Day 7: Denver

Henley’s going to sleep well tonight! We started with a run to and around nearby Washington Park with a little workout pondside. It was my first attempt to interrupt vacation mode to exercise. Before heading back, some red bikes caught my eye and a lightbulb lit up over my head. Was it too crazy to work? Probably, but we tried anyway. 

Denver was the first city to pioneer bike sharing. Like Boston has Hubway, Denver has B-Cycle. If you’re new to this concept: There's stations all over the city. You find one and use a credit card to rent a bike. It’s nine dollars for the day (I think six in Boston). You have a half hour before you need to dock the bike again at any station, but you can take another out. You can keep it for longer than the thirty minutes, but you get charged a fee. You can take a bike as many times as you want throughout the day.

We grabbed a bike, which is completely foreign to Henley. I don’t even like riding bikes. I’ve only done it one other time as an adult. I do not feel comfortable or safe, nor is it very fun because I don’t feel comfortable or safe. I lose control driving straight on a flat surface without any obstacles. Now add Henley. He behaved how I thought he would: confused and awkward, trying to jump on me, getting in front of the bike, barking at me. We practiced a little in a parking lot, but it was now or never, time to take off the training wheels. We took her out on the open road, or well, the sidewalk. There was no way I was riding on the road...double suicide. 

He was awesome!! I was shocked. And he just got better. I’m so proud of him. We went for a very long ride because I got lost and then stopped at a coffee shop, Steam Espresso Bar. Like all Denver patios, Henley was welcome, but I took a cold brew to go. We rode back towards the apartment so Henley could pass out. I showered, did laundry, got the car ready, made a salad, and made a plan for the rest of the day and tomorrow, while Henley got a good nap in. 

The main reason I wanted to visit Denver was because I wanted to check out the city in case I move here one day. After I graduate in December I’m going to apply for jobs in several cities. I love Boston, it’s home, and I would be so sad to leave, but this is the perfect time to try someplace new. I was pretty sure I’d like Denver but obviously had to actually visit. I wanted to see the neighborhoods that I think I may live in: affordable but safe and in a good location. Researching that stuff online is tough because you can find good write ups on every neighborhood. It’s hard to find frank and honest statements like “don’t walk alone at night” or “full of douches in Nantucket red shorts.” Talking to locals is the best way to go so I got some help that way. Actually, someone told me people are really defined by the neighborhood they live in here. Someone could tell him where they lived and he could describe them knowing no other information about them. So, I better be careful.  

In search of these possibly-livable neighborhoods, when Henley was alert again we walked to another station and took a bike to Capitol Hill. We docked the bike and walked around. Anywhere affordable isn’t going to be LoDo, but that’s like me saying I want to live in Beacon Hill or a wharf. It ain’t happenin’. So with knowing my limits, it wasn’t a bad place. Later, we checked out Park Hill. Same: not LoDo, but not bad. Both livable! 

I wanted a good view of the city and even more so, a sunset over the Rockies. I picked up take out Ethiopian at Abyssinia Restaurant in Park Hill and drove to Ruby Hill Park in hopes of both views. Well this super sunny city thought it’d continue my bad streak of weather so clouds killed my hopes and dreams. It was also on and off raining so I just called it a night and ate my take out in front of the TV. I’ll be car camping the next two nights so I had to soak in this comfort to hold me over.

Even if I don’t leave the wonderful city of Boston, which is possible, I will want to visit Denver again with friends. This place could keep you busy for a while because it also has all the great outdoors right outside the city. The possibilities are endless. 

<3 E&H 

"It is my experience that in some areas Charley is more intelligent than I am, but in others he is abysmally ignorant. He can't read, can't drive a car, and has no grasp of mathematics. But in his own field of endeavor, which he is now practicing, the slow, imperial smelling over and anointing of an area, he has no peer. Of course his horizons are limited, but how wide are mine?"
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley