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Home > Trip to Denver!

Trip to Denver!

August 5th, 2015 at 01:15 am

We just got back from a long weekend in Denver! What a great trip! There are some things I would have done differently, but it was a lot of fun and not too expensive.

What we should have done differently:
- We chose a hotel on 16th street... in the end it really didn't matter that we were in the heart of Denver. If we go again, I'll pick a nicer area and a hotel with a pool that doesn't charge for parking.
- The mermaid show at the Aquarium was recommended to us. Not that great, and the food was not that great either. To me that could have been skipped and we could have eaten somewhere better.

What we did right:
- We drove (and we specifically drove our more fuel efficient car that uses the less expensive fuel). I filled up the car before we left and spent about $18, then put $30 in the car while we were gone and came home with 3/4 of a tank of gas still in the car.
- We chose street parking lots rather than the $35/day that the hotel charges for parking. We saved $50! Walked less than a block.
- We ate lunch at the Aquarium to see the mermaid show, but didn't go to the Aquarium itself. We have an Aquarium here.
- Botanic Garden was worth seeing though not incredibly cheap. But beautiful!
- We visited the Denver County Fair - super fun! F made a Peeps Diorama, and there was a scavenger hunt. We didn't eat there, and I'm glad; fair food = yuck. But D did try a cookie made with ground up crickets that they were letting people sample. Again.. yuck.
- We met friends who live in Denver for a nice meal out at a Korean place. I was stuffed! D got a beer, which he normally doesn't do out, but hey, he's on vacation. They had unlimited sides and the food was really good! We don't have a Korean place here.
- Hammond's Candy Factory tour - FREE and they gave us each a giant lemon candy cane at the end. The tour was short, but fascinating, and totally worth doing!
- Colorado Rapids soccer game - my friend's son is the event manager for the Rapids so we got free tickets, 8th row, to a sold out game against the LA Galaxy! So much fun!!! We even saw two of the British soccer coaches that stayed with us during the summer when they ran the camp F did. She was so excited to see them!!
- Stopped in Trinidad, CO on the way back down for lunch - that might have been one of the best meals we had, and it was only $22 for all three of us. If you are ever in Trinidad, stop at the Daily Grind. They even had gf bread, so I had a sandwich, too.

We fit a lot in a three day trip. Since we didn't have airfare or soccer tickets to buy, we decided to splurge a little on food... usually I bring food, but we wanted to eat out.

The dining out budget is almost gone for this month, but it was worth it!

7 Responses to “Trip to Denver!”

  1. snafu Says:
    1438737985

    Sounds like you had a really fun trip, no drama on the road and lots of experiences for the memory book. Since you weren't eating at home, and didn't bring food from home, didn't use food from home, didn't use up a grocery budget for the trip...you can easily subtract 4 days off food budget and call it good! It's summer, F might like a bit of pampering before school anxieties resurface.

    Curiosity leads me to ask if you make any of the popular Korean dishes. Was the restaurant authentic - no chairs? I remember learning that during the Korean War [not yet resolved] the people were eating insects, larvae, anything they could find to keep from starving to death; aren't crickets a delicacy in some cultures?

  2. Buendia Says:
    1438738857

    I've never made any of the Korean dishes at home (but I may try)... we like to eat Korean or Japanese when we're in California... I would say that the Korean restaurant we went to is pretty Americanized... definitely chairs and I don't think I ate any insects! We had the bipbimbap and also the hot rice bowl thingy (can't remember the name). They have unlimited sides, and my favorites were the kimchee (yum, yum, yum!!!) and a spicy cucumber dish and sesame beansprouts. F liked the kimchee pancakes. Wish we had Korean food here... we go down to Albuquerque for Vietnamese, though, and that's my absolute favorite food! (We have incredibly good food here, but most restaurants are New Mexican food - not to be confused with Mexican or Tex Mex! It's great, but not all the time).

  3. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1438740771

    Sounds like a grand time!

    I'm cringing just thinking about a cookie made with crickets ....

  4. alianora Says:
    1438746087

    I love the Hammonds tour! It's been years since I've gone, and my kiddo has never been. Thanks for the reminder - I'll have to take him one weekend soon!

  5. My English Castle Says:
    1438756453

    Sounds like a great trip!

  6. PNW Mom Says:
    1438781689

    Sounds like a super fun trip!

  7. snafu Says:
    1438796652

    It's fun to make Kr food but it takes patience. If there is a Chinese/Asian grocery in Albuquerque, ask if they'll bring in KimChee. It travels well and can likely be ordered on-line. My favorite is ChopChai . If you want to try it, I've an authentic recipe using N American products.

    Kr dishes use less expensive products but everything is finely sliced and chopped. It's easier if you have the gizmo that turns vegetable strips to julienne matchstick. [kuhn rikon julienne peeler] Noodles are either from potato or rice, sticky rice - Japanese
    I wouldn't buy a gizmo unless you plan to commit to julienne root vegetables once a week.

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