Colorado, July 2021

Our post-Covid (?) family reunion with the Embreys (and to meet Embrey Ann) in Denver and Breckenridge, plus a side visit to Estes Park to see Frances and Dave.

In the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic, just after the elections in November 2020 and around the time the first vaccine developments were announced, I got the notion of planning a family get-together in Colorado. Sara was already pregnant and due to deliver in March. It had been a long time since we’d seen Betsy, Joe and the girls, especially for Barb. Allie always seemed willing to connect more closely with the Embrey side of the family, particularly with Kristen. It seemed clear that we wouldn’t be able to travel anywhere outside the U.S., and it was easier for us to go to Colorado than to expect the Embreys to come to the east coast. All these factors pointed in the direction of getting together in Colorado over the summer of 2021. Other than seeing Allie in Boston, it seemed like the one big trip we could actually plan for the year.

We contacted Betsy and then Sara with the idea of finding a place in the mountains. Sara sprung into action and recommended various places in and around Breckenridge. Before long, we decided on a nice house through AirBnB and in December booked it for 5 nights in July, the week after the fourth. We figured Sara’s new baby would be old enough to travel by then, and there was a good chance we would be vaccinated by that point.

As we descended into the worst of the virus in January and February and then saw things brighten starting in March, it was a psychic boon to have this vacation to look forward to. Anticipation built further as we each eventually got vaccinated. Sara’s baby, Embrey Ann, was born on March 27 and we had more reason to get excited for the trip. Sara and I collaborated on more specific plans for the trip starting in June, working up a detailed planning document, which I appreciated. Finally, the time came to actually go.

Thursday, July 8

Time to fly to Colorado. Allie had come to Maryland the week before with Perri to spend the Fourth of July with us. We left Manny and Perri and the house in the capable hands of our neighbor Mark. We hoped they would all survive while we were gone.

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Our 2:20pm flight, which I had booked as a non-stop, was changed by Southwest to a one-stop through-flight without my noticing. They sent a notice a month or two ahead but I didn’t pay sufficient attention. Our newly scheduled stop in Raleigh-Durham would not normally have been a big deal but on this day the remnants of Hurricane Elsa were winding through the Carolinas, making it a little problematic to be flying in that direction. 

We started our journey with breakfast/lunch sandwiches at Roggenart, a new spot on Route 40. Getting our orders took a long time which made everyone a little nervous but we got to the airport in plenty of time. I got a breakfast sandwich to eat there and a ham sandwich to go — and Barb saved half of hers — which was a good thing because we didn’t have any other food for many hours. Allie was not as foresighted, even though we suggested she get one.

Our flight was on time when we headed to the airport but by the time we got there it was delayed 20 minutes due to the tropical storm already having some effect on the Baltimore area. By the time we boarded it was 40 minutes late, then we sat on the tarmac for another hour waiting for lightning to clear from the area. We arrived in Durham almost 2 hours late and weren’t able to make up time to Denver, but at least we stayed on the same plane and didn’t have to fight for seats a second time.

Covid-protocol-wise, we kept masks on for both flights, both of which were packed to the gills. Southwest served us one small drink (hold up two fingers for a Diet Coke) and a small bag of snacks on the second flight — the first flight was too short and bumpy for drinks. Otherwise, it was a normal, crowded Southwest experience.

We finally arrived in Denver and had to wait a bit longer for a gate to open, which always seems to add insult to injury. Once we finally got off the plane and negotiated the crowded Denver airport, we got our bags quickly, then spent another hour worming our way through the Budget rental car process before finally ending up with a free upgrade to a Mitsubishi SUV. By the time we got to Betsy’s it was almost 10pm, midnight our time — more than three hours after we were supposed to be there for dinner. Allie was starving and everyone was a little cranky. Betsy and Joe had burgers and brats waiting for us, which was great. We got a little caught up with Betsy, Joe, Sara and Kristen before retreating to our hotel.

Our hotel, the Sonesta Suites, was pretty crummy. I’d chosen it because it was cheap and close to Betsy’s. The night manager confirmed that I got a very good rate — booked during the dregs of Covid time, months before. Current room rates were double the $125/night we were paying. Barb and I shared a small queen bed, Allie was on a pull-out sofa, the shower didn’t drain well. The best thing about it was a kitchenette with a full-size fridge. We considered switching to another hotel but decided we could make do for two nights, and two more on the back end of the trip.

Friday, July 9

We had mapped out our meals and shopping lists for the week on our Colorado Planning Document, which was a great boon to me. I liked knowing what we needed to get and also pre-negotiating the various meals.

Betsy and I went shopping at Costco, especially for steaks and liquor (how I wish our Maryland Costcos carried liquor!). Everyone else worked at their respective real jobs…except Joe who was golfing at a “work” event. After finishing our Costco run, Betsy, Barb and Allie went clothes shopping with Kristen, Sara and Emmy. I went to King Soopers and got the rest of the groceries on the list, then returned to the hotel to put most of the stuff in our fridge. Later, I went to a liquor store to get Sara’s requested hard kombucha (I had never heard of hard kombucha and didn’t even know what to look for — I chose from a wide assortment of flavors and hoped for the best) and also found a decent Mexican restaurant, Los Dos Potrillos, for lunch.

Friday afternoon, Barb, Betsy, Kristen and Allie made spring rolls in production line fashion. It was nice to see everyone working reasonably well with each other. I gladly stayed out of the way.

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Sara and Tylor brought dumplings, pan fried noodles and a veggie dish later for dinner. We ate a fine, salty fried meal at Betsy’s and we all met Embrey Ann for the first time. She’s a cutie…a little drooly, though.

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We had an impromptu man yue with a bunch of gifts that Barb and Allie bought for Emmy but without the proper ceremony for celebrating her first full moon or in this case, 100 days. No matter. It was great fun to reconnect with everyone, but we were all pretty exhausted by 10pm.

Saturday, July 10

We packed up our belongings and the food (Joe provided a cooler). Our rental car was stuffed to the gills as we departed about 10:30am to drop Allie off at her friend Jeff’s for his birthday celebrations. She stayed with him for a night of barhopping in Denver. Barb and I then set out for Breckenridge to scout out the territory and get some lunch before our check-in time at 4pm. Betsy and Joe were to follow once Joe finished another round of golf as part of a league that he’s in. Busy fellow. Sara would drive up separately with Tylor, Kristen and Emmy once she got her car out of the shop. At least, that was the plan.

Traffic on I-70 to Breckenridge was slow, quite like driving to Ocean City on a weekend. The 90-minute trip stretched to more than two hours. Eventually, Barb and I found our AirBnB house and it looks great from the outside. We didn’t take pictures ourselves, but these are from the website.

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Barb and I went into Breckenridge and after a short drive around town, found a parking place and scoped out places for lunch. Just a short walk from the parking lot to the main street at nearly 10,000 feet made me a little woozy. We ended up at one of the first places we saw, a very non-crowded BBQ place, Whiskey Star Smokehouse. I got a pretty tasty brisket mac and cheese while Barb got a salad and creamed corn. The best things about the place were easy refills of water (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!) and big screens with replays of the Wimbledon women’s final (go Ash Barty!). After lunch we killed another hour in a little Breckenridge museum and visitor center. Thank goodness for a series of movies where I could sit and catch my breath. 

Just before 4pm we got word that the house was ready so we headed up. Meanwhile, Betsy let us know that Sara’s car would not be ready so they were using Joe’s truck as a fallback, but that meant rejiggering all their timing and plans. Kristen, meanwhile, would come up with her boyfriend, Ryan. They would all get up to Breckenridge a few hours later. That gave Barb and me some time to move in and get settled in the house. The place was beautiful, a modern log cabin with 5 bedrooms spread over three floors.

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The only bad part was unloading our car in the garage and lugging everything up one or two flights of stairs. I took my time and didn’t have a heart attack, so win! Barb did most of the unpacking while I caught my breath. I laid claim to the TV waiting for the start of the Argentina vs. Brazil finale of the Copa America. The game was good and Lionel Messi finally pulled out his first championship for Argentina. And I helped.

All the others eventually showed up in stages, generating an increasing flurry of activity in the house. I kind of laid low watching the game while everyone unpacked and settled in. The younger generation took care of getting pizza and things for dinner while the rest of us watched Emmy. Joe insisted on calling her by her full name, Embrey Ann, to the consternation of most everyone else. The mountain air, and general exhaustion at finally being in and settled, led everyone to their respective beds relatively early.

Sunday, July 11

Barb woke up early, like around 6am, and started getting lox and bagels together for breakfast. Everyone else staggered up over the next hour or two and eventually all had their fill.

Kristen had just come back from a month in Costa Rica which included a three-week training session to become a yoga instructor and a week of touring around Costa Rica with her friend and Lululemon co-worker, Ryan. They had left for Costa Rica as unofficial friends but came back as an official couple, for the time being. Kristen quit Lululemon and was doing some nannying while looking for the right place to hang her shingle as an instructor. In the meantime, she needed to teach some number of actual yoga sessions for her certification so she offered one to the assembled crew on Sunday morning. I promised not to take any compromising photos. After the hour session, everyone agreed that Kristen has a promising future as an instructor.

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I was the only one not interested in yoga so I nominally kept Emmy entertained while the others got in touch with their chakras or whatever. Emmy and I focused on reading her book.

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After yoga, I started looking at the albums and photos Betsy brought. The most obvious one to work on was an album Fred and Louise put together covering their early years. I began scanning photos and stayed at it for much of the day. The results (will soon find) their way into a new post, plus feed into this one on Fred and Louise’s background. I tried prying more stories out of Barb and Betsy and got a few which I did my best to remember.

Barb and Joe started working on a jigsaw puzzle together, with Kristen chipping in some. The Wimbledon men’s final was on in the background but no one paid much attention as Novak Djokovic tied Nadal and Federer with 20 Grand Slam wins. Djokovic doesn’t get the attention he deserves for his remarkable career, not even from me. Lunch was leftover spring rolls which got a little soggy from melted ice on the way up but were still tasty when heated up. Most of the other activity centered on playing with Emmy.

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Jeff and his sister drove Allie up in the early afternoon after a successful round of bar-hopping for his birthday the night before. Jeff and sister didn’t stay long, heading into Breckenridge for some food. I kept scanning pictures while also keeping an eye on the Euro 2020 final, England vs. Italy, which England heartbreakingly lost in penalty kicks after leading much of the match.

We prepared to head for dinner at Pepi’s, Betsy’s favorite wiener schnitzel place, bundling into two cars to pool up to Vail around 5pm. On our drive with Betsy we kept our eyes out for moose, but saw none. We drove past Copper Mountain and recalled our ski adventures there in 2001 and 2003. We got to Vail a little early for our dinner reservations and took a walk around town, pausing at the statue for WWII Mountain Division veterans.

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After our little walk around Vail, we were seated at a big table in the restaurant. I felt sorry for the few other tables of couples in the room as our group of 9 took over. Several of us got wiener schnitzel and frankly it wasn’t that great (even Betsy admitted it wasn’t their best). The jagerschnitzel, which Allie ordered, seemed to be the winner of the day, along with a cheesy spaetzle dish that Tylor got.

Sara and Tylor seemed especially concerned about having Emmy at the restaurant, taking her outside whenever she got a little fussy. It meant they couldn’t really enjoy their meals, which was too bad…but then it came to light that they had forgotten to bring Emmy’s formula so naturally she got fussy. Sara got increasingly flustered and vowed not to go out for dinner with the baby again.

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Back at the cabin, Joe got the hot tub ready and invited everyone in for a soak. Not for me, thank you, but the youth brigade soon joined.

Evidently, while in the hot tub, Kristen’s boyfriend Ryan expressed some sympathy for conspiracy theories that the coronavirus was a manufactured hoax or some other such nonsense which rather shocked the other inhabitants of the hot tub, including Kristen. It was the beginning of the end of their relationship, which itself was only a couple of months old. A week after the trip we learned that they had broken up, not solely over this comment. Just another reason I don’t go in hot tubs: you never know what kind of nonsense will spill out. It’s the first rule of reality television.

Monday, July 12

Barb rose early again and started cooking bacon, shortly after Kristen and Ryan left to get back to their jobs in Denver (his at Lululemon, hers nannying). I didn’t mind the commotion but Allie would have liked another couple of hours of quiet sleep. Allie, Sara and Tylor had to work much of the day, seeking out wifi and quiet places in the house for calls.

I forged ahead scanning more photos. When she finished with her own work, Sara offered to help; she downloaded the Google PhotoScan app and began to scan two additional albums. She was a natural. The results (will become) posts for the Fishers’ Chincoteague adventures and Annandale time. Thanks, Sara!

Lunch was more spring rolls and leftover pizza. There was talk of taking a walk or gondola ride into town but nothing came of it. I knew that I wasn’t helping much by being consumed with scanning photos, but this day was my last real chance since we had golf scheduled for the next two days.  I felt a little guilty about it but wasn’t directly preventing anyone from doing something if they wanted to.

Whoever wasn’t working had some quality time with Emmy.

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There was a battle of the llamas for Emmy’s attention. Joe named the three top contenders Dolly Llama (the pink one on Emmy’s head, the chosen one), Fernando Llama (the fuzzier one and odds-on favorite), and Llama, Llama Ding Dong (the white one Kristen gave her and urged upon Emmy at every opportunity). If Emmy doesn’t end up bonding with at least one of the llamas, it won’t be for lack of trying.

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Sara and I mostly finished the albums but Betsy still had bags and bags of loose photos, some I suspect from her cousin, Stewart, plus still more in a plastic bin of memorabilia. Many of the photos look to be duplicates but now at least I have an idea where many of them fit into posts and timelines. I would like to go back and capture more of these photos at some point, but I have plenty to work with for the time being.

We had a couple of hours left in the afternoon so Barb, Allie, Joe, Betsy and I took a drive to Sapphire Point, a short trail and overlook near Keystone. Smoke from fires as far away as Oregon muddied the views, but we had a nice stroll around the path. Joe recounted the story of my Dad’s experience flying/crashing Fred’s model glider which Allie didn’t remember even though I’m sure we’ve told it before. Joe remembered far more details than I recalled, which is why I need to write these things down. Joe recounted another story about fishing with my Dad that I didn’t even recall. Where was I? I’ve tried to capture both stories in a semi-appropriate spot, June 1987 for the airplane story and July of the same year/post for the fishing one even though I don’t think they actually occurred that close together. 

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After the hike, we cracked open the charcuterie and cheese. Betsy had a fine old time organizing the tray of goodies which we promptly plundered…once Barb knew which salami was which. For about the fourth time, Betsy mentioned that she wished that she would see a moose while in Breckenridge — all her friends had tales of moose sightings but she’d never seen one.

Dinner this evening was steaks, grilled by me, along with potatoes and asparagus roasted by Joe. In the hour or so before dinner time, Barb prepared brownies and her breakfast casserole. We figured there was time to go ahead and cook the brownies before dinner…but then it took a long time for the oven to preheat and a much longer time than normal for the brownies to cook, thanks to the altitude. In turn, that set back our timing for the potatoes and then everything else. I got the fire going too early and then worried about running out of propane. The steaks turned out great, though we had way too many, particularly since Kristen, Ryan and Jeff were not there to help eat them. It was all a bit stressful but eventually everything worked out.

The real highlight of the night, however, was watching an episode of The Bachelorette — or rather, watching Joe and Allie watch an episode together. Joe is in a Bachelorette pool wherein he places weekly bets on certain things happening during an episode, like whether one character or another gets a rose, gets voted off, takes his shirt off, etc. Allie is also an avid devotee of the series (which continues to worry me) and already had an extended consultation with Joe to go over this week’s picks. Allie is convinced that Joe — or maybe she and Joe — should do a podcast called Joe’s Rose. She thinks it would be massively popular. I agree it would be more entertaining than the actual show, which I couldn’t watch for more than a few minutes. The deck outside was nice and quiet, however, and the stars were more or less out so I enjoyed my after-dinner whiskey in peace.

Tuesday, July 13

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Barb beat everyone awake again and cranked up the breakfast casserole. Joe and I were happy to have some before heading off to play golf at the Breckenridge Golf Club, a trio of Nickaus-designed 9-hole courses laid out in the valley. It was my first golf game in nearly a decade. I had a couple of good holes and a lot of poor ones. It was fun playing with Joe once again, the best part of the day. Just like old times except my game was worse. 

When we got back in the afternoon, the powers that be decided it was time for some cornhole. Sara and Tylor had, for some reason, been gifted a personalized set of cornhole boards for Emmy’s birth so we set them up on the deck. Sara and I had a spirited competition with Joe and Tylor. Sara and I won the first game but couldn’t repeat in a rematch.

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Barb got in on the action but declined to compete.

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Meanwhile, Allie had some fun with Emmy in a bear-ear jacket.

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Tylor left in the late afternoon to head back to Denver and get some of his own work done. We didn’t get a whole lot of chances to talk with Tylor while he was there, but he was endlessly occupied with watching over Emmy, doing his own remote work or helping get other things done around the house, mostly quietly in the background. He seems like a great Dad and a nice guy. I think Sara is lucky to have found him. Sara is starting to plan their eventual wedding, targeted for October 2023. I certainly hope everything stays in order for them until then and beyond. 

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Evidently, the week before we arrived, Tylor, Sara and Emmy flew to Minnesota to spend the 4th of July with Tylor’s family and it was not a great trip. Many in Tylor’s Minnesota family are right-wing Republican types and don’t get along particularly well with Tylor, his (gay) brother or their parents who now live in Denver. Sara and baby Emmy didn’t especially fit into their preconceived lifestyles, either. We hope that Tylor found our family a little more welcoming than his own.

Dinner was the lasagna and salad that Betsy prepared ahead of time, preceded by another round of charcuterie and cheese. All very tasty. I rather liked not having to go out for dinner; I hope everyone else did as well.

Wednesday, July 14

Our final day started with an 8:30am round of golf, this time at the Raven course in Silverthorne, after dropping Sara off at a co-working space in Breckenridge so she could get some focused work done. The Raven was a true mountain course spread up and down a steep hillside. It was pretty and more challenging than the Breckenridge course, though it wasn’t as well kept. I went through many more of Joe’s golf balls, losing three on one hole which was my low point. It was still fun playing with Joe but the slow pace, tough terrain, and smug smalltalk with other golfers reminded me of many of the reasons I quit golfing. There is an undeniable satisfaction in hitting a ball in the sweet spot and seeing it go more or less where you wanted, but those moments were few and far between for me — fewer and farther than ever. We did, however, see some wildlife including a red-tailed hawk that watched over our tee shots at the steep par 3 eighth hole.

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While we played golf and Sara worked, Betsy looked after Emmy while Barb and Allie went down into Breckenridge. They walked up to the gondola and rode down before touring around Main Street for a while. Barb stopped to consider a crepe place but the line was too long. Later reports were that one or the other of them were grumpy at various points but they eventually had a nice little lunch by a lake (at the Quandary Grille) and things seemed OK by the time we finally got back.

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The slow pace of play meant we were late rendezvousing with Sara to take her back home. Instead, she ended up catching the bus back up the hill which was a minor adventure and inconvenience for her. Sorry Sara. Later in the afternoon, Kristen arrived with Sara’s car which was finally fixed, or nearly so — the radio didn’t work which would mean another trip back to the shop.

This was our last evening and the plan was to finish off any leftovers. Betsy decided to invite her friend Felicia’s daughter Abby, who was working this summer in Breckenridge, along with her visiting sister, Michaela, and her friend Ann. It was fine enough to have some extra mouths to consume the various leftovers but it was also a little odd to have them there as a distraction for the evening. Our own family relationships are complicated enough without introducing a whole other set of very complicated family dynamics. But we all survived, even if we never see each other again for several more decades, if at all. 

Thursday, July 15

We were due to be out of the house by 10am but Sara wanted to be gone by 9am so they could get back to Denver. As everyone was busy clearing out various rooms and packing various cars, Allie was left in charge of Emmy in the dining room. I was packing our car when I heard a commotion from above — I thought I heard someone whisper-yell “mouse!” and thought somehow a mouse had gotten in the house and threatened the baby. I soon realized the call was “moose!” — Allie noticed two moose wandering by the back porch. At first, she thought it was some guy walking by the window in a funny hat, but then she realized what it was and sounded the alarm. We all hustled around to snap photos of the pair. Betsy’s fervent wish had come true! She even followed one into the street, which was maybe a little too close, but she got some better shots which I’ll include if I get copies at some point.

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Despite the moose delay, everyone got packed and on the road more or less on schedule. Barb and I were the last out, well before 10am, only leaving behind an errant case of Diet Cokes in the fridge (Barb blames herself as well as me for leaving it, but mostly me since I was charged with making a final check of everything). Allie headed down to Denver with Sara and Kristen, with whom she would spend the night.

Barb and I headed north to Estes Park to see Frances and Dave. Frances Marshall was Barb’s college friend from the University of Virginia who became a nuclear engineer — we visited her in Vienna in 2018. She retired in 2020 and now lived with her husband Dave in Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were her first non-family, post-retirement houseguests which gave her and Dave an incentive to get their house straightened up for our arrival. 

We drove the Peak to Peak Highway, about a three-hour ride through pretty, non-crowded mountain roads…once we got through nearly an hour of construction traffic on I-70 at the Eisenhower Tunnel. We made our way eventually to Estes Park and found Frances’ condo just behind the historic Stanley Hotel in the middle of town. Frances made some sandwiches for us on arrival and then hustled us on a house tour she arranged for the afternoon.

The house turned out to be “Rockside”, the summer home of F. O. Stanley where Frances and Dave were volunteer guides and to whom Frances donated a lot of period furniture from her mother. There was something from Frances in nearly every room of the house. Frances’ mother died at the end of 2018 but much of Frances’ past year has involved assessing and distributing the property of her Louisiana home. It was at least as interesting learning about Frances and her family as it was the historic significance of the Stanleys and their home.

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After the tour, we went to dinner at the Dunraven, one of Frances and Dave’s favorite spots in Estes Park. The view over the lake was nicer than the actual food at dinner but we had a pleasant time nonetheless.

I wanted to learn more about Frances’ family and how she communicated their substantial history to her kids. She shared a couple of books put together by her uncle, “Johnny Mac” (John McClellan Marshall) and another by her cousin (whose name and book title I sadly didn’t capture but was more focused on her mother’s Bruns family). Frances is a direct descendant of Chief Justice John Marshall and as such, has the most astonishing lineage I’ve ever encountered. I’m copying over this excerpt from the possibly dubious FamousKin.com because it’s just fun (I especially like that among all these connections, Mary Chapin Carpenter is the “most notable” celebrity) — and this doesn’t even include the family connection to Pocahontas:

Who was John Marshall?

John Marshall was the 4th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the 4th United States Secretary of State, and a congressman from Virginia. He was the longest serving Chief Justice whose court opinions helped shaped constitutional law and the U.S. legal system during its formative years.

Famous Kin

John Marshall is a direct descendant of Magna Carta Surities John FitzRobert and Hugh le Bigod. He has royal roots with a direct descent from King Edward I which gives him kinship to much of the royal family including King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, and Catherine Middleton. He has a number of former U.S. Presidents as kin including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Harrison, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, William H. Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and Herbert Hoover.

John Marshall has a number of celebrities in his family tree, the most notable of which is his 4th great-granddaughter singer and songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. Others include actress Olivia de Havilland, author Tennessee Williams, actor Randolph Scott, radio and TV host Dick Clark, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, actor Humphrey Bogart, actress Kyra Sedgwick, actor Steve McQueen, and many others. A few of his notable historical kin include, but is not limited to, General Robert E. Lee, evolutionist Charles Darwin, polar explorer Admiral Richard Byrd, explorer Meriwether Lewis, abolitionist John Brown, General George S. Patton, architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and astronaut Alan Shepard.

I never did get a real answer to my question from Frances, but the ostentatiously detailed genealogy and documentation left behind by her uncle is more than enough to weigh any family member down with both pride and expectations. It’s a double-edged sword, to be sure, and I’m not at all sure what my reaction would be. Much safer to be the spawn of many generations of un-notable Duncans, Garbutts and Goodloes. 

Friday, July 16

Barb and I thought we would have a lazy morning with Frances and Dave and then drive back to Denver in the afternoon. We discovered that Frances doesn’t do lazy mornings. Instead, we were up early and being chauffeured by Dave with running commentary from Frances for a tour of Rocky Mountain National Park. We got into the park before 8am (after which reservations were needed) and Dave began steering up the unpaved Fall River Road with its umpteen switchbacks and no railing. I never would have driven up it myself but it was great having Dave and Frances as guides and driver.

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We made it to the Alpine Visitor Center near 12,000 feet and could barely breathe or walk to the restrooms which were much needed by that point. The Visitor Center itself wasn’t open yet but we would return a bit later. Instead, we headed down the western side of the Trail Ridge Road (the highest paved road in America…except it’s not, the Mount Evans Road, also in Colorado, is 2,000 feet higher but it doesn’t go anywhere but the top of Mt. Evans).

The trip down the far side of the mountain was ostensibly to see damage from the fires that ravaged the park in 2020 and caused the evacuation of Estes Park. Frances and Dave were forced out of town for five scary days. The devastation was bad but it was encouraging to see new growth already thriving. Even more encouraging were the herd of elk we encountered right by the road, munching away on that new growth. And several moose we saw nearby (couldn’t get a good picture, though).

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We had time to go all the way past the western entrance of the park to the Grand Lake Lodge to stop for a snack and bathroom break. Photo op!

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As we entered the park again from the western side, we saw the burnt out remains of one of the park service entrance gates, a reminder of the destruction wrought just the year before.

It was still barely 11am so we headed back the way we came and this time stopped to see the Alpine Visitor Center at the top of the Trail Ridge Road. The Center itself wasn’t very impressive, but the views were nice.

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While Frances and Barb were in the gift shop, I asked Dave a little bit about his background and was shocked to learn that he was 79 years old. I’d heard bits of his story long ago but had forgotten: he was raised in Cleveland, had a 20-year career in the Navy in nuclear submarines, retired and went to work at a nuclear plant in Connecticut where he met Frances before she had her first set of twins. When she eventually divorced from husband number one, they married and moved to Idaho Falls. Barb later reminded me of the part he left out about his first wife and older children that he seems to have little connection with anymore.

We finished our tour by heading down the east side of the Trail Ridge Road back to Estes Park. I never would have guessed we could cover so much of the park in 4 hours and I certainly wouldn’t have tried it on my own, but I greatly appreciate that Frances and Dave took the time with us. We stopped for lunch at Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ where we all had more than we needed to eat. From there, we picked up our stuff at Dave and Frances’ and headed on our way back to Betsy’s.

While Barb and I were exploring Rocky Mountain National Park, Kristen and Allie went to Red Rocks Park to take a hike. For one reason or another, possibly because they were still recovering from bar-hopping together in Denver the night before, they ended up mostly seeing the Red Rocks visitor center and amphitheater. The String Cheese Incident were getting set up for the first of three nights.

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That evening was our last chance to have dinner with everyone so Allie made us a reservation at Max Gill and Grill in the cute little Wash Park neighborhood of Denver. We all had a good time once we got them to turn the music down. After dinner, and another round of photos, we went for ice cream at Dairy Queen. A Fisher tradition continued.

Our room at the Sonesta Suites was a little better this time: a king bed and more space for Barb and me, but Allie’s pull out bed was worse. Oh well. At least it was still cheap.

Saturday, July 17

Allie, Kristen, Joe and I decided we wanted to try Top Golf, so we got there before it opened at 10am. Top Golf is a sort of combination driving range, bowling alley and pinball game all in one. It was the first time for Allie or me. You hit special microchipped golf balls toward targets for different points depending on the game you’re playing. It was fun-ish, but now that I’ve done it I’m in no hurry to do it again.

While we played at golf, Barb, Betsy and Emmy went to the pool at Betsy’s place to get some sun, mostly for Barb’s benefit. Sara and Tylor headed off to an Escape Room birthday party with some friends.

After Top-Golf, we resolved to try lunch at the new In-N-Out Burger, a famous California chain that recently opened in Colorado. We sat in line for nearly 30 minutes to place our order, which if I’d known, I wouldn’t have suggested we try. Nevertheless, we got everyone’s food and met up with the ladies at Betsy’s pool. The burgers were fine, nothing special, really. The loaded fries that Allie suggested we get were just messy. I don’t know what the fuss is about In-n-Out. Another contrived Hollywood fad, I guess. Or good marketing. Same thing.

For the afternoon, Allie and Kristen wanted to show more of Denver to Barb and me. Betsy decided to join us, leaving Emmy with Joe for the afternoon, which I’m sure he didn’t bargain for. The four of us went on a drive through several of the coolest districts in town, including RiNo, Capitol Hill, Highland, LoHi, Wash Park, and I’m sure several others I’m forgetting. It was a good chance for Barb and I to get a better sense of Denver’s diversity beyond the corporate suburban sprawl that is Highlands Ranch and the area around Betsy’s.

By the time we got back, Sara returned for Emmy and then headed back out for another night with friends. We adjourned to the hotel for a quick shower and rest before one final dinner with Betsy, Joe and Kristen, this time at a neighborhood Italian place, Venice. We were seated in a tent in the parking lot but we had a very personable waiter who made the evening much more pleasant, despite getting an order or two mixed up. It was a nice final evening together. But not our final meal together — we resolved to meet one more time for breakfast on Sunday.

Sunday, July 18

Our final event together was breakfast at Jelly Cafe, one of Sara’s favorites. Flavored donut holes were the specialty of the house but I resisted in favor of a Pueblo Scramble which was a mess of tasty stuff on a plate. Everyone ate more than their share and we waddled out, said our goodbyes and took final photos before heading back to the airport. 

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The flight home was blessedly uneventful, despite a stop in Charlotte along the way. We made it back to the house around 10am to the greetings of Manny and Perri who both missed us, we’re sure. 

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This was, as stated at the outset, our post-Covid family reunion with the Embreys and our first chance to meet Embrey Ann. Whether or not it’s really post-Covid remains to be seen. While we were there and in the weeks after, the national case-count has moved in the wrong direction. The best that can be said is that perhaps our timing was as good as it could have been.

Renting the house in Breckenridge helped make things fun and successful, I feel. The place itself was lovely and reasonably well-located. There was enough room for all of us and the place was certainly well-stocked with all sorts of supplies and amenities. No complaints on that score. Plus, there were moose! I liked being able to bring most of the food we needed and not have to rely on the rather frantic Breckenridge restaurant scene (or getting back and forth into town). Breckenridge as a whole didn’t really impress me — it was crowded and very touristy, but anything we needed was available if necessary. Getting a place in the mountains was a nice alternative to staying in Denver, and Breckenridge was probably the most convenient and logical spot.

There were a few moments of strain over the week, particularly between Betsy and Barb, but things were held reasonably in check. No doubt there were other strains I was unaware of. Overall, I think Allie very much appreciated the chance to spend some time with Kristen and Sara, plus she was able to check in with at least one of her Denver-area friends. It was great to meet Emmy and it will be good to see here from time to time to be part of her life.

All that said, I’m not sure if or when we might do a similar trip. I don’t think it will be an annual occurrence. No doubt we will return when Sara and Tylor decide to tie their knot, potentially in 2023 at this point. I would like to return sooner than that to spend more time working through Betsy’s pictures, and may do that with Allie at some point. Maybe heading out with Barb for a wedding in another two years after she’s retired will be about right.