Denver - April 2012

I started this blog to communicate while on our trip to Europe in 2011 and didn't use it again until we went to Asia in 2012.  But the fact is that Bob and I go on other trips together and it would be nice to collect the stories in one place.  So, I am going to get us up-to-date on 2012 and then will post as we go from this point forward.

In April, not very long after we returned from China, we went on vacation again!  Bob attends the same work conference every year and they often pick really great locations.  This year he was going to Denver, so I invited myself along.  It's nice to save the cost of one plane ticket, especially when you're as obsessed with travel as I am...

Our hotel was near the convention center, so in a good location to walk around town.  I visited Denver more than 10 years ago when my sister lived there, so it still felt new to me.  Bob wasn't familiar with the city at all. 

We ventured out for dinner on our first night and landed at a place right by the hotel, Tamayo.  What luck, it was great.   We were moved to pictures as usual:

 

If I wrote this in April, I could have described the food in detail.  Now I simply remember it was good, if not a bit expensive.  I definitely recommend this place!

We spent our first full day exploring the city.  We started the day with breakfast at Sam's No.3, which I think is a Denver "institution."  I got a Denver omelet!   I posted this picture to Facebook:

Very soon after posting the picture I got a message from Bob's cousin saying she would be in town with her husband that night.  What a coincidence!  We made plans to meet for dinner, which we did, and amazingly I have no pictures.   Fail!  We had a ton of fun, though.

During the day we went to the Denver Art Museum.   We'd seen signs for the Yves St. Laurent retrospective around town.  Bob and I both thought it was interesting; there were over 200 garments on display.  I felt so lucky to have seen it.  We also found a strange little collection of Madeleine Albright's pins.  I never noticed she had a thing for wearing decorative pins, but now we are totally up-to-date on that piece of trivia.

We walked around town and it was so very sunny.  The climate there is quite different than what we're used to.   Bone dry and a glaring unforgiving sun, my favorite.  We tried to visit the Denver Mint, but you have to make reservations for a tour. Lesson learned.  Instead, we bought Bob a cheap baseball cap from the gift shop to provide some sun protection.  He hates it because it just says "U.S. Mint" and nothing about Denver. I agree, that's silly.

After dinner with family, we hit the hay to rest for our next adventure.

The next day we rented bikes from Denver's B-Cycle program.   Like in many major cities, you can rent bikes from kiosks spread throughout the city for a daily fee plus you're charged by time.  They encourage short trips, so anything under 30 minutes is free.   We planned to do this in advance of our trip, so I had scoped out the trail options.  We also brought bike helmets and appropriate clothing to enjoy our ride.  We were in the minority with this, most people just pick up the bikes very casually and ride short distances.

We  found a station near our hotel and got started.  We were near the Platte River, which runs through downtown, and there was a great trail alongside.  We just followed the trail for miles, including a few interesting detours through stately neighborhoods.  We found the Cherry Creek area, which has a mall and other shops and restaurants.  We checked in the bikes for the first time and found breakfast. 

After breakfast we checked out two more bikes.  The bikes did have their own locks, but it was easier to turn them in if a station was nearby.  Also, cheaper, because the rental clock started over.

We continued further out of town toward a dam, which meant the end of the ride in that direction kept going uphill.   These bikes weren't exactly svelte, and we were not well conditioned, so we finally turned around and headed back. We didn't realize the whole return route was downhill and it was MUCH faster.  We enjoyed a total of 22.5 miles.

Here are two shots on the path on the way back. I wanted to get the mountains in the distance, but it's hard to see in the picture.

 After our bike ride we cleaned up and did more walking around. We visited the Tattered Cover book store, which I remember from my previous trip.  After shopping, and more great restaurants, we were at the end of our fun jaunt.  I left the next morning to return to Minneapolis and Bob was off to work.