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.
