All Work and No Play....

I recently posted some photos up on facebook from my trip to Estes Park. Some breathtaking m0untain views, ill put some here in this post. One cool thing about Estes Park is that it is home to the Stanley Hotel, the hotel that was used to film Stephen King's the Shining. Kind of creepy, this old ass hotel (circa 1909) is gigantic and supposedly haunted (right). Fun Fact: they have a closed circuit TV channel that plays the Shining on a loop.
Oh also, I have good news, well for me anyway. It looks like the wildfires have finally subsided. It rained for a while today for the first time since I've been out here, so hopefully now that its fall, the worst is behind us.




Finally, just a little something real quick, click here for some mild amusement.

Until next time friends,
Sil

Red Rocks, YE YE

So last Friday I had my first experience at Red Rocks, the famous outdoor amphitheater located in Morrison, CO, about 30 minutes west of Boulder. I wish I was able to take pictures of the place but it was nighttime so the pics wouldn't come out, but I'll try my best to describe the scene. On second thought, these stolen pics will do. I went to see DC's own Thievery Corporation along with Sound Tribe Sector Nine, both very cool bands that are definitely worth checking out if you haven't heard them already. Anyway, as the name implies, Red Rocks is literally and amphitheater that is made out of these giant thousands of year old rocks, that happen to be red. Its unreal, its like you are watching a show inside the grand canyon. With the color of the rocks and their sheer size, the scene is just amazing. Plus, the large stone walls on either side make for unparalleled acoustics. The best part about Red Rocks though, is the view. Since its located in the mountains it is at a higher altitude than Denver or Boulder, and since its so close you can see the entire Denver/Boulder corridor (a 30 mile strip that has been built up all the way through- think Washington DC to Baltimore and everything in between) in the background. Just miles and miles of lights while you sit atop looking down at it all. It was hands down the coolest place I've ever watched live music out before. If anyone is trying to come visit, id recommend trying to plan a trip around a show for sure, but if not, Red Rocks is also a national park and is open, free to the public everyday.


I have also made a number of excursions into Denver over the past week and have been familiarizing myself with the city. On Thursday I walked down the 16th Street Mall which is a quaint strip of restaurants and shops with no roads in between. All the bars and restaurants are loaded with delicious micro-brews, just like Boulder. If anyone can get their hands on any New Belgium Beers, I would strong recommend doing so. The Fat Tire Amber and the Ranger IPA are my two favorites. I'm pretty sure you can find them in the VA so go wild. Saturday I went back into the city to watch the Gator game at Jackson's Bar, home of the Rocky Mountain Gator Club, the biggest gator club outside of the state of Florida. Lotta Gators in Colorado, hell there are a lot of Gators everywhere because we are awesome, but its definitely comforting to be around so many fans during games. The bar was cool, two stories with tons of TVs for watching games., and since the games start early out west, the bar has a complete breakfast menu along with dollar mimosas all day, very nice.

Finally, yesterday I went to my first Rockies game at Coors field. It was an important game (probably the first meaningful baseball game that I've ever been to...Os and Nats, go figure) as the division leading Padres came to town. Unfortunately, the Rockies lost but Tulowitzki and Gonzales are absolute monsters. If the Rocks make the playoffs its going to have to be on the shoulders of those two guys, because the rest of the lineup is subpar at best. Still very cool ballpark, sort of looks like Camden Yards from the outside, but pretty different on the inside. They have this section call he "Rockpile" where you can get $4 tickets to every game. We didn't end up doing that, but next time that might be the move.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. Later this week im trying to go to another National Park north of Boulder to check out some more beautiful scenery, and a trip to Santa Fe is still in the works.

Until next time friends,
Sil

Fire. Fire on the Mountain.

Well talk about starting off my stint in Boulder with a "bang." Less than one week after moving into my new place an uncontainable wildfire erupted only four miles outside the city. Every town West of Boulder was evacuated, in fact if you look at this picture, I missed the evacuation cutoff by less than a mile. Insane. I first caught wind of the fire on Monday afternoon as I stepped outside to shoot some hoops in my fresh Rod Strickland Bullets jersey. The skies were a shade of gray that I've never seen before. It was so weird because the sun was still shining but the sky was dark. I didn't have cable or internet at the time so I really had no idea what was going on until people from home started texting me to see if I was ok. Well, I wanted a new experience out here and I guess im already getting it.

Other than the fire (and hopefully I wont get evacuated) I have been getting accustomed to my new town, and I have to say that it is just awesome. Boulder is definitely a unique place, you get a good mix of young professionals, college students, aging hippies and new age hippies that are settling down with kids of their own. Downtown Boulder is located on West Pearl street and for about 4 blocks is completely shut down to traffic with no roads. Instead you have a red brick walkway with all sorts of shops on either side. It really reminds me of Shrilington in terms of how it looks. The streets are lined with coffee shops that are perfect for people watching, unique clothing and apparel shops and lots of bars and restaurants. All of the bars on the strip are real chill, mostly sport-bar style with games like foosball and pool and TVs. There is also awesome beer everywhere you go. Boulder has the most micro-brews per capita in the country, its true. You cant walk into a bar without having to choose from 10 different beers you've never heard of before. The beers are cheap too, about 1/2 the price of what it costs in DC. You also have street performers that just set up in the middle of the downtown area and pour their hearts and souls into what they do. The other night I came across a pianist who was outside performing improvisational piano between 1:00-3:00 AM. This kid was so good, his piano didn't even have any A notes but he still just killed it.

Last weekend me and Rob went to Pike National Forest for a day at his cousins cabin. Pike is about 90 minutes west of Boulder in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I've attached a picture, the sheer number of trees on the mountaintops is a truly beautiful sight. I mean, sitting out there, we were really miles away from anything, could see every star in the sky, it was awesome. Not to mention we were greeted with a meal fit for Kings (Salmon and Steak cooked to perfection plus all of the fixins)



Other than that im still just trying to get situated here. Still on the job hunt and still exploring the surrounding areas. What's on tap for this weekend? Looks like Thievery Corporation at Red Rocks on Friday, College Football on Sat (The Denver Gator Club has over 600 members and is sill growing), and a Road trip to Santa Fe on Sunday. Ill put a couple pics of my road trip up on this now, but if you want to see all of them, check me out on Facebook. I have some silly pics of Chicago and Omaha definitely worth checking out.

Until next time friends,

Sil


The ones below are all of Chicago:

Perpetually Higher Than You

Yesterday I finally reached the promised land. Driving through Colorado is crazy because its completely flat until you get about 30 miles outside Denver. At that point, a very faint outline of a mountain landscape appears, as you get closer the mountains become clearer and the views are absolutely breathtaking. As soon as I get settled pics will go up, but for now youll just have to deal with my mediocre descriptions. Denver is still about 30-40 miles away from the mountains, so while you have a nice, scenic, backdrop, they still seem far off in the distance. This is not at all the case in Boulder. This little town is absolutely amazing. Literally nestled right on the edge of the mountains in the flat irons of the Rockies, Boulder offers some of the most incredible views ive ever seen in my life. I found a place right near downtown with a view that is going to be awesome. Another good thing about the Boulder/Denver area is the altitude. I am sitting 5,000+ miles above sea level, which means I can get drunk at about 1/2 the rate that it takes me back home. I will soon be able to drink all of you under the table by the time i get back.

Thats all I have for now, I'm going to get this lease signed today and start moving some of my stuff in. Stay tuned until next time.

On the Road

Day two of the road trip landed me to Chicago for the first time in my life. Despite the drive through the mid-west being about as boring as an 8th grade math class, taking me completely across the "great" states of Ohio and Indiana, all I can say is; Wow. Chi Town is a hell of a city, mainly because Joakim Noah resides there, but for other reasons too. Aside from NYC, the Windy City has the tallest buildings I've ever seen, just daunting, I don't think I've ever felt so small before as I did amidst these giant structures. I enjoyed a authentic Chicago hot dog for lunch, went up to the 94th floor of the John Hancock building for some breathtaking 360 city views, spent the afternoon on the Navy Pier and had one of the best pizza pies in my life at Gino's East for dinner. This was definitely one of the coolest cities I have ever been to. The people are friendly, the cityscape is breathtaking, and the food is good.

Day three I was on the road again. In 20 hours I drove through Illinois (cool), Iowa (miserable) Nebraska (cool) and Colorado (awesome). Let me start off by saying Iowa is awful. My dad and I attempted to stop through Des Moines to get lunch, and not only were there no restaurants to eat at but the people were nasty and not at all helpful. The complete opposite could be said about Omaha, what a cool town. Really the whole state of Nebraska was tight, but Omaha was full of friendly mid-westerners and good food. Known for its music scene, Omaha does have some hipster qualities and a quaint downtown reminiscent of a smaller Clarendon. Would I go on vacation to Omaha? No, but I would recommend stopping through it if you happen to be nearby.

I am currently in a hotel about 90 minutes outside of Denver. The house hunt begins today. When I have more time I will include pictures of the road trip.

Until next time,

Sil

Smell Ya Later, Arlington

It's my last week in Arlington and I'm beginning to get that nostalgic feeling already. It's funny because the reality of this adventure hadn't really hit me until yesterday, only three days before I hit the road. Even though I'm so excited to embark on this experience, I am really going to miss it here. Ol 1916 Vance in Courthouse has treated me well over the past year and change and I've had alot of good times. Im gonna miss the little things, whether it was complaining about work while lunching at Cafe Asia or Dheli Club with Gib and Komara or BSing and negotiating fantasy trades with the Rick Squad. I'll always have memories of getting hammered on weeknights at Page or in Clarendon at Hunaaan and the Web despite its ridiculous line. The late night "dance parties" after a DC weekend at Wiests (on second thought....I could have lived without those..too soon?), the onset of Beersbie at New Mashie and the rise and fall and rise again of Allan Ave. Its crazy that its already been two years since we've graduated from college but even crazier how close we've all managed to stay over the years. I'm gonna miss you NOVA, but hey maybe ill give you a call sometime.....

My hope with this blog is to keep everyone up to speed on my new adventure. I want to be able to share with all of you the cool places I go and people I meet beginning with a cross country road trip through the mid-west. Stay tuned if you like.

And now for your viewing pleasure...here's this, I guess it will adequately sum up everything ive been trying to tell you in this post:

Arlington: The Rap

-Sil