Our trip was a few months ago, but I never got around to posting about it in this thread. Thank you to all the people who offered advice regarding what to do and where to go while in Denver. We really enjoyed Denver.
We arrived in Denver midmorning. After lugging kids and carseats to the car rental company, we drove to the Butterfly pavillion. Both of my kids loved the pavillion. I liked the butterfly area, but it seemed a bit overpriced for what we received. My wife, my 4 year old daughter, and I all held Rosie the rose tarantula. I didn't want to, but after my daughter held her, I didn't have much of a choice. We searched around for quite awhile for a Heidi's deli for lunch, but ended up at a Spicy Pickle. It was forgettable. Subway offers better fare.
After lunch we headed to Red Rocks Park. We needed to kill some time before our friends got off of work/ out of school. Red Rocks was beautiful. We enjoyed the drive through the park. We also enjoyed the hike up to the concert area (though pushing the stroller up and down those hills wasn't much fun). I hiked up all of the rows of seating while my wife and kids lounged below. After being stuck in a plane for much of the morning, it was nice to get my heart rate up. It was March, so there was snow on the ground. I really enjoyed it.
Afterwards we headed to our friends' home in Golden, which was a very short trip from Red Rocks. I really liked Golden. The mesas, the mule deer, even the traffic circles, were all very nice. Our friends live in a very small house filled with lots and lots of toys (a giant tv, A PS3, a XBOX 360,a Wii, many, many bookshelves, a LARGE telescope in the middle of the living room, 5+ computers, etc.).
The next day woke up and headed to the Sunrise Café for breakfast. I really needed some coffee. Our son slept about 2 hours that morning. He barely slept at all our whole visit. The Sunrise had decent diner food. The service was excellent and the other patrons were very friendly. Then, we went to the Denver Zoo. The zoo is really well-kept. The weather was perfect and there wasn't much of a crowd at all. My daughter and I rode the train. My son and I rode the carousel. It was a lot of fun.
On our third day, my wife flew to Atlanta for a job interview. So, I took the kids to the Colorado Railroad museum with our friends and their two sons. I liked it. It was a beautiful sunny day and the 3 kids old enough to run around had a lot of fun. Our friends actually have a season pass. After lunch in Golden and a trip to a playground, we hung out at their house. We spent the evening playing board games. I picked up my wife late that night. The Denver Airport has a very angry blue mustang at its entrance. It’s eyes glow red at night. It’s not very welcoming. Evidently the artist who designed the mustang was killed by it during its construction.
On Day 4 we caravanned with our friends from Golden to Idaho Springs. We had a two-way radio in each car. My friend pointed out all sorts of interesting road kill, gravel, and streets signs along the way. Much fun was had by all. While in Idaho Springs, ate pizza at Beau Jo’s. Our friends from Golden had never been there. Their kids ate chicken fingers. My kids didn’t. I try to limit my daughters access to children’s menus. They’re usually filled with generic, bland food. I enjoyed the pizza. Afterwards, we went across the street to Java Mountain Roasters for some coffee. I like to visit independent coffee shops whenever I can. On the way home, we avoided the freeway and took state highways back to Golden. We separated from our friends and stopped a few times to hike around near a river. It was very relaxing.
On Day 5, we met up with my wife’s childhood friend at a grilled cheese place called Chedd’s . My grilled cheese was excellent. The kids were well-behaved. I almost fell asleep in my chair. My wife’s friend is studying to become a pastry chef. Somehow we got on the topic of the show, Ace of Cakes. Apparently fondit (the substance used to sculpt those crazy cakes) tastes like shit. I did not know that.
On Day 6, we went to the Natural History Museum with our friends. All of the kids loved it. It’s a nice museum. Lots of exhibits. The space exploration area was the most interesting to me.
We left on Day 7. Before leaving we went out for breakfast at The Eggshell in Cherry Creek. The Cherry Creek neighborhood was nice, but a bit yuppified. We stopped at a mall because there was supposed to be a cool playground there. I hate malls and the playground sucked. Afterwards we headed to the Tattered Cover to browse for books. I really liked the bookstore –nice wooden floors, great atmosphere. We picked up an interesting book for my daughter about a Buddhist panda bear – Zen Shorts.
Overall, it was a great trip. We really enjoyed seeing our friends. We also really liked the Denver area a lot. I wouldn’t mind living there. Thank you to those of you who offered suggestions of what to do. Our friends rarely spend time in Denver. So, they didn’t have very many ideas.
WK: I was sorry that we never had the opportunity to meet up for lunch or coffee. It was a hectic trip.