For Day 4 I wanted to travel to Union Station and Larimer Square after researching that a lot of people really liked these places and they were near each other. Not wanting to pay too much for parking I went on SpotHero which is a lifesaver for finding cheap parking in the area. (Just make sure the parking is less than a mile away, a mile actually is farther walking distance then you think. I've made this mistake before.) I ended up finding a parking garage less than a block away from Union Station and reserved a parking spot beforehand. As I did more research on Union Station in Denver I realized it had recently been on the news for not good things. Apparently they had to increase the police presence due to violence and drug issues. I decided maybe Union Station wasn't a good idea after all, but the parking was still close enough to get to Larimer Square.
When I got to the parking garage and outside of Union Station I noticed the police presence and felt safer, so I decided to go inside. Inside Union Station there was a beautiful Christmas tree set up. I didn't spend much time there as there actually wasn't much to it besides a few restaurants and shops, but it was a beautiful building. Union Station is a block away from the 16th st. mall where Larimer Square is located. Along 16th st. there are a few free shuttles that stop at each different street of the mall. I got on and took the shuttle to Larimer St. where I then walked to Larimer Square. Larimer Square is a block of restaurants and shops with lights overhanging between the buildings. The shops in Larimer Square contained a lot of retro clothing for sale. Larimer Square is blocked off from traffic. I had seen a really cool retro music themed cafe online while researching the area and searched to find it, however it turned out to be permanently closed, so I couldnt get my picture taken with life-sized cardboard cutouts of the Beatles while drinking coffee. 😔 After looking around Larimer Square I went and got a smoothie from the Juice Kitchen along the 16th St. Mall which was delicious. I browsed some more shops then took the free shuttle back to Union Station. While walking around the 16th st. Mall a lady asked me if I wanted to join her bible study. I told her I didn't live in the area but I believed in God. She told me her church was the only one that believed both in God the Mother and God the Father, they even had a church in Wisconsin. I kindly ended the conversation soon after. 🤪I then went back to my AirBNB where I ordered pad thai and egg rolls via Grubhub. I ate then rested before driving to Lakewood for Camp Christmas.
Camp Christmas is an interactive Christmas lights display put on by the Denver Performing Arts Center at Belmar Park. Belmar park is actually a historical site and has pieces of old Colorado buildings/objects, as well as a mini museum on site as well. One person had donated different things from a hair salon her and her husband ran decades ago. This equipment was decorated with Christmas decor so it was like you were walking into an old hair salon that was decorated for Christmas. There was also an old country cabin decorated with vintage holiday items, a shed fall of hanging disco balls, a fairy Christmas room, and a room full of pink Christmas decor as well as others. It was a ton of fun looking at all the lights and looking at the ways they decorated the rooms. There was a lot of different places to take pictures including a negative baggage area you could pose at. Since it was put on by the Denver Performing Arts Center I thought there would be actors on scene but there wasn't. However, I don't know if that would have improved the experience or made it weird. Camp Christmas is highly worth checking out. Returning to my AirBNB I knew it was my last night I'd be there so after eating leftover pad thai I took advantage of the hot tub. There's something about being in a hot tub on a winter night that is such a pleasant experience.
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