A Wonderful Day in Colorado

Colorado is a magical state.  I have never lived here tho I've thought about it since my first trip through the state in 1965.  I have been here many times and have never not had a wonderful experience.  One of the best times was when Chip and I came here for a Renaissance Weekend (remember those?) and then spent a couple of weeks driving the 4 corners of the state stopping at the white sands (amazing) and a resort so deep in the wilderness we had to helicoper in.  I don't think there is a part of this state I don't like - a lot.

And yesterday was no exception.  Tramp and I had a wonderful day playing with my step-son, Edward and his delightful girlfriend, Willow.

Ed and Willow were in Boulder to go to the wedding of a good friend of Ed's from his business school days. Their visit was all the better because it meant they could stay and visit with one of Ed's closest friends, Andy, who lives here.  Andy is now married with three kids all under the age of 6.  It was great fun watching these kids interact with Uncle Ed.  I know I'm biased, but I think Ed -like his Dad - has a special gift with kids.

The wedding was Saturday afternoon and evening so we had arranged to talk by phone when we awoke on Sunday and plan our day.  I woke early as has been my habit on this trip, but I didn't want to call assuming the kids had been up dancing until the wee hours of the morning.  As it turned out, my assumption was completely wrong.  (When will I learn??)  They were back at Andy's home by 9PM and were up and ready to go by 8:30 Sunday, but of course, I didn't know.   At any rate, I drove over to Andy's home around 10:30 and picked up Ed and Willow and we went out to brunch at a perfect little outdoor place not far away.

With some good food in us we took off for the sweet village of Estes Park which is at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Chip and I had been to Estes Park once before when we wanted to drive up into the mountains. During that visit we did not go into the village and the memory I have of the town was the small herd of deer we saw lazily grazing on some unlucky homeowner's front lawn.

Estes Park

Eddie, Tramp and me on the bike.  Imagine Willow in here with us!

  Today, Ed, Willow and I headed into the village and immediately found a lake that looked too inviting to pass up.  After playing in the water with Tramp for a bit, we rented a bike that was built for two people sitting side by side to pedal together. It had a cute canopy on top and a basket in the front for a baby or two. We put Tramp in the basket, I squeezed into the middle of the seat and Ed and Willow pedalled us all around the lake - nearly 5 miles! Now, these are strong and athletic kids, but with Tramp and me there was probably 200 more pounds than that bike was meant to carry and there were some pretty steep uphill climbs on this trail. I was sure, several times, that I should get out and walk but they wouldn't let me and lo and behold they did it.

After a brief rest back on the beach, we decided the reward should be some delicious ice cream cones, and Ed wanted to go up the mountain a bit and show us the views so we went back in the car and started looking for an ice cream store in the very crowded village when we looked at the clock in the car and realized we needed to get back to Boulder if we were going to make their 6PM flight back to LA. So Ed, who was driving, turned the car around and we started back. I think he was a bit nervous that we were already getting late and mentioned we might not even have the time to stop for the ice cream when suddenly he asked a very relevant question. By the way, did I reset the car clock to Mountain time when I crossed into Colorado or could it be that the clock was actually an hour off, still on Central time?  Well, of course he was right. I never reset the clock so we had an hour more than we had thought which gave us all a reason to take a breath and enjoy a very deep sigh of relief. It meant we could go by the best little ice cream shop in Boulder, fill the car with gas, get it washed and get back to visit with Andy and his family at their home for a little bit before loading up the car and driving to the airport.

It was sad for me to say goodbye to the kids. I really enjoy their company a lot. They are hard working, smart, attractive people in very sense of that word.  Had I been the one pedaling that bike, I would have given up when the going got hard and walked and pushed the bike until the path got flat again.  But these kids wouldn't give up.  Willow, especially, motivated herself and Ed by just saying she knew they could do it.  Simple as that.  Like the little engine that could.  And they did!  And I was impressed. 

 I had decided to drive on to Colorado Springs after leaving them and so I started back on the road. It was a beautiful drive here - Colorado is a magnificent state and this hotel, a La Quinta,  is probably the nicest one I've been in so far. The bathroom is well lit with good mirrors and when I washed up I discovered I had a nice golden glow from all the sunshine.  My first tan of the season, and it is fitting it happened here.  Colorado definately gives me a lglow.

Today I'm off to Santa Fe.  My brother-in-law is already there and he says the house is terrific.  I think I may buy my first bathing suit in 20 years.

.