This weekend, Jeff and I celebrated our first anniversary. It was a weekend filled with ghosts, getaways, and more melted cheese than you can shake a stick at. In other words, it was a great weekend.
On Saturday morning, Jeff told me that he found a cool bed and breakfast in downtown Denver called Castle Marne. He was excited that the room had a private hot tub. I was excited that it was likely haunted. We booked a last-minute trip, and honestly, it was worth it.
Castle Marne was gorgeous. The bed was probably the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, and the breakfast this morning was absolutely delicious. Also, it was within walking distance of Tattered Cover, Twist & Shout Records, and Voodoo Donuts, all places we popped into last night.
As we checked in, I wondered whether the castle was haunted, but I didn’t go out of my way to look up any stories. If it was, I didn’t want to influence any experiences I might have. Not long after I fell asleep, I had a dream that something cold brushed against me, but I knew it wasn’t the air conditioning, because it came from the opposite side of the room. I slapped away whatever it was. Of course, in reality, I was slapping Jeff.
Was it a ghost? Probably not, but we did learn that the hotel does have a young girl haunting it.
Wrapping up our weekend, Jeff and I decided to try out The Melting Pot for the first time. Of course, we chose it because it, too, was haunted. I am so full of cheese and meat and chocolate. It was amazing.
It’s funny. As Jeff and I do things, I will often think of the main characters of my novels, wondering how they would react in the same situations. As Jeff and I were eating our first course, I thought of Kath and Smith at The Melting Pot. As the waiter warned us not to eat directly from our fondue forks, I thought of Smith giving Kath the following warning:
“Katharine Elizabeth Smith, if you eat directly from the fondue fork, so help me, I will divorce you.”
Because she would definitely try it.
Mindy Kinnaman 