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

Traveling with Old & Dear Friends

Just one of the beautiful gardens in Stanley Park

We had not visited Vancouver before, so we couldn't pass up the chance to see the city and spend some time with great friends in the bargain.

Like Portland, Vancouver is a beautiful city and it has wonderful parks and miles of harbor side walking and biking trails.

Sue & John

We were particularly enchanted by Stanley Park, with its wonderful and varied perennial and rose gardens and an impressive number and variety of trees, but the entire city is a sparkling gem.

Vancouver is another foodie city.  One night we dined in a revolving restaurant atop a 50 story building, with our view of the city constantly changing. Our AirBnB landlady, Andrea, put us onto a great eating experiences.  She recommended we try Campagnolo, which was just a mile from our apartment and five minutes from the train station, so we made reservations for lunch on the day of our departure.

We were a party of seven and they served us family style with a Chef's taster menu.  We were served with three courses--appetizers/salads, pizza, and desserts.  Each course had three or four different dishes, all were wonderful.  We ordered some Tuscan wine to go with the food, and the bill was about $35/person with tip.  Lots of fun and really tasty--we would highly recommend Campagnolo.

Cabins with Elk

In Vancouver, we were joined by John Cunningham, Lois and Martin Simpson, and Benigno and Lauriece Aguirre--friends from our graduate school days in New Orleans. We've known each other nearly 45 years--incredible as that seems.

The Gang getting ready for the Lake Maligne cruise

Thanks in large part to John's organizing skills and perseverance, we have managed to stay in touch with one another over the years, and recently we have been trying to get together on a regular basis for reunions and travel experiences.

This year we all agreed to meet in Vancouver and then ride the Canadian Pacific's train through the Rockies to Jasper National Park. It proved to be a great and unique experience.

The 18-hour, overnight train journey was surprisingly comfortable, even in a regular coach seat--most of us managed to dose off for some time during the night.  And share snacks during the day.

The construction of the line is a marvel of 19th and early 20th century engineering and ingenuity and the scenery is unparalleled. If you book through one of the Tour Canada companies, you can pay two or three thousand a person for this trip--I think we paid less than $150 for our train ticket. Seems like the scenery is the same, though, no matter what you pay.

Martin, John, Lauriece, Lois and Sue

We disembarked in Jasper, Alberta, Canada--a little mountain town of just 5,000 inhabitants that swells to a population of some 25,000 during the short summer tourist season.  Lodging for our stay was at the Pine Cabins, a cluster of log cabins just outside of town along the banks of the Athabasca River.

Most morning and evenings, we were visited by a small herd of elk--they are great fun for the tourists but make maintaining a garden and shrub plantings a real problem.

Spirit Island, a painter's paradise

There is a lot to see and do in and around Jasper, but most of it involves driving, which we did in a GMC Yukon, a huge, behemoth of a vehicle that easily held all seven of us as well as our luggage and paraphernalia.

Driving was surprisingly easy, what with power steering, the onboard GPS, and the ever present six backseat drivers and navigators. Not complaining; sometimes you needed everyone of them to see where you were suppose to turn.

Lois and Martin and the $1 million ice bus

All of us enjoyed our visit to Maligne Lake which is very close to Jasper.  On a chilly and rainy day, we booked a lake cruise that took us to Spirt Island, a small "islet" that you don't actually walk on, but you can get off the boat and take a short hike to a viewing/photography spot.  It is said to be one of the most photographed scenes in Canada. It was both beautiful and haunting.

One of the most interesting day trips involved a 200 mile roundtrip to the Columbia Icefield, where we rode a $1million ice bus that took us out onto the Athabasca glacier.

On the Ice Bus

Since its discovery in the 19th century, the glacier has retreated several miles and many scientists believe that it will disappear by the end of this century.

It certainly brings home the concept of global warming. During the 20 minutes you are on the glacier, you are free to walk around and explore.

Some of our fellow tourists, hiked pretty far onto the ice, but the story the bus driver told of the recent discovery of the body of a cross country skier that had been encased in the ice for twenty years was enough to make most of us want to stay close to the ice bus.

On the glacier

On another day we visited Lake Louise--truly an extraordinarily beautiful location.  Even though it was the middle of August, all of us were glad to have our fleeces and jackets, and the pause for coffee and hot chocolate in the majestic Lake Louise Lodge was an unexpected bonus.

A gondola ride up Whistlers Mountain (so called for the high pitched whistle made by the marmosets who live on mountain) was the highlight of another day. The gondola took us up above the tree line, but only Lois had the stamina to hike up the rest of the way to the top, while the rest of us visited the gift shop and coffee bar.

Lake Louise

Of course, the nicest part of the trip was just being with old and dear friends--gossiping and catching up, making and eating homemade meals, teasing, playing dominoes or reading by the fire for an evening, laughing and grouching.  It was a delight, and we are looking forward to our next reunion.  We all had a truly wonderful time and Sue has dubbed it "National Lampoon's Elders in the Rockies." We should be famous!

We left our mark near the cabins

Denver & Portland

Bryn & Grant at home

Charlie, the Big Boy

As always the best part of returning to Denver is seeing our family once again.  Bryn and Grant are doing well.  Both are working very hard to make Grant's Electric a success--Grant in the field and Bryn in the office.

We think Charlie missed us; we are sure that we missed him! We were away nearly four months and in that time he changed so much.  He now talks in full sentences and is almost potty trained.  He has mastered his balance bike, and his inherent daredevilry and fearlessness keeps our hearts in our throats. He has moved up from the Twosies Class to Preschool at his daycare.  In short, to quote Charlie himself, "I am a big boy. I don't need your help. Sit on the bench."

Larry, Erin, Bryn & Sue

Erin is back home safe and sound from her yearlong sojourn in Pakistan. It was an interesting and educational experience, but one she would not want to repeat.  During the last couple of months there, the political situation was very tense, and she and her colleagues were on lockdown almost all of the time--meaning they could only be at work or their homes or apartments.  It was a great relief for all of us when she left on August 23rd.

Erin spent three weeks of home leave with us here in Denver, relaxing and recovering, but has now returned to DC where she will be posted for the next couple of years working as a State Department liaison to the Organization of American States.

Ashley & Sue at the Saturday market

Less than two weeks after arriving back in Denver, we were off again for a 10 day trip to the Pacific Northwest and Canada.  The impetus for the trip was a long planned reunion with a group of friends we first met in New Orleans nearly 45 years ago; we'll talk about that in our next blog

But our first stop was Portland, Oregon for a visit with Ashley Brown, the daughter of our good friend, Anita (readers of the blog might remember that she shared part of our trip to Italy during Spring 2013).

We have known Ashley since she was a baby, and think that she is one of the kindest and most interesting young people that we know.  We were honored that she wanted us to visit and was willing to host us in her home. She is a warm and welcoming host and a great Portland booster.

We had never visited Portland before, and with Ashley as our enthusiastic tour guide, we discovered that the city is as quirky but as fun as its reputation. Ashley made us an incredibly delicious dinner on the night of our arrival, with local corn and grilled peppers and invited some of her friends to share it with us. Sitting in her backyard, enjoying a lovely summer's eve, was a perfect introduction to the town and Portland lifestyle.

The City of Roses

What a great foodie city!  The Saturday morning market on the campus of Oregon State was a treat for both the eye and the tastebuds--highlighted by a breakfast featuring home-made biscuits and mushroom gravy.

After the market, Ashley took us to Powell's--an independent book store that covers an entire downtown block and seems to have every book there is in print.  We separated and wondered about to our heart's content: two hours hours seemed to fly by.

Breaking Bad entry in the Adult Boxcar Race

Then it was on to the Portland Adult Boxcar Race which takes place annually in the city's Mt. Tabor park. It's a great opportunity for silliness and fun, and thousands of Portland residents use it as an excuse for a laid back picnic in the park. Our favorite entry was the "Breaking Bad" RV.

Portland is called the City of Roses, and Ashley, knowing how much we like gardens, insisted we visit a beautiful rose garden that just happened to be in her neighborhood.  Even though August isn't the best time of year to view the garden, it was beautiful and smelled woderful.  Our day ended with a memorable Thai meal at one of her favorite restaurants.

Clearly, two days are not enough to sample all that Portland has to offer, so we have promised Ashley that we will be back for a longer stay. She may live to regret her offer.

Early Sunday morning, Ashley put us on the AmTrak train to Seattle and Vancouver.  We were pleasantly surprised with the comfort, modernity and cleanliness of the train--too bad we had to disembark in Seattle and transfer, after a two hour delay, onto a bus that then took us on to Vancouver.

We arrived in Vancouver in the late afternoon and easily found our way to our AirBnB apartment, which was roomy, clean and comfortable and an easy bus or taxi ride into the center of town. We continue to be great fans of AirBnB, though not every experience has been as good as our Vancouver stay.