The Woods

Their home-brewed Belgian style beer.

The black stripes are the frame for the Plexiglas.

The train to the airport runs every fifteen minutes. 

I was locked into a time-warp. 

It seemed like every five minutes to me. 

Japanese beetle. An invasive species introduced to Colorado in 1900. Coloradans hate them. But I think it's adorable.

It makes me want to tie a thread around its leg and fly it around like a kite.

No wait. That was a flashback to kindergarten in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Nevermind. 

The strip of tar-covered area appears to be parking for the stadium. It's incredibly long. They must have shuttle service or people would pass out in the heat.

The view gives a bit of a look behind the bare-bones Bauhaus architecture you see along the way. We're thinking there must be a pool in the middle. Certainly a garden.

Too bad my photo didn't focus properly. 

You must walk past this from the elevator to the restaurant. 

I said to my friend, "I bet they're empty." 

He goes, "Huh-uh. I bet they're filled. It's what they're about." He tapped one. Tap, tap, tap. Hollow sound. 

PSYCH! There's no beer in the barrels. They're empty! They're mere decoration. 

What a f'k'n ripoff! 

You're gonna hafta wake up pret-ty early in the morning to pull one off old Chip. 

Downstairs first level away from the restaurant. Their homemade beer is very good. 

The staff is like all the young people in Colorado. They're exceedingly helpful and alert. Coming in, throughout, going out, they leap ahead to open doors. The hostess does not outpace us. They're so fast that they stand there with the door open as doormen. They're patient. They are amazing. As people, not necessarily as staff. They do this all over the state. 

The place gets mixed reviews on Yelp. 

Reviewers say the food is okay but the view is spectacular. 

They complain about the cost of drinks and of food items. 

They complain about service being slow. 

We found everything excellent. I think the food is a bit pricy but I didn't pay. My friend thought the cost was very reasonable. He thought the view is better than I found it. He was fascinated, and he travels the entire world quite extensively. It's his raison d'être. He has better view on his own roof at Cheeseman. It's hard to tell when he's genuinely impressed and when he's just being nice. But he kept saying the view is spectacular. Mind, he's been skiing all his life. He knows the difference between truly spectacular and just okay. He confounds me sometimes. The view is of the low-level unadorned Bauhaus architecture all around, and the back of the train station and the urban residential area on the outskirts of Denver with the city behind them, and of the mountain range. You see the low-level grit of the city. The back of the stadium and the back of the train station, the back of buildings grown up in the back side of Denver.

They get spectacular sunsets. 

But so do I. 

Reviewers rave about the view. But I don't know why. It's only 8 floors up. It's nice, yes, interesting, yes, but that's all. In my humble opinion. 

We enjoyed being outside protected from the sun.

I had a very nice time.