It was my last week in Denver! I had a great time, and really enjoyed my stay. I'm nearly sure I'll be back, and maybe even to put down some roots. In the meantime, I don't have a ton to share from this week. I was staying with my brother, and mostly trying to lie low, get my logistics in line, and catch up on sleep before changing locations. It was a little tough to go this time, but I think it helped knowing that I might be back, and that I had a ton to look forward to for the rest of this year.
Here's some really cool art I found by Valerie Savarie. She takes books and cuts them up to make these cool little pieces. Really intricate and neat work!Spotted this at It's Coffee. A little place for people to leave notes!I was following Google Maps on my bike, and it tries to direct me towards bike paths. Normally that's great, but this time it lead me astray. What started as a nice, paved road eventually got worse and worse until I was on a dirt trail. Shortly after this photo, it just ended completely and I was stuck in the middle of nowhere! Had to turn back around and find a new route.However, that weird field I was cycling through was absolutely filled with what I think was gophers. This picture was super zoomed in, as they were pretty skittish and would usually scurry into their holes when they saw me coming. But I must have seen a hundred of them on my ride!
August 7th, 2022
What a phenomenal week! I'm gearing up to leave Colorado, so it was a bit hectic as I plan logistical stuff and start to mentally prepare for the goodbyes. Work was also pretty insane - I've been dealing with some tricky, high-visibility bugs. The plus side is that the work I'm doing is being recognized and appreciated, and the people I've met in Denver have really rallied to show me how much they care. So even though it's been busy and stressful in a lot of ways, it doesn't feel like I'm just spinning my wheels or struggling to cope.
On Saturday, I went out in the woods to stay in a traditional Mongolian yurt. It was such a cool experience. The lady who owned it was really eclectic, and quite the talker. The yurt we stayed in was handcrafted in Mongolia and shipped over!Here's a shot of the inside of the yurt. It was surprisingly spacious, with a queen bed, couch-bed and small kitchenette. It was also insanely meticulously decorated. Everything (and I mean everything) was orange and blue, to match the handpainted yurt.At some point, I found this robe hiding in the back, and proceeded to wear it for the rest of the day!On Sunday morning, we left the yurt and went out to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. It was absolutely gorgeous there. We didn't do much hiking, just driving along and stopping occasionally for a look around. Which was great, given I was feeling a bit low-energy.Another photo of the Rocky Mountains. It was a bit overcast that day, which was a bummer sometimes but also lead to some really dynamic photos!It was really hard not to take a million photos. So many good shots!Set up my tripod and took this really neat time lapse of some clouds rolling in over the mountain side. Sped up 10x. Realized afterwards how overexposed it was, but still a great shot!Last shot from the park! Hanging out in the back of the car, playing guitar. Such a good vibe.Dinner in the yurt! They had an outdoor grill, so I took advantage and whipped up a big honkin' ribeye steak, some mixed veggies and bread. In the background is some bite-sized caprese. So good, but boy was my stomach upset at me eating all of that!Went out for a nice dinner at Hapa Sushi. I wasn't a fan of the baked roll in the top left, but the hamachi crunch roll and the "magic mushrooms" were insanely good!
July 31st, 2022
Well, I am officially 30 years old! Some people find this to be a landmark birthday, and in some ways it is, but I'm not shy of turning 30. In a lot of way, I think my 30s will be a really great time for me. Old enough to be established in my career, and comfortable with my identity and the relationships I want to foster. And young enough to be physically, emotionally and mentally capable of doing what I'd like.
For my birthday, I went out to dinner and a show at Ophelia's. It was a pretty neat space, and at the end of dinner they brought out this dessert that looked shockingly like an ashtray with cigarettes.The show after dinner at Ophelia's was this crazy mashup band between a few notable musicians from other places. An electronic DJ, a pianist and a trombonist. The trombonist entered stage late, smoking a joint and with a bottle of alcohol. What a wild trio!My lovely friends and brother decided (independently!) to show up with girly gag gifts for my birthday. So here's me, owning my masculinity while also donned in pretty pink princess attire.The Saturday after my birthday, I rented out a coffee shop to throw a party and even booked a private DJ. It was a really fun time, lots of good company!This was the signature drink at a tiki bar called The Electric Cure. It was a lot of rum, and reminiscint of a Mai Tai. Really delicious, and really dangerous!
July 24th, 2022
This weekend, I went to LA with a group of friends. So most of my photos are from that vacation. It was my first time in the city, and we had an absolute blast. Tons of partying, eating and hanging out. My friend Aaron was also out there, and it was fantastic to get together and jam again after so long.
This was at The Woods in downtown Denver. We went up to the rooftop for a nice drink and to watch the sunset, and then had a late dinner afterwards.Heading to LA! I happened to overhear this guy's name was Aaron, and excitedly told him that I was also Aaron. You can see his Mom laughing in the background, and a couple other people onboard heard our excited exchange and were laughing as well.On Friday, I rented a bicycle and took it cruising. Here's the famous Santa Monica boardwalk.From ~15 miles up the coast, looking back towards Venice.To complement my rooftop bar experience earlier in the week, I found myself at a rooftop bar in Los Angeles! This was at High Rooftop Lounge. Really neat spot, but unfortunately made a reservation on an overcast evening. Oh well!Out partying with my friends! This was a place called Bungalow, and it was a really neat spot. It was set up like a house party, with multiple little bungalows scattered around the property, as well as plenty of outdoor space with firepits, games, etc. On weekdays I believe it's a restaurant.Out at Little Fatty, a Taiwanese restaurant. The food here was really good, and Alice (yellow) is Taiwanese and gave it her official stamp of approval.On the way back from Little Fatty, this Uber arrived to pick us up. The inside was just as decked out in crazy lighting as the outside. It was fun!On Sunday, I went out with a separate group of friends that lives in the LA area. We got some really good lunch, and then ice cream afterwards.And on Monday, I worked! This was the infinitely amazing Spruce Goose office that Google has in LA. It's an old, historic aircraft hanger and a really neat space. If you're curious, I encourage following the link and checking out some of the photos. This was overlooking the cafe.Here's a fun photo that my friend took of me, in one of the zany rooms at the Google office. Reminds me of the Meow Wolf art exhibit in Denver!Here's some of the Sunday lunch that we had, at a swanky italian restaurant called Felix Trattoria. We did things "family style," so split the above. Breakfast carbonara, spicy rigatoni, lemon ricotta pancakes and cripsy fried paramesean.One of the restaurants we went to was Heroic Italian, and I had their Spicy Chicken Cacciatore. It was absolutely delicious, and surprisingly not too heavy!Finally, here's a photo from Little Fatty. This was their Chinese BBQ Pork Bao, and it was absolutely phenomenal. Really, everything we had here was great. Probably my favorite of all the places we went!
July 17th, 2022
For the first time in a while, I missed my regular update! I've been really busy with all sorts of things the past few weeks. I don't have a ton to share in writing, but I do have an absolute mega-dump of photos!
On July 4th, I went cycling out to Chatfield State Park to meet up with some friends and go paddleboarding. We went to dinner afterwards, to the most American place I could think of: Texas Roadhouse.I found this cool little fox, carved out of a tree trunk with a chainsaw.Came across this group of people surfing on the river! I've noticed more and more people doing this. They invited me to rent a board from a nearby shop and join them, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time to dedicate a Saturday to that.Me, my brother and some friends went to see the Avett Brothers, live at Red Rocks. It was a super memorable show, they were opened by Regina Spektor. Both played a lot of songs I like, and we even got a guest apperance from their father! Absolutey amazing all around.After the concert, while waiting for an Uber, me and my brother came across this deer who was not at all shy around humans. They let us walk right up to them, and even ate a little bit of shrubbery from my hand. Mystical way to end the evening!Here's a photo from a hiking trip I went to near Boulder. This was at the peak, overlooking the entire city. Really great views, and even better company!Another photo from a hiking trip, this one looking at the mountains behind Boulder.This was a shot I took of Olde Town Arvada, a small city center outside of Denver. It's a really cool area, with a cute little downtown and relaxed, fun vibe.I was out cycling and came across this delapidated, old suspension bridge. It was out of service, but I felt like made a really cool photo with the bright sky behind it.While only expecting to go for a short bike ride, I found myself feeling continually excited to keep going further and further. Before I knew it, I was very far! In the distance of this photo you can see the city skyline. I got caught in the rain on the way back home, but it was actually kind of refreshing and welcome.Another carving from a tree trunk, this one even more dynamic.I went out to an Israeli restaurant called Safta with some friends. Here was our dinner: hummus, baba ganoush and muhammara for an appetizer. And then persian rice and harissa chicken.Safta was so good, that we decided to invite some more friends to their brunch buffet on Sunday. It was phenomenal, with a lot of high-quality options.Here's one of my buffet selections from Safta, just to make my father jealous! Shashuka, lox bagel, smoked whitefish, pastrami hash, latke, roasted lamb and cauliflower. Delicious!Last, and most certainly least, are some meals I made myself. On the left is smoked salmon, scallops, rosemary and garlic potatoes and roasted truffle brussel sprouts. On the right is spaghetti and homemade turkey meatballs, with a side salad.
July 3rd, 2022
Well, I really dropped the ball this week! I had a really good week, but unfortunately didn't take any photos. I spent the early part of the week focusing on work, catching up on sleep and resting. Thursday I went to a friend's place, her apartment was hosting a pool party and that was a lot of fun. On Saturday another friend hosted a big BBQ and it was an absolute blast. I know lots of photos were taken, so I'll try to find some and edit this post with them later. And then Sunday I went to the Cherry Creek Art festival, which apparently is one of the top art festivals in the nation. It was really great, lots of artists, live music, good restaurants and tons of beautiful art!
As promised, edited with BBQ photos! On the left is me with another Aaron that I met. On the right, my friend brought a chef hat to the party and I wore it while manning the BBQ grill.
June 27th, 2022
Getting close to my first month milestone in Denver! I've extended my stay here until August 6th, so have at least another month left. I'm not sure what I'll do after that, but I'm thinking I might go bounce around the west coast for the month of August, and then head to Chicago. Still very tentative, but it's about time to start thinking and making concrete plans. Anyways, this week I had a lot of fun exploring downtown and the nearby mountains. Unfortunately I didn't capture a lot of pictures, yet again. I need to start getting better about that!
The sunsets out here have been absolutely breathtaking nearly every single night. Here's one, I looked out the window and saw it so hopped on my bike to the nearby park.On Monday I went to Meow Wolf, a permanent art installation in Denver. It was absolutely surreal, such a cool place to visit and very impressive. Words really can't describe it!Here's another photo from Meow Wolf. If you're thinking "wow, that looks cool, but what the heck is it?" then you're halfway to understanding the entire exhibit. By the time I left, my brain was fully saturated. It was definitely sensory and brain overload!On Sunday night, me and some friends went out to a cabin in the mountains. A mutual friend had been house sitting for a couple they knew, and invited us all over for dinner and drinks.Another photo from the cabin. As mentioned, sunsets here have been crazy beautiful!
June 19th, 2022
It was a really busy week! Between meeting up with family, planning for parties and going out and about with friends, I barely had a moment to stop. I didn't do a great job at taking photos, which sometimes happens when I'm feeling particularly busy. But it was a good kind of busy, and I do have some worth sharing!
This was at Ship Rock Grille, where we met my Uncle Gregg and Aunt Liz for lunch. Great views, okay food, bad service. But absolutely fantastic company!While out cycling I came across this cute port-hole in a fence. They had installed it so their dog could peek at people who walked past, and it had a plaque above that read "Hello! My name is Tony"On Sunday, my sister came in to town and her, my brother and I all headed out to the city of Golden. We saw this rock hovering over the town. We later learned it was called South Table and was a surprisingly short hike to the top. So off we went!Halfway up to South Table, there were these cool sunflowers lining the trail.The view from the top of South Table. Well...sort of the top.On top of South Table! Siblings united!Finally, another photo I took of all of us together. I really like this one because we were mid-laugh when the camera took the picture.
June 12th, 2022
Headed down to Colorado Springs with a couple friends who were competing in the Spartan marathon. While I didn't participate in the marathon this time, it was a ton of fun getting out there and cheering them on. I didn't take a ton of photos, but certainly have a few worth sharing.
The four of us as we arrived in Colorado Springs! Me, Bentley, Kyla and Hailey.Me and Hailey practicing the rope climb before she did her 10k marathon.Goofing off after Hailey finished her race.Here's some homemade delicacies this time! The left is lox toast with chive cream cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette salad. On the right is garlic herb roasted chicken, basil gnocchi and some white cheddar and truffle roasted veggies.And some food while eating out. A sashimi sampler platter on the left, and some of the best garlic knots I've ever had from The Public House on the right.
June 5th, 2022
Arrived in Denver this week! I stayed at a hotel for a couple of days, and then moved into an Airbnb with my brother for the rest of the month. I'm planning on staying in Denver for a couple of months, maybe more. It's been a blast so far - my friend Hailey lives here and had a birthday over the weekend. So she invited me and a few of her other friends out to a cabin up in Steamboat Springs.
On my way into Denver, I happened to see this cool stop off the highway. So I pulled my car over, grabbed my guitar and stopped for a minute to enjoy the view.One of the highlights of Steamboat Springs is the Strawberry Park natural hot springs. We spent an afternoon there, getting massages and soaking in the springs.Me and my friend Wesley cooked dinner for the crew on Friday night. I met Wesley and Hailey both in Hawaii, where I would regularly host BBQs. So it was fun to bring that tradition back!We all headed out to go whitewater rafting. It's been so long since I've gone, so it was fun to get back on a river. There was a race that weekend, and while we didn't participate, it was cool to see all the people (racers and spectators) zooming down the river.A gorgeous shot from the drive into Steamboat Springs. I'm not 100% sure, but pretty positive that this was Lake Catamount, photographed from I-40.On Sunday I took a quick daytrip to Yampa River botanic park. It was really pretty, but unfortunately I didn't take too many photographs!Out for dinner at Besame Steamboat.And here's my dinner at Besame! Grilled octopus and paella. The octopus was fantastic, the paella was just so-so. I was surprised that the seafood tasted pretty fresh, though!
