Denver, CO

My brief torrid hate-love relationship with Denver.......

Denver made me cry; and not just teary-eyed but full out bawling in my car out of frustration and exhaustion. I left Utah still feeling sick but no longer at death's door and headed to Denver Thursday morning. The drive was ascetically pleasing but the mountains did a number on the pressure in my head. I was tired and crabby by the time I got to Denver but I planned on checking into a hotel, freshening up and then going out. I know one person there but I hadn't seen him in at least 15 years, but I contacted him anyway. My lovely friend Kelly hooked me up with two of her friends and I was going to meet up with them to see a band and have drinks. I was looking forward to exploring the city and getting some much needed sleep.

Unfortunately the roads in Denver and the traffic was horrible and it took me two hours to get downtown to Colfax Ave. At this point I haven't heard from Kelly's friends, my friend has to work and I don't have a hotel room yet. Now I take responsibility for "winging it" with the hotel situation but I wasn't worried because I thought I had plenty of time and I could get recommendations from my friend and Kelly's people. I drove around looking for a hotel and trying to google on my cell to find out rates and I got lost. I have a GPS but I still managed to get lost. I pulled over and a valet came over and asked if I was picking someone up. I hadn't realized that I stopped in front of  a bar or something. I asked him for the nearest hotel and he recommend The Jet. I went there but found it difficult to find parking so I went into a parking garage half a block down. I did call the hotel and made sure they had open rooms but they were having a fashion show/party and I was told that the cheaper rooms were closer to the noise and it wouldn't be quiet till after 1:30am. Great, at this point I need to pee and eat something so I don't care anymore. In the middle of this, Kelly's friend calls me and I'm totally stressing because I'm trying not to get hit by the idiot in front of me or the jerk behind me. She forgot her phone at home and didn't get my message until late and it didn't work out for us to meet up. I was bummed out but things happen and I realized that this wasn't my night.  I paid and parked 2 levels down and proceeded to carry my awkward and heavy bags to the hotel. It had just snowed two days earlier so the sidewalks and streets sucked. The hotel looked more like a club than a hotel and there were a bunch of people milling about outside staring at me struggling with my luggage. I finally made it into the "hotel" and couldn't find anyone who actually worked there. The bartender was too busy and incredibly rude and I stood by the coat check desk for about 20 mins before I gave up.

I did ask quite a few people if they worked there or could help me and they looked at me like I was the nerdiest alien being ever. Completely annoyed and pissed off, I left and made my way back to the car in the depths of the parking garage. It's almost 8pm and I start crying. I can't help it. The tears flow and the cold air stings my cheeks; I don't care how bad I look or that people are staring at me, I need to let it out. I make it back to my car and I leave. I started calling other hotels and asking for rates. I cried even harder when I heard how expensive they were. Again, my fault for not planning ahead. I settled on the Warwick because it was the closest and the cheapest out of the five downtown hotels I called. I pulled up and the bellman came out, very sweet young guy and he took my heavy luggage inside and instead of charging me $26 for valet, he told me the meter spots across the street were free till 9am. I started to feel a little bit better. I'd also stopped crying at this point but I looked pretty gross.

The girl at the front desk was very sweet and smart because she picked up right away that I was having a horrible night. I told her I hated Denver and I just needed a room. I proceeded to tell her about my night and she said she'd just moved there and loved it and was going to change my mind. She gave me a discount, upgraded me to a suite, gave me tips on where to go and eat and gave me free wi-fi and coupons. I almost cried again but this time out of relief and gratitude. I'm "that" girl who cries when someone, especially a stranger, is nice to me. I made it up to the room and it was amazing. I actually considered staying longer just so I could spend more time in that room! It was a mini Pretty Woman experience for me. I got cleaned up and took myself out to a fancy dinner. I met up with my friend after he got off of work and had a great time chatting and laughing. The next day I checked out after having a fantastic room service breakfast and I went exploring for a bit. I was still tired and not motivated to drive yet. I walked around to a few shops and I grabbed lunch at the Cherry Cricket which has the most phenomenal burgers ever! I felt better in the morning and regretted the anger I had for Denver the night before.

Denver and I broke up before we even started and then I put Denver in the friend zone so it's not even an option anymore to move there and have a true relationship. I will visit Denver again, but I can't commit to living there now that we have a past. Part of me was frustrated that I hadn't figured everything out by the time I got to Denver and I punished Denver for that. I was starting to worry and fear that my Epic Journey was a fail because I didn't have my "A Ha" moment when a ray of light from the heavens shined down on me and I just knew what my next career move and living situation would be. I've learned lessons that are important but don't give me definitive answers. As I drove away from Denver, I realized that my geographical location is not what will make me happy; I need to be happy with me and then I can be happy anywhere............

On to Omaha, last stop before home.