SuperCopa Soccer Tournament in the Mile High City- Getting there and Casa Bonita- Day 1
Alyssa's soccer team participated in the SuperCopa soccer tournament this year. They participated in it last year when it was held in Rockford, IL. This year, it was held in Denver, CO. Denver is not a bad place to *have* to go so we weren't too bummed about finding out that we'd be going to SuperCopa.
Abby came with us but Jacob decided to stay at home. I hated to leave him at home but I hated to make him go if he didn't want to. The trip was going to be very soccer focused (obviously) as opposed to a family vacation. With family and friends nearby to keep an eye on him, share a meal with him, and/ or hang out with him, we felt cautiously optimistic that we weren't the worst parents in the world by not making him go with us.
And so, last Tuesday, the four of us, Donnie and the girls and I boarded a plane for Denver, CO. We flew out of Cincinnati (which we'd never done before) and flew on Frontier Airlines (which we'd never done before). Frontier flies directly to Denver from Cincinnati and is fairly cheap- it's a discount airline and the fares start off very reasonable.
Our flight went smoothly and we found ourselves in Denver in the early afternoon. We picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel. We arrived in Denver about a day and a half before we had to be in Denver so we could do a little sight seeing. I found an almost brand new hotel for us to stay at for the one night we'd not be in the team hotel. It was a Comfort Suites- not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination but it had fresh construction smell to it and everything in it was brand new so we weren't complaining.
For dinner, we drove about half an hour into Denver to eat at Casa Bonita. Donnie wanted to eat there because the restaurant was featured in a South Park episode. I'm not a fan of South Park. The swearing in it makes me weep for humanity but I appreciate that the writers do not bow down at the alter of political correctness. Anyway, there was an episode of South Park wherein Cartman jumps off of a cliff and into a pool of water at the Casa Bonita. Now, if you're wondering why one would be jumping off a cliff in a restaurant, the reason is simple: there is a waterfall and there are rocks in the restaurant. Divers jump off of the rocks and into a pool of water. Why is this done? I have no idea. It's just a kitschy thing that makes the restaurant popular. The restaurant also has a cave (again, no idea why) in it, live music, arcades, puppet shows and a gift shop.
The food was underwhelming to say the least. But, we got to see divers jump into water which is something I can't say I've ever seen as part of a meal before. The restaurant was loud and garish; with the quality of food being sub par, this is not a restaurant I'd seek out to eat at again. But, the interesting factor was high and I'm glad we ate at Casa Bonita on our first evening in Denver.
Headed to Denver:
The fox pictured on the wing looks like he had just been handed keys to the hen house...
Our Comfort Suite- we loved the seating area, extra large refrigerator and comfy beds
Dinner in Denver (our hotel was in nearby Aurora)- specifically Casa Bonita
Not sure how a restaurant can make a taco salad taste any way other than delicious (I mean, the Burrito Shack at KINGS ISLAND made a killer taco salad- alas the Burrito Shack doesn't offer them anymore) but Casa Bonita's was not just meh.
The chips and salsa were also disappointing. The chips tasted like they came straight out of a store brand bag of tortilla chips. If you're going to build a restaurant that has a waterfall in it, why on earth wouldn't you add a fryer to make your own chips like every other Mexican restaurant in the country??I will say that the sopapillas were quite good. Also, Alyssa liked her tacos. Donnie, Abby and I were underwhelmed with the food overall.
Speaking of waterfalls, here is the one featured in the restaurant. A diver is about ready to jump. Also note a Cartman doll is in the upper left hand corner.
After the diver completed his first dive, he climbed up some rocks to dive from the other side.
We decided to take some pictures of us in this very... unique restaurant :)
The girls are standing on ground level near the pool of water that the divers dive into
The girls and me
A picture of Donnie and me
We wandered around the restaurant (it's huge...) and found this area
No one was seated in it, for whatever reason. The restaurant was quite busy but I guess not busy enough to warrant using every table seating area.
Heading into the cave...
Outside of the restaurant- the water fountain was pretty and we took pictures
Abby came with us but Jacob decided to stay at home. I hated to leave him at home but I hated to make him go if he didn't want to. The trip was going to be very soccer focused (obviously) as opposed to a family vacation. With family and friends nearby to keep an eye on him, share a meal with him, and/ or hang out with him, we felt cautiously optimistic that we weren't the worst parents in the world by not making him go with us.
And so, last Tuesday, the four of us, Donnie and the girls and I boarded a plane for Denver, CO. We flew out of Cincinnati (which we'd never done before) and flew on Frontier Airlines (which we'd never done before). Frontier flies directly to Denver from Cincinnati and is fairly cheap- it's a discount airline and the fares start off very reasonable.
Our flight went smoothly and we found ourselves in Denver in the early afternoon. We picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel. We arrived in Denver about a day and a half before we had to be in Denver so we could do a little sight seeing. I found an almost brand new hotel for us to stay at for the one night we'd not be in the team hotel. It was a Comfort Suites- not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination but it had fresh construction smell to it and everything in it was brand new so we weren't complaining.
For dinner, we drove about half an hour into Denver to eat at Casa Bonita. Donnie wanted to eat there because the restaurant was featured in a South Park episode. I'm not a fan of South Park. The swearing in it makes me weep for humanity but I appreciate that the writers do not bow down at the alter of political correctness. Anyway, there was an episode of South Park wherein Cartman jumps off of a cliff and into a pool of water at the Casa Bonita. Now, if you're wondering why one would be jumping off a cliff in a restaurant, the reason is simple: there is a waterfall and there are rocks in the restaurant. Divers jump off of the rocks and into a pool of water. Why is this done? I have no idea. It's just a kitschy thing that makes the restaurant popular. The restaurant also has a cave (again, no idea why) in it, live music, arcades, puppet shows and a gift shop.
The food was underwhelming to say the least. But, we got to see divers jump into water which is something I can't say I've ever seen as part of a meal before. The restaurant was loud and garish; with the quality of food being sub par, this is not a restaurant I'd seek out to eat at again. But, the interesting factor was high and I'm glad we ate at Casa Bonita on our first evening in Denver.
Headed to Denver:
The fox pictured on the wing looks like he had just been handed keys to the hen house...
Dinner in Denver (our hotel was in nearby Aurora)- specifically Casa Bonita
Not sure how a restaurant can make a taco salad taste any way other than delicious (I mean, the Burrito Shack at KINGS ISLAND made a killer taco salad- alas the Burrito Shack doesn't offer them anymore) but Casa Bonita's was not just meh.
The chips and salsa were also disappointing. The chips tasted like they came straight out of a store brand bag of tortilla chips. If you're going to build a restaurant that has a waterfall in it, why on earth wouldn't you add a fryer to make your own chips like every other Mexican restaurant in the country??I will say that the sopapillas were quite good. Also, Alyssa liked her tacos. Donnie, Abby and I were underwhelmed with the food overall.
After the diver completed his first dive, he climbed up some rocks to dive from the other side.
Here is a view of the waterfall, Cartman, and the pool of water into which the divers dive
We decided to take some pictures of us in this very... unique restaurant :)
The girls are standing on ground level near the pool of water that the divers dive into
The girls and me
A picture of Donnie and me
We wandered around the restaurant (it's huge...) and found this area
No one was seated in it, for whatever reason. The restaurant was quite busy but I guess not busy enough to warrant using every table seating area.
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