Yesterday was Goldens in Golden Day, the largest gathering of Golden Retrievers in the world. It takes place in Golden, Colorado and attracts over 10,000 people and 3,500 dogs in celebration of International Golden Retrievers Day. I drove to Golden for this event last year, just as it was ending. The main events, including a group photograph of thousands of owners and their Golden Retrievers taken in front of the Golden Welcome Arch on Washington Avenue, were long over, although there were still a lot of people with their dogs wandering around, as seen in the above photograph. And, of course, there was not a parking space in sight. Golden has made virtually every residential street around the 12th Street Historic District "residents only" parking, leaving very few spaces for visitors, especially 10,000 of them. But what I most remember was the traffic, which was at a standstill for what seemed like hours. Afterwards, I think there were a lot of complaints, and so this year, Golden instituted a shuttle from an off-site parking lot. However, I decided to skip the festivities this year. For one thing, waiting for a shuttle to take you downtown and then waiting to catch one on the way back takes a lot of time. Which, despite being retired, I don't seem to have a lot of these days. Plus, those buses get very crowded, not only with people but with all those dogs, too. And for another, I was not sure I wanted to be in a one-block area with 10,000 people and their 3,500 Golden Retrievers. Does that mean I have turned into an old fuddy-duddy? Don't answer that.
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