Week in Review
May 31st, 2008 | 1 Comment »Okay, so it has been a while since I posted from the calendar… I guess being on vacation made me want to switch off parts of my normal routine. So what have I been up to this week, and what's been on the calendar, you ask? Well, this week you get a bit of a "fortune cookie" experience. I'll update you on the week, and supply the link for the day, but with no background. Click and find out what each day holds!
(Quick catchup to when vacation started: Last Thursday, Friday, andSaturday. Sunday's link didn't work.)
Monday I landed in Denver, and set about the task of waiting for Jane and Bruce to retrieve me from the airport to complete the trip to Colorado Springs. I was quite glad of the USO in Denver, a converted gold-club lounge, with comfy couches and WiFi. We got in sometime after 6 p.m., checked into our hotel, and got dinner. Good to see friends, always!
Tuesday we all began doing the tourist thing. We went up to the Academy to pick up Jane and Bruce's graduation tickets, and then toured the cadet chapel. It was great being back, and that chapel is always impressive. We watched the cadets giving tours to family members for a bit, then headed out for lunch. After lunch we stopped off at St. Michael's Episcopal Church for a look-around. I'd worshipped there in the past and really liked the building. We met the rector and got a short tour.
After that we drove down to Seven Falls and took in the scenery, from the bottom and the top. As I told Jane and Bruce it was just a quick stroll to a great lookout. A little physical exercise, great views… Super!
I've already blogged about Tuesday night. Got to see (2dLt) Erica again, and a quite a few members of the family that I never get to see. It was good, even with getting in after midnight.
Wednesday (broken link) was graduation day. And it was miserable. Overcast doesn't begin to describe it. Colorado Springs is somewhere around 6,200 feet, and the Academy a bit higher. I think the clouds were at around 6,000 feet. And it was in the mid-to-low 40's. Brr. We got dressed up and sallied forth, and waited in traffic, waited in line, and got into the outdoor stadium a bit late. Rather than trying to push through all the crowds to the seats with family, we stood back near concessions and began consuming hot chocolate. We left a bit early, so didn't get to see the Thunderbirds (which did fly, as things cleared a bit just before they were due). It was still worth going, though!
We grabbed lunch at Peterson AFB and then got stuck as half the town was closed down to allow the president to get back the airport. We did finally get to the hotel for a nap then, in the evening, sallied forth to Manitou Springs for Jane and Bruce's 25th wedding anniversary dinner. And what a dinner! Expensive, to be sure, but incredible–I just don't eat like that much, well, ever. And incredible service. I had a pasta-shrimp dish for the main course. Mmmmmm!
Thursday we went back to tourist mode. We booked tickets on the Pike's Peak Cog Railway. It beat driving up the mountain, and I enjoyed the narration. The views were, as always, incredible. And it was freezing at the top. We had lunch up there, and rode back down. Thursday evening Bruce had an appointment at a local dojo (akido), so we dropped him off and went for a drive. We found Grace and St. Stephen's "Episcopal" Church. It is one of those churches where a percentage of the congregation and the priest have "left" the Episcopal Church, but haven't vacated the property. Let the legal mess commence. The church was open so we got a look around. It felt… Empty. Blank. I expect Jane will post more on that in the next week or so, esp. since she got photos.
Picked Bruce up, got dinner, and collapsed at the hotel.
Friday (broken link), the touring continued. We met another Seabury graduate in Colorado Springs and toured her church, then she took us over to another, rather incredible, church with a huge piece of property. We had lunch at a restaurant in downtown, and then Jane and her friend went fabric shopping and Bruce and I went apartment shopping and to an Apple-authorized store in town. We then met up at the Academy and tried to rent horses, but they were all out of "beginner" horses for the day. Instead we hiked for a short bit, then took a drive up to Castle Rock, CO, to see a new church that was just under construction when I was last here.
Saturday (today) we set out early for Denver. Jane and Bruce dropped me at the airport to get my rental car. I then popped over to the hotel, but it was too early to check in, so I went to the Cathedral to see if I could find one of my classmates. I caught the tail end of an ordination service, and then had lunch with Rebecca. I got word from another friend that he wouldn't be coming into town after all, so drove to the Butterfly Pavilion for a visit (one of my favorite places) and then the Denver Botanic Gardens.
I returned to the hotel to find out that Travelocity hadn't ever notified them of my reservation. They had me call Travelocity and ask them to fax the reservation to the hotel. They said, "Sure." An hour and another phone call later, no fax. I couldn't check in at the Travelocity rate without it, and even if I checked in at the higher rate I'd risk having to pay Travelocity anyway. Finally the desk clerk offered to get me a room at the hotel's rate and would drop it when/if the fax comes through. I'm going to wander down to the desk and see if it has right after I click "publish." If it hasn't, Travelocity gets another call…
Then I'm for a good night's sleep. The Cathedral for worship tomorrow, then straight to the airport for the flight home.
It has been a wonderful week. Family, friends, hiking… Colorado. Colorado remains my number one favorite place in the USA. The smells, the hiking, the sky… Hawaii isn't far behind, but Colorado is still in first place. Even though I grew up in Pennsylvania, somehow coming here seems like coming to a second home. So it was good to be at that home for a week, but just as good to get back to my own bed, and church.
Good night!
