Suggestions in the Denver area?

Ghery

Ghery

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Ghery Pettit
The IEEE International Symposium on EMC is in Denver the week of August 5. There are a few of us from around the world who are pilots and get together to fly when the opportunities arise. I flew with one who is a glider pilot in the UK in 2011 and 4 of us rented a 172 and flew out of Rome last year. This go around there will be three of us. A UK glider pilot, an Italian PP-ASEL and me (PP-ASEL IA). Our colleague from France can't make it.

I'm open to suggestions for renting in the Denver area. Airport? FBO? Rates? I figure I'll be PIC, so I'll need a checkout wherever we rent. If we were having the symposium in Seattle this would be easy, we'd just grab a club plane. But, Denver is new for me (at least as a pilot). Ideas?

Thanks.
 
Keep me in mind if you need rear seat ballast. I can't operate, but I can kibbitz from the back. I'll be in town all week too.
 
OK - looks like we need to plan another dinner for the week after AirVenture. If the visitors are going to be in downtown Denver, we should find a place around there or easy to get to.
 
NOT Casa Bonita. I lived in the Denver area 30 years ago. I know that place. :D
 
The food is the same! Literally, I'm afraid...

(Email sent with more info on local flying.)
 
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How much Turbo Dakota time have you got? My open pilot clause is a little restrictive but the premium is cheap!

I work downtown so if you want some lunch suggestions or company during the conference let me know.
 
I'm up for lunch/dinner anywhere in the Denver area until after the 10th but I assume you will be going home after that anyway.
 
Buckhorn would be good, I can light-rail it now...
 
Clark1961 said:
How much Turbo Dakota time have you got? My open pilot clause is a little restrictive but the premium is cheap!

I work downtown so if you want some lunch suggestions or company during the conference let me know.
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0 turbo time of any kind. 70+ hours each of HP and complex time, but none of it turbo.

I'll be so tied up all week it's nuts. I was just going through the symposium schedule this afternoon and noting all the meetings and such that I need to attend. I'm trying to figure out when I'll have time to sit in on some papers or roam the exhibits. That's the problem with being president of the society, your time is not your own that week. We'll arrive Saturday morning (8/3), get to the hotel around noon. First meeting starts at 6 that day. Meetings and other commitments all day Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Fly home Friday afternoon. I still need to look and see when I might have time for flying. The other two folks have indicated Wednesday or Friday afternoon for them. This will be a challenge. As I told them, if this were at home it would be easy, but I have 0 time in the Denver area. I appreciate the offers of help.
 
I'm blocked Mon-thur, but have some time on Fri. No one does much on the closing Friday of these things.
 
So far I can't find a time that the three of us (UK, Italy, US) can break free at the same time, so I'm not sure how this is going to work out. Now, if some of us on this board want to get together for lunch, Tuesday is open. As I noted above, this is a very busy week for me. Someplace near the convention center?
 
Ghery said:
So far I can't find a time that the three of us (UK, Italy, US) can break free at the same time, so I'm not sure how this is going to work out. Now, if some of us on this board want to get together for lunch, Tuesday is open. As I noted above, this is a very busy week for me. Someplace near the convention center?
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Tuesday lunch works for me. Downtown? Walk out the door, look around and
decide which of the many places look interesting. Actually, the convention center is on 14th, and the 16th street mall has most of the food.

Clark - you're down there more than the rest of us - suggestions?
 
Without any time in make/model my insurance wouldn't be valid. Three pax plus me as PIC is probably not a good idea as hot as it has been lately. We could do some flying but I'd prefer to keep it light. Flying one evening might work if the weather cooperates - the afternoon/evening thunderstorms are always a consideration this time of year.

As for a lunch spot maybe the Yardhouse? It gets busy and service gets slow but it's okay if we can get there about 11:30. I think they don't do reservations.

Other downtown lunch standards on the mall near the convention center are Marlow's, Earls, Appaloosa Grill, there's even Bayou Bob's if ya want a Denver version of Cajun food. Other choices on the mall but require a little walk or a short free shuttle ride are Willie G's steakhouse, Rock Bottom brewery, and the Cheesecake factory. If ya wanta get into LoDo (little longer shuttle ride and a little walk) then there are a couple of decent seafood places but nobody comes to Denver for seafood. And since it is Denver, I'll mention Elway's downtown, $$$ but it is tasty - you won't see John there like you might at the Cherry Creek place.

Other than the list above, there's a multitude of bad Mexican food joints and little kitschy places that never last long (or shouldn't) and the staple chain places.

About forgot to mention Magianno's for Italian and the Palm to spend $$$ and say you've been there.
 
Nate - are the indoor dogs as good as the cart dogs? Just about the only thing I miss about working downtown.
 
gkainz said:
Nate - are the indoor dogs as good as the cart dogs? Just about the only thing I miss about working downtown.
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Haven't tried indoor yet. Just know Jim's stuff is incredibly good. I don't venture into the City and County too much anymore. Maybe DCPA a couple of times a year, and free tickets from work at times to events at The Can. Just not much reason to go there and support the stupidity with their higher sales taxes.

Rodizio Grill is one reason I'd go down there... Mmmmm. :) A couple of other total dive places I like, but not places you'd take an out of towner on a first date. ;) There's a pub over on 15th St at the north end that has green chile and burritos to die for, but it's otherwise a total dive. Only place I've ever seen put ground black pepper in their burritos. Fascinating. The burritos are just an afterthought as something to eat while you drink, and it's very blue collar.

And the Whiskey Bar over near Coors Field is owned by friends... Smarter IT folk than I (younger too) who liked Whiskey, baseball, and getting the hell out of IT. They built it from an old coffee shop and seem to have done well with it. They own another bar and a restaurant now.

There's a great Peruvian food place down right in the middle of it all, but it's like a lot of the locally owned places, versus the strip mall franchises... It's sometimes dirty, definitely a dive feel to it, and service is intentionally slow. They're on Peru time. :) Food is good though.

The old Racines near 9th and Bannock was great and local, but I haven't been there since they moved.

Pints Pub ... Way too many nights there when I worked near 9th and Bannock.

Gumbo's was good, but I heard they lost their lease to some chain restaurant out of Boulder who agreed to pay more.

That's the problem with Downtown today... I liked it better when the chains weren't everywhere. When you had to go to the Paramount Cafe for a burger because that was the only burger joint for six or ten blocks. Now Johnny Rockets and Hard Rock and a few others are right next door, and the old diners get "bad" reviews from hipsters on Yelp... As if any of us care. Haha.

Denver Diner late on a Friday night is some great people-watching.

And Pete's Kitchen... Still the best place to eat in the whole city at 3AM...
 
It looks like I have to be out of town Monday and Tuesday. I'm sure folks can manage quite well without me...
 
OK. So are any of us getting together? I've seen suggestions but no conclusions. Given that I'm stating at the Sheraton and the symposium is in the Convention Center, I've developed a good feel for where things are. I'll check here again in the mid-morning to see if there is a plan for lunch.
 
I thought you were in town last week. I'm downtown today so lunch is a go for me. Yardhouse at 11:30? PMing cell.
 
I'm stuck south of KAPA today so can't make it.
 
I can go to lunch but someone else needs to suggest a place since I am not familiar with restaurants downtown.

OK, I see Yardhouse at 11:30 now...

Let me know if that is what everyone decided.
 
I guess I will head that way since I need to leave now to get there by 11:30. I have other things to do in that direction anyway. I'll check back in a little while.
 
Well, at least you and I will have lunch then...
 
Clark1961 said:
I thought you were in town last week. I'm downtown today so lunch is a go for me. Yardhouse at 11:30? PMing cell.
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Rats. Didn't read POA until just now, so I missed lunch.

Curses, foiled again.
 
murphey said:
Rats. Didn't read POA until just now, so I missed lunch.

Curses, foiled again.
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Lunch was good, it was Ghery, Clark and me. If we ever do a downtown meal again I need to rethink the driving and parking time. :redface:
 
murphey said:
Light rail.
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I thought about it, briefly, but I didn't have any idea at all how long it would take. I know there is a station at Park Meadows. I should investigate.

I remember the snowstorm when I drove to the Buckhorn Exchange for another POA meal and saw the light rail pass me while stopped on I-25...
 
Clark, Mari and I had a very enjoyable lunch today. It's always great to meet other POAers. Nice diversified group we were. But all with a load of great flying stories. The Yard House was a convenient choice, too. I was waiting outside the door, called Clark and the guy next to me answered the phone. :D We finally met up with Mari (she was waiting at the inside entrance) and got a table outside watching the show on the mall. Typical summer noontime weather as I remember it from when we lived here 30 years ago - pleasant. It was great meeting you two in person.
 
Thanks for lunch, Ghery! Hope the weather doesn't make you cancel your flight tomorrow, or that you get another chance later in the week.
 
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