Denver Ups and, unfortunately, Downs

Father/Daughter twins

It seems that most of our posts are unremittingly optimistic and upbeat, but we have truly loved most places we have visited over these past two years and have usually enjoyed the places we have stayed, but our last sojourn in Denver was something of an exception.

Father/Son Twins

Visiting with Bryn, Grant and Charlie is always a delight. And Denver is definitely one of the places we like best, and it will be our base of operations henceforth, but a series of unfortunate events made our recent stay less than enjoyable.

Before leaving for Europe last spring, we made arrangements through AirBnB to rent a place in our favorite Denver locale, Brooks Towers--but very soon after we arrived in Europe we received notice that our host canceled our reservation, so we had to scramble to find another.

First Class Apartment--you can tell

We finally succeeded in securing a one-bedroom apartment, just off Colfax Avenue and not far from the State Capitol building.  Who was to know that it was also Denver's skid row?  Winos, drug addicts and all manor of street people wandered by and loitered on the steps during all hours of the day and night.

The apartment, itself, was less than desirable as well: a dark, semi-basement with gray walls and beige, dirty looking shag carpeting throughout. We quickly dubbed it our "Motel Six" apartment, and that was an insult to Motel Six.

To make matters worse, Sue got sick with an incredibly tenacious infection that eventually affected her kidneys and required three rounds of different antibiotics to cure. It kept her pretty much house bound for more than month. It was a most unpleasant interlude.

Cheeseman Park

On a more positive note, the apartment was just two blocks from Cheeseman Park, a great green urban oasis that provided a nice respite from our bleak abode.  Larry tried to walk there every day when possible--and with Denver's nice weather, it was usually beautiful.

Erin at the Botanic Garden 

Late in August, Erin returned from Pakistan (thank goodness!!!) and paid us a visit.  She arrived pretty tired, but managed to rest and recuperate during a two week visit.  This was definitely the bright spot in an otherwise downer sojourn (except, of course, for the upper of her sister and family--immediate and extended). Erin has now returned to DC and started her new State department assignment as a liaison to the Organization of American States.

Bryn and Sue with Chihuly glass behind

We managed to visit the Denver Botanic Garden several times; they are hosting an incredible Chihuly Glass exhibit that is bringing thousands of people to the garden. The glass displays and sculptures really glisten and resonate in the bright Colorado sun.

A Chihuly glass schulpture with wow factor in the
Japanese part of the Botanic Garden

On the train at the zoo

For Sue's Birthday (October 2), Bryn and Charlie joined us for a trip to the Denver Zoo; Charlie is now of an age where he is really into the animals--we spent perhaps fifteen minutes gazing at a hippopotamus, long after the adults had grown tired and were urging him to move on to the elephants or rhinos.  Of course, they too received a long study once we arrived at their enclosures. He really liked the Zoo train--especially riding with his Oma, while Mom and Opa rode in front of them.

Our favorite guy !!

But now the time has come for us to leave Denver for our next adventure.  We are returning to San Miguel de Allende--we enjoyed this magical Mexican town so much last winter that we felt that we wanted to visit it again, this time for a longer stay, November to April. Some of our friends have already told us that they will join us for part of the stay and there is an open invitation to all of our readers...we promise you an interesting and fun filled visit.

We will of course miss Charlie and his mom and dad a lot while we are away, but he has promised us he will talk with us on Skype whenever we call.  We surely hope so! We'll probably come back in January for a short visit to help celebrate his 3rd birthday, so maybe he won't forget us.

In the pumpkin patch