prime spot near the open windows with a great view of downtown.

The restaurant, which takes its name from Olinger Mortuaries, is still filled with several nods to its eerie past. Metal conveyor belts have been turned into tables, water is served in formaldehyde bottles, a church pew serves as the host stand. You get the picture. The mortuary actually held the remains of Buffalo Bill Cody for six months in 1917 while Colorado and Wyoming argued over his final resting place. And though the eatery's haunting past could easily become hokey, the food was anything but.

We were there during happy hour, so we decided to order several small plates. We went with the Mongolian BBQ duck bun, Devils on Horseback (bacon-wrapped dates), sweet potato waffle fries, wagyu slider, and lemongrass pork potstickers. So. Freaking. Good. With the breeze blowing, delicious food, and my handsome date, I honestly could have stayed there for hours.

Unsurprisingly, it was the promise of ice cream that finally tempted me away. We spent all of dinner staring down at Little Man Ice Cream, a popular dessert spot that looks like a giant milk can situated right in front of Linger, so we had to stop on our way back. With cones in-hand, we wandered across the street to a tiny park where we sat on swings while enjoying our ice cream.

Our big event for the evening was actually a hockey game, so we waddled over to the Pepsi Center to see the Colorado Avalanche take on the Nashville Predators. I'm slowly trying to cross every NHL, NFL, and MLB stadium/arena off my list, so it was nice to hit another one. The Predators won, 4-2, and, with the win, became the first team to clinch a berth in the playoffs. We saw a couple goals each from Colton Sissons and Filip Forsberg, while captain Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan Mackinnon scored for the Avalanche. Wheat was happy with the outcome and we had fun checking out the hidden treasures in the arena.

Our trip happened to coincide with the first weekend of the March Madness tournament, so we diligently tracked the games. This also happened to be the night that history was made when UMBC became the first 16 seed to defeat a top seed, my beloved Virginia Cavaliers. So, I was furious a little frustrated for the majority of the hockey game. My face here says it all, but - trust me - does not sum up my feelings on the day.

A Dance with Lord Stanley.

My blogger nightmare became a reality two days ago. Out of absolutely nowhere, my phone decided to implode, selfishly taking with it all of my pictures and videos from the last several months. When I took its lifeless corpse to the Verizon store, the worker looked at me with sympathetic, knowing eyes before informing me he couldn't fix it, couldn't access the files, and yeah, idiot. Why didn't you buy insurance?

In other words, all my pictures from our trip to see Hamilton in Chicago, my Grandmom's memorial in Eau Claire, and the Indy 500 are gone. Fortunately, I saved several pictures I wanted for this post prior to the apocalypse, so without further ado, I bring you Bucket List Item #50 - Attend the Stanley Cup Final.

The day after the Indy 500, Wheat and I piled ourselves back in the car and took off for Pittsburgh. Let me rewind a bit - Ever since I fell in love with hockey, I've desperately wanted to go to the Stanley Cup Final (duh). When it looked like the Pens had a good chance of beating the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Finals, Wheat not only agreed to buy tickets to the Final, but he even had to convince me it was okay to spend that kind of money on a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In hindsight, he was absolutely right.

So, we took a deep breath, thanked God for our tax return, and clicked purchase with the knowledge that if the Pens advanced to the Final, our bank accounts would be a little emptier. Sure enough, they beat the Senators in overtime in a vomit-inducing Game 7 and we were headed to Pittsburgh for Game 1.

We took it as a sign from the universe that the Pens' opponent was the Nashville Predators (Wheat's hometown and other favorite team), playing in their first ever Stanley Cup Final. Side note: He wore a Predators shirt under his Phil Kessel shirt and I never would have forgiven him had the Pens lost. We arrived several hours early, so we took the opportunity to walk around PPG Paints Arena, peruse the gift shop, and soak in the electric atmosphere. I successfully fought the urge to buy a plush Sidney Crosby, but did cave and buy a Crosby Final t-shirt.

The entire city was brimming with excitement for the series. Storefronts had signs of encouragement for the team, everyone was dressed in Pens gear, and I felt like I'd died and gone to hockey heaven. NHL Network and NBCSN were doing live pre-game coverage right outside the arena, so we saw Jeremy Roenick, Steve Mears, Kathryn Tappen, and Mike Rupp. There was also a watch party set up outside the arena and it was amazing to see how many people crammed into the area to support the team.

When the gates opened, we were given yellow rally towels (I will NOT call them terrible towels. Ever.) and gold Penguins t-shirts. I insisted that we watch warmups from the lower level, so we staked out a spot and waited for the team to hit the ice. Insider tip: If you can't afford good seats, show up early and watch warmups from the lower level. It's the best way to get a good look at the players, see how fast they actually skate, and tell Sidney Crosby you'll wait forever for his love. Ahem. Seriously though, the players actually interact a bit with the fans, bumping into the glass or tossing sticks and pucks over to fans.

After warmups, we made our way upstairs to our seats, which were conveniently located about ten rows from the top but provided a surprisingly good vantage point of the action. I was starting to wonder if I might actually pass out from anticipation when the lights finally went off and the arena announcer proclaimed, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Stanley Cup Finals." Cue the water works. It was that exact moment that I finally realized where I was and what I was doing. We were treated to an incredible laser light show on the ice and a pre-game video intended to hype the crowd. I felt like I could run through a brick wall.

Players were introduced, the national anthem was sung by Jeff Jimerson and the entire arena, and the puck dropped. I'll be honest - the Pens didn't play their best game. Far from it. The first goal of the game appeared to come off the stick of Nashville defenseman PK Subban, but it was overturned when Coach Mike Sullivan successfully challenged that a player was offsides. The end of the period saw three quick Penguins goals - one from Evgeni Malkin on a 5-on-3, one from Conor Sheary, and another one off a bad shot (by Nick Bonino) that bounced off the back of a Predators defenseman and into the net. We'll take what we can get.

I was thrilled and very cordial with the Predators fans sitting next to me. Then, because I was having such an amazing time, the Penguins didn't register a shot on goal for the next 37 minutes. THIRTY SEVEN MINUTES! ...and the Preds began to chip away at the deficit. A power play goal from Ryan Ellis, a goal off a deflection and credited to Colton Sissons, and the tying goal - a blast from Frederick Gaudreau. My heart sank and, according to Wheat, I sat in complete silence until the Pens broke the tie. Our Predator-loving neighbors began to frustrate me and I bit my tongue. A Preds fan threw a catfish onto the ice, which promptly exploded and sent fish guts flying in every direction.

We’ve got a (really gross) catfish in Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/BuQWs7nvcW

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 30, 2017

Things were looking pretty bleak and I was absolutely dreading overtime when rookie Jake Guentzel answered my prayers with a beautiful goal. The arena erupted, screaming, waving towels, and singing along with Andrew W.K.'s "Party Hard," which the Pens have hilariously adopted as their goal celebration song. Bonino scored an empty-netter to seal the 5-3 victory a couple minutes later, despite the team being outshot 26-12 in the game. My word.

The drive from Pittsburgh to Columbus, Ohio after the game can only be described as euphoric. We excitedly discussed each goal, each penalty in detail and arrived around 3:00 AM. We checked into our hotel, slept for four hours, and hit the road again at 7:00 AM. And by "hit the road," I mean that my saint of a husband drove while I slept in the passenger seat and dreamed of hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Spoiler Alert: The Penguins soon did just that when they beat the Predators in six games to win their second consecutive championship and the fifth in franchise history.

And man, being there to watch Game 1 was worth every single penny.

You can find me in St. Louie

For Martin Luther King weekend, Wheat and I visited my good friend Hannah in St. Louis. I'd been meaning to make the trip since she moved there a few years ago, so it was long overdue. Despite my delay on the visit, Hannah didn't hesitate to flex her hostess muscles when she put us up in an enormous suite at the Crowne Plaza hotel downtown. Much to our surprise, our room was essentially an apartment with a separate living room, kitchen, bedroom, and balcony overlooking the Mississippi River. Even better, we could see the Gateway Arch from the hotel's outdoor courtyard.

The night we arrived, we headed to The Loop, a strip of bars, restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, and more, for dinner. The annual Loop Ice Carnival happened to be going on, so we walked up and down the strip admiring ice sculptures as we waited for our table. We made a quick stop at Blueberry Hill, a popular St. Louis restaurant and music club, before heading to Salt + Smoke, a Texas-style barbecue joint, for dinner. My pulled pork sandwich and potato salad were things of absolute dreams. I'm a sucker for all things barbecue, but this was honestly some of the best I've ever had. Plus, who wouldn't love a place with a sauce called 'I Can't Even?'

The next morning, Hannah and Connor picked us up for a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery. The free, 45-minute tour included a stop in the famous Clydesdale stables, a peek into several of the brewery's buildings, and two free drinks, which for me is code for soda. Even as a non-drinker, I'd absolutely recommend the tour to anyone who's interested in the history of the company or the brewing process.

After the tour, we made our way to Ballpark Village near Busch Stadium for lunch and the NFL playoffs. Fittingly, we decided to eat at the Budweiser Brew House because the massive screen in Fox Sports Midwest Live! was too awesome to pass up. The two-level entertainment complex houses the Fox Sports Midwest broadcast studio, a piano bar, the Cardinals Hall of Fame, a mechanical bull, several restaurants, and the perfect atmosphere to watch a game...and by perfect, I mean they replace commercial breaks with entertaining YouTube videos on the main screen. We spent a couple hours there, watching the Panthers beat the Seahawks, eating lunch, and sampling toasted raviolis (deep-fried raviolis that you dip in marinara sauce), a St. Louis staple.

Once we'd had our fill, we decided to explore the building a little more. We stumbled across an incredible mural of Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial made entirely of Rubik's cubes. Think about that: Someone positioned hundreds of Rubik's cubes to create those pictures. We also snuck up to the closed outdoor bar to check out the incredible view of the ballpark and decided that'd be a pretty dreamy place to catch a game.

The rest of the evening was filled with bowling (I refuse to disclose my scores), an Uber ride back downtown, and a nice dinner date with Wheat. Despite the subzero wind chill, we decided to walk to Bailey's Range, a hipster burger place where we split a delicious craft burger, fries, and milkshakes.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and walked to Pi Pizzeria, the home of President Obama's favorite pizza. Seems weird since it's not Chicago deep-dish, but once it was delivered to our table, we immediately understood why it has the presidential seal of approval. Drool-worthy much?

After lunch, we knew we had to work off some calories, so we made our way to the City Museum. It's nearly impossible to describe this place to someone who hasn't been there, but it is truly one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The closest comparison I can come up with is Discovery Zone for adults. Unfortunately, due to the low temperatures, the outside areas were off-limits, but we spent hours climbing through massive tree houses, caves, and spiral staircases. We watched fish, went down incredible slides (including a 10-story spiral slide), listened to a massive pipe organ, and played like kids on a playground for the first time in years. Every twist and turn revealed something new to explore and I desperately want to go back in the warm weather to take advantage of the ball pit and other areas. The upper levels serve as a quasi-museum with random things on display, including Big Boy and other figures, the world's largest pencil, a functioning circus school, and old pinball machines. An indoor skate park with rope swings and a warped wall were teeming with kids enjoying their holiday and I shrieked as I attempted to walk on the hamster wheel. If you take one recommendation from this post, it should definitely be to check out this incredible place and architectural wonder for yourself.

Afterward, we drove to Hannah's apartment, where she gave us a quick tour of the beautiful Forest Park area and I was reminded that January probably isn't the best time to visit. As if Hannah hadn't already outdone herself, she also got us tickets to watch the Penguins play the Blues at Scottrade Center that night. So, we headed there early so I could drool over warm-ups and marvel over our awesome seats. I'm seriously spoiled. The Penguins lost, 5-2, but it was really cool to watch them play in a different arena. Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz scored the two Pittsburgh goals and I mourned over the fact that Miami alum Jeff Zatkoff started in net over Fleury. Regardless, we had an amazing time, even with the heckling from behind us.

Now I'm daydreaming about my next visit and thinking of ways to repay the favor when she comes to Indy. We don't have Obama's favorite pizza, but we do have some pretty delicious breadsticks at Kilroy's. Hopefully that will count for something.