Back To Florida To Avoid The Heat!

It is once again time to leave Denver and its 100-degree plus temperatures for Stuart, Florida. Granted, it can be a tad humid in Stuart these days, and there are those afternoon showers (i.e. tropical downpours) that occur during the summer, but those cool breezes off the ocean make up for all that, and the crowds of people that are there during "the season" are long gone. We started the day out with the Uber being 15 minutes late, and then when it did arrive, it was nowhere to be seen. The driver called and told me he didn't see anyone out front and drove to the back door, and so I told him my sister Susan and I would meet him there.  And when we got there, the car wasn't there either. He had returned to the front. Where we went next. There was not room enough in the trunk for our two suitcases, two carry-on bags, and Susan's walker, and the driver informed me I should have ordered an SUV. There was construction going on around the intersection by the freeway entrance, which delayed us a bit more, and the driver told me I should have ordered an earlier car, even though the Uber app told me 8:30 A.M. was the recommended time. After that, we made good progress but had to wait in line to check the bags and wait for a wheelchair to arrive. We made it to the gate just as the plane was beginning to board. After arriving in Baltimore to catch our connecting flight, we saw that the plane's departure would be delayed from 6:30pm until 7:30pm. Then 8:30. And then 9:30. And finally, evidently 10:30pm became the magic time, and we arrived at President Donald J. Trump International Airport (don't you just love that? Unbelievable) in West Palm Beach at 1:03 A.M. And the name of this airline that gave no explanation for this 4-hour delay will remain anonymous. Please don't look at the photograph on the left or I could be sued.

Jan, a neighbor at our condo complex, who was originally going to pick us up at 8:50pm., said she would still meet us at 1:00am, bless her heart, and dropped us off at our condo around 2:00. Jan evidently had never been out that late in Stuart before and was amazed at how deserted the town was at that hour. When Susan and I would visit our mother Mary in Stuart, we never once ventured outside the condo after sunset. I just assumed the place must have been plagued by vampires. In any case, the next day, after sleeping a bit longer than usual, we headed around town to see what was happening around the city. Downtown seemed to be hopping, all the restaurants doing a good business, but the rest of the area seemed pretty low key. I drove to Stuart Beach, where there were a few people, but not that many (it was a weekday afternoon after all), and then drove to the House of Refuge, the oldest building in Martin County, now a museum, and seen in the photograph on the right. It was built in 1876, one of 10 havens for shipwrecked sailors along the Atlantic coast of Florida. It has been undergoing a renovation for quite a while and recently reopened. During the renovation, the entire parking lot was closed off, making it impossible to visit without a long hike down the beach. Happily, it is finally back to normal and looking good. And no snowbirds in sight. Perfect!

The 2026 Colorado Dragon Boat Festival Starts Exactly Three Weeks From Today!

The Colorado Dragon Boat Festival on Sloan's Lake here in Denver will be returning for its 26th year on Saturday, August 29th and Sunday, August 30th. In addition to 50 teams of boaters competing in dragon boat competitions, the festival also features an Asian Marketplace, Two Taste of Asia Food Courts, three performing art stages, and live art demos. For a while, it was unclear if the festival would return to Sloan's Lake, due to blue-green algae and sediment buildup, an unhealthy situation. Short term efforts to clear a safe paddling channel have been made, but a long-term solution involving sediment removal and water circulation will be necessary to restore the health of the lake. In the meantime, despite those issues, the festival is a go for the end of August. I took the photograph above a few days ago of two of those dragon boats moored in the lake, waiting for the races to begin. And if you do go to the festival, and partake of the food booths, make sure you avoid eating any fresh fish caught from that lake.

The August Mutts Of The Month

I took the photograph above of the August Mutts of the Month at New Terrain Brewery up in Golden, Colorado, where it seems like almost everyone has a dog. Some are sleeping, like the one on the left, who probably had one too many bowls of beer, and others are up and alert, waiting for their owners to finish their IPAs and then head to the dog park located right next door. New Terrain is the starting point for the North Table Mountain Park Trail and also the entrance to the Golden Bike Park, and so you see a lot of both hikers and bikers passing by the tables on their way to the trails. And most of them will no doubt stop on their way back for a cold one. As they say in the real estate business, it is all about location, location, location.

From The Bonnie Brae Tavern To Akin Bonnie Brae Apartments in Three Easy Steps

The Bonnie Brae Tavern, which was in business in that iconic Denver neighborhood for 88 years and seen in the photograph on the left, was sold to real estate developers back in June of 2022. It opened in 1934 in the middle of the Great Depression. Explaining the reason for selling, Ricky Dire, one of the two owners, both of whom are grandsons of the couple that founded the place, said that the 88-year-old building had 88-year-old plumbing and electrical, and the City of Denver would soon be requiring that it be brought up to code. Plus, Dire added that the restaurant business is "hell." They had to put money into the business to keep it going during Covid, and staffing during that time was a nightmare. And they couldn't afford the $20-per-hour wage it now takes to obtain staff.

And so, last year the building was torn down, as seen in the photograph on the right, to make way for a luxury apartment complex called akin Bonnie Brae. This is actually a pretty large piece of property, which consisted of the Bonnie Brae Tavern, a dry cleaners next door, a free-standing gift store on the corner, and a very large parking lot. 

And now the project is taking shape, as seen in the photograph on the left. Akin Bonnie Brae will bring a new, 3-story, 46-unit luxury apartment building to the Bonnie Brae neighborhood, with 15 different floor plans to choose from. In addition to those luxury apartments, there will be 7,500 square-feet of ground-floor retail. The Bonnie Brae and neighboring Belcaro neighborhoods, in close proximity to Washington Park, have always been upscale, and so this building will fit right in. The Phipps Mansion, a gigantic home with over 70 rooms and once owned by the University of Denver and used as a conference center, is right down the street. Back in the day, the annual University of Denver Christmas Party was held in that mansion's Tennis House, and after dinner people were welcome to walk up to the mansion for a self-guided tour. Dinner, drinks, dancing, and hanging out in a mansion. Those were the good old days for sure. In any case, akin Bonnie Brae is preleasing in Fall 2026 for early 2027 move-ins. Prices to be determined. Be sure to get your application in soon! And bring your retirement savings with you.

The August Issue Of Chicago Magazine

Sadly, the August issue of Chicago Magazine will be my last physical copy of that publication. The magazine has decided to stop subscriptions by mail and only distribute the publication via home delivery in conjunction with their parent company, the Chicago Tribune. An online copy is, of course, available, but it is really just not the same. In any case, this month's issue was pretty interesting. The cover story is titled The Best Seats in Town. At first I thought it would just be about seating in sports arenas, but it actually is about the best places to sit everywhere in Chicago, be it a window seat at Miller's Pub for peoplewatching, taking the 56 Milwaukee bus to get a tour of Chicago then and now, where to seat at Northwestern's Matin Stadium to get "sweeping views" of Lake Michigan and the Chicago Skyline, and many more wonderful spots to plant yourself in Chicago. It was very much like a guidebook to Chicago, and very informative. There was also an article about the 40th anniversary of The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults, a two-hour live broadcast from the basement of Chicago's Lexington Hotel, Al Capone's headquarters, hosted by Geraldo Rivera. The vault turned out to be empty, but the ratings for the show were sky high and it paved the way, for better or worse, for reality television. There is also an article listing Chicago's Top 50 Restaurants, most of them pretty pricey but also some reasonably priced ones, too. Number 36 is Sanders BBQ Supply Co., located in the South Side Beverly neighborhood, just to the west of Brainerd, where I grew up. Another article discusses a new book about Chicago gospel singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson. A very interesting issue indeed. And what the hell, maybe I will still continue to read Chicago Magazine online, although reluctantly so.

The Douglas County Fair And Rodeo

This past Sunday was the final day of the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo, and my friend Mark, sister Susan, and I decided to take advantage of the free grounds admission and head down to Castle Rock, Colorado to check it out. Like all county fairs, there were carnival rides, live music, rodeos, food, a marketplace selling locally produced products, and of course, animals raised by local youths, which was the best part of the fair.

I took the photograph on the right of that friendly cow relaxing in its stall and turning its head to pose for its portrait, which was very nice of it to do. All the other cows in the building paid no attention to me, busy scarfing up the food in their feed bag. And happily, there were a million fans placed all around the building, and so it was pretty comfortable for both man and beast (should that be person and beast?).

In the next building over, I took the photograph on the left of the young girl trying to interact with the llama (or is it an alpaca?). Being raised in the Brainerd neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, we did not see too many llamas or alpacas around. I have heard that these are not especially friendly creatures. Just the other day at the Colorado Day celebration at Denver's Union Station, a woman tried to pet an alpaca, and it wound up spitting at her. And there was a warning sign on a cubical letting visitors that those animals do not really like people and will either bite your hand or spit at you if try to touch them. I did notice that that particular beast did not approach the young girl, and so fortunately there were no biting or spitting incidents. At least this time.

The llama in the photograph on the right was also a bit standoffish, sitting in the middle of its compound and keeping away from all the people approaching its compound. Fortunately, it was willing to pose for a portrait, looking quite regal as it checked out everyone who walked by, probably thinking to itself that it was too far away to try spitting at them. The rest of the building was filled with goats, many with babies, who were quite cute. And there were signs letting people know that those babies were for sale for $150 each. Susan really wanted to take one home, but I told her she would have to discuss it with the building manager and possibly get HOA permission to keep it in the condo. I wonder how long it takes to toilet train one of those babies?

And, of course, there were a number of sheep around, too, such as the one in the photograph on the left. The Junior Livestock Sale took place last Friday, and so I imagine the animals stay in their pens until the end of the fair, when the new owners take possession of them, putting them in the back seat of their SUVs or however they plan to transport them to their backyard. And this particular sheep was also happy to have its photo taken. We skipped the carnival rides, as well as the carnival food, and called it a day after viewing the animals and the items for sale at the Marketplace. It all made for a very pleasant day, even if we didn't buy a baby goat to take home.

Colorado Day!

This past Saturday was Colorado Day, the 150th anniversary of Colorado becoming a state, and there was a big celebration that took place at Denver's Union Station, which features restaurants, bars, boutiques, and a huge central gathering space, in addition to serving as a train station. Inside that gathering space, there was a stage with live performances and cultural experiences, although the most interesting part of the celebration was outside on the plaza and included a petting zoo, gold panning sponsored by the Mighty Argo Mill in Idaho Springs, and guided tours of the Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood. That gold panning event also included an actual 19th century gold miner and his donkey, as seen in the photograph on the left.

The National Western Center, which hosts the National Western Stock Show every January, brought animals for the petting zoo, no doubt ones typically seen on Colorado ranches and farms over the past 150 years. The donkey in the photograph on the right was pretty popular with both the kids and adults. In addition to the donkey and an alpaca (I think), there was a separate petting zoo where parents could take their kids inside and let them pet baby goats, lambs and even ducks. I tried to take some photographs of that, but the space was so crowded and the light so poor that I quickly gave up trying.

I don't think alpacas like the one in the photograph on the left were being raised on Colorado ranches 150 years ago, but they are definitely popular here now. The woman in that photograph walked up and petted the alpaca on the head, which prompted it to spit in her face for her trouble. She said she didn't get any moisture on her, which is a good thing, although I am sure she will think twice the next time she decides to pet an alpaca, or for that matter, a llama. All in all, a fun celebration.