Thursday, April 10, 2008

More Travel Adventures

Had a really fun weekend in Denver with Shelly (my sister, in case you don't know). We met up there for a (relatively) cheap weekend getaway. The hotel I picked wasn't quite as close to all the fabulous shopping action at Cherry Creek as I thought, but then that's probably why it was under $100 a night. Nice hotel, though. Desk staff very blond and did their best to be helpful. Cranky old Greek man running the breakfast buffet. Nice view, Mongolian BarBQ and Barnes & Noble a few blocks away, Cherry Creek proper less than a mile away with a nice hike-bike trail taking you there, what more could we ask for?

Added plus, a quite hoppin' pub called the "Bull and Bush" nearby, where we had fish & chips and microbrews and watched the Kansas/North Carolina game (at least I think that's who was playing). Very animated crowd, one woman had to have her infant daughter taken away from her by a concerned friend.

On Sunday, we went to the new REI store. It's in a restored vintage building that used to be a train station. It's HUGE, and packed with tons of stuff, and has a park, hike/trails, a bike testing course and a kayaking practice area on the grounds. It's situated right at the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, and they really make the most of it. It didn't hurt that the day we were there was a glorious spring day, sunny and temps in the 60's, and everyone out on their bike or with their dog (or both). A little shopping, a nice stroll in the park, a visit to the on-site Starbucks, a quick cab ride back to Cherry Creek. That night, a truly exceptional meal accompanied by a nice chianti at an Italian place called NoRTH (don't hold the pretentious spelling against it, the food was terrific).

Breakfast buffet and flights out on Monday. TCBY at the Denver airport. Air travel is so tedious these days, but it was worth it!

Here's a sampling of my pictures from the trip:






The view from our hotel room.

















Outside the REI store.













Tyler, the nice Bernese Mountain Dog we met at REI.













Inside the store, a view from the Mezznine.



















The Strait sisters in the park outside REI.
















Inside "NoRTH, Modern Italian Cuisine"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was a great trip! The Strait sisters had a wonderful time, thanks to the amazing trip-planning abilities of my Peteena-loving sister. She did a great job planning everything, and a good time was had by all. She didn't even get upset by my hunger-induced crankiness on Saturday night! Shelly

Peteena said...

We wish it to be known that this trip was in no way authorized or sanctioned by us. In fact, we were not even invited. These "Strait Sisters" (particularly the supposedly Peteena-loving one) are degenerates and reprobates, and most likely Democrats as well.

Anonymous said...

You're just mad you didn't get to go!