Earlier this year, I planned a trip to visit Denver, Colorado for the first week of June. With my birthday landing on a Wednesday this year, I thought: why not celebrate for the whole week? In previous situations, I would cram as much as possible into something as short as a 3-day weekend. Over the years, I’ve learned to value my time and enjoy the opportunities that arise. Colorado is a place I’d never been before, but there were a few attractions that caught my eye. I prepared a light itinerary and everything that happened outside of it felt like a fun bonus quest.
One of the stops recommended my boyfriend was "Mile High Comics," the largest comic book retailer in the United States. I'd estimate1/3 of this warehouse is dedicated for public displays and salesfloor, while the remaining portions consist of categorized inventory. Within the first 5-minutes, I lost my boyfriend, but that's okay! I expected it to happen, LOL. I'm not as invested in books as I was in my youth, but I felt nostalgic seeing a ton of 90's ~ early 2000's memorabilia I used to dream about! Seeing it on their shelves felt like going through a pop culture museum. I had fun watching my boyfriend dig through the bins too; he summoned big-kid energy running around the store and found Card Captor' manga for me!
Many of my interests involved the immersive art experiences and museums in town. Initially, I was unsure about taking my boyfriend to the Church of Cannabis, but we walked in with open minds and had a nice visit. After paying the fee for their light show, we hung out in their little rec-room, where they had tables for art, crafts, video games and comfy couches for big chillin’. Later, after the light show concluded, I asked my boyfriend his thoughts about the experience and he said, “I think [Elevationists] are trying to say something important.” It was a fun, psychedelic art projection-display, with some thoughtful monologues within the presentation. I'm sure if I lived in Colorado, I'd visit them regularly to enjoy their quiet space.
Another highlight of this trip had to be our visit to Denver’s Meow Wolf, "Convergence Station". I was impressed by how massive this place is: picture a 4-story building with 70+ rooms to explore! What surprised me even more, climbing their stairwells felt strangely familiar to me; as though I’ve done it thousands of times in my dreams. It was exciting and a uncanny at the same time. I felt some anxiety lingering the deeper we got into it, but my boyfriend assured me, “I think that’s the point.” Imagine a large, colorful, fun-house where you’re encouraged to explore and touch everything and a place you're expected to get lost in. I’m glad it’s something we both enjoy and hope to visit more Meow Wolf locations in the future.
One of my favorite birthday traditions is having Long Noodles for Long Life. My boyfriend honored that and researched some restaurants to try during our stay. We enjoyed Vietnamese at Pho 95' and likely had the tastiest Ramen bowls in town. “You know it’s real (Vietnamese) if the restaurant name has a number in it.” (haha!) During my birthday, I said, “Am I asking for too much?” And my boyfriend replied, “That thought has never occurred to me.” It touched me knowing we could share all of these novel experiences together. Not to mention, enjoy real Denver omelettes and explore their local ice creamery.
This vacation marks the [third] time that my boyfriend and I have travelled somewhere by airplane together. Some of our previous adventures included popular, fast paced metropolis, like New York and Tokyo. What I enjoyed about this trip was never feeling rushed by the city. We relaxed and explored things at our own pace. This experience has taught me the value of devoting at least 1-day to the airport. We experienced incoming delays due to the weather conditions and were quickly humbled by Friday-night traffic on our return to LAX. My boyfriend commented, the couples who can travel together without arguing are more likely to last - Maybe it sounds silly, but there’s truth in that sentiment.
I’m sure there’s more to see outside of Denver, but I didn’t plan wilderness exploring this time around. Being at that mountain-elevation meant deeper exhalations and experiencing harder highs; I'm not well versed in hiking, but I enjoyed my time exploring the city. We made the best out of our mornings and enjoyed hearty breakfasts everyday. Even during moments when I felt lost and uncertain, navigating this place together helped me feel safe. If I’ve learned anything from our travels: Life is more than repeat’ fast food chains and mindless consumerism. I look forward to finding and exploring more in the future.
Denver, Colorado. AKA: “Mile High City”
One of the stops recommended my boyfriend was "Mile High Comics," the largest comic book retailer in the United States. I'd estimate1/3 of this warehouse is dedicated for public displays and salesfloor, while the remaining portions consist of categorized inventory. Within the first 5-minutes, I lost my boyfriend, but that's okay! I expected it to happen, LOL. I'm not as invested in books as I was in my youth, but I felt nostalgic seeing a ton of 90's ~ early 2000's memorabilia I used to dream about! Seeing it on their shelves felt like going through a pop culture museum. I had fun watching my boyfriend dig through the bins too; he summoned big-kid energy running around the store and found Card Captor' manga for me!
Many of my interests involved the immersive art experiences and museums in town. Initially, I was unsure about taking my boyfriend to the Church of Cannabis, but we walked in with open minds and had a nice visit. After paying the fee for their light show, we hung out in their little rec-room, where they had tables for art, crafts, video games and comfy couches for big chillin’. Later, after the light show concluded, I asked my boyfriend his thoughts about the experience and he said, “I think [Elevationists] are trying to say something important.” It was a fun, psychedelic art projection-display, with some thoughtful monologues within the presentation. I'm sure if I lived in Colorado, I'd visit them regularly to enjoy their quiet space.
Another highlight of this trip had to be our visit to Denver’s Meow Wolf, "Convergence Station". I was impressed by how massive this place is: picture a 4-story building with 70+ rooms to explore! What surprised me even more, climbing their stairwells felt strangely familiar to me; as though I’ve done it thousands of times in my dreams. It was exciting and a uncanny at the same time. I felt some anxiety lingering the deeper we got into it, but my boyfriend assured me, “I think that’s the point.” Imagine a large, colorful, fun-house where you’re encouraged to explore and touch everything and a place you're expected to get lost in. I’m glad it’s something we both enjoy and hope to visit more Meow Wolf locations in the future.
One of my favorite birthday traditions is having Long Noodles for Long Life. My boyfriend honored that and researched some restaurants to try during our stay. We enjoyed Vietnamese at Pho 95' and likely had the tastiest Ramen bowls in town. “You know it’s real (Vietnamese) if the restaurant name has a number in it.” (haha!) During my birthday, I said, “Am I asking for too much?” And my boyfriend replied, “That thought has never occurred to me.” It touched me knowing we could share all of these novel experiences together. Not to mention, enjoy real Denver omelettes and explore their local ice creamery.
This vacation marks the [third] time that my boyfriend and I have travelled somewhere by airplane together. Some of our previous adventures included popular, fast paced metropolis, like New York and Tokyo. What I enjoyed about this trip was never feeling rushed by the city. We relaxed and explored things at our own pace. This experience has taught me the value of devoting at least 1-day to the airport. We experienced incoming delays due to the weather conditions and were quickly humbled by Friday-night traffic on our return to LAX. My boyfriend commented, the couples who can travel together without arguing are more likely to last - Maybe it sounds silly, but there’s truth in that sentiment.
I’m sure there’s more to see outside of Denver, but I didn’t plan wilderness exploring this time around. Being at that mountain-elevation meant deeper exhalations and experiencing harder highs; I'm not well versed in hiking, but I enjoyed my time exploring the city. We made the best out of our mornings and enjoyed hearty breakfasts everyday. Even during moments when I felt lost and uncertain, navigating this place together helped me feel safe. If I’ve learned anything from our travels: Life is more than repeat’ fast food chains and mindless consumerism. I look forward to finding and exploring more in the future.
Denver, Colorado. AKA: “Mile High City”
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