Spending A Cold Afternoon At Cherry Creek

And no, I did not spend time at the creek itself.  As most Denverites know, where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte River is where Denver was founded back in 1858.  However, I actually spent the afternoon several miles upstream, at the Cherry Creek Shopping Mall,  which borders Cherry Creek.  This mall is probably the most upscale in Denver.  It is also the only one which charges for parking, which is why I parked on the other side of that creek and walked over a pedestrian bridge (where I took the photo on the left) to get into the mall.

The reason I went to Cherry Creek in the first place was to get a little exercise.  The temperature outside was in the 20s, and since the wind was blowing around 40 miles per hour, the wind chill was around 8 degrees.  Not prime walking conditions.  The first thing that caught my eye after I was inside was the entrance to the Kona Grill.  It was a wall of water reflecting the various lights inside the restaurant, as seen in the photograph on the right. This location was once the main entrance to the mall, where there was a valet service.  You can still exit the mall this way if you walk through the restaurant, but I think they specialize in sushi, and I have a strict policy of avoiding those places like the plague, which I understand you can catch from eating or even being in the vicinity of sushi.

As I walked through the mall, I could not help but notice that there were a lot of new cars on display from car dealer Mike Ward.  The first car I spotted was the black Aston Martin seen in the photograph on the left. That is the car that James Bond used to drive, back when Sean Connery played that role. A sign on the car said it was being offered on a 36 month lease - with no money down - for only $1,700 a month.  I was very tempted - what a deal!  And then a little further down I saw a spanking brand new McLaren Spider.  That car was being offered at a starting price of $200,000. That might seem a bit pricey, but on the other hand, you would avoid the hassle of having to find another car when the lease on the Aston Martin was up.   Decisions, decisions.  Maybe I'll just stick with my Hyundai Accent.