Colorado, August 2008

Allie and I went to Colorado to spend some time with the Embreys. Barb joined us at the end of the week before the three of us headed onward to Hawaii on another leg of our 25th Anniversary celebrations. This is one of those trips that I didn’t document all that well, so mostly I’m reconstructing things from the photos and one itinerary file.

Saturday, August 9

Allie and I flew from BWI on Saturday morning, arriving in Denver by 1pm. We rented a car and headed to Betsy and Joe’s house where we were happy to spend the afternoon meeting their new kittens, Bo and Bella. It was also a chance for Allie to reconnect with Kristen and Sara whom we hadn’t seen since our Mt. Rushmore trip in 2005.

Sunday, August 10

A day to hang out with Embreys. I’m pretty sure Joe and I played golf.

Monday, August 11

Allie and I took Kristen and two of her hockey buddies (who at this point will remain nameless) to Elitch Gardens, a sort of Six Flags park in Denver. In fact, it had been a Six Flags park until 2006 when it was sold by the notorious Dan Snyder (hiss). At that point Dan Snyder wasn’t so notorious and we didn’t pay attention to the corporate ownership. We just had a good time on the rides. I was happy to skip most of them but the girls had a lot of fun.

Tuesday, August 12

Allie and I went off for an adventure on our own to Colorado Springs, about an hour south of Betsy’s house. Our first stop: the Garden of the Gods. We had a good time walking around the park and clambering on the rock formations for a couple of hours.

Our next stop was the little mountain town of Manitou Springs, largely at the suggestion of Betsy and TripAdvisor. We wandered the Historic District for a bit and had lunch in one of the restaurants before spending a good while at the large Penny Arcade full of classic games. A fine time was had.

In the late afternoon we were back at Betsy’s for more kitten time…

Wednesday, August 13

Allie and I headed toward the mountains, first to Granby where Joe was working much of the time. At this point in his career, Joe was working for an industrial contractor and roofing company based out of Granby, about 2.5 hours from home in Highlands Ranch. It was much too far to commute, so Joe rented a townhouse in Granby and was there 4-5 nights most weeks. We stayed with him overnight in the townhouse.

In the afternoon, Joe and I played a round of mountain golf, probably at the Grand Elk Golf Club though I could be wrong. I don’t think we got in a full 18 holes before dark but we did what we could and enjoyed it. I have no idea what Allie did for the afternoon…probably parked in front of a TV at the townhouse. I don’t remember where we went for dinner but I’m confident it was tasty.

Thursday, August 14

Allie and I drove north from Granby to Rocky Mountain National Park and its famous Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved road in North America. We swooped through Estes Park, getting some lunch before heading back to Betsy, Kristen and the kittens in Highlands Ranch.

Friday, August 15

Barb flew out Friday morning and we picked her up at the airport around midday. The afternoon brought more kitten time! I think dinner was either steak or wiener schnitzel at Betsy’s.

Saturday, August 16

We played with Embreys. More golf? A movie?

Sunday, August 17

We spent another day with the Embreys before heading onward to Hawaii on Monday.

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