Dogland

Jake and Susan have three dogs. They're all pretty lovely and Jake and Susan spend a lot of time training them. So there is yelling. Blaine is the princess of the group and probably the most disobedient. Ellie is very sweet and obedient, just a great all around dog, and finally there is the old fuddy duddy that is Beamer, who is small but feisty. We just went on a bit of a hike with them in a state park not too far from where Jake and Susan live, which is in a suburb of Denver called Highlands Ranch. I think Littleton is very close, of Columbine fame, as Seann mentioned in a comment on the last post. I don't think I've been to Casa Bonita like Seann, with the cliff divers or anything. Jake is sitting next to me going through his mail and he says that he's been to the one in Tulsa and that, no, he's not going to take me to the one in Denver.

Instead we are probably going to eat dinner at a fast food place called Five Guys that apparently has really good burgers. Perhaps comparable to Burgerville? We have been eating at great restaurants here in Denver. Last night was at the Wazee Supper Club in lower downtown Denver ("LoDo") after which we had a couple of drinks at the Wynkoop Brewery. They had one super hoppy IPA, the Mile HiPA, that was really good and then the other IPA wasn't as good. I tried to see if they'd sell me a bottle of the Mile HiPA for my hops loving peoples in Portland but they didn't do bottles, only growlers. I've been to the Wynkoop now three times; the second time was for Jake's bachelor party the night before he got married. I was DJD that night: Designated Jake Driver because Susan, who worries about things, was concerned that something was going to happen to Jake. She actually ended up leading her bachelorette party to the Wynkoop and crashed our bachelor party, which is rather funny now. That was quite a wedding these two had, the only wedding I've ever been part of and I have to say there was a ton of stress and a lot to do in the last few days. I remember going with Jake to pick up his rented Nissan 350Z, which ended up being an Audi and then on the drive back to his place (him in the Audi, me in his Pathfinder) I got a call from him telling me that the bridesmaids' shoes were in the backseat of the Pathfinder. I then drove the Pathfinder, which had a bad rear axle and wobbled above 50 mph, to the church and picked up a small rented Chevy to go and find an internet connection so I could get permission for all the iTunes songs for the wedding that were going to be played off my laptop. Whew. Only later at the airport when I was leaving did I realize I'd left my ID at the Wynkoop for the pool balls and had been driving down city streets at 70 mph without a license looking for a cafe with Wifi.

I've spent a lot of time with Jake, as always, reliving a lot of the funny incidents of the past when we lived together in college. It was an odd situation when I moved into the house at 802 S. Monroe. I didn't know that apart from Jared none of the other roommates really knew that I'd be moving in and that there was tension over the whole idea of Jared living in the living room while I lived in the room that he used to live in. And on top of all this, Zack had a guy named Ray, usually called Ray Ray, living in his room while Zack stayed at other people's houses. Ray was 19, was from Dallas, and had three kids. He was working at a mental health hospital and trying to get back on his feet. I believe Zack had brought him in without consulting with the others at the house. He bothered me a bit because he banged doors in the morning and ate all of my cereal in three days. We had to get him out eventually as I believe he was dealing pot from the house, and Zack was mad about that. Despite that odd beginning, I've remained pretty good friends with three out of the four guys that I lived at that house with. I'll be seeing Jared next, in Stillwater.

Denver is surprisingly similar to Portland. Population wise, it's about the same size and the Metropolitan area is only slightly larger. But they are pretty isolated and are the biggest city around, so they have all three major leagues represented while us in Portland only have one. They've got a really big REI here as everyone is outdoorsy, just like Portland. Portland I imagine does have a better music scene while Denver is perhaps a little more mid-western and less pretentious. Their museum is better in a way, but curated really weirdly and a little overcrowded like PAM is. I went yesterday, which happened to be a free Saturday (sponsored by Target) but they were still charging 15 dollars for their special exhibition, which really wasn't all that special as it was psychedelic rock posters from the Bay Area rock scene of the 1970s. They wouldn't let me in with my badge so Jake and I left soon after we finished their contemporary building (not one straight wall in it by the way). This was after the fun at the British Bulldog Pub, where I hugged strangers after a last minute goal secured victory for Liverpool after what had been a rather frustrating game.

Tomorrow I'm taking off for Oklahoma, although I'm not sure I'm going to go all the way. I will be stopping in Wichita to see Cameron, another old college friend that I haven't seen since he came back from Togo, where he was with the Peace Corps. I might stay the night there as it is only 2 hours or so from Oklahoma City. This part of the trip is a little short on adventures. It's more about catching up and relaxing with old friends, and so I think I'll be telling old stories which I hope aren't all that boring. If they are, I don't want to hear it. (That's for you, Toady).