Pearl Street Mall in Boulder (Photo by Lee Coursey via WikiCommons)

JENNY BLOCK | Contributing Writer
JennyEBlock@icloud.com

After falling in love with Denver (see Dallas Voice’s Sept. 5 Travel Issue), I was hungry to see what other fabulous spots Colorado had to offer. So, I headed off to Boulder, less than an hour away.

I had been told I would adore it there. That was an understatement. I checked into Moxy Boulder, which is such a cool property — super simple rooms with a very inviting lobby. You check in at the bar and get a drink coupon the moment you walk in. I mean ….

It just opened in May of 2024 and is located in historic Hill neighborhood, super close to Pearl Street and downtown Boulder.

The Kitchen was my next stop. Lunch was so good there. It’s a great place to share plates with so many great options and crazy generous portions. The weather was so nice that I spent some time walking around their pedestrian walking mall, Pearl Street Mall, considered the heart and soul of historic downtown Boulder, with more than 85 percent of the businesses on the mall being locally owned.

There were so many cute shops and places to eat and enjoy an espresso. I popped into Liberty puzzles, which I absolutely love. So I was excited to visit the mothership! If you’re not familiar, they make wooden puzzles with pieces that are the coolest shapes — like all sorts of creatures snorkeling and dancing and flying. Just wild.

And when you pop in, you can pick out a puzzle piece to take with you. I keep mine in my handbag and use it like a worry stone!

After lots of walking, I made my way to Dragontree Spa for an aromatherapy massage followed by time in their sanctuary, complete with a cedar sauna, salt room and steam room, just to start. The whole experience made it very hard to want to do anything else that day.

I met up with an old friend I adore, Christina Cherry (who I had also met up with in Denver) for drinks at Jungle Tiki Bar, which is one of the grooviest places I have ever been. It’s LGBTQ+ owned and located right on Pearl Street, making for great people watching. They have a really fun collection of rotating — and comically named — tropical drinks, and they host drag bingo, too, of course!

Then Christina and I met up with two other fave friends, Tiffany Chrisopher and Mollie Rose Fischer (who I had also hung out with in Denver) and headed to Blackbelly, a Michelin star restaurant, for dinner.

This place! I think we ordered nearly everything on the menu. We had to.

Word to the wise: Order for the table so you can try it all, including their housemade bread, charcuterie and the butcher cuts for which they are famous.

The next morning, I had the best brunch at the historic Chautauqua Dining Hall, which is located at the Chautauqua National Historic Landmark, so you can imagine the views. The food was amazing, but the views — Holy smokes!

Boulder is situated where the mountains meet the plains, and Chautauqua is right at the base of the mountains. So, it’s where you’ll find Boulder’s iconic Flatirons. I honestly wished I could have spent the whole day there.

I fell in love with Boulder. The Walking Mural Tour with more than 100 murals designed by local, regional and national artists, plus the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, The Museum of Boulder, The Dairy Arts Center and so much incredible food and shopping.

But the best part was the people. Boulder is such a warm and inviting place. A girl could get used that kind of thing.

I ended the trip with a bang, headlining my first comedy show at Patio Pub in Florence, Colo., which was a blast. Owner Charlette Henegar has created an amazing community out there, and I was grateful to be folded into it.

I stayed at the Royal Gorge Cabins while I was there, which is not to be missed. If you can’t own your own vacation home amidst the mountains of Colorado, this is definitely the next best thing, with two bedrooms, gorgeous views, a patio I never wanted to leave and every amenity under the sun.

My digs had a massive bathroom, a perfect little kitchen, a sun-filled family room, one bedroom upstairs and one downstairs.
I was sad to only have two nights there because the place was downright dreamy.

Nearby was the cutest downtown with shops and restaurants. And from every angle, there were the most spectacular views.

The weather, the people, the food, the art, just the general vibe of this area of Colorado, I absolutely fell in love. It felt otherworldly in some ways, so grounded in nature, so light filled, so vast.

I felt like I could breathe. A girl could be convinced to move to a place like that.
Now, if they could just do something about those winters…

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