In the morning I traveled to downtown Denver to visit the 16th St. Mall. The 16th St. Mall is a mile of stores that could be found at a mall, hence the name. There is also restaurants and souvenir shops throughout. There are also free mall buses that stop at each block of the mall, which is really nice. You can get to the specific places you want to go to way quicker. I started at the block of the mall closest to a public parking garage I had found that charged way too much. 😛 One of the first things I spotted without trying was the Hard Rock Cafe. Being an avid music fan I knew I had to stop. I checked out their gift shop first and got a few things included a guitar shaped pin with Denver attractions that said Hard Rock Cafe on it and a Mason jar that also said Hard Rock Cafe Denver on it. (You can pay extra on your drinks to get a free glass or Mason jar included with your purchase after your meal.) I signed up for the rewards program while in the gift shop then sat in the restaurant part for lunch. I ordered the nachos. For joining the rewards program you got free dessert. The free dessert ended up being a piece of cheesecake or a giant sundae, which I was pleased to get. After finishing my nachos and icecream I looked at some of the music memorabilia that was there. This particular hard rock cafe was two stories. Two memorable items at this hard rock were a suit John Lennon wore to the Grammy's and the sled the Beatles used while filming the movie, "Help". As decoration for Christmas the restaurant had their small stage decorated with a Christmas tree, and a drum set. The photo op was too good to pass up.
While shopping at the "mall" I was able to pick up a Christmas gift for my dad and brother. At one of the shops the cashier talked about his experience living in Denver and was actually excited for the forecasted snow later in the week because he felt the snow really made Denver shine. I was okay with not seeing snow while in Denver.
I then went to the AirBNB for a quick rest before traveling to Georgetown for the "Christmas Train". Georgetown is a historical mining town where in the late 1800s gold and silver were found. The Georgetown loop train is a steam powered train that drives through the mountains on a recreated track that used to be there. Georgetown was an hour to travel too so I made sure I left 1 hr. 20min before my reservation at 5pm. I went through some Denver traffic, and so my GPS updated my ETA to 4:58pm. Two minutes before the train would begin to leave. I called the place telling them what my ETA was and drove a little faster than I should have. The place said they would hold the train for me. Even driving faster than I should have I still arrived at 4:58pm. (Suffice to say Google Maps has an insane standard for ETAs). I hurriedly walked to get onto the train, but was stopped. Apparently you had to have a printed out ticket and a digital ticket wouldn't be enough. An employee told me to go print out a ticket, and that the train was leaving. I was very frustrated after having driven so long. I didnt think they would be able to schedule me for the next one, but they did. Unfortunately the next train wouldn't be until 6:30. At that time all the shops were closed in Georgetown so I settled for a coffee shop and waited for time to pass then drove back up to the train depot. The train was near the top of a mountain so it was really windy and snowy up there. When you drove a little ways down the snow disappeared which was a strange occurence. On the train there were three different sections of train to choose from. One with tables, I sat in the cheapest section which had a bench on each side of the train to sit on and no food or drink offered. Outside were Christmas light displays you could look at as the train was driving. One of the employees said it took them four months out of the year to set up the displays and decorate the train cars. The lights were beautiful but hard to take pictures of. All in all I think this was a much more magical experiences for the kids that were on the train then for adults, although I did enjoy knowing the history of Georgetown and the train while riding along. I'm thinking I would have much more enjoyed riding the train during the day and seeing the mountains and other scenery than Christmas lights, but I'm glad I did it.
The ride to and from Georgetown can best be described as "a long and winding road" or in this case highway. A highway to get around all the mountains or in the case of the Memorial Tunnel, through the mountain. It definitely makes driving in Colorado more interesting. Driving west means driving towards the mountains, and driving back to Denver meant the opposite. Although the city lights of Denver at night were really something else. I am always so mesmerized seeing city lights at night.
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