Departures & Arrivals

Cousin Carol waving on our Departure Day

 Today felt like two different days. As Charlaine & Jonni flew out last night, today it was Carol, David, Tom and me. We had a half of the day to do whatever we wanted, and we decided on going out for lunch.

The sky was overcast when we got to the Central Park station.

The venue we chose was downtown and the guys decided the best way to get there was a ride on the light rail. Yay! I love trying out the light rail of different cities. They're always so much nicer than the one in Sacramento. Ask me why, I dare you!

Loved the wildlife motif on the station's glass shelters.

 

Tom bought our light rail passes from the Central Park station kiosk.

The station looked all fancy & up to date

David showed Carol & I our route 

The ride was nice & comfy

Our destination in downtown Denver looked like it was planned by NASA and...

The station is right next to the Crawford Hotel, so no cab or Uber necessary.

The Crawford seemed like a Dr Who box - the inside bigger than the outside

Our lunchtime goal was the Ultriea, a Spanish Restaurant located at the hotel. We found it, got seated and went nuts with all the items on the packed menu - it all sounded so delish - and it was!

The menu was interesting - you could choose a fish (on the left) then you could decide how you would like it prepared & served.







Aw shucks, I'm just going to have to torture you here with a little food porn.

Yum... He Chowder

                                                                              I started with a cup of 'He Chowder'. Have wanted to try 'He Chowder' ever since reading Chesapeake eons years ago.

For the main zinger, I had the wild caught shrimp served up fish & chips style. Chips are always a treat. Carol, across from me got the same.

Oh yeah bay-bay - shrimp!

 

Dave and Tom got their's Po' Boy style. Looked just as tasty as what Carol & I ordered.

Po' Boy, um... with fried oysters I think

And Po' Boy ala uh... cod?

Swedish Fishies

And I was intrigued by the Swedish fishies, as red at David's shirt, were freebees at our meal's end. Um.. they weren't really seafood, but then again...

Lovely meal for the four of us. David and Tom treated Carol and myself. Thanks D & T! You gentlemen are always the epitome of kindness.





When we were all nicely stuffed, we took a little tour of the hotel and its many little shops and such.

Had to check out the book store

Denver scene mural

There was an intriguing apothecary in the coffee shop of all places

Beautiful espresso machine

Don't bother looking for Waldo, just spot Carol and Tom

It was a wonderful afternoon for us all. It was sad saying goodbye to David, Tom and Carol and yet ironically joyfull to find myself enroute to Estes Park for a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. Weee!

Zipping past & through Boulder Colorado enroute to Estes Park

William of the Rockies

This is my forth visit to Rocky Mountain NP which surprises me as I had once thought I would never be lucky enough to see it. My last visit was only last November with William. 

We stayed at a complex of condos through AirBnB. For this trip on my own, I also went AirBnB simply because it was the only place I could find that wasn't $200 plus/night. I was, as per usual, a bit nervous about where I'd find myself but I really lucked out yet again. I got a cute single building flat with a punch key entry by a tiny garden. 

It even had a doggie bungaloo - in case I had a doggie

The inside was totally darling. There were 2 rooms, the main room was bedroom, dining room, kitchen ( the cubbie with microwave, fridge, utensils and such) and lying in bed you face a big ole TV with cable. 

The bed needed that step ladder it was high up

The second room is the bathroom which is actually larger than the main room.

Settled into my Rocky Mountain Flat, I was off again for some shopping at the now, quite familiar to me, Safeway in downtown Estes Park I got all my breakfasts, snacks, ground coffee & such for the next few days. I'm glad I added this side trip to the wonderful Denver Pop-up Reunion. I am already missing my cousins.