Beautiful place, beautiful day...

Denver:
- Sucks the moisture out of strangers. There's no water in the air here. So it takes it from you.
- Believes in sunshine
- Likes its old hotels. Last night, post conferencing (my conference made my tummy stressed... darkened hall of the Convention Center.. poorly presented data... but luckily, I wasn't alone in my questioning of the whole thing), Steph and I wandered in the sunlight to the Brown Palace, which was jawdropping beautiful and Old Skool. Cigar bar, men in suits - - it's been a hotel since... 1887? Something like that. I ordered a vodka martini, and was shown that I don't know how to order a martini unless it's called something like TangeloI'MAGIRLtwist and off of a menu. Luckily, after some fumbling, I got taught (Vodka Martini, straight up, olives, dirty) - -delish!

We then wandered back to the hotel, checked out the hot tub (which is not quite on the roof of the hotel, but rather, on an edge of the hotel - - still outdoors) and then wandered our way to another beautiful old hotel, the Oxford (by the astonishing train station). Inside the Oxford in the Cruise Room Bar -- which was modeled after a lounge on the Queen Mary. This was "the office" - - and beautiful. Learned: raw oyster = yum. Fried oysters = non. I met a cool geek of the highest order (Instructables, and howtoons.. f'ing cool.) and our now-large posse of museum folk wandered back to the 16th Street mall, to a place called the Paramount, and then to home.

They build things big here - - which you kind of have to, to compliment the mountains. They also keep their old stuff - - which I like. Tonight, I board a plane to head back to flat & cold, but also good people & small fuzzy animals.

I think I like this place. This isn't so much a city that you have a crush on, someplace impossible like Portland or NYC, but rather, a place you can live. (there was sunshine this morning and fresh air - - I felt like I haven't had a morning like that for literally seven months... which may be simply true). Good stuff. :)

Onward.