The folks at OSCON who were unaware that I’d fled Denver for the summer months frequently expressed surprise that I would do so. And to some extent, I agree with them. The heat is unpleasant at times, but at least the humidity is low. More to the point, the mountains are an enormous mitigating factor. Take a short trip on I-70 out to Grand Lake, Keystone, Silverthorn, or even Idaho Springs as I did the weekend I was in town, and you’re likely to be greeted by temperatures 10 or 15 degrees below those in Denver. By the time you’re back in town, it’ll be cooled off enough so that eating at one of the couple of dozen restaurants downtown that have outdoor seating will seem like a terrific idea (Tamayo’s roofdeck is a great choice).
But let me walk you through the schedule today, and you can judge for yourself whether the decision was a good one:
10:00 AM – Woke up late, groggy and out of whack from the previous day’s red eye
10:30 AM – Tide was low(ish), fished off the dock catching nothing
11:30 AM – Drove to the Y, worked out
12:15 PM – Stopped by the Kennebec Angler – discovered why I caught nothing (rivers & cove are too warm)
12:30 PM – Stopped by Brackett’s (local supermarket) – picked up sandwich materials
1:05 PM – Sat on patio, watched boats go by, ate sandwich, drank a Shipyard, listened to Sox game
3:00 PM – Craig Hansen gives up lead and 2 run HR to Curtis Pride, who hasn’t hit one in three years [1]
3:00 PM / 3:05 PM – Swore frequently and loudly, but nothing thrown – cat was unsympathetic
3:05 PM – Begin mowing lawn
4:30 PM – End mowing lawn – discover that Sox tied the game
4:31 PM – Grimy from mowing the lawn, grab the radio and a Shipyard and head down to the dock
4:40 PM – Quick swim to remove lawn grime, drink Shipyard
5:00 PM – Big Papi wins (yet another) ballgame with a two out hit through the shortstop hole in the 11th
5:20 PM – Quick swim to celebrate win (and Tampa’s pummelling of Randy Johnson)
6:00 PM – Drive to the marina to grab an early dinner at the Osprey – talk Sox
7:15 PM – Return home, pick up fishing gear
7:30 PM – Arrive at Reid State Park, wade into Small River and commence fishing
8:00 PM – Kicked out of Reid State Park by ranger and advised to get night fishing pass
8:30 PM – Return home, plan boat trip down to Ft Popham for Sunday
9:00 PM – Settle down with a favorite book I haven’t read in a long, long time
My life might not be quite so easy as hers, but I can tell you that at the moment I have very few complaints. Nothing against Denver, but I’m exactly where I want to be. Many thanks to the parents for deciding to invest in the compound here, and not renting it out for the summer.
[1] For the trivia lovers, the last time Pride homered in the major leagues was off Boston’s John Burkett in 2003. He was playing for the Yankees at the time.
