Part 2Saturday:
This was the main reason why we drove to Denver. We woke up early morning and headed to Arapahoe Basin for a day of snowboarding. (or A-basin as the locals say) It was the perfect conditions. Weather was in the mid forties and 9 inches of fresh powder over the last couple of days. What more can you ask for in May? Sam ate French toast in the lodge and studied for finals while the three of us tore up the mountain. Probably one of the best boarding days I’ve ever had. I called it quits a little bit early and went to the RV for a shower and nap. An hour later the whole crew was back together. We left the mountain and headed into Denver. We stopped over by the Red Rocks for dinner to meet up with some of Sam’s old friends. This was an interesting experience on many levels. The most intriguing was the fact that all his old friends are hard core republicans. This didn’t go over well when Sam unzipped his jacket and revealed an Arizonans for Obama t-shirt. It was quite humorous, well at least three of us were laughing, sorry Sam.
We drove into downtown Denver looking for a place to park the Majestic, that is the name of our RV. We drove in circles for hours looking for the right spot. First we were going to park on a street with no meters until we noticed all the broken glass on the ground. Yeah, it was from all the broken windows, that’s not a good sign. Then we were going to park at an abandoned building. It looked safe enough but we feared being towed. Finally Sam talked to a security guard about finding a safe place to park and he recommends the empty lot behind the building he is watching. We’re all grateful for the advise and drive to this empty lot. We negotiate through a really tight alley, remember I’m driving a huge RV in downtown Denver. We make it to this back lot and Seth is laughing, “I don’t know man, it looks kind of shady.” Shady is an understatement. There is graffiti everywhere, abandoned cars, broken dog kennels, and a chain link fence that somebody took a wire cutter to. We were all pretty frustrated but couldn’t help but laugh, it was all part of the experience. At last we decided to check out Union Station right off of 16th street. We had to pay 14 dollars to park but it was well worth it. The spot was even better than we thought…starbucks across the street, directly on 16th street, and much safer.
Sunday:
Sunday was the most laid back of all the days. Sam and I were the first to wake up. We walked over to Starbucks to get some coffee to go. We brought it back to the RV where we busted out the lawn chairs and just shared stories for about an hour. We woke the other guys up and walked to a breakfast spot right in downtown. The original plan was to rent scooters but all the places were closed. Instead Sam decided to go to the rockies game which was only four blocks away. And the rest of us went to Cinco De Mayo festival at the capitol. It kind of sucked but there was one highlight.
The three of us were sitting down eating lunch when a girl approached and asked for directions. We told her we didn’t know because we just got into town. That didn’t matter to her, because she decided to sit down and start a conversation. She was nice and all, but definitely kind of crazy. Two minutes later I realize why she asked for directions…it’s my man Seth she wants directions from. She’s throwin out the vibe but Seth definitely wasn’t catching. I decided to help move things along by asking Iz to throw the Frisbee with me…you know, for some alone time. Seth fires over a death stare. Five minutes later Seth turns around and says, “hey guys, sam is waiting for us.” Which translates to, get me out of here. I look at Seth with a huge smile and say, “nah man, he can wait. I’m in no hurry.” I thought Seth’s eyes were going to pop out of his head. Eventually we came to the rescue and headed back to the RV. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Union Station parking lot relaxing on lawn chairs and throwing the frisbee.
Monday:
Our adventure was coming to a close. If this was a sitcom, we had one final episode. Renting a RV is an amazing experience that I recommend everyone doing at least once in a lifetime. But there is a major downside. The RV has a toilet and it gets used. It is the renters responsibility to return the RV with empty septic tanks. Normally you could take it to a RV park for dumping but we were running low on time. I looked at the fellas and said, “we gotta do it.” All agreed that there was only one way. We pulled up to an empty parking lot close to the freeway. (I’m apologizing to the ones that find this gross and offensive) The four of us looked at each other and said, “alright, who’s going to pull the lever.” The reason this is so risky is because the lever is right next to the opening where the “stuff” comes out. Israel says, “guys, I’ll do it.” Like a champion taking one for the team…we all say a prayer. Israel steps around to the driver side, leans down, and puts his hand on the lever marked “black water”. Three, two, one…pull. Whoosh goes the “black water”, Israel almost didn’t escape in time. It’s kind of illegal to do this so we didn’t stick around. We thought it was a better idea to drive down the street with black water streaming out. It was awesome.
Sam and Seth had noon flights while Iz and I weren’t leaving till 7. We made it to the airport and said our goodbyes. Iz and I had enough time to go to the Coors factory. We went on the tour and got our wives some t-shirts. (I’m sorry Jill if it’s too small) All in all this adventure is on my top 3 list of all time. I’m only sharing one tenth of the stories that live in my head. I’m mildly depressed that I might not get to experience this again in my lifetime. It is something I will always remember.
Final thought: This whole thing came together for one reason. It was for my friend Israel. Here is a portion of an email I sent to him about a year ago.
you are my brother from another mother. I have never been so honest and so close to another guy in my life. i could write a book of all our adventures, and then right two more sequels…that’s how many stories we share. Thank you for always loving and never judging. Thanks for the kick in the pants when I need it. Thanks for writing a song about my son. Thanks for your soft heart and gentle spirit. You have taught me so much over the years, more than a lifetime of learning.
Happy 30th Israel.
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