74. A First Reunion Part 2

Week 74  12/4/16

This public land is right near Julia and John's house. When it's not cloudy, even more of the Rockies can be seen.

We went to Boulder for Christmas shopping and when Paul was about to enter the book store he found Julia in the window. Window displays are part of her job.

In the third floor ballroom of the book store, Julia points to her officer above. We bought books and had them shipped home.

This is the lobby of the Boulderado Hotel. The ceiling is leaded glass and the woodwork is cherry. Some day we will come here for a meal. The ornaments oh the tree are about a food in diameter.

While Julia and John were at work, we went to Golden one day. Another day we went to the Golden Gate Canyon State Park. It was snowy and the driving was treacherous in the Rockys. I drove. Slowly. When we were really ready for a break, we found this spot in Nederland. We ate a brownie sundae and drank coffee and hot chocolate as we browsed the used books. Next door was a home grown marijuana store. Across the street is a carousel. After coffee we went to the alpaca goods store where I bought a yarn present for Julia.

When Gillian arrived, it was fun to have the whole family together. Ben was amazing at finding good spots to eat. Even John and Julia had not heard of the pizza place we went to that had gluten free crust and good beer.

 Another night we went to this brew pub, Kikopelli's, in Westminster, where two authentic but not terribly gifted Irish musicians sang for us. Paul made a request of a Stan Rodgers song after they started to pack up, and they happily looked up the lyrics and sang the long song for us. 

There was quite a bit of snow when we went to Rocky Mountain National Park. Paul and Ben walked around Bear lake, but I was not up to it because of the extreme cold and slippery path, so Gillian and I waited it out in the car.

We think these piles of wood are created as a safety measure to keep dry brush from starting fires. They are intentionally burned on days when the wind is still.

On another very cold day, we went to the Denver Aquarium which is called "Downtown Aquarium." Gillian maintains her loyalty and preference for the National Aquarium in Baltimore, of which she is a member, but she enjoyed this different kind of aquarium which has more fresh-water fish than many aquariums, being in a landlocked state. I think they have some great exhibits and the animals seem healthy and well cared-for.

Yes, there are tigers at the aquarium. Don't know why.

Back in Boulder for shopping.

On our last night together, we went to the Dushanbe Tea House in Boulder, our favorite restaurant in the area. We asked for the corner table where diners sit on a platform.

73. A First Reunion Part 1

Week 73  12/1/16

Our family all wanted Ben's fiance Gillian to meet Julia and John in person. (We had all skyped at Thanksgiving.) A trip to Colorado was planned between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Gillian was not able to be with us for the whole trip but we had her for a few days before she set off for another previously-planned trip.


We arrived while John and Julia were still at work, so we went to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Park. There were about 75 bison very close to the road.

The next day, we and Ben went to El Dorado Canyon. There are no rock climbers to watch this time of year. It was snowing but we were able to take a nice hike anyway.

On the weekend we were able to spend more time with Julia and John. Here she is on the balcony of the Denver Museum of Art.

The museum has an extensive wing of Native American art from all over North America.

On Saturday we had a late Thanksgiving dinner. Julia roasted turkey and made the side dishes and pumpkin pie. Ben, or family pie specialist, made the apple pie.

The day after we celebrated Thanksgiving we decorated the Christmas tree. It took a while to find a tree that was not way overpriced but finally one was found.

Paul, Ben and I went to Fort Collins for breakfast with his longtime friend Paul and his wife Pat. Then we went to this notable yarn store where I bought some Wollemeise yarn, available in the USA only at this store. Afterwards we went to the Fort Collins old town and were unimpressed - unless we were in the wrong area.