Habitat for Humanity ReStores are facilities where used furniture and leftover building materials are donated by individuals and businesses to be sold to the general public for a bargain. The profits go to Habitat for Humanity; ReStores play a vital role in raising the funds that allow Habitat to do all the building and renovating it does. Ever since Habitat for Humanity created its ReStores, they have been able to build 70% more houses. The ReStores cover all of Habitat's overhead costs and administrative fees, so whenever someone makes a donation to Habitat, they can know that it goes directly to helping build homes for those in need. Pretty cool, right? Like I said, I don't think I'll be involved in ReStores in Round 1, so I'm really glad I got to experience what one is like. When I'm building, I'll definitely be thinking about all the generous donations and ReStore volunteers and staff nationwide that help make home construction and renovation possible.
I really recommend the restore as an ISP experience. The volunteer captian for the day was really informative and great. He gave us a briefing before we began the day that helped us understand the impact of our work, which I really appreciated. There were a lot of different things for us to do, so we never got bored. A few people went out on trucks to help pick up large items that people wanted to donate but couldn't deliver. The rest of us did work around the store, unloading donations as they came in, loading large purchases for customers, cleaning up the store and loading dock, etc. I got to use a sledge hammer for the first time ever to bust down some furniture in unacceptable conidition. It was really fun!
I got back too late from ISP for dinner in the campus cafeteria, so I tried a burrito from Bubba Chino's across the street. It was a little spicy but pretty good; I think Bubba Chino's is a local chain. Future AmeriCorps Southwest Region NCCC'ers: there are a few choices for food within walking distnance if you get tired of the cafeteria. Right across the street is Bubba Chino's, Little Caesars, a Hispanic grocery store that will make you Mexican food, and "$1.25 a Scoop" Chinese Food, commonly known as "Scoops". The only one of these I've tried so far is Bubba Chino's, and of course I've had Little Caesars back home. I haven't tried the others because I am cheap, suspicious of food that costs $1.25 a scoop, and actually enjoy the cafeteria food most nights. They have great vegetarian options, a good salad bar, and, most importantly, it is free! Haha. You can also ride the 27 bus to Englewood where there's a Panera, Noodles and Co, Coldstone, Walmart, etc. But beware! The 27 stops running before 8 p.m. Don't get stranded.
I set aside today to just relax and explore Denver. I've been doing ISPs every weekend since I've arrived here, and so far hadn't given myself much time to enjoy the city. This is the last weekend that I'll be in Denver for quite awhile, so I wanted to make the most of it! My friend Roxanne and I took a 9 am bus downtown, and didn't come back until around 6 pm. It was so nice to have a day with no responsibilities or schedule. Taking a true day off felt great.
With so much time at our disposal, we got to wander leisurely and see parts of the city that lie beyond the tourist attractions. My Aunt Niecer gave us great recommendations for where to eat! We went to Snooze for brunch, and it was amazing. It's a great atmosphere with nice music, and the best food I've eaten in a month. Roxanne and I both took advantage of a deal called the Pancake Flight where you can try 3 of their different delicious pancakes for a good price. I had one pineapple upside down pancake with carmelized pineapple chunks, housemade creme anglaise and cinnamon butter, one chocolate chip pancake and the pancake of the day: a pancake filled with crushed oreos and pureed banana, topped with a strawberry yogurt type sauce and homemade whipped creme. The pancake of the day was my favorite, but they were all amazing! Roxanne tried the pineapple upside down pancake, the pancake of the day and a sweet potato pancake with pecans. The wait to eat at Snooze was about an hour, but we walked around the city while we waited so it went by fast! Aunt Niecer said that sometimes the line wraps around the building.
Me and my breakfast from heaven. Thank you to my culinary guardian angel, Aunt Niecer!
It's hard to remember all the things we saw today. We walked up and down Larimer while we waited for our table at Snooze. We also explored Colfax St., where we went into a huge Tattered Cover (I didn't realize there's more than one!), and a neat music store. Wherever we were, we usually stopped in at yoga centers, because Roxanne wants to find some classes to take here, and at bakeries because Roxanne wants to own a bakery one day and is always looking for ideas. Roxanne's smart phone guided us through the city and the bus system; it made things so easy! We estimate that we walked about 5 miles total today hopping from one point of interest to another.
It's good that we did all that walking, because one of our last stops of the day was ice cream at Lik's (also recommended by Aunt Niecer)! It was soooo good. They make all their ice cream in-store. I tried the raspberry cheesecake and loved it.
I'm really glad that I took the day to rest and have fun. It was great to get to know Roxanne better, too! When we got back I ate dinner in the cafeteria, skyped with my awesome family, and finished submitting my portion of our Project Prep Plan for Round 1. Tomorrow my team has to present the PPP to staff members so that they can have confidence that we know what we're doing out there. This week will be a whirlwind of preparation and planning; it should be really fun and go by quickly! I hope you all had great weekends, too.
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