Have to admit that I (think Ty would agree) that being “stuck” in Colorado is a wonderful thing. We missed the grandeur of the mountains, sunsets in the East (weird I know) the boulders and rocks, the trees. Oh, did I mention the kids? Yes, the kids – we do miss seeing them on a regular basis. But it is this part of the country that I think we miss the most on our travels.
Been reading (actually, I “read” through audiobooks) John Steinbeck’s “Travels With Charley”. Don’t know why I have never read that book before, Ty did when he retired and then went off on his “retirement travel” with dog, Brit. Know I understand. Steinbeck’s need to see the country is not unlike ours, albeit we are doing it almost 62 years later! It is hard to fine the sleepy little town with an all-day breakfast and people sitting around willing to talk. Now it is mostly fast food, breakfast mostly only in the morning and not many people have “time” to talk. Sad really. Have made it a goal that when we get going again, that it is the slow sleepy road, with stops for breakfasts.
Hiking, Hiking, Hiking, Hiking – you get it, right?
This is all about Ty, as usual, but not in a medical way. He has been hiking every chance he gets – he is a happy man. Spent a week in Winter Park and we hiked every day, I was pooped what with the altitude and steepness of trails. On the plus side we saw Moose and Baby one day, 4 moose the next, 1 lonely guy (moose) and so on. Lots of moose.
Pepe Osaka’s Tequila Bar and Japanese Food
What a combination! What great happy hour Tequila! What a great bartender, Brandon; if I were only 50 years younger – sigh.
Right down the street from condo at Winter Park, so we visited every day and took Scotty’s dad, Bob and stepmom Linda there more than one night. Ah Tequila, Tequila makes me Asquealea (you have to really work through all the vowels and consonants on this one to get it). We had fun.
Winter Park
Speaking of Winter Park (that is where Pepe’s is) we were able to get a week in and crammed it full of fun including a visit from Scott’s Dad, Bob, and stepmom, Linda. We managed to play some golf, which I was nervous cause I really haven’t played in a long time and was glad Linda didn’t want to keep score.
Happy Birthday Tim Hynek!
Driving thru Grand Lake on day and on a chance, I texted Tim to see if he rebuilt his home which was destroyed in the 2019 fire that devasted the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park and much of the surrounding area of Grand Lake. He immediately responded: “ (that) no, instead bought a new place while they decide what to do with the property. Come over on Friday and celebrate his birthday” –which we did. We had Tyrus with us and he was thoroughly entertained by the bucks that walked thru their yard, the moose we saw up front and personal munching away at the bushes, and the ATV ride Tim’s son, Tom, took Tyrus on. It was a very delightful evening sitting out in the mountain yard (no fences only mountains) watching the sun set over the peaks, smelling the fragrance of the night flowers and eating the MOST DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE TORTE I have ever had. Jean you are a wonderful dessert maker!
Marvel
When The Great Adventure first began, Tyrus was just beginning to make costumes for the family. All of us and friends have Marvel characters and so he decided we all had to have our Marvel suits. At first, we thought this was just a passing fad, but 4 years later he has made over 10-12 different costumes. In the beginning I would help him get the boxes ready to paint and cut out the arm holes, now he pretty much does it all himself. This last one (we all pray it is the LAST one) is the most complicated. It is Spider Man and doing all the webbing out of tape was really hard – it did take all of us to help with it, but look how wonderful it turned out!
Beat the Heat
Heat has been extreme in Colorado this July, with countless (well somebody has counted them) days of temps well over 95 degrees. Amy’s house does not have air conditioning and in years past has not needed it, but climate change and all and it does now. So one late hot afternoon out of desperation, Amy and Scotty went out and bought an above ground pool, nothing fancy but it does the job! Yippee! Let’s all dive in.
July pretty Tame
We continued to housesit for the month of July; back with Tex the dog for a couple of weeks, then at friend’s house in Anthem, Chris and Joe. We are so thankful for the opportunity! And it allows us to keep visiting our past neighbors/friends, playing cards, volunteering and of course spend as much time with Amy which equates to laundry.
It was a great and very hot month – Colorado set a record for the hottest July since who knows when but I loved every sweaty moment of it.
