The Colorado Springs Magic Memory Tour!

For those of you who left the Springs and occasionally visit, here's a good route to drive. I have developed this route over the past four visits. You see, I visit Colorado Springs once a year, always in April. I see old friends, I eat food that a man my age shouldn't be eating and I drive around; it's basically a 5-6 day reboot of my system to prepare me to resume my regular life. I'm thinking if we're friends this drive will contain locations of significance for you as well. If it doesn't.... well you can go to hell, make up your own tour. At each location I will provide an old song. You can listen to these in the order that I do throughout or pick songs that are gonna hit that special nostalgic note for you, personally.

Starting Point, Wendy's, Palmer Park and Powers

Song: Criminal - Fiona Apple

My first place of employment. I worked here between the ages of 16-18. So did a lot of you, it was right down the rud, as they say in Maine. I started off at $5.25 an hour and studied hard, memorizing the manual written by Dave Thomas himself and eventually got promoted to a crew leader. I don't mean to be boastful but that came with a $0.75 raise, finally lifting me up to the place where I could afford.... Well, nothing really. That's why I had to leave.

As an adult, it's a good place to grab a quick lunch before heading off on this long journey. After you wolf down your Big Bacon Classic, go out to Powers and take a right. Take that all the way down to Carefree, take a left, and then another immediate left into the parking lot of......

Texas Roadhouse

Song: A Ditty by Bone Thugz and Harmony. Pick your own, the one I'm referencing - the people who need to know will.

In my Early 20's I had an odd amount of good friends that worked here. Nicole, Stephy, Dani, Heather, Jen. Ridiculously kind, ridiculously pretty girls who always smelled vaguely of beef, fried chicken and fries after a long shift. I met most of them outside of the Roadhouse through random parties but once I knew they all worked here this became my go to place for a splurge (I still wasn't making any money at this point, shut up.) or a drink.

Bonus: This is in the same shopping centre as the Safeway. Which, if you've been in the Springs for a long time, you know was the only structure on the East Side as far as the eye could see for many, many years. Drive past the Kohl's, the historic landmark Safeway will be on your right. Along with an Einstein Bagels that my friend Leyna used to work at. I remember visiting her there at 6:30 in the morning once and giving her a gigantic hug after she got married. Which means nothing to anyone but me and Leyna, but hey it's my thing, I'll write what I want.

I have eaten one salad in my life. It was here. And Nicole forced me to by ordering it for me on my birthday while I was in the can.

Anyways, drive to the light, take a left on Constitution, take another left on Peterson, another left on Pony Tracks. a right on Flying Horse, and a left on Quarter Circle. Do you know where we're going?

6720 Quarter Circle Rd

Song: Back in The Day - Ahmad

As you turn onto Quarter Circle, before arriving at my boyhood home please take a moment to glance to your left to appreciate the former House of Yu.

This is where I first lived in the Springs. And I wasn't allowed to leave it on weekdays (except for the random school sport event.) My workaround for this? Everyone was at my house all the time. The driveway shooting hoops, my room playing videogames, the living room watching TV... everywhere. And once my teenage friends found out they would never come here without being fed that only exacerbated the problem.

You wouldn't know it from looking at it but this house was also the site of an almost all out gang brawl. Thank you again Mikey. Without your intervention this REALLY would have gotten out of hand.

I wonder if violence in the house affects the value?

Don't stop, keep driving around the loop, it'll take you back to Flying Horse. At the stop sign, take a moment to remember the Thompson house if you knew them. I did, and quite frankly I enjoyed knowing them.

Right on Flying Horse, Left on Pony Tracks, right on Peterson, Right on Leoti, right on Richmond.

Asian Avenue (Richmond Drive)

Song: Hand in my Pocket - Alanis Morrissette

This short street contained a high concentration of Asians. You got your Basses, you've got your Lami, you briefly had your Hartleys, you've got your Lee's. Okay Earnest Lee was black, so I guess it was just the three, although I heard Jay used to live on this street too, Tunay na Pinoy! Helen was and is my best friend, I spent a lot of time walking up and down this street with her. And sitting on her porch. And sitting in the backyard. That's right, just sitting. I never liked sports much.

Bask in the residual Asian glow for as long as you like, then hang a right on Chantilly Place (And a pretty face and a pony tail, hanging down, a wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk make the world go 'round Ain't nothing in the world like a big-eyed girl to make me act so funny, make me spend my money make me feel real loose like a long-necked goose Like a girl, OH BABY THAT'S WHAT I LIKE!!!!! Yes this entire thing plays in my head every time I see this street sign) Right on Piros, Right on Lindal, Left on Leoti.

The Whitmer House

Song: This is How We Do It - Montell Jordan

Ahhh the house I stopped by after school for an hour or two after school. Also for an hour or two after work in later years. I learned many a lifelong lesson here. It's okay for cousins to swap pants. If you've lost your mind and you're trying to run away from home you should pick a place further than 2 miles from your own house. Most girls like cologne. Unexpecting loyalty is rare, treasure it. I'm bad at basketball. I'm good at Street Fighter. Low roofs can be jumped off of with little consequences if required. Colorado is cold. And so forth. Keep driving until you loop back around to Piros. If you attended Horizon and want to see it again, hang a left, look right. Otherwise, go right on Piros, right on Peterson, left on Palmer Park. If you don't know where we're going now, you're not REALLY East Side, even if you think you are.

Kwik Way

Convenience Store

Play Lottery Games Here

Song: Fantastic Voyage - Coolio

I'm not going to lie to you, your adult instincts might be screaming at you not to get out of the car here. You'll be fine. Fun side story, when I first moved to the Springs from Japan I was already full-blown addicted to nicotine. Then I got stateside and discovered that you had to be 18 to buy cigarettes here. So I spent some time outside this store deepening my voice and doing this pitch. "I left my ID at my house can you buy me a pack of Newports?" with about a 20% success rate. Also I let my hair grow out really long and had Mat shave my head in a way that made me look like a middle aged man. That had a 100% success rate, but to be fair I only did it once.

If you hung out here long enough, someone you know would eventually show up and an adventure would present itself. Perhaps not a desirable adventure but an adventure nonetheless. Kwik Way was the great equalizer, everyone came here sooner or later. During the Hornet carpool era we would stop here before school to grab candy, soda, matches whatever before heading off on the trek. Also used to come here to get Dr. Peppers when i was hanging out at Stacey's house, which is an enthusiastic stone's throw away from here.

If you need to stop for a bathroom break.... you can't here. If you need a drink or a snack, you can do that here, but keep in mind that if you're a student with a backpack, they still only allow two in the store at once.

Also, I don't encourage it, but the massage place in this same shopping center is rumored to be a brothel if it's still open and such things interest you.

Back out to Peterson, take a right. Peterson now goes all the way into where we're going next (what black magic is this?) but we're not doing that because we are pretending it's 1996.

You will have to take a manual left on Carefree, Right on Powers, Right on Barnes.

Stetson Hills

Song: Glycerine - Bush

If you haven't experienced it yet, taking this right should be like a cold bucket of water to the face, a stark realization that time and places keep going, with or without you. You may even suspect that you've taken a wrong turn due to the extreme amount of development that has occurred here since the last time you came. What used to be here is a dirt field and the Sky Sox Stadium. What's here now is everything you could possibly need. Not gonna list the things out; you can see for yourself but as a frame of reference, that is indeed a Costco on your right. I'm gonna give you full liberty in this area to navigate the suburban twists and turns as you see fit to visit childhood sites, with the caveat that you will get lost briefly if you don't know exactly where you're going. But if you'd like to continue the tour, take a right on Purcell, left on Holt.

Tomartommins Blvd (Holt Drive)

Song: Stay - Jodeci

It's almost impossible for you to NOT known someone that lived on this street. Jacki, Charles, Cassandra, Bruce, Jason, Jessica, Martin and a couple of other losers who's names I don't remember. I kid, I kid! Being a loser is a lifestyle, not something that can be identified by a third party. For basically all of 96-97, if I was leaving my house I was coming here, for one reason or another. Soak it in, remember what you can and keep driving as the street curves to the right, and right in front of you you'll see....

Sandstone Park

Song: Me and My Girlfriend - 2Pac

Hey got a basketball with you? Well, it's useless here now! Converted into tennis courts long ago. I was able to find an archival photo before the conversion. This was another hotspot in the days of yore. We once had a Cimmaron vs Stetson basketball statement here that culminated in a fist fight. If you found yourself in Stetson Hills with plans that went bust this park was a good place to head to gather your thoughts and pick your next direction. Not as good as the Kwik Way but close. Alright. Park the car, enjoy the scenery, use the public bathroom if you gotta. Our drive to the last stop will be a long one....

The Long Road To Falcon

Songs: Name - The Goo Goo Dolls

Hey Jealousy - The Gin Blossoms

At your Best - Aaliyah

Round Here, Long December - The Counting Crows

From Sandstone park, Left on Pring Road Ranch to go back to Barnes, right on Barnes, Left on Marksheffel, Right On Woodman, Left on Meridian, Left on Stapleton, Right on Towner.

I had to make this voyage many, many times. Sometimes by bus, mostly by friend's car, and a few times driving myself. During this voyage was one of 3 times Lady Colorado tried to kill me, this time by freezing the windshield over in the car I was riding in and causing us to rear end a parked car. All things considered I was lucky, especially for a lad not wearing his seatbelt. I flew face-first into the headrest in front of me, permanently chipped one of my front teeth and flew back onto my seat, breaking my tailbone. To this day I need good padding under my ass if I'll be sitting for awhile, and the chipped tooth.... Well that's kind of my signature look, love it or hate it. I hate it. Any of y'all grow up to be dentists? This will be an enjoyable drive in adulthood. Falcon has flourished. Stetson Hills development times 1000. Don't miss your turns, you don't want to get lost out here.

Follow Towner up to the stop sign. Take a right....

Falcon High School (Now Falcon Middle School)

800 students. Out in the middle of nowhere. I attended this school between 1995 and 1997. Not really that long of a time period but what it lacks in length it makes up for in significance. I started the long journey of self-discovery here. Who I was, what I like, what I hate, how to identify people that are great and people that suck. That's why it's doubly irritating that this is the middle school now. But you know.... progress. If the school is not occupied by middle school students (I will not be held responsible if you get arrested for being a lurker if you ignore this advice) you can park and take a second to let things flood back to you.

Ice Cream Socials. Morp. The first time you got punched in the face. The first time you punched someone in the face. Art class. Your first kiss. Your first date. Whatever it is for you. Let it come. Feel what you feel. Real quick shoutout to Helen, Tina and Sarah. Until I saw the three of youse walking down the hall together I thought my parents had unknowingly sent me to an all-white school. That aspect was terrifying at the time, but in retrospect I will say this with the confidence of a man who has traveled and lived all over the United States... Colorado has the best white people that this country has to offer. And the worst white people are all located in.... Let's not go into that.

This concludes our Magic Memory Tour! Feel free to make alterations and add stops as needed. For now, you'll notice that your GPS isn't working. Turn around and drive on Towner (taking in the view of Elkhorn Estates, which is one of the most delightfully eclectic neighborhoods I've ever seen.) until the road ends, take a left to get back to Meridian. From that point you can take a right to get back to Colorado Springs or go left if what I think of as "Deep Falcon" contains historical significance for you.

If we're close and you weren't mentioned on my memory tour, please take no offense. I do this without GPS and I don't remember how to get to your house.

I'll wrap this up by pre-answering the glaring question that might be in your head.

"Do you really do this every year? Why?"

1. This is the first place I ever lived in for longer than 5 years. It's home and always will be.

2. I'm a nostalgic guy.

3. Eat a dick. I've done a lot since I left Colorado Springs, if you had as well looking back would be fun. I mean... thanks for reading, love ya!