Where were you when JFK got shot? More like where were you when you first saw the Rockies. It was Sunday, July 12, 2015, 6:57 a.m. Henley’s head was on my lap as I was driving over a hill, when the car reached the top and started the slight decline, it happened. There they were. It was so faint and I had been looking for them so hard for over 100 miles (because Colorado is supposed to mountainous, duh) that I thought I could have been imagining them. They were just the littlest bit darker blue than the sky. That was it. They weren’t cocky and in your face. They were just ever so softly saying you’re out of the Midwest, you’re in Colorado now, you can smile again. They are glorious.
We arrived in Denver at 7:30 a.m. so had the entire day to just experience Denver. A friend asked what my plan was for the day. “Marvel,” I replied. I parked on Blake Street in LoDo so that was our home base for the morning. It’s a wonderful neighborhood full of unique shops and restaurants (no chains), cool apartments, a rushing river, bridges, and parks. Turns out any research I did before this trip, which seemed like a lot at the time, wasn’t all that useful so while I sipped on a cold-brew at Little Owl Coffee I looked more into what to do and see in Denver.
And this is why my research has come up short -- What do I look up? What do I do in a place I’ve never been? Sounds stupid, but you try looking up “things to do” on Yelp and some of the highest rated things is some paint night and Coors Field. Nope. Look on Tripadvisor and you’ll get a long list of museums. I usually yelp best coffee, and breakfast/lunch/dinner, whatever I’m looking for. Usually donut too. I look on Bringfido.com and find a good dog park or look for anything else Henley-friendly. That’s a big factor, of course: Henley. I like to find a good neighborhood to walk around, but that’s hard to find online. I know exactly what I’d recommend to someone visiting Boston, but it’s not necessarily what you would find on Google.
So my first impression of Denver: I’m in love. Wicked cool city, mountains on the horizon, nice people, perfect weather. Real good vibes. It didn’t take long, though, to feel this other vibe. It was weird, having this competing vibe creeping in. There are so many homeless weirdos on drugs that it actually dampened my initial view on this almost-incredible place. They could be harmless, but it’s still a little disconcerting. I was about to attempt to paint a picture for you, but I think you all know what a homeless drug addict looks like. Well now just exponentiate that. I was talking to a couple that owned a boutique (I got a cool Colorado hat!) and they said how much worse Denver had gotten in this way since the legalization of marijuana. Just something to think about the next time you vote.
We explored for hours and hours until it was time to get settled in the Airbnb. Now -- yes, right now -- we are eating fish tacos and drinking beer on the patio at Illegal Pete’s. It’s hard for me to go out on my own like this, which is why I recruited Henley to be my date...and brought my laptop in hopes that people think I have a super important job or something.
Look out Denver, I could be awkwardly eating alone at your establishment tomorrow. Until then... XOXO
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