Free Time in Lodo

LODO DENVER/HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - I apologize for not writing anything last night. I made multiple phone calls all night long, taking advantage (or abusing) the free minutes of my phone, running the thing into the ground until it just kept beeping and turned off on me. Plans needed to be arranged for the next leg of the trip. I feel like my time in Denver has come to an end. I've spent my time thus far on the trip paying attention to the signs and see no reason to stop doing so right now. The current living situation is slightly depressing - and a little more so each day. So, Westward Ho!

My next major destination is Seattle. I plan to check out Vancouver while I'm up that way. It would be good to step outside this country while on the trip to gain a little perspective. Of course, this all depends on how much I think they'll harass me at the border. I don't feel like having my entire car searched while crossing over... I have half my belongings with me and don't need it dumped on the ground. Natius, you know the feeling.

A couple more things to take care of while in Colorado. Tonight I'm heading up to Ft. Collins to see my uncle, aunt, and nephews. I haven't seen them in years. Darrell and Lori always were so nice. And the kids are getting really grown up. I don't even know that I've seen Brodie walk. I'll probably spend time with my brother on Friday, doing I-don't -know-what. Saturday he's going to a concert with his girlfriend, so I think I'll use the time to see Lindsey one last time. Sunday will probably be the departure date.

I'm excited for the drive up to the northwest. Lots of territory I've never been through. And it must be exciting. I mean, come on folks, I get to cross through Idaho, the state that can inspire the kind of people seen in "Napoleon Dynamite." It has to be great, right?

Yesterday afternoon, I headed to Lodo with my brother (for those who haven't been in Denver for 8 whole days, "Lodo" stands for "Lower Downtown." I'm practically a local by now). We found a couple of free things to do, which is always exciting, seeing as how we're both broke. We found a cheap meal at Jimmy John's and then headed to the Lodo Tattered Cover. Tattered Cover is this fantastic bookstore that I believe is local to Denver. I went to a pretty ritzy one in the nice suburbs, which just reminded me of Barnes & Noble. But the one downtown is great. Kind of made me want to own a bookstore like that. Anyone want to go into business? Anyway, we headed to the bookstore to see a writer do a reading and sign books. His name is A.J. Jacobs and he previously wrote a book called "Know-It-All" in which he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. His current book is another immersion experiment - he tried to live a year of his life taking the Bible as literally as possible. It was an interesting reading and discussion. He was happy to take plenty of questions and had a good sense of humor. It was interesting coming across this reading and book. I heard about them for the first time on the day I came back from the retreat. It helped me process the retreat even more. The writer listed 7 big things he learned through the experience. Number seven was, "Thou shalt not stereotype." He named Evangelical Christians specifically during this lesson. It rang especially true with me. I had lots of expectations for the retreat and found that they weren't true. I really enjoyed the experience. After the reading I went and had my copy signed. I explained my trip and how I had just returned from an Evangelical retreat. He commented about how this year is the 50th anniversary of "On the Road," which I guess I had never thought about until that moment.

I need to write more.