Boulder, CO 10.10-10.12.12

After leaving Denver, I drove to Boulder's Pearl Street Mall, which I'd heard was a nice place to hang around.  There was an interesting array of stores and restaurants there:  A natural market and a chocolate shop just beyond Pearl Street Mall proper, Snooze and H Burger, Gaiam (to cater to the yoga crowd), food carts (I really wanted some tacos from one).  Places like Cheesecake Factory have residence on the mall but seem incongruous--shouldn't this mall have more local-type stores?

After leaving my car at a parking garage near the mall (and getting a surprisingly good photo op for a parking garage), I stopped into a coffee shop because I was cold an in need of some hot chocolate.  Amante Coffee was close by, and while small, it was a good place to stop.  After getting my bearings, I made my way up to Pearl Street, serendipitously happening upon the aforementioned chocolate store, Piece, Love & Chocolate, which I'd heard about from a fellow chocoholic I follow on Facebook.  I was torn between the chocolate salted caramel pumpkin cream pie, pumpkin chocolate cake, and dark chocolate pumpkin cheesecake.  It was a bit early in the day for dessert, so I ventured forth, promising to come back later.  (I made good on my promise and ordered the dark chocolate pumpkin cheesecake, and I enjoyed it even though I couldn't quite finish it.)

I walked up and down Pearl Street for a while, and wasn't overly impressed by any of the stores.  I hunkered down on a bench to find a place to eat and warm up.  Of the options nearby, I chose West Flanders Brewing Company, which had only opened a couple of weeks before my trip.  I was very impressed by the service and the food--for a place that hadn't been open long, the staff seemed to all have their acts together.  I chose the Maui pizza for a lunch, a departure from a typical Hawaiian pizza, and I was very, very glad I did.  The crust and the ham were glazed with honey and the pizza (which included scallions and of course pineapple) was covered in mozzarella and gruyere, which was a welcome addition.  Thinking of this pizza now makes me wish I had more.  Since it was only about noon when I stopped in, I only had a sample of one beer, which I enjoyed.  If I make it back to Boulder one day, I will definitely visit West Flanders again.

I got a message from my AirBNB host Andria that the house was available to me, so I drove there after lunch.  I wanted to shower, chill and regroup because I knew it would be a late night--I was going to see New Order!  I was surprised to find that 1stBank Center reminded me of a somewhat larger and much nicer high school gym and that there were no seats on the floor, but since there would be lots of dancing, having no seats on the floor made sense.  1stBank Center is a little more than halfway from Denver to Boulder and can be seen from the highway.  Along the highway, there is an odd smattering of places to shop and eat; I'm pretty sure that there are two AMC theaters and Targets within maybe five miles of each other along that highway.

The next morning, I set out for Rocky Mountain National Park.  I drove up to the cute town of Estes Park, which serves as a gateway to the park.  I think it also is a bit of a resort town or getaway for locals--there seemed to be lots of families and older couples there at the time.  There were several fires throughout the park, which caused some sections to be closed off to visitors.  A number of pictures that I took featured the smoke from those fires in the background.

I drove through the park for probably an hour or two, so paying $20 to get in stung a little (the ticket was good for a week, but was non-transferable).  The weather on the drive toward the park had been great, but now dark clouds were moving in rapidly--I remember seeing a sign noting that the weather changes quickly in the mountains.  On the ground, it was around 70 I think--gorgeous weather.  But once I got to about 11,000 feet I saw snowflakes!  It was at that point at the Forest Canyon Overlook that I got the best pictures of my trip.

Heading back to my home base while in Boulder, I stopped in Lyons for a coffee shop break.  I'd made a note to stop in town on the way back from the mountains because Lyons looked like such a cute town.  In a tiny blink-and-you-miss-it town, there's a sushi joint, a pizza place, coffee shops, boutique-type stores, and a brewery.  I got a chai and a pumpkin cream cheese brownie from the Barking Dog Cafe (which has fantastic Yelp reviews).  That brownie was so good that it spurred me to try to replicate the recipe at home (I met with moderate success).

Once I got back to Boulder, I ran into awful traffic because the University of Colorado was playing that night.  (I'd passed through the campus on my way to Pearl Street Mall the day before and thought how beautiful a campus it was.)  I could definitely hear the roar of the crowd from the house where I stayed.  Because traffic was so bad, I didn't want to venture too far from the house, and I lucked out because there was Indian food very nearby at Tandoori Grill (there are great Yelp reviews of this place).  The service was good, and so was the food.  I ate it all so that I wouldn't have leftover the next day, which was probably a mistake, but it was definitely enjoyable.  Afterward, I got some frozen yogurt from a place in the same shopping center (gotta cool off after spicy Indian food, after all); sadly, dessert was nowhere near as enjoyable.

On my final morning in Colorado, I decided to really go all-out for breakfast.  It's rare that I really get a huge, heaping breakfast or brunch, so I figured I needed to work on that while on vacation.  Nothing really stood out to me when searching the internet for options--that is, until I found Lucile's.  A New Orleans praline waffle was on the menu and I couldn't resist.  Who doesn't love a good Belgian-style waffle, especially when studded with pecans?  Locals LOVE this place, and rightfully so.  I was fortunate to get there when I did, as I snagged the last table.  When seating is scarce, tables become communal, so a couple of friendly locals (one of whom is the co-owner of Two Sole Sisters, a highly-reviewed shoe store on Pearl Street Mall) who got in after I did got seated with me, and we chatted for a bit.  The hot chocolate I ordered was tasty, but nothing could prepare me for this...

That was a delicious, mammoth waffle with loads of whipped cream and strawberries--it was several minutes before I discovered the banana slices underneath the cream.

I was also determined to find Avery Tap Room before I left.  I hadn't been to any Colorado wineries and I hadn't had much beer (or at least not much that I'd cared for), so I felt I needed to make up for it.  They opened at 11 a.m., which suited me because I needed to be back at the Denver airport by 2--all the other wineries and breweries didn't open until later in the day.  My iPhone was not the best at providing directions, and so by 11:15, when I arrived at Avery, the place was already full--I kid you not.  I got seated with some other visitors from out of town, and we chatted and sampled each other's beers--there were so many beers to choose from, you could not feasibly sample them all in one visit unless you really are a glutton for punishment.  I ordered a chicken wrap to accompany my beer samples, knowing I'd have to drive back to Denver before too long.

Before long, I was back on the road, rapidly accruing tolls as I drove along a highway that went through the middle of nowhere (no, seriously, it was rapid--the speed limit was 75, and it was awesome).  I checked my rental car back in with Hertz (a very easy, painless process) and wandered around the Denver airport, searching for wine and sustenance (mainly wine--why aren't there more wine bars in airports?!) before my flight.  (As far as sustenance goes, you should really get one of the Hope's Royale cookies from Hope's Cookies.  Those things are CRAZY good.)

While I liked Colorado and I'm glad I went there and there are things that I would possibly like to go back there for, I found Colorado very weird.  For example:  A Starbucks next to corn fields and oil drills?  Really?  Its scattered communities and malls along the highway from Denver to Boulder and Denver's really odd and disjointed organization were nonsensical.  But maybe that's supposed to be part of Colorado's charm...

Denver, The Mile High City: 10.7-10.10.12

People complain about having to go to airports.  You have to stand in so many lines, there's nothing to do, blah blah blah.  I don't mind airports generally because it means I'm going somewhere (although Terminal A in VA's National Airport leaves a lot to be desired...).

So when I got the itch to go somewhere over the summer, I looked at a couple of different places, like Philadelphia, which is close enough to where I live that I could drive to it in under four hours.  But then everything hit me:  I wanted to fly somewhere.  I wanted to see mountains.  I wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been before.  So I started looking at Denver; flights here were very well priced, so I couldn't pass it up ($265 roundtrip, non-stop via Frontier).  I was looking at going in August, but when I saw that a band I liked was playing in Denver (and not DC--I'm a little bitter about this) in October, during a week when I already had a day off, I thought, "I can wait.  What's a couple more months?"

Now admittedly, I did some legwork for this trip but had no solid plans day-to-day.  On the one hand, this leaves a lot of flexibility.  On the other hand, I had more downtime than I feel I should have.  Add to that the fact that I didn't e-mail Susan, an acquaintance from college who lives in Denver, more than a few days prior to my trip, and I feel very disorganized.

That said, I have done some cool stuff.  I flew in on Sunday, got a car, and drove to my temporary digs that I'd found on Airbnb.  In March, I used Airbnb to secure two nights in an apartment for me and three friends in NYC and that worked very well (well, most anything would have worked better than paying hundreds of dollars for a hotel), and decided to give it another go, as Denver hotels were too expensive and hostels were out of the way or just didn't work for me.  The apartment was comfy with everything I needed and the host, Brian, is cool.  He'd put together a list of decent restaurants and things to do in Denver, and on the list was a burger joint called H Burger.  I looked it up online and saw that they also had milkshakes (of the non- and alcoholic variety) and all-day happy hour on weekends.  I felt the need to investigate immediately.

I ordered a small Nutella Marshmallow shake (sans alcohol, although they do have an "adult" version of it) and a quarter pounder that came with fries.  I enjoyed both (although the taste of the Nutella didn't come through much in the shake), and marveled at the rest of the menu, which includes a full-on bar menu and items like fried jalapeños with Sriracha-ranch sauce and cilantro sour cream.

On Monday, I covered beer and botany, although not in that order.  First, I went to Snooze for breakfast; it had been recommended by one of my host's previous guests and was near enough to walk to.  Don't let the name fool you; this place is far from a snoozefest.  Not only do they serve things like breakfast margaritas and platter-size pancakes, the place is crawling with people.  I waited 15 minutes for a seat at the bar--a short wait, really, and definitely worth it.  I had the Fluffernutter S'mores French Toast, which was pretty amazing, and a breakfast margarita.  Yes, you read that right (the margarita comes in spicy and regular).  And they were both as delicious as they look.

I went back to the apartment and took a little time to formulate a plan.  I decided to go to the Denver Botanic Gardens--it was going to be around 70 degrees and there was hardly a cloud in the sky, so the weather would be perfect for a stroll.

I couldn't have asked for better weather at the Botanic Gardens.  It was ironic that they had already begun decorating for Christmas considering how warm it was outside.  Of course, not many things were in bloom, but I still managed to get some really great pictures.

I had a tasty Cuban panini at the cafe near the entrance (the only food vendor that was open) and perused the gift shop before thinking about how I wanted a beer.  I decided to check out Great Divide Brewing.  Three samples later, I left feeling a bit disappointed--I enjoyed one of the samples enough to finish it, but was turned off by the Yeti and Oak Aged Yeti.  I dig dark beers, but these were far too bitter for my taste.  I took solace in the fact that the samples were only $3 for the three ($1 per sample after) and all proceeds go to charity.  I chose not to stay for the tour, which happens at 3 and 4 p.m. on weekdays.

I finally responded to Susan's e-mail on Monday, and she mentioned two magical words:  Red Rocks.  Why this hadn't crossed my mind before, I don't know.  About 30-40 minutes outside of Denver, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre hosts a slew of good concerts every summer, as well as other events such as movie viewings.  Artists like U2, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, The Clash, The Eurythmics, Blues Traveler, Jason Mraz, Deadmau5, James Taylor, Carole King, and a host of others have played here in its 60-some year history.  I defy you to find a more scenic concert venue.  And when they have such great bands, who wouldn't want to come here?

It was cooler Tuesday than I'd anticipated, and naturally I neglected to bring a hat and gloves on my trip, since I expected it to be 70 every day.  So I ducked into the Ship Rock Grille at Red Rocks for a hot lunch.  They had no hot chocolate or dark chocolate torte, and my Eldorado Elk Sliders lacked flavor and looked less and less appetizing the longer they sat on my plate.

After perusing the more expansive (and more touristy) gift shop at Red Rocks, I made a plan to head back to Denver.  I drove to Cheesman Park (right by the Botanic Gardens) but didn't get out of the car because the weather was beginning to look a bit like rain and I wasn't dressed as warmly as I'd have liked.  I can definitely see the park being a great place for frisbee or football in the summer, as it has lots of green space.  Susan had said the parks in Denver were definitely worthwhile and had recommended Cheesman Park because of the surrounding architecture.

I drove back to the apartment to regroup.  Susan and I had made plans to go to Vine Street Pub for dinner at 8.  I was really glad we went here, because the food and beer were great and reasonably priced (be aware that the place is cash only).  Plus, I'd passed D Bar Desserts on the way, which was very serendipitous.  Susan said it was really good but couldn't make it, so I walked a few blocks back.  My chocolate hazelnut souffle was good, but the best part was the little donut-hole-sized bites that reminded me of churros that had chocolate icing in the middle.  I got two truffles, each of which were $2 (even truffles in DC aren't that expensive!), but the waiter and I had chatted and he gave me his favorite, passionfruit, because he thought the other two looked sad in the package by themselves.

At dinner, Susan had told me about this amazing muffin shop in an alley by a bike shop in a less-than-lovely part of town.  But come Wednesday morning I would not be deterred, considering how highly she had spoken of Martine's Muffins.  The owner and namesake was very pleasant as she walked me through all the many choices there were, highly recommending that day's special scone, the pumpkin cheesecake (I'm not a fan of scones, but I kind of wish I'd gotten that).  She noted that she didn't recognize me--I think she must have a lot of regulars.  I got the chai tea muffin, the sausage quiche and a big chocolate chunk cookie, all for $6.50.  The muffin was surprisingly light and airy, the cookie a bit harder than I'd anticipated, and the quiche decent.  I wasn't over the moon about any of the food, but I'm still glad I went.  Before long, I was packing up my stuff and on my way to Boulder.

Now I found Denver to be a rather odd place.  To me, it made no sense as an urban area.  As someone (probably Susan) explained it, the city wasn't planned out, which seems like an obvious reason for why there are skyscrapers scattered throughout the city amongst much smaller buildings as opposed to being concentrated in one area.  That said, there were some impressive and very cool modern-looking skyscrapers.  I was also caught offguard by the very visible homeless population, something very unexpected.  There were panhandlers everywhere.  Walking to Snooze, I passed a block where maybe 20 or 30 people had congregated.  I never felt unsafe or anything; I was just surprised.

Check back soon for my post about Boulder!