Lazy Day

Thursday, July 5, 2012--Denver, CO

I moved into Denver today.  I stopped first at Sam's Club to fill up my tank which was 3/4 empty.  That cost $40.  Even at Sam's Club, gasoline is still $3.46 per gallon here in Denver.  From there, I searched for a car wash and found one a few blocks down the street.  After 11 days on the road including unpaved mountain roads, it was filthy.  I washed it so it would be clean during the next 7 days in the city.

I needed to pass time before being allowed to check into my new hotel near the Sam's Club.  I drove to the south side of town to explore.  I drove around the University of Denver campus and then stopped at the nearby Cherry Creek area.  Cherry Creek has been an exclusive shopping district in Denver for many years.  The original portion consists of shops built along a grid of streets about 2 blocks wide and 7-8 blocks long.  It's very similar to Rice Village in Houston except it seems more organized and seems to cover a larger area.  Most of the shops and restaurants there are independently owned.  The district has been expanded with a shopping mall across the street from this area which has Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's, and about 200 other national and international chain stores.  The grid portion of Cherry Creek was buzzing with action as booths were being set up along all the streets.  I later learned that this weekend will be the Cherry Creek Arts Festival which is supposed to be the best in this part of the country.  I just walked up and down the streets seeing what shops were there.  I went into a couple of contemporary furniture stores to see if I could find anything interesting, and I went inside Whole Foods to look around.

I tried to find a movie theater, but there was only one in that neighborhood.  It was not showing anything I wanted to see, and I didn't have a way to connect to the Internet to find one elsewhere.  I drove back to the area where I had my reservation for tonight and checked into my hotel.  I spent the afternoon on the computer.  Then I went to Sam's Club nearby to eat a quick dinner.  I watched the new HBO TV series about a news room on TV and read in my novel.

Tomorrow begins the choir conference, and I will move to the apartment I have rented in downtown Denver.  However, I cannot get into the apartment until 15:30.  I'll probably go to a movie at 12:15 to pass the time until then.  I may also visit a museum before that.

Steps Walked:  13,157

Distance Driven:  70 miles (113 km)