A day in Denver

At sunrise I wake up again. It’s five A.M. and I think I’ve slept about half a night. I woke up a few times and had to turn on the heating because it got too cold in the car, but other than that I slept quite well. I get myself a cappuccino and continue driving. After about half an hour I stop at my favorite grocery store to get food for breakfast. After having eaten something I drive further to Denver. I stop at a big outdoor store which looks a lot like the one in the tv show Last Man Standing. I’m super excited to go here. It opens at ten and it’s only nine o’clock, so I’ll come back later. I drive a little further to a Best Western hotel close to the airport and ask if I can check in early. They do that and I get a great room with a large bed and a nice desk. I place all my luggage in my room and drive back to the Outdoor Store.

The store absolutely exceeds the expectations. It’s huge! You can find here everything you need for camping, fishing and hunting. There is a big waterfall in the middle of the store and there are many stuffed animals like bears, mountain lions and elk.

And of course there is a shooting gallery. I quickly find out that this is a whole different game than the one in Jackson Hole Toy Store. That one was easy, probably because it was made for children. In this shooting range you have to be very sharp, even an inch off will miss the shot. I’m quickly out of quarters, but do make some improvement. Then I realize that I only slept five hours last night after a really long day of driving. I think that’s a valid excuse for not being a best shot this morning. It turns out I don’t need excuses at all. A couple of Dollars and some practicing further and I have managed to shoot almost all the targets and get a ‘Good shooting’ score. With due pride I take a picture of my score and continue discovering the outdoor store.

It’s already noon when I’ve seen most of the store and I go to the outdoor store restaurant to get some food. I’ll take a hot meal now, so I can stay in the hotel tonight and just eat something small there. I have a nice burger with fries for lunch and keep the side salad for tonight. Visiting this store is a great experience, in particularly because of the tv show I always watch with my grandparents. I’m gonna see if I can watch another episode in the hotel tonight. It won’t be as nice as watching it with them of course, but it probably will still make me laugh as it always does. In the afternoon I first want to go to downtown Denver, since I’m here now I can just as well see a bit more of the city. I ask the waitress where to go and she gives me directions for places to see in Denver.

I drive downtown, park my car and take a bus to the other side of the city center. Some local people tell me that there is a chalk event where people make art on the street with chalk. That sounds fun and I join them to check it out. It’s very creative, though also very crowded so I don’t stay too long. As I walk back I stop somewhere with Wi-Fi and call a friend who lives in Denver. She happens to be in the center this afternoon as well and we meet and walk through downtown for a while. I met her years ago in Amsterdam and it’s fun to see each other again. She’s a dietitian and so we have quite a bit to talk about since we’re both interested in healthy living. She gives me some tips for eating healthier while we do some site seeing. There is a big market in the city today. It’s a bit hippie style. Interesting to see but not to buy anything. Also in one of the main streets are street piano’s. I remember those from many years ago when we also walked here. It’s nice to see downtown and in particular the combination of old and new buildings. Time is flying by and before I know it, it’s the end of the afternoon and time to say goodbye again. I go back to the hotel and plan to take a swim in the pool before I relax the rest of the night. In the evening I watch a couple of episodes of Last Man Standing, it’s nice to see that it actually looks a lot like the outdoor store I visited today. It was nice to visit Denver on the last day here. Tomorrow it’s time to travel back home.