Denver!

My first trip to Colorado and with this state, I'm down to 11 more to visit (RI, DE, AL, MS, LA, AR, KS, MT, ID, AK & HI).

My favorite cities are the ones where it's easy to walk around at night - and Denver definitely falls into that category.  Plus there's so much to do walking distance from the heart of downtown.

The trip started with a connection in Philly so had to try a Geno's Cheesesteak (with whiz & onions).  Was so good but maybe not the best choice to have the whole thing sitting in my stomach moments before a 4-hour flight lol.

One of the first things I did in Denver was walk around to some of the retro arcades they have.  Stop one was 1-Up on Colfax but on the way saw this.

Of course I had to see if this claim was true.  It was a good burger, but then realized I have no way of knowing if it's the best in Denver since it was the only burger I had there so far.  But I'd definitely return.

Now I had energy for this!

There's three 1-Ups in Denver.  As it turns out, I went to the best one first.  It had room after room after room of classic arcade games and pinball - and most games were just 25-cents each (pinball was 50 cents).

The two games most of my money went to - Super Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. pinball.  A game of Super Pac-Man can last 15-20 minutes for me.  Pinball I'm not as good at but this one I liked a lot.  I'm more a fan of pinball when the flippers aren't too far apart so the balls don't just shoot down right away - this one gives lots of chances for the ball to return to play so made it more fun.

Went to 1-Up Lodo next.  Also a fun arcade but nowhere near as extensive as the Colfax one.  That didn't stop me from spending an hour or so there.  Same deal as the other one - no admission charge, most video games were 25-cents and pinball mostly 50-cents.

Just an overall cool place again - complete with this lol.

Next up - Denver's Christmas Market.  It was huge with a beer tent, so many booths with food & crafts and whatever that is walking around.

There was even a booth with German steins.  Aw that Oktoberfest one looks amazing (and was extremely well made).  I'll be going to Munich for that in September, but didn't want to be carrying this around the rest of the night so had to pass.

I had originally hoped to go to Denver in the fall, but maybe the winter holidays was the better time as the whole city was decorated.  I mean look how cool everything is.  Every street you went down and everywhere you looked was decorated equally as nice.

Headed back to the hotel for the main reason for the trip.  Most nights in Buffalo, instead of watching TV, I'll play GTA on PS4.  It's usually a group of us including me & Shawn (in Buffalo) & George (in Denver, who I've only met on the game).  It was time for the three of us to hang in real life.

Once Shawn arrived in Denver, we all met up at a random nearby bar (and then a couple others).  This set the tone for what was going to be an epic weekend.  George and his wife Susan were so much fun to hang with - equally as nice and cool as I expected (their kids - who we'd meet up with the next day - also a blast to hang with).

 

Friday (day 2) started with a walk around the downtown area.  Me & Shawn had a list of things we most wanted to do & Biker Jim's was first up after some pic stops.

Biker Jim's is a little like Griffon Gastropub - but with hot dogs.  The reason I wanted to stop here - the rattlesnake & pheasant hot dog!  Yes, both in one hot dog.  Surprisingly, it was good.  I still prefer regular hot dogs, but this was a nice change.  They also had ostrich, elk & wild boar but those I'll try on a future visit since one was more than enough - didn't want to fill up at just one place.

After that, it was a lot of walking around (and driving since some places were a little further away).  Apparently Denver is home to the original Chipotle location so we did that, some other random stuff, and walked by this bear like 4 times as we made our way to the next food stop - Buckhorn Exchange.  And this is where my #1 favorite food in Denver happened.

I was kinda nervous to try Rocky Mountain Oysters.  They're bull testicles.  Yeah.  I thought they'd be round and disgustingly soggy, but nope.  They were deep fried, sliced and served with a marinara sauce.  If we had time, I would have ordered more they were so good.  Tasted like deep fried slices of any meat.

After that, we went to get a good spot at the Denver Parade of Lights.  When we booked the trip, we had no idea this was going on.  Lucky coincidence as this was cool.  Me, Shawn, George & his family all watched from the main grandstand.

It was $25 to sit there, but we were at the start of the parade and had great seats.  Other areas of the parade route were darker so had a better view of the lighted floats but this spot had a backdrop like no other!

The parade lasted an hour then the night ended with a stop at one of Denver's many diners - Sam's 3.  After an omelette and biscuits & gravy, it was time for a little sleep before our Rocky Mountain hike the next morning.

So this was a last minute addition to the trip.  Rocky Mountain National Park is about 2 hours from downtown Denver and Emerald Lake Trail is one of the most popular hikes in the park.  AllTrails says it's best used from April - November.  It was just a few days into December, so why not!  It's 1.8 miles there and another 1.8 back.

Was surprised to see so many people already there at 9:30a.  At the trail head, everyone was getting ready putting on their snowshoes or skis.  Me and Shawn came prepared with......just hiking boots lol. The trail itself goes by 3 lakes - Nymph, Dream and then Emerald Lake.

Every time we stopped for a picture was more amazing than the last one.  Here's Nymph Lake and some other views as we headed up.

Denver (and def the Rockies) are high altitude.  I've always heard you'll feel it and get winded easier when walking around the city.  I never experienced that - until this hike.  Within the first half-mile, I was breathing heavy.  And then a little later my legs started getting super tired.  Hit us both but wasn't enough to stop much aside from getting pics.  The snow was kinda deep off the trail and the trail itself was sometimes tough to figure out.  While it wasn't too busy, we were relieved people were there so we could figure out where to go.

Dream Lake was mostly iced over and even had some nice snow trails over the top to walk on.  At first we thought this was the end, but then found the trail continued way off on the other side.

After another strenuous stretch up some big inclines, we made it to Emerald Lake - and only took a little under an hour to get there!

The views - just awesome!  I've experienced some pretty cool things & places with my buddy Shawn - this one is definitely near the top.  (Side note - it's so nice to have a friend who also loves to do random things and travel.  And we both do trips the same way - get as much done as you can.  When on a vaca like this, there's no time for sitting around at the hotel or sleeping 8 hours - you gotta make the most of every second.)

The hike back (and down) was obviously easier lol.  And of course lots of picture stops because everything was pic worthy.  I would totally be down to try this hike in the fall or summer too but I think winter would be the time with the best views.  I mean when I think Rocky Mountains, I think snow and iced covered lakes - and that's exactly what we got.  Oh yeah, and cold - there was lots of that as the wind whipped around during our lake crossings.  But whoa this was such a great start to the day.

Boulder was on the ride back to Denver, so stopped at the Pearl Street Mall and met up again with George and his wife (who I gotta say again to her, thank you for taking pics).

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They had a Volcom store, so that was a must.  And another arcade - Press Play.  This is where the Mortal Kombat battle was fought.  I was crushed almost instantly but Shawn & George's battle was more even (Shawn killed us both though).  It was a nice smaller arcade and I'd absolutely return someday.

As we left Boulder, we had to stop by this iconic house used on Mork & Mindy!  It still looks almost exactly like it did on the show.

Then back to Denver and supper at the Green Russell Smoke House.  I had gone too long without wings, so had to try them here.  They were ok, but nothing can ever compare to the best wings on the planet - and those can only be found in Buffalo of course.  The sliders there however were amazing.

Next stop was the Ramble Hotel & Bar.  Ok here's a story for you.  We walk up to the place and there's a line of really well dressed people trying to get in.  Right to the front of the line we go and give the phrase we were told to say.  We were then instantly escorted inside (yeah people in line were glaring at us a bit lol) and then told to go up some random staircase to the top floor bar where we then hung out on a rooftop balcony area with a small group.  The power of Shawn - even in another city!

After a while there, it was back to 1-Up Colfax for some arcade fun.  Susan headed onto a back patio I didn't even know existed (there's so many random rooms off of other rooms here with more games) and found a huge Jenga game.  Some amazing competition happened the rest of the night lol.

The next morning was definitely bittersweet.  That was one of the fastest weekends of my life and I was so sad it was coming to an end.  The combination of places, food, fun & most important to me the greatest of friends made for an incredible weekend.  The final stop was Lodo's Bar & Grill - a Bills backer bar Shawn wanted to watch the game at.

It was so strange watching the game in a bar filled with Bills fans & Bills menu specials but in the heart of Denver.  Of course we had to get wings.  They were ok, but again not Buffalo great.

Another Lodo's highlight was a mini-reunion with our friend Shannon who we both worked with in Buffalo years ago.  Happy she's there because I plan a return visit and now got a bunch of fun people to hang with.

So definitely long weekend success!  While I'd like to see Denver during warmer months, I really enjoyed being there for the holiday season.

If you do plan a trip around that time, try to be there when the Parade of Lights happens.  And absolutely make time for a Rocky Mountain hike.

While Los Angeles is still my favorite city to visit, Denver has launched up to #2 (Savannah, Seattle & Budapest round out the top 5 - but a return to Munich could change some of that next year).