We had Bison burgers and french fries in honor of the
"Brits."
On Monday I picked up Ariel in town at 8 AM
and later we all went up to the Gold Hill area
and walked to Big Horn mountain and the
DIA, but we could see the front range
well on the other side of the saddle.
After we finished there we went to the Gold Hill
Store for lunch. It was the usual casual scene.
The payment is unusual in that you tell them
what you've had just as you are leaving and pay
then rather than when you pick up your food. But,
On Tuesday Robert and I did our usual day in Denver
when we go to the VA. That is the VA to give blood,
the museum to look around and have lunch and then
back to the VA. While we were doing that Keating
and Lee "did" Boulder and met friends for lunch.
Wednesday we again picked up Ariel only after she
had gone to school to meet her new teacher so
we all went down the mountain to meet Carl and
Ariel and then headed for Trail Ridge Road.
As usual it was blowing and amazingly cold up there
despite the heat in Boulder. We had a pleasant ride,
doing the full loop.
In Estes Park Keating's sharp eyes spotted a restaurant
on a side street and on the second floor. There also
was parking across the street which was an added
bonus. When we got to the restaurant it looked like
we were the only folks there, but actually we were the
only ones who opted to eat inside.
After lunch we drove up to the Stanley Hotel. As we
came through Estes on our way to Trail Ridge Lee had
spotted the hotel and exclaimed that it look just like
the hotel in Steven Kings book. We assured him that
it WAS the hotel in Steven Kings book, "The Shining,"
I think. The guard at the gate let us in so they
could get pictures of the hotel to take back to
mountains, at least at the moment of discovery.
Thursday was Robert's driving day so he headed off
he has driven he has shown up in a different car.
Keating, Lee and I decided to go to Denver and
to Imax and the museum. They had a dinner engagement
so we went to Boulder in two cars, leaving one in
the King Soopers parking lot. Actually, I had been
to the Toyota dealer all ready to get a new Smart
Key for the Prius. Robert's key had gotten damaged
somehow. It took an hour!! to get a new key and
the price of the key was about $250.00, but it was
under warranty so I paid nothing.
After that I met the kids and we headed for Denver.
We opted to watch an ocean and wildlife film which
started at 1 PM. That gave us time to look at
several exhibits including the pre-historic travel
exhibit, the gem-carvings and the mummies. We
had lunch somewhere along the way and then watched
way to loud. They showed Shoals which are schools
of small fish; one type was sardines. They fit
into a huge, but tight ball, so tight that it was
clear the seals thought it was solid and left it
alone it being too big to tackle. The penguins
were a little smarter and dove right in as did the
gannets and sharks. But it was a wild frenzy of
motion, but eventually the shoal managed to get
away and some to live another day.
The special event at the museum currently is a health
show. There were many exhibits and tests you could
take. One was testing your stride, another was
pedalling a stationary bike to attain your optimum
heart rate. At the beginning of the exhibit you
weight, age, gender, etc and get out a plastic
charge-card type card. You put that in to each
machine as you go from one station to another.
I entered my card and got on the bike and
started pedalling and my rate went up to 132,
but they said my optimum should have been 99. I
think I would have had to be dead or not pedal
at all to have that rate. Keating's optimum
was 132 which was probably too low for her, too.
But, she didn't think so; I suppose the altitude
was against her.
We headed back to Boulder about 3:30 PM and they
picked up the Saturn and were headed for Target
and then another dinner date. I headed home.
I hadn't been home long when the phone rang. It
was Keating. While they were in Target a truck
had crunched the front bumper and fender of the
Saturn. Fortunately, the driver of the truck
had waited for them to come out, apologized and
gave them all the information about his insurance
and his parents' insurance. It is the parents'
those things happen and it was really nice that
the other driver was being so cooperative.
They went on their way to their dinner.
On Friday State Farm Insurance called and it
sounds like they'll take care of it. We
are waiting for the adjuster to call to make
an appointment to see the car. It doesn't
look bad; but having had a small ding cost
$1000.00 to fix I can't even guess what
replacing a fender and bumper will cost.
Keating and Lee left Friday on the 2 PM
shuttle and I went to pick up Ariel at the
East Boulder Rec center at 3. She was
staying over because Carl and Martha were
running in the "Tour de Cure" on Saturday
and they needed to get a really early start.
Today Ariel made herself a place mat using
Contact paper which is clear plastic that
is sticky on one side. She used sequins
to spell out her name using a pattern she
made and could see through the plastic and
then put another layer of the plastic on
top. It came out really well. She, as
usual, wanted me to help. I told her
I'd help put the top on, but the rest was
up to her. She is growing up and can be
really careful if she tries.
This afternoon Ariel and I went to Longmont
to welcome her folks back from their race.
Martha was there having completed 100 kilometers.
Carl was coming in soon and will have
completed 100 miles. I saw Martha, but left
Ariel with her and came home.
It's been a busy week and I am ready to take
life at a very slow pace.
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