DAY FIVE

I woke up at 515 am with no difficulty independent of any alarm and well-rested. I did the quickie version of wash-up, since I was going to Denver for a day, and waited til 6 and breakfast. Companion one of the evening before greeted me and we were shortly after joined by companion two. Companion two [of Lutheran extraction] is from
Wisconsin and going to see relatives in California somewheres near Ukiah and companion one. One and two began an animated discussion about walking. Two says she walks daily except when it is near freezing. She does so for 20 minutes before the wind comes up-- around 530 in the a.m.

Both companions opted for the continental-- cereal, fruit, yogurt. I had the quiche [salty] with bacon [smoked, salty], potato strings [not eaten], and croissant [good] washed down once again by iced tea. Medusa has reduced herself to small grumbles off to the sideline and so in thanks for that I am not drinking coffee these days.

After breakfast was Colorado hill country. I called Ed who was amazed to discover that spring is farther along here than back home, and that there really wasn't any snow on the mountains surrounding Denver. [Actually there are but I didn't know it then]. Denver itself proved to be a city of interstates and large buildings. I disembarked downtown and got a cab to La Quinta. Seven bucks later [not bad] I was let out in front and the guy asked Lupa to get my room ready in Spanish. I ate a banana
while waiting.

Motel room has outside corridor to it. 237 faces the "back" side and interstate is visible. It is too early in the season here for the pool to be open. I washed out a few clothes and rested a bit before deciding what to do with the rest of the day here in "Mile High City."

I slept til just noon and then walked to the Park Street Cafe formerly known as Denny's where I had iced tea and a taco salad. I returned to the room to grab the camera and I was off for a bus ride to downtown Denver. After a bit of a walk, I managed to locate both a bank [to buy quarters for husband] and the post office [to send them and some
souvenirs from Chicago-- two tee shirts from Lou's Diner] home. Rocks from Illinois too.

I found the 16th Street Pedestrian mall and browsed around, had a chocolate chocolate chip frozen custard and some durr pepper/diet pepsi. I rode around on the freebie mall bus and then I started walking to get a taxi. I was getting overtired by then so I asked a young woman at a building to call me a cab. She did. All of the cabs here in the 303 area code are followed by seven repetitions of a number-- 333-3333 and 444-4444 and 777-7777 and now 333-4444.

The Narcotics Anonymous meeting was the best thing about Denver. It was in a small shop called "The Donut Hole." There were six of us there. The meeting was over too quickly. I had a cab called and it was back to the motel. I know I keep calling it a hotel but it is really a motel or a motor inn.

The return cab driver was a very nice man, been in the marines for six years, got a wife and four kids. We had an amiable conversation regarding that fucking moron who shot up them students down at Virginia Tech. I tipped him for his company. Sometimes there is a lonliness being on the road. It is not especially a horrible pale or any of
that shit. Just a sort of "I don't know where the fuck I am or what I am doing and I certainly don't want you to know it dammit" sort of feeling. I enjoy my own company although motels at night alone are rather creepy.

I walked over to the gas station and got a couple bags of popcorn. My guts spit out some shit this evening and popcorn is what I want to eat along with my lukewarm southern Illinois 7-Up. I am officially in for the night with a novel and some shoot-em up cops on teevee.

sapphoq n friends