Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Epic Denver Journey

AKA: Angela, Katrina, & Mikeal's Excellent Adventure

I like to think that I know my way around Denver.  As long as I know where I need to end up and I have been there before, I'm generally okay. If I have a map or explicit directions, that is even better.  Preferable, actually.  But sometimes...it needs to be about the journey and not about the destination.  My Denver friends will laugh heartily at this, I'm sure.  But join me now in a break down of just exactly how I got from Loveland to the DCPA:

(Please note: our original plan was to go to Lakewood first.  Had we been going directly to the Denver Center, there would have been no epic journey.)

  • South on 1-25 from Loveland
  • Exited onto 6th Ave West.
  • Misread the directions (Mapquest is stupid) and exited onto Federal.
  • Turned left and realized this was NOT where we needed to be.
  •  Pulled into a gas station to try and decipher the directions.  They were VERY confusing.  (What originally made no sense was actually made clear later in the evening.  Seriously, when you first get off the interstate on W 6th, it's a little confusing!!!)
  • Decided that we would just do directly to the Denver Center and meet Katrina's cousin there, rather than trying to figure out where to go.  (This was probably the best decision, seeing as it was about 5:30 or so and there was a traffic jam on 6th.)
  • Got back on Federal and headed north
  • Missed the exit for 6th (which would have taken us back to I-25)
  • Missed the exit for Colfax (which would have taken us to Speer)
  • Turned right onto 17th Ave
  • Turned right on Mile High Stadium Cir. (Yes, we circled around the south end of the Invesco Field parking lot.)
  • Turned left onto lower Colfax Ave. (not the real Colfax, mind you)
  • Followed that around and exited onto South I-25 (when we really needed to go north)
  • South on I-25
  • Exited on W 8th Ave.
  • Right on Zuni and north back to lower Colfax
  • Right on Walnut St. and north
  • Somehow we managed to get over to 7th St on the Auraria Campus (not exactly sure how, but we drove past the Light Rail Station and near the Pepsi Center.
  • Left on 7th St.
  • Right on Auraria Parkway  (Yay!!!!  I knew this would take us directly to Speer, so we made it!  Talk about your Scenic Route!!!)
  • Safely arrived at the Denver Center parking garage!!!
  • Dinner at a sketchy McDonalds on the 16th Street Mall
  • Amazing concert at the Ellie!
  • Excursion to Lakewood to a Mexican Restaurant called Jose O'Shea's (Mexican Irish...interesting.)  They have a free taco bar with purchase of a drink!  Score!!  (And while driving on 6th Ave, I saw exactly what sign we had missed earlier that made the Mapquest directions confusing!)
  • Back on the road about 11:00 pm.  I had no problem getting back onto 6th Ave.  When it came time to exit onto I-25 however...WHOOPS!!  Missed it!
  • East on 6th Ave
  • Left on Santa Fe
  • Left on 7th Ave
  • Left on Kalamuth
  • Right on 6th Ave
  • Exit onto I-25 North and drive back to Loveland!!!!!!!!!
See...I knew exactly where I was the whole time, I just didn't know how to get to where we needed to be!  Nobody died. Epic journey, indeed!  And a lot of fun!!!  (But next time...someone else is driving.)

2 comments:

Susan said...

This made me laugh. I've had similar journeys while trying to find my way around Washington DC. You are right -- sometimes the journey is as much fun as the destination, especially with a carful of friends.

Veronica and Ryan said...

I love it! I am glad you got to see the show. I love Jose O'Sheas!