Joe's Roadtrip

Location: Boulder, CO

How comfortable it was to wake up in a king-sized bed and not a reclined car seat.  It took me a few seconds to remember where I actually was.  I am definitely not used to this luxury.

This hotel has a pool, so I’ve been taking advantage of that since I’ve been here.  Got some early morning exercise swimming, and then by late morning I was out the door to run some errands.  I ended up parking by the well-known Pearl St. area in Boulder.  I had never been to the place, but had heard a lot about it.  The Pearl St. Mall is a big open area, spanning several blocks, with lots of shops, restaurants, and little food kiosks.  It’s very easy to get around there, and easy as well in the non-Pearl St. areas of Boulder in the vicinity.

I was told there would be a lot of street performers on Pearl St., but I didn’t see any.  Maybe I was too early.  I did see a good number of panhandlers, though (hippie panhandlers are big in Boulder).  I have to say I’m kind of sick of seeing panhandlers, especially after a belligerent guy told me, didn’t ask me, to give him some money.  I’ve seen a lot of panhandlers on this trip.  Too many to count…people holding signs saying down on their luck at street corners….others looking for handouts at stop signs near interstate entrance ramps…others in rest stops (and that guy I just saw eating lunch out of a big cooler before he set up shop).  Yes, rest stops.  It’s just too difficult to determine who is legitimately struggling, so I avoid them all, and have become more and more distrustful as time has gone by, so I just avoid them.  I realize I don’t have some uniquely brilliant insight into the world of panhandling here, but I’ve seen far too many people asking for hand outs to think any of it is real.

**Rant over**

I got a lot of walking in, probably a couple miles, before heading back to the hotel.  There I met Mike once again, and we headed towards Boulder’s Chautaqua Park near some of the Flatiron Mountains.

We did a bit of hiking at the park which afforded some good views of the mountains and the city of Boulder, as well.

Good times hiking with Mike.  Afterwards, we went to grab a bite at a place called “Noodles”, one of Mike’s favorite restaurants around here. Great meal (and yes John, I added some tofu into the noodle dish).

After dinner we headed back to the hotel, and parted ways from there.  Mike – great hanging with you these past two days.  Good luck in school, buddy.

I had the rest of the evening to get organized for the next few days of the journey.  Wednesday and Thursday will be mostly driving days, as Friday I plan to arrive back in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  I’m also due for another oil change, so I’ll probably take care of of that here in Boulder before I head out.  My route will send me east into Kansas (a state I’ve never visited before), and then south.

Amazing stay in Colorado.  I had a good bit of R&R nearing the 22,000 mile mark on this trip.  Thanks once again to John.

joe