Travel Diary

COLORADO

My bags were packed and ready to go. I would be bringing my large suitcase as I had a lot to carry—all my running gear was necessary as I had many miles to finish before the month ended. I loaded up with plenty of snacks too: candy, jerky, nuts. I didn’t want to starve during this vacation. I also brought a salad to enjoy during my layover in Utah. Much cheaper than airport food and was all I really needed.

UTAH DOESN’T COUNT

My flight was out of Oakland and that was a joy. The drive is fast and the parking isn’t too pricey. Well, it probably would have been cheaper taking Uber, but not by much. Better to have my car with me. It was a short hop to Salt Lake City and my first time in the state in many years. Since I can’t really remember my first time (I think I floated in the great Salt Lake as a child) and I was only at the airport for a layover this time, I can’t really say I’ve visited Utah just yet. Maybe down the line. (The dry counties do concern me though.)

After about an hour long layover, I was up in the air again for another short flight. Then I was landing in Denver. I met up with my friends at the airport and we headed to the rental car place to get a minivan. Then it was off to find the AirBNB in Denver.

Oh yeah, Denver has a fast food place called the FAT SHACK. Something tells me their reputation for fit citizens is on a limited timeline.

DENVER

It was late when we got to our AirBNB, but we reached a very nice home that appeared to have some cool history to it. After dropping things off, we headed to a local pub for some food and beer. I wasn’t too hungry, but having leftovers would be nice. I did enjoy a nice pint or two of beer, though I had already had several drinks during the day.

RED ROCK TOUR

The next day started with a tour of Denver. We would be riding a bus. It was comfy enough, though my stomach was a little uneasy from the beers the day before. I probably had enjoyed one or two too many, though couldn’t be helped now. It was mainly a tour around the Denver area. A prime focus was the Red Rock Mountain area with the amphitheater and all its splendor. During our time there, the guide warned against moving too fast on the stairs if people were not accustomed to the altitude. Challenge accepted. I made sure to climb down all the stairs and back up again. Didn’t have an issue with that, though i wasn’t exactly racing either. A lot of people were using the location for some high energy fitness training. Looked fun, though it was interesting that while many were certainly adept at what they were doing, they also didn’t appear fit either. Often, intense training leads to intense eating I suppose.

From there, we toured around the low hills a bit. Sadly, no wild animals were seen. We did, however, stop and see some gated elk and got to feed them. It was nice, but seeing wild elk would have been cooler. Another stop was up to the resting spot of Buffalo Bill. Nice place to visit with wonderful views. I even bought some fresh made fudge.

JAZZ CLUB

Another event we planned in Denver was seeing some jazz at a nice restaurant / jazz club called Nocturne. The event was modern jazz or something to the like. The atmosphere was great; however, the jazz was a little too abstract to be enjoyable. Fun to hear a little of it, but it’s not the kind of jazz I would ever buy and repeatedly listen to. I also got introduced to Beaujolais wine. It’s really good, but only the pricer ones. Some varieties just can’t be done cheaply.

OTHER DENVER EVENTS

We enjoyed meals of tacos several times from Torchy’s Tacos. They were just too tasty to pass up. Another treat was square pizza. And we also got some Crumbl cookies. Lots of goodies. Denver would also include a tour of the university as Elaine was considering applying there and a couple of visits to trendy spots. They do like their graffiti artwork there. Not sure I’d even want to live there, but a fun place to visit for sure.

JOGGING

On the other hand, one nice attraction is that the city has excellent jogging paths which are often located safe and sunken down next to the small streams or rivers. I went on both a 5-mile and 10-mile run along them and really became fond of the dedication to exercise the city has.

UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO

This tour was also fun as it included an outside look at the football stadium. That was my favorite part. We strolled along the downtown as well and visited the quaint little shops of Golden, Colorado.

FORT COLLINS

Leaving Denver, we headed north to Fort Collins. On the way, it was a stop at Avery Brewing Company for their flights of beers.

Our stay there would be at an AirBNB, though it was more like a bed and breakfast as the home owner was there full-time and loved to sit and chat with guests. She was a lively lady with many stories to tell—though I got the sense that many were greatly embellished. Entertaining woman, nonetheless. My room was upstairs and had large windows to allow in plenty of fresh air and sunlight. The morning light was most welcome.

At this town, we would enjoy a nice dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant called “Rare.” Not being too hungry, I ordered a half plate of pasta, and I must say, it was one of the few times that a restaurant definitely didn’t serve too much food. My plate contained four pieces of pasta and that was it. A bit on the absurd side. The wine was good though and that’s what matters most. For dessert, we found a fun ice cream place called Walrus Ice Cream. Then later, we came a cross a nice underground bar that was walking distance from the house.

The next day there was a university visit, but I used the time to go jogging. I got in a full half-marathon run, though it was somewhat risky as the weather was warn and I quickly went through my water. Trouble is there were no places to fill up as water fountains were not working. This became quite concerning about six miles in when dehydration became an issue, but thankfully at the seventh mile, I found a small store that accepted ApplePay and I picked up two water bottles. They allowed me to return safely during the second seven miles. It was a terrific run though, through the green paths of Colorado with a river alongside and on a nicely maintained jogging trail. I think stuff like that goes underappreciated in many places.

For dinner, it was pizza at Beaujo’s. It was nicely done. And afterwards, we had drinks back at that bar which served fancy, though odd drinks.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

This is a drive everyone should do once. Just a great way to witness so much wonderful nature and scenery. The views change greatly as you leave the green lowland vegetation and head upward. Before getting too far up, we found a horse ranch and decided to try horseback riding up there. It was a solid investment and yielded a lot of good memories riding the horses along the mountain for a while. There would be no galloping as the terrain was uneven. The greatest challenge was preventing the horse from grazing and this was no easy task.

Then it was a visit to the Stanley Mansion that served as some inspiration for “The Shining.” It was another great spot for photos. Then the road increased in elevation and soon enough, we were surrounded by ice and snow. Near the summit, we pulled over and I used the chance to head up a snowy path where others were going. I wasn’t exactly dressed for such cold weather but my jacket did fine for a while. Reaching a very high altitude, I got some nice photos and greatly enjoyed the atmosphere. It was akin to being way up in some arctic wilderness with a cold wind blowing and very few people. Once back at the car, the drive started descending.

Thankfully, more wild animals started appearing and we were able to pull over and see elk and even moose. That was a treat since wild animals had been fairly rare to see before that.

BRECKINRIDGE

The final stay would be in Breckinridge, Colorado. It’s a small ski resort town with a population of about 5,000. We had dinner at a nice outdoor restaurant as the weather was nice. Overall, there really isn’t much to do there. Its main purpose, again, is skiing, and it was summer. The next morning we ate breakfast at a place called the Urban Egg. Then it was time to pack up and head back to Denver. That drive was a few hours but in due time, we were returning the car and taking a shuttle back to Denver airport.

COMING HOME

The return flight would not be direct. I had a layover in Seattle, which worked out well since I could hang out with friends longer. One thing I learned was that when I checked my bag, I was informed I would be picking it up at the final destination: Oakland. Apparently, even for an overnight layover, they keep the bags. I quickly moved out any items I would need for the night and checked my bag.

We had some time to kill, so it was beers and food in an airport restaurant. Then we boarded for Seattle. I can’t remember if I had a first class seat or not, but I did get a small meal: a croissant sandwich. The flight was during the day and a cloudless sky allowed for many pictures of the Rocky Mountains and then the Cascades. I crashed the night in Seattle and flew back the next day. Trip complete.