Saturday, September 29, 2012

Go West Old Man – Our First Day In Denver, CO – 2012

After the previous long driving day, our first morning in Denver was a time to relax and go out to breakfast and as usual Bev found a place by using the Yelp website.  Chia's is a newly opened place hidden in a three business strip mall but the word is getting around as Lea Ann had already heard of it. 

Bev had her normal breakfast burrito and I had the corned beef hash and both were delicious.

Our main reason for stopping in Denver was to meet up with blogger buddy Lea Ann Brown (Cooking On The Ranch), who I felt I already knew, and her husband Bob.  So around 1pm, we headed down to their place in Highlands Ranch to begin our visit and we were quickly introduced to Chile and Zia.

It’s easy to see why they are so adored at Brown manor – I didn’t get a shot of her, but they also have a cat that’s just a little smaller than a lynx – maybe a little exaggeration, but it is huge – not fat just huge.

Then we went by the Highlands Ranch – 23,200 acres at its peak - and got a look at the 22,000 square foot mansion – have a look at these web images.  Then we went to their favorite spice store, The Savory Spice Shop in Littleton so we could buy a few things to take back home. 

After shopping, we went back to their very nice home, sat out on the deck, and sipped wine while dinner was cooking – actually Lea Ann was mostly in the kitchen while Bev, Bob, and I did the sipping.  Lea Ann sat a beautiful table and served a very nice salad followed by chicken enchiladas.

It was great to finally taste some of the delicious looking southwestern food she regularly posts on her blog – the enchiladas were outstanding.  Please stay tuned for the rest of our time with Lea Ann & Bob.

We actually got home yesterday but will continue with our trip report interspersed with other stuff.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/19/12 event date

17 comments:

  1. I've been waiting for this one. Hi Lea Ann & Bob. Your wine sipping and enchiladas sound fantastic and we've all been looking forward to Larry & Bev's visit to your house.

    Larry, did Sweetie & Coco get to meet Chile and Zia or the big cat?
    Sam

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  2. Mornin Sam - Lea Ann had sent me an email saying don't forget the dogs or I'll send you back to get them. They were fine together even though they all preferred their humans more than one another.

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  3. welcome home, y'all have had one nice trip, thanks for taking us along... great to see the photos and read of your adventures...
    I have been busy finishing up with a book so have not been around much, hopefully that will change soon...
    take care, rest and have a great weekend... (Oh, I added a good heaping of your mix to my chili, I know that is what made it 'damn gooder')

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Drick and I'll have another 9-10 posts about the trip. You've gotten a lot of mileage out of the chili powder.

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  4. Man that food from Chia's looks really good. Makes me want to run out there this morning. I had to click on the link and read all about the mansion to refresh my memory about the history. I told Bob a few days later, that we probably could have gone inside. Why didn't we? Great photos of the dogs. And not to worry, I did my share of sipping while I assembles those enchiladas. I'm pretty good with multi-tasking. :)

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    1. We thought Chia's breakfast was a little better than the lunch, but enjoyed both. I thought the same thing about the mansion the next day - we'll do it next visit.

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  5. Savory Spice is one of my favorite spice stores, too! Their black canyon chili powder is amazing. How cool that you got to meet up with Lea Ann. I'm going to have to check out the mansion in Highlands Ranch, never even knew it existed. Learn something new every day!

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  6. I wish we'd had a chance to meet you also - but we plan to be back.

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  7. Larry, Well, you finally got to meet Lea Ann and her husband! I know that this had been one of your blogger related goals... Cute dogs too!! Laurie thanks you for passing on the connection to the Savory Spice Store. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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    1. Lea Ann had sent me some of their spices and they are very good and freshly ground in Denver - they can be bought on line.

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  8. So nice to meet the people you have been blogging with. The food looks wonderful. Blessings, Catherine

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  9. You're right Catherine and her food was delicious.

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  10. Looks like you had a great time visiting Lea Ann. She is wonderful and the very first food blogger I ever met in person. Just read her blog post, too. Lucky you, to taste some of her delicious food.
    I could also spend a fortune at Savory Spice Shop every time I go. This place is dangerous.

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    1. Thanks for commenting Kristen - I have two more posts coming about our visit with them.

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  11. Larry! I was so disappointed that you couldn't come up this far, but with all the mechanical issues, I truly understand. Maybe next year? Our door is always open. Glad you got to hang with Bob and LA - they are the best, aren't they? Funny that Lea Ann made chicken enchiladas - that was the exact same dish we were planning to make, so you would have had them twice. (not a bad thing, really) Love all the pictures - your header is precious!

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  12. Isn't it nice to meet a fellow blogger. Lea Ann's chicken enchiladas look very good. I'm sure the meal was delicious.

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  13. I know that Lean Ann's food must have tasted every bit as good as they look. Enchiladas are always welcome with me.

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