Nostalgia Part Two

Oh my, Sunday my hubby and I went to church and than stopped by the Wishbone and had chicken dinners! They have been around for a really long time, since 1963. Same phamily owns the place and their food is comfort food, plain and simple. It reminded me of another great chicken place back in the day. Not only did the Denver Drumstick have great chicken they had an electric train that ran around the entire restaurant. It was situated above the dining rooms and you could watch that little train from every angle. Pueblo did not have a Drumstick restaurant but Colorado Springs did and my phamily frequented that one a lot. I loved watching that train. Sigh...the Drumstick restaurants are no longer open. So sad.

Now this restaurant was exciting. The Yum Yum Tree! You walked inside and you could travel to so many different countries, it was often hard to decide where you would dine! There was such an array of choices you could travel to far away lands and never leave the restaurant. Alas, it is gone too. It was a treasure chest filled with glorious foods.

Casa Bonita had to be the most fun filled place when the kids were small. They never wanted to have a birthday party anywhere but there! The huge pink Spanish style building that housed this fun Mexican restaurant with divers and games galore was a Denver icon. Opened in 1974 they have served up some cheesy Mexican meals and brought smiles to the faces of many children. When two of our kids graduated from college they wanted to celebrate here! Although it has changed through the years it is still a fun place to visit and you can even toss a few coins in the fountain outside. You should visit Beverly and see the pinks over at her place too.

May 13, 2012 was Mother's Day! It was the day our first college graduate Jeremy graduated from Metro State College in Denver. we celebrated later on that day at Casa Bonita. It was a fun day and we enjoyed good times as well as great company! That fountain is always so pretty in the summertime.

Dino's is still around. It is located near Casa Bonita in Lakewood, Colorado. They have been serving Italian food since 1961 and it is a great phamily style place to enjoy some fun and food! They have served a lot of pizza ans spaghetti since they opened their doors  54 years ago! When you visit Dino's you will see people there that have grown up with this establishment. Now they bring their own phamilies here to break bread. Dino's is a nostalgic place because they still use the same red tall plastic drinking glasses from a different era. I love the phamily feel here.

I bet lots of you can remember F.W. Woolworth's! I grew up shopping at Woolworth's, Newberry's and Kress. In my home town of Pueblo they are all businesses today in the lovely old buildings on Main Street where Woolworth's was held the best candy counter around and a lunch counter to tickle your taste buds. My oldest daughter Noelle worked at Woolworth's in Northglenn for several years. When they closed she continued her friendship with the staff of ladies she worked with in the restaurant and to this day they all go out to lunch once a month. a few of them have passed away but this tight knit group of gals still have fun together. There was a retired gentleman's club that met for lunch at Woolworth's when Noelle worked there. They were called the ROMEO CLUB. It stood for Retired Old Men Eating Out! My Uncle Louie would always say that there wasn't a thing you could not purchase at Woolworth's. You just don't get the same treatment at Walmart or Target today that you did when you shopped and had lunch at Woolworth's.

Celebrity Fun Center was on Colorado Blvd. and you could go there to bowl, swim, play games or simply hang out with your friends. It had 80 lanes of bowling and three pools including a huge slide that was encased in clear plastic that you would see from the street! I just don't know why places like this no longer exist. It was a great place for teens to hang out and kids were not getting into trouble back then. A bittersweet piece of nostalgia.

Well, I might have to add that when you travel to Trinidad,Colorado which is traveling south on I-25 nearly to the New Mexico state line you will come to Trinidad which has become very famous for those wishing to have a complete transformation and get a sex change operation. If you go to Trinidad the locals will ask you if you would like some green chili with those fries, a shot of tequila and hey, how about a little green chili with your green chili! They love their green chili in Trinidad ! But in Denver you have to find a Chubby's! I would recommend the original one in North Denver but my suggestion would be to go there in the day time. The nigh time is still a little iffy with crime and shootings! I would go to Chubby's on 72nd and Federal Blvd. They have the friendliest staff and those chili cheese fries are for special occasions only. They are loaded with a lot of calories!

Drive in movies have become a thing of the past, until recently. Someone is building a huge drive in movie theater near my home. It will be state of the art, top of the line. Goodness, we use to go to the Cinderella Twin Drive In in Englewood, Colorado when our kids were small. we grew up with drive in movies. As teens we'd flip a coin to see who had to hide in the truck with two other people and we'd pile out and have the time of our lives. Good memories. There is only one drive in theater left and it is not too far from my home in Commerce City. I am unsure if it will survive the opening of this new mega drive in but we spent lots of nights taking the kids there too in the summertime. It was just part of summer and our kids have memories of those drive in movies. Sigh!
I will join Ms. Jenny and the Alphabe Thursday gang again and share this second part of my nostalgia.  I hope you had a good time.

Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine by Tom T. Hall

"How old do you think I am?" he said
I said, Well, I didn't know
He said, "I turned 65 about 11 months ago"

I was sittin' in Miami pourin' blended whiskey down
When this old gray black gentleman was cleanin' up the lounge

There wasn't anyone around 'cept this old man and me
The guy who ran the bar was watchin' 'Ironsides' on TV
Uninvited, he sat down and opened up his mind
On old dogs and children and watermelon wine

"Ever had a drink of watermelon wine?" he asked
He told me all about it, though I didn't answer back
"Ain't but three things in this world that's worth a solitary dime
But old dogs and children and watermelon wine"

He said, "Women think about theyselves, when menfolk ain't around
And friends are hard to find when they discover that you're down"
He said, "I tried it all when I was young and in my natural prime
Now it's old dogs and children and watermelon wine"

Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes
God bless little children while they're still too young to hate
When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line
'Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine

I had to catch a plane up to Atlanta that next day
As I left for my room I saw him pickin' up my change
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine