Escape to the Wild (Day 1 - Incursion)

Today, we flew to Denver, CO to begin our much-needed vacation.  The last couple of weeks, well months, have been rough.  The demands of work and life have been mounting for both my wife and I until they had reached unbearable limits.  We were burned out long ago, but had managed to hang on to the dying embers of life until we could take it no more.  So, we packed it all in and flew away.

We’re staying with one of my old college roommates tonight, JT.  He has been gracious enough to open his home to us, and it has been great to see him again.  It’s sad when you start to measure your encounters with people in years, but life and distance will do that to you.  We only have this one night and tomorrow morning with him, but we’ll take all we can get.

The trip to Denver was short and uneventful.  The packing and getting out of the house less so.  But in over fifteen years together, my wife and I have never managed to leave for a trip on time or without drama, so I think it’s important that we continue to keep that streak alive.  JT had made dinner reservations for us at a place called Ophelia’s, which was an old brothel turned into a restaurant, bar, and youth hostel.  The décor was dark and racy, a throw-back to days gone past.  The food was different, edgy, and not really something I would probably try again.  But the company was amazing.

JT had invited a couple of his friends along as well.  Justin and Ashley formed the other parts of JT's three-person dinner group, and they complemented our party perfectly.  Justin was easy-going and interesting.  Ashley was sassy and out-spoken.  We passed the evening in companionable conversation, before heading to another place for dessert.

JT had found a place that served Thai, shaved ice, called Snowlab.  The restaurant itself was just a little hole-in-the-wall place near an Enterprise rental place.  There wasn’t much in the way of food around it, and it was a small place, so you really had to know it was there to find it.  The food was sort-of like a sno-cone, but the ice was softer and fluffier than normal, more like the texture of ice cream, but less creamy and more delicate.  The ice was also flavored with things like Coffee, Green Tea, Strawberry, Avocado, Banana, and Oreo.  Then you added the toppings and the syrup drizzle.  We all tried something different, so we could share and get the full experience.  Some of us less adventurous, like my wife with her strawberry ice, with strawberry topping, and strawberry drizzle.  Some of us more adventurous, like me with my green tea ice with Oreo topping, and chocolate drizzle.  And some of us downright crazy, like JT with his avocado ice, dragon eyes topping, and mango drizzle.  It was very good, and we would definitely recommend seeking it out to try it.

The evening wound up shortly after that, since I wasn’t feeling well.  Seems my allergies managed to board the plane too, and I have a splitting headache.  Apparently, altitude sickness can also turn into an issue up here, so we’ve already been trying to drink a lot more water.  Tomorrow we’re off to Colorado Springs, but that’s tomorrow.  Tonight, I’m bushed.