Well, so far I've been very impressed with our new home town. Denver is great. I had my first truly bad experience yesterday. It was my great idea to take the family downtown for lunch for Whit's birthday. A new Yard House just opened up and that's always been one of our favorite places to go. We love the fact that they have over 100 beers on tap. Ella has also been dying to ride the Light Rail. We hadn't yet done that and she asks about it every time she sees it, which is quite often since it runs right alongside of the freeway. So, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to fulfill Ella's dream of riding on the Light Rail (apparently she has some pretty big dreams!) and Whit's craving for the Yard House.
I did everything that I always do. I researched the Light Rail online. I found out about their parking fees, fare fees, and which line would take us to within blocks of our destination. We needed to take the F line. The Light Rail schedule was also on their website, but I wasn't able to access the F line schedule because whenever I clicked on the link it gave me a technical error message. No biggie. I just looked at the other line's Saturday schedules and saw that the trains came about every 15 minutes or so. I figured that it would be about the same.
We arrived at the local Light Rail station closest to our house. It's only about a 5 minute drive. We got there a little bit past Noon. Parking was a breeze. Since I had researched the ticked prices prior to our arrival, that was easy, too. As we were buying the tickets, I noticed a train at the station. It was the E line and I knew that we needed the F line. So, we didn't get on. Then the trouble started. Leigh and I looked at the schedule that was posted at the train station to find out when the next F train would be arriving. Apparently, the F line doesn't run during the weekend. So, when I had tried to search the schedule online and a technical error message popped up, really it meant that the F train doesn't run on weekends. Why didn't they just put that in their link?
We found out that the only train that runs on the weekends is the E line. This goes to the opposite side of downtown, so we would have to catch a bus. Since we had already bought the tickets, we figured that we would just do that. We noticed that the next E train didn't arrive on time to the station. Then there was an station announcement about track repairs and trains being delayed. We debated whether or not we should just drive to downtown (it's only about a 25 minute drive). Again we decided to just give it a few more minutes. After 30 minutes of waiting, another E train finally arrived. We thought that we were home free. Nope. The train went about 3 stops and then stopped. Apparently the track repairs meant that the northbound and southbound trains were all sharing a track for a portion of the trip. So, we had to wait for 2 southbound trains to pass before we could use the track. We waited for another 30 minutes before the train could go again.
When we finally arrived downtown, it was about 1:45. We were able to get onto the bus right away and we arrived at the Yard House by 2:00. The bus is another story. Why don't city bus riders wear deodorant? Our lunch was great, but I couldn't fully enjoy it because I knew that we had to deal with the bus and train fiasco again. It was similar to our trip up. Crowded city bus, late train, delay on train. We finally arrived back at our home station at about 5:00. So what should have taken a couple of hours took about 5 hours. I don't know if I'll take the Light Rail again. What if we had lunch reservations? I would have been so mad. They should have had some information about the delays on the website. I had just been on it earlier that morning. Not a good experience. Especially with a 4-year-old.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Mutton Bustin'
We've been exploring the sites around Denver for the last two weekends. Ella and I went to the Denver Aquarium last Sunday with a friend and her daughter. I thought it was a little bit strange that Denver has an aquarium. We're not anywhere near an ocean! It was really well done. There were different geographically-themed habitats, including some native Colorado River fish. There was a live mermaid show that was so much fun for the little girls. Mermaids dived into the tank (without any oxygen tanks!) and swam around to music. Ella thought she had died and gone to heaven. There was also a shark tank that went overhead too. So, the sharks could swim above you.
Ella and Maddie waiting to go inside the Aquarium. Check out Ella's cowboy boots!
With the Colorado fish
Turtle
The diver was feeding the fish.
Another turtle swims to the girls.
Looking at sea shells. The girls liked the sand dollar. They called it the pancake shell.
Here's the real Colorado experience. The National Western Stock Show. Yee Haw! We went to the Stock Show last night, but also had tickets to the rodeo. It was my first time at anything like this. Ella was the only one of us with cowboy boots. I felt very left out! We ate BBQ brisket sandwiches and had a few beers. The atmosphere was about as cowboy as you can get.
We saw the petting zoo (it was very crowded). Petting zoos kind of make me cringe. The animals are so dirty! So, I let Whit take Ella inside.
We checked out the livestock. That was cool. I've had some cow experience because there's a herd that grazes on my stepdad's sister's ranch. I'm actually a little bit scared of the cows that are on the ranch. They'll charge at you! One of them chased us down when we were driving. These cattle were laying down and very gentle.
The rodeo was pretty cool. The first event was bucking bronco. That is amazing! The horses are pretty wild. I couldn't get a great shot because they were moving so fast, but you get the idea.
This was the "mutton bustin'" event. That's what they call it. I didn't make that name up! Little kids (aged 4-6) try to ride on a large sheep. They hold onto the back of the sheep and ride for as long as they can hold on. I couldn't believe it! Maybe Ella will be interested for next year?
These are the sheep after the kids have all fallen off. They congregate together on the other side of the arena.
Apparently these stage coaches are a big deal. Although I don't know why. The horses were really pretty. Also, Pete Coors was on top of the closest coach. He's the Coors Beer Company heir. I guess he's the closest thing to a celebrity at the Stock Show.
On a side note, Whit's son, Leigh started school last Tuesday and he's really enjoying it. He takes a school bus from our neighborhood. That's been a new experience for him. He's been very impressed with his teachers and the overall feel of the school. The school has a computer program that allows parents to check their child's attendance and assignment grades daily. So, I checked it out last Friday and it's pretty neat. There were already about 5 assignments that had been posted for Leigh. He's been transitioning very well.
Ella and Maddie waiting to go inside the Aquarium. Check out Ella's cowboy boots!
With the Colorado fish
Turtle
The diver was feeding the fish.
Another turtle swims to the girls.
Looking at sea shells. The girls liked the sand dollar. They called it the pancake shell.
Here's the real Colorado experience. The National Western Stock Show. Yee Haw! We went to the Stock Show last night, but also had tickets to the rodeo. It was my first time at anything like this. Ella was the only one of us with cowboy boots. I felt very left out! We ate BBQ brisket sandwiches and had a few beers. The atmosphere was about as cowboy as you can get.
We saw the petting zoo (it was very crowded). Petting zoos kind of make me cringe. The animals are so dirty! So, I let Whit take Ella inside.
We checked out the livestock. That was cool. I've had some cow experience because there's a herd that grazes on my stepdad's sister's ranch. I'm actually a little bit scared of the cows that are on the ranch. They'll charge at you! One of them chased us down when we were driving. These cattle were laying down and very gentle.
The rodeo was pretty cool. The first event was bucking bronco. That is amazing! The horses are pretty wild. I couldn't get a great shot because they were moving so fast, but you get the idea.
This was the "mutton bustin'" event. That's what they call it. I didn't make that name up! Little kids (aged 4-6) try to ride on a large sheep. They hold onto the back of the sheep and ride for as long as they can hold on. I couldn't believe it! Maybe Ella will be interested for next year?
These are the sheep after the kids have all fallen off. They congregate together on the other side of the arena.
Apparently these stage coaches are a big deal. Although I don't know why. The horses were really pretty. Also, Pete Coors was on top of the closest coach. He's the Coors Beer Company heir. I guess he's the closest thing to a celebrity at the Stock Show.
On a side note, Whit's son, Leigh started school last Tuesday and he's really enjoying it. He takes a school bus from our neighborhood. That's been a new experience for him. He's been very impressed with his teachers and the overall feel of the school. The school has a computer program that allows parents to check their child's attendance and assignment grades daily. So, I checked it out last Friday and it's pretty neat. There were already about 5 assignments that had been posted for Leigh. He's been transitioning very well.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Denver Restaurant Week
I just wanted to write a quick entry about Denver Restaurant Week. Maybe other cities have this, maybe even LA, but I'm so impresssed by the whole idea of it. For 10 + days at the end of February and early March many, many restaurants in Denver participate in a $52.80 deal. For $52.80 two people can eat from a prix fixe menu at some really upscale restaurants. That's such a bargain! So, we're trying it out this year. We're going to take Whit's parents to a nearby restaurant called Opus. We waited a little long to make reservations, so we're actually eating at 4:45 PM. It'll be an early dinner, but at least we have reservations! We really wanted to go to Shanahan's, but it was completely booked. We rarely go to upscale restaurants, it's great that we can take advantage of this and eat in some restaurants that we would never go to otherwise.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Lots of things
It's been quite a while since an update. We've had a lot of things happen in the last month or so. We had a very nice and pretty calm Christmas. Whit's family came over on Christmas eve. I was a little bit stressed out about having to have food ready, but it actually turned out better than I had thought it would. The tamales were awesome. I ordered 3 doz tamales from a place in downtown Denver called La Popular. I remembered the place from when I had lived here in the mid-nineties. I had eaten their tamales one time and they had left a lasting impression on me. It was a good call to have them on Christmas Eve. I made pinto beans in a crock pot with milk and lots of cheddar cheese. I also made a box of Spanish rice, but added chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice. Initially, I was going to make homemade Spanish rice, but it was just too much for me. I did make completely homemade gingerbread cookies and decorated them with frosting. I also made a gingerbread cake from a boxed mix. Which one do you think everyone loved? The box mix. The cookies took me way longer to make! So, that's why I'm going to use more box mixes.
One of my better choices for the Christmas Eve get together was having an activity for all of the kids. I know that Ella and her cousins would need to be occupied. A parent at my school had provided an activity for the kids in my class right before the holiday break. She made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and she gave the kids all of the candy and squirt frosting for decorating. Well, I copied her idea. I assembled the gingerbread houses from graham crackers, placed them on thick cardboard, and then put upside down sugar cones for trees. The kids spent about an hour decorating them at the Christmas Eve gathering. It allowed us (the grown-ups) to have adult conversation and wine.
We also enjoyed a Christmas Eve concert. Whit and his niece and nephew played several Christmas songs. Whit plays the trumpet, his niece plays the flute, and his nephew also plays the trumpet. It was really fun to watch. Whit acted sort of like a the band leader.
These are the only pictures that I took on Christmas eve. You can see the kids' gingerbread creations. Ella is holding hers.
Christmas morning was very low key. It was a little bit difficult for me because I've spent every Christmas morning with my family. It was just the three of us. It was nice not to have the marathon gift opening that usually occurs at my mom's house. There was one year when it literally took four hours straight. It didn't take us that long, but Ella did have a lot of gifts to work through.
I just have to make a remark about our tree. I saw some trees at the local Whole Foods right after Thanksgiving that were just beautiful. They were only $49.00 and most of them were 8 feet tall. I told Whit that we should get one, but we didn't make any decisions. I went to Whit's sister's house in early December and I commented on how beautiful her tree was. She told me that they got it at Whole Foods. That was it. We went the next weekend to Whole Foods and bought the healthiest, least expensive, largest tree that we've ever had. There were no dry needles and when we were putting our ornaments on it, hardly any needles dropped. The tree stayed gorgeous for the entire holiday time. I'm still amazed that the Whole Foods was our tree lot this year.
You can see the tree in the next few pics...lovely! Also, most of those gifts underneath are Ella's. Whit and I had like 6 gifts combined.
We took a walk on Christmas Day through our neighborhood. Our neighborhood has walking trails all throughout it. This particular trail leads to an open space. Ella received a lacrosse stick from Santa. She really wanted to try it out. Lacrosse is a really popular sport out here. I actually found the stick at Target. If her ballet classes don't work out for her, I want her to be a lacrosse player.
We had another big surprise during the holiday break, we found out that Whit's son would be moving in with us. Although we were open to the idea, it caught us by surprise. He moved in with us on Dec 30th. We hadn't had much snow to date, but our first snowstorm came in on the evening of his flight in. Additionally, the temps dropped. For about 3 days, we had daytime temps from 5-10 degrees and evening temps below zero. Fortunately, it was during the New Year holiday, so we didn't have to go out much. I did, however, have a waxing appointment the morning after the storm.
This was bad. I don't remember driving in the snow when I lived out here before. I think I didn't drive very much. I walked to campus and only worked part-time, three days a week. I didn't have to deal very much. BUT, it's different now. When I drove to my appointment the morning after the storm, the temp was about 4 degrees with only about 4 inches on the ground. I was bundled up, so the cold didn't bother me. I took Whit's car, which is an SUV, but it has no 4 wheel drive. I slid to a stop at every stop sign and my car fishtailed at every turn. It was pretty scary for me. The side roads weren't plowed and the main roads that were plowed were still ice packed. The saving grace was that there weren't very many cars on the road because it was New Year's Eve.
These pics are of our yard after the first significant snow.
Whit and Leigh had to finally break out the snow shovel that we bought in November and had yet to use it. The rule is that you have to shovel the sidewalk in front of your house, but most people also shovel their walkway and driveway, too.
About 10 days after the first snow, our second snow arrived. This time it was heavier (6 inches) and we had that "arctic blast" again. I wasn't as lucky this time because it came in on Sunday night. That meant that I had to drive to work in it the next morning with traffic. I also didn't have the opportunity to take Whit's heavier SUV because he was going to be taking it. The driving experience that I had was by far the worst driving ever. First of all, they don't plow side streets. So, our street had 6 inches of snowy ice on it. My wheels spun going out of the driveway and then again trying to get up our street. I almost gave up because I had only gone two houses at this point. I was certain that my car would get stuck. We have another small street outside of our street in order to get to the "main road." I made it down the second small street, but my car was fishtailing the whole way. Also, my tires spun at every stop sign. I was most concerned about the main road. It's basically a pretty big hill. My car almost rolled down backwards. I said a prayer and barely made it. I was trying to get my car going and it would only go about 5 MPH. It took me over an hour to get to work (normally it's 25 mins in traffic). The freeway was the best plowed part and most people were going about 10 MPH. I wasn't concerned there, but it's definitely the side streets that are the worst.
I'll have to get used to it. I definitely need a 4 wheel drive. We didn't have a need for one in CA. But, I wouldn't have had such a difficult time with wheels spinning if I had a car that used all four wheels. Obviously I 'll have to manage with my car for the rest of this season, but maybe next season.
5 days after the snowfall, we got outside to make our first snowman. The temps were in the upper 40s and it was perfect for packing that snow. When it's too cold, you can't pack the snow enough to make anything. I think it turned out pretty well.
I don't want to be a whiner, but I was really traumatized by my drive in the snow. The problem was that the temps were so low that the snow was just so icy. My coworkers have reassured me that usually it doesn't get that cold and the snow starts melting the next day. I don't like that the Denver area doesn't plow the side roads. That's ridiculous. I know that the highway is priority #1, but our street was practically undriveable. I survived, and I'm sure glad that this season has been the second driest on record (since the 1880s).
I'm not sure if anyone made it through the end of the post, but if you did, you're a trooper!
One of my better choices for the Christmas Eve get together was having an activity for all of the kids. I know that Ella and her cousins would need to be occupied. A parent at my school had provided an activity for the kids in my class right before the holiday break. She made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and she gave the kids all of the candy and squirt frosting for decorating. Well, I copied her idea. I assembled the gingerbread houses from graham crackers, placed them on thick cardboard, and then put upside down sugar cones for trees. The kids spent about an hour decorating them at the Christmas Eve gathering. It allowed us (the grown-ups) to have adult conversation and wine.
We also enjoyed a Christmas Eve concert. Whit and his niece and nephew played several Christmas songs. Whit plays the trumpet, his niece plays the flute, and his nephew also plays the trumpet. It was really fun to watch. Whit acted sort of like a the band leader.
These are the only pictures that I took on Christmas eve. You can see the kids' gingerbread creations. Ella is holding hers.
Christmas morning was very low key. It was a little bit difficult for me because I've spent every Christmas morning with my family. It was just the three of us. It was nice not to have the marathon gift opening that usually occurs at my mom's house. There was one year when it literally took four hours straight. It didn't take us that long, but Ella did have a lot of gifts to work through.
I just have to make a remark about our tree. I saw some trees at the local Whole Foods right after Thanksgiving that were just beautiful. They were only $49.00 and most of them were 8 feet tall. I told Whit that we should get one, but we didn't make any decisions. I went to Whit's sister's house in early December and I commented on how beautiful her tree was. She told me that they got it at Whole Foods. That was it. We went the next weekend to Whole Foods and bought the healthiest, least expensive, largest tree that we've ever had. There were no dry needles and when we were putting our ornaments on it, hardly any needles dropped. The tree stayed gorgeous for the entire holiday time. I'm still amazed that the Whole Foods was our tree lot this year.
You can see the tree in the next few pics...lovely! Also, most of those gifts underneath are Ella's. Whit and I had like 6 gifts combined.
We took a walk on Christmas Day through our neighborhood. Our neighborhood has walking trails all throughout it. This particular trail leads to an open space. Ella received a lacrosse stick from Santa. She really wanted to try it out. Lacrosse is a really popular sport out here. I actually found the stick at Target. If her ballet classes don't work out for her, I want her to be a lacrosse player.
We had another big surprise during the holiday break, we found out that Whit's son would be moving in with us. Although we were open to the idea, it caught us by surprise. He moved in with us on Dec 30th. We hadn't had much snow to date, but our first snowstorm came in on the evening of his flight in. Additionally, the temps dropped. For about 3 days, we had daytime temps from 5-10 degrees and evening temps below zero. Fortunately, it was during the New Year holiday, so we didn't have to go out much. I did, however, have a waxing appointment the morning after the storm.
This was bad. I don't remember driving in the snow when I lived out here before. I think I didn't drive very much. I walked to campus and only worked part-time, three days a week. I didn't have to deal very much. BUT, it's different now. When I drove to my appointment the morning after the storm, the temp was about 4 degrees with only about 4 inches on the ground. I was bundled up, so the cold didn't bother me. I took Whit's car, which is an SUV, but it has no 4 wheel drive. I slid to a stop at every stop sign and my car fishtailed at every turn. It was pretty scary for me. The side roads weren't plowed and the main roads that were plowed were still ice packed. The saving grace was that there weren't very many cars on the road because it was New Year's Eve.
These pics are of our yard after the first significant snow.
Whit and Leigh had to finally break out the snow shovel that we bought in November and had yet to use it. The rule is that you have to shovel the sidewalk in front of your house, but most people also shovel their walkway and driveway, too.
About 10 days after the first snow, our second snow arrived. This time it was heavier (6 inches) and we had that "arctic blast" again. I wasn't as lucky this time because it came in on Sunday night. That meant that I had to drive to work in it the next morning with traffic. I also didn't have the opportunity to take Whit's heavier SUV because he was going to be taking it. The driving experience that I had was by far the worst driving ever. First of all, they don't plow side streets. So, our street had 6 inches of snowy ice on it. My wheels spun going out of the driveway and then again trying to get up our street. I almost gave up because I had only gone two houses at this point. I was certain that my car would get stuck. We have another small street outside of our street in order to get to the "main road." I made it down the second small street, but my car was fishtailing the whole way. Also, my tires spun at every stop sign. I was most concerned about the main road. It's basically a pretty big hill. My car almost rolled down backwards. I said a prayer and barely made it. I was trying to get my car going and it would only go about 5 MPH. It took me over an hour to get to work (normally it's 25 mins in traffic). The freeway was the best plowed part and most people were going about 10 MPH. I wasn't concerned there, but it's definitely the side streets that are the worst.
I'll have to get used to it. I definitely need a 4 wheel drive. We didn't have a need for one in CA. But, I wouldn't have had such a difficult time with wheels spinning if I had a car that used all four wheels. Obviously I 'll have to manage with my car for the rest of this season, but maybe next season.
5 days after the snowfall, we got outside to make our first snowman. The temps were in the upper 40s and it was perfect for packing that snow. When it's too cold, you can't pack the snow enough to make anything. I think it turned out pretty well.
I don't want to be a whiner, but I was really traumatized by my drive in the snow. The problem was that the temps were so low that the snow was just so icy. My coworkers have reassured me that usually it doesn't get that cold and the snow starts melting the next day. I don't like that the Denver area doesn't plow the side roads. That's ridiculous. I know that the highway is priority #1, but our street was practically undriveable. I survived, and I'm sure glad that this season has been the second driest on record (since the 1880s).
I'm not sure if anyone made it through the end of the post, but if you did, you're a trooper!
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