A Few Months in Denver and Off Again

Charlie at a local playground

 It has been a while since we last posted.  We have been in Denver since just before Christmas, but our sojourn this time is just about over--we leave for our Transatlantic Cruise and European Adventure on April 19th.

Test driving his big wheel

But we will be back! We have decided to make Denver our semi-permanent home. We plan to keep traveling, but we know we will always be coming back to Denver as our home base.  To make it easier to do that, we decided to buy a place in Brooks Towers, a high-rise condo building in the heart of downtown Denver.

We have stayed in the building several times during our frequent visits and have found it the ideal location.  Just a block from the great Denver theater and performing arts center and an easy bus ride to Bryn & Grant's house in the the Highlands neighborhood. In the good weather--which is often the case here in Denver, even in the middle of winter, we can walk along the Cherry Creek walking trail or window shop on the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall

Charlie & his two Grandmas

 We are also beginning to explore more of the environs.  Recently, Shirley Llafet--Grant's mom and Bryn mother in law, introduced us to Boulder.  Just a 45 minute auto ride away, Boulder has lots of fun places to shop and eat.

The Pearl Street Mall is a great place to take a toddler like Charlie--lots of little pocket parks and plenty of other little ones to play and interact with. Charlie really like climbing on the beaver sculpture. We enjoyed our visit to Boulder so much that we took our friend Belinda Acre there when she visited with us for a few days.

Belinda & the Big Blue Bear

You guess? Giant's feet?

Among our favorite attractions in downtown Denver is the big blue bear standing in front of the Convention Center.  We really love showing visitors around the area.

Although Denver is not as old as some of the eastern  cities, there is still a lot of history-- and local landmarks make for fun tours and interesting city walks.

 So what else have we been doing? Larry recently was a guest of Greg Llafet (Grant's Dad), along with Grant and family friend, Dave Wall, at a nearby pheasant hunting ranch.

The last time Larry shot a firearm was when he was in the Army (1972), but he surprised himself and avoided embarrassment by bagging one bird sitting in a tree, just waiting to be shot.

He was not sure what the experience was going to be like, but it was fantastic--walking in the Colorado countryside and the companionship and camaraderie were terrific. All of us had a great time--and it was a wonderful gift on Greg's part--so much so that all of us have signed on for a return visit next fall! Is an NRA membership in the future?

Charlie & Delilah

 But, of course, the best part of being in Denver is being with Charlie and watching him grow and develop.  He continues to enjoy his daycare experience, but he's also up for any outings that Oma and Opa might come up with.  A couple of weeks ago, we invited his BFF, Delilah, to join us for a visit to the Denver Art Museum.

The museum is a great child-friendly locale.  It can easily provide entertainment and interest for children and grandparents for several hours at a time--truth to tell, more fun and entertainment than we find at the local children's museum.  Charlie loved showing the museum and its exhibits to his friend.

Denver also has a superb Zoo--just last Saturday, on a bright, early spring day, Charlie, his Dad, Grant, and Oma and Opa visited it. Again, the zoo does a great job of making the experience one that is safe and child-friendly.

Charlie particularly liked the gibbons, who have a great open air aerial walkway over the elephants, rhinos, and hippos' compound.

As we said, being with Charlie and his mom and dad make our time in Denver so very special.  We know that we will miss them when we hit the road again, but we are looking forward to our upcoming travels.

If you are wondering, here is our planned itinerary:

April 19: Leave Denver for a visit with Larry's mom and siblings in north Georgia
April 23: New Orleans--visit with friends, Lois & Martin Simpson
April 26: Leave New Orleans for a 17 day "Repositioning Cruise" to Barcelona, Spain
May 12:  Arrive in Barcelona; we will then be two weeks traveling to Granda, Seville and Madrid with Sue's brother and sister in law, John and Bonnie Roschy
May 24:  10 days in Germany visiting with the German Roschys (Sue's ancestral relatives)
June & July: Mostly in Italy--Tuscany and the Veneto, with a side trip to Istanbul to see Erin

We will return to Denver in August--where we are sure Charlie will be so big and grown up we won't recognize him!