Angie Does Denver

Angie, Charlie (with hand drawn "map") and Sue

 Just as we got back to Denver from three months in San Miguel de Allende, we were delighted to have one of our oldest and dearest friends, Angie Godfrey vist us (we raised our children together.) It was her first visit with us in Denver, and we enjoyed so much the time to talk and catch-up .

Unlike us, Angie has continued to work: she is the administrator for the Head Start Program for Indian Tribes, and she was attending a work related conference here in Denver and fortunately was able to spend some time with us.

Always something in bloom at Botanic Gardens

We probably exhausted her trying to share with her some of our favorite places and activities here in Denver.

If you visit with us, you have to see the Denver Botanic Garden--preferably with Charlie along to show you all the "secret passages." Angie was, of course, game, and she and Charlie quickly became fast friends.

We had a wonderful day, strolling through this beautiful treasure of this extraordinary place.

At the Sidewalk Chalk Festival, resting

Just a couple of blocks from our apartment is Larimer Square, where the revitalization of historic downtown began in the 1960's led by a Dana Crawford, a true visionary. Residents of Denver owe her so much--Denver is so much more of a livable city thanks to her efforts.

During Angie's visit, the Chalk Garden Art Festival was in full swing in Larimer Square. It is amazing what a talented artist can do with chalk and an empty sidewalk.

Larry and Angie at lower elevation 

The other place that we always like to take first time visitors is Rocky Mountain National Park--although we had never really visited in late spring, when winter was still trying to stay on.

Driving up to the Alpine Visitors Center, which we learned had just opened the day before, was a real adventure.

View as we climbed Rocky Mountains

 It was spitting snow, there was ice on the road, and the snow banks were piled up along the roadside. For Angie, who revealed to us that she was somewhat fearful of heights and driving on mountainous roads without a guardrail, it was a white knuckle experience.

Angie at the summit

Arriving at the Visitor's Center, we found the parking lot surrounded by 12 foot snow banks and the temperature in the mid thirties. We were happy to share the experience with Angie, but for her, it surely would have been more fun in more temperate weather.

View from our cabin

Driving down the mountain was a little less stressful and arriving at our funky mountain get away, the Ponderosa Lodge, there was no snow to be seen; the landscape was a multitude of shades of green

Grazing elk

While sitting on the the front porch and enjoying some adult beverages, we were visited by a lone Elk bull.  He wasn't really interested in us, just in finding tender grass and chutes to eat.  We let him graze undisturbed, while we listened to the fast flowing water in the creek which flows by the front of the cabin.

Angie's visit was all too short; we hope she will pay us another visit really soon! This time maybe we will relax more and sight see less; but there is so much to see and do.

San Miguel de Allende--Spring 2017

Lilacs on a terrace at sunset

Like the proverbial swallows to Capistrano, we seem destined to return each year to our favorite Mexican city, San Miguel de Allende.

We love the city, the people and the ambiance, and to make it even better we have friends who return annually like us or others who have decided that SMA will be their home.

There always seems to be something to do-- concerts, plays, and movies are frequently offered--often free but never at an outrageous cost. This year, with the collapse of the peso, living in San Miguel and in Mexico, in general, is a real bargain.

At urging from our friend, Bob Larson, Sue got more involved with art--taking lessons from a Mexico artists and joining the Urban Sketchers for weekly sketching outings to former haciendas, churches or other beautiful settings.

Media Luna with Gil Gutierrez

Last year, we first became aware of a local music group, Media Luna--two young brothers, Caleb and Jair along with some of their relatives and friends.

Almost every Friday evening would find us at the Paprika Restaurant, where we were able to enjoy a two hour live concert by these remarkable young musicians while dining in the restaurant's open air patio.  After a few Fridays, the band began to recognize us (especially Sue) and play our favorite of their songs (Tears of Joy).  You can see them playing this song on YouTube.

Fiesta at Marilu's home

This year, thanks to the generosity of our landlady, Maria Louisa (Marilu), we were able to return to our favorite apartment, which is located in the heart of the city (Centro) on Mesones, just a block from the Jardin, the city's main plaza.

The apartment consists of a large living room, a good sized and fully equipped kitchen, a bedroom, one and a half baths, and fantastic terrace.


Marilu, as she has done in the past, invited us to her house, which is just outside of town, for a beautiful fiesta, inviting many of her friends as well as a few other extranjeros.  The food was delicious as always--featuring chiles rellenos and chiles anojados, lots of wine, beer and tequila, and singing.

It seems every Mexican can sing and play the guitar and we were entertained with many a Mexican ballad or love song. As in the past, this celebration was one of the highlights of our visit. The guitar, along with wine and tequila, was passed repeatedly around the table and we were provided with one lovely song after another.

Procession down our street (Larry watching from our patio)

This year, our stay overlapped with Semana Santa, or Holy Week, and many a religious procession passed by our apartment.  But there always seems to be some reason to celebrate or an event to commemorate with a parade or procession, and of course music and fireworks.

Palm Sunday Procession

We had originally planned to stay on through March and April, but as time went on, we decided to stay through the month of May.

A mistake--everyone had told us that May is the hottest month of the year and that the city can be almost unbearable at times, and indeed it was. We still enjoyed ourselves, but we now know that we will never voluntarily stay in SMA during May.

View from our patio

Easter is a spring celebration and its celebration is connected with the vernal equinox.  Tuesday night, before Easter Sunday, there was a beautiful full moon filling the night sky.


 Looking from our terrace towards the San Francisco church made a beautiful picture.

View from our patio

Later in the week, the clouds somewhat obscured the moon, but the view towards the church still made a beautiful, but different  picture.

Crowd gathered to watch Easter Procession

One of the votives in the Easter Procession

Bob, Sue, Mart and Larry

One of the most special Friday evenings at Paprika, listening to Media Luna, was our farewell meal with our great friends and traveling companions, Mart and Bob Larson.


They left SMA just before Easter, and we were so sorry to see them leave--but we know that our paths will cross again in the not too distant future. Most certainly next Fall in Tuscany!

Carole and Larry

No trip to Mexico is complete without a visit with our friend, Carole, who lives in the Roma Sur Neighborhood (Colonia) of Mexico City.

Carole, Fernando and Sue in a Mexico City subway entrance

Carole is the consummate hostess, always stocking up on what you like to eat and drink and making sure we are always entertained and introduced to new sights and sounds. MC  is a wondrous city, full culture, museums, theater and, of course, good restaurants. Carole wants to make sure we don't miss anything!

Besides gabbing and eating and a lot of dominoes, we took in a New York Met Opera HD live broadcast performance of Eugene Onegin and a live broadcast of George Bernard Shaw's play, Saint Joan.

Both performances were great as expected. Carole's friend (and now ours) Fernando joined us for both--it's always great to catch up with him and to talk about theater and performance with him, as he an arts reviewer for the Auditorio, a large performance venue.

Bob Larson sketching

A new adventure for Sue was to go sketching with Bob Larson (thanks to his giving her a totally equipped sketching pouch:  pencils, paints, brushes and sketch pad).  Thanks, Bob !!

Sketch

Actual View

These are a couple of her sketches with photos of the actual setting for comparison.

Sketch

Feathered dancer with tiny companion

Actual view

Often in the Jardin, some of the "Indigenas" (indigenous people) perform and march in parades and processions.

We particularly like this photo as it shows one of the young children who is learning about their heritage by participating in the celebrations.

Woman with doll we bought for Elinor

You can not visit Mexico without buying a Maria Doll--we liked the ones that this woman had to offer and bought one as a present for some young friends whose little girl, Elinor, was born in the USA while we were in Mexico.

We mentioned the heat and how all pervading it was.  With air conditioning at a premium, it was some times hard to escape the heat,

but at her suggestion we accompanied our friend Mary Abernathy, to the Rosewood Hotel where we spent a wonderful day luxuriating in the opulence and comfort of the pool and other facities--it's a pricey getaway ($30/ person including drinks and lunch) but well worth it.

So much so, that we had to return for a repeat visit on our next to last day in town.  We were not let down or disappointed by a second visit.

Baby on the bus

We often take the public buses to get around town--a ride costs eight pesos (40 cents) versus a $2.50 or $3 cab ride. Most often, we are the only gringos on the bus.


We loved this little baby with her smart hat who happened to be traveling with her mom during one of our trips.

Sue and her heart throbs

And, of course, this visit to San Miguel will forever be associated with Media Luna, the great local band, featuring the guitar virtuosos, Caleb and Jair Cabrero. Here is a link to their own composition and Sue's favorite, Tears of Joy.

We end with a photo of Sue with her Boys--they are not only talented, but quite handsome as well.  They were always welcoming and delighted to see at their performances.

Winter 2017 Update

Diego dressed as Santa

As you would expect, winter in Denver is full of things to do, although we are not the best about getting out and doing things.  We like taking walks on a crisp, blue-sky day or going to one of the many plays and musicals offered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Christmas was quiet. Erin and Johann had decided to wait until the inauguration to get out of DC and to come visit with us, although they did send us a picture of Diego, their cat, in his Christmas Santa outfit.  Diego probably didn't enjoy it nearly as much as we did--but Erin says he was a good sport about it.

Erin and Johann celebrating

Speaking of Johann and Erin, they celebrated their second anniversary being together.  This picture is of them at a friend's wedding in December; they look like they could be posing for Washingtonian ad.  Tres elegant!

Women's March in Denver

When Erin and Johann did come for their visit the last week in January, we were able to participate  (at least for a little while) in the Women's March. Despite the title, there were lots of families and men.

It was so exciting and uplifting to see so many people out in the street and talking about issues. We think the Pussy Hats were a nice touch. We can only hope that the energy will continue.

Support Muslim Neighbors Gathering in Denver

Later in February, we were fortunate to participate in another march and demonstration, this time to support our Muslim neighbors.  We were so surprised and delighted with the turn-out, close to 10,000 they said.

Again, like the Women's March earlier, people were upbeat and positive; it was just a great day to be alive.

Charlie and his Mom in his classroom

Charlie is more than half way thru his first year of public school--pre-K at Edison Elementary School, which is his neighborhood school.

One of our good friends at Brooks Tower, Myrna, told us that she went to Edison as young girl back in the forties. 

Although the classrooms are very up to date, the entrance still reminds you of going into the elementary school that many of us remember from our childhoods.

Charlie's Birthday Celebration at School

On January 29th, we, along with Bryn, visited Charlie to help him celebrate his 5th birthday.  He and his Mom made Batman cupcakes to share with his class.  

He was very proud to distribute one to each of his classmates as well as his teacher, Miss Brown, and the class assistant, Miss Clarissa. 

Each came with a Star Wars napkin.  There are probably not many things cuter than a class of five year olds.

Bryn and Larry, Ski Bums

Once in January and again in February Bryn and Larry took a day off and trekked up to Winter Park for a day of skiing.

It usually takes less than an hour and half to get there; but getting thru the mountain passes can be tricky if it is snowy or icy.

Despite a record breaking mild January and February, with very little snow in the city, there was plenty in the mountains, and they had a great time on the slopes.

Charlie teaching Mom some moves

This winter, Bryn enrolled Charlie in an introductory Tae Kwan Doh class, and he took to it like a duck to water.

He was so excited when he got his gee and put it on the first time.

He enjoys demonstrating the latest moves that he has learned, and after a month, he passed his first test and moved up to be a Tiger Yellow Belt.  (Thanks to our good friend, Ashely Brown, who sat thru the seemingly endless exam--it takes a long time to test 40 or 50 youngsters.)

Tae Kwan Doh really is well suited to Charlie and it really helps him master all of the kinetic energy he always seems to have.

Our sweet guy with his favorite game, Sorry.

On the first day of March we said goodbye to Charlie and his mom and flew to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where we will be spending the next three months.

We love coming back to San Miguel, but it is hard to leave. Charlie and Bryn are practicing their Sorry skills, so it will be a challenge when we get back.

This post has been awhile getting published but look for our next post soon!

Santa Fe Pictures

Sue and Larry at Ghost Ranch

Just returned from a lovely weeklong visit to Santa Fe, NM. It wasn't our first visit, but it had been close to 10 years since last we were there.



We shared an AIRBNB condo with our longtime friends and frequent traveling companions, Mart & Bob Larson.


Martha & John Birney, Denver friends,  drove down from Denver to spend part of the week with us.

John, Martha, Mart, Bob, Sue, Larry

It is so much fun to explore an interesting town like Santa Fe with friends who share your interests in history and art, of which there is a lot in SF.

Dancing St. Francis at the Cathedral

Like Williamsburg, today's Santa Fe is a construct, but also like Williamsburg it is a successful one.  Most of the buildings in the town center are brown or beige adobe, and the main plaza looks like an amalgam of Old Mexico and 1940's America.

We were told that the city's population is around 60k.  On many days, I am sure there are as many tourists as there are city residents, but fortunately during our visit that didn't seem to be the case, so it was easy to stroll along the city's sidewalks taking in the history and looking at the many shops, featuring Southwestern art or Native American jewelry..

Larry and Bob at the O'Keeffe Museum

During our visit, all of us became more aware of Georgia O'Keeffe.  One of our first stops was at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum which had just mounted a new exhibit on her life and her art.



With the aid of an audio tour that we could download on our phones, we learned about this remarkable woman and her then revolutionary ideas about abstract art.

Photo of landscape

It was an incredibly delightful and enlightening two hour visit and whetted our appetite to learn more about O'Keeffe and the her adopted home of New Mexico.

O'Keeffe painting of landscape

The day after our visit to the O'Keeffe Museum we decided to visit Abiquiu, where she had a home, and the nearby Ghost Ranch, where she often stayed and painted.






When O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in the 1920's she stayed at Ghost Ranch and instantly felt at home.


Drawn by the isolated beauty, she returned year after year to paint its high plains, mountains, and desert landscapes.



One of her favorite subjects was the Pedernal mountain.  It can be seen clearly both at Ghost Ranch and the town of Abiquiu.

The photo above shows the cloud-shrouded Pedernal mountain on the day we visited; the picture of the O'Keeffe painting is on the right.

Stan and Arin Bader's Guest House

We tried to visit O'Keeffe's home in Abiquiu, but lacking an appointment, we were not able to get in.


Serendipitously, though, we were able to visit with Stan and Arin Bader, friends we first met in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Stan and Arin have a beautiful 58-acre ranch, orchard and vineyard just outside of town.  Although we had not warned them of our visit, they greeted us with open arms and showed us around their home and grounds.

In addition to selling berries, grapes and raisins that they raise on the ranch, they also operate a small two-room guest house, Las Parras de Abiquiu.  We instantly fell in love with the ranch and guest house and their lovely, landscaped gardens and have vowed to return in the not too distant future for a weekend visit.

Bob and Mart at O'Keeff's cottage on Ghost Ranch grounds

While in Santa Fe, we found a number of great restaurants and had some really fun and delicious eating experiences.  The Shed, just off the main plaza and only a couple of blocks from the O'Keeffe museum, serves traditional New Mexican cuisine--for us that means hot.

Larry, who usually enjoys spicy food, ordered some chili con carne that he couldn't eat.  The others enjoyed their less seasoned but tasty tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.

Santa Fe clouds--nature's art

One evening, the six of us enjoyed tapas and live jazz at El Meson.  The tapas were varied and all that we tried were delicious.

We ate in the bar dining area where an excellent jazz duo entertained us for much of our time at the restaurant.  The service was excellent and we would highly recommend it.

But our favorite eating discovery was the Tea House on Canyon Road.  Every tourist to Santa Fe makes it to Canyon Road which is literally block after block of mostly high end art galleries.

On our last afternoon in Santa Fe, we trudged up Canyon road, dropping in and out of galleries as the spirit moved us, the art attracted us, or the chill drove us to seek warmth. The gallery hosts were invariably friendly and knowledgeable about the art on display and about Santa Fe.  Late in the afternoon, hungry and chilled, we asked one of the hosts for dining recommendations.  She reeled off a number but said her favorite was the Tea House.

It was a great find; featuring simple, organic and locally grown food as well as a large variety of teas and local beers, everything we had was filling and delicious.  As we lingered over our late lunch, the owner/chef Rich stopped by our table for what turned out to be a 15 minute discussion of food, cooking, travel and Santa Fe.  It was the perfect way to finish our day--that, and the carryout desserts that we ordered to feast upon later that evening back at our condo.

Settling Into Denver--Summer 2016

Charlie, the gardener

 Here we are in Apartment 20-L.  After years of travel—four years moving every three months, except a five-month stint once—we are staying put for a while.  We’ll see how that works out.

Our apartment has a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains, which we enjoy every day.  The building, Brooks Tower,  has an exercise room, a large living room style “Residents’ Room”, a common laundry (where we often see performers from the Denver Performing Arts Center, especially on Mondays).

Charlie on the "Train to the Plane"

It also has an outdoor swimming pool that we love, and a pool table that we haven’t tried yet, but want to.

We are one block from the 16^th Street Mall that affords great people watching and has a lot of good bars and restaurants and shops.  

Charlie at Opa's birthday

With the free bus running from Union Station to the Capitol, we can get up and down the Mall easily.  

Other buses run from right outside our door to almost anywhere we would want to go, so no car is necessary.  However, we use Bryn’s for grocery shopping, but may stop doing that when the new Whole Foods, on the free bus line, opens in the Fall or Winter.

Our favorite entertainment is Charlie, who gives us lots to laugh about and unending joy.  (Is it not evident from the number of photos on this posting and many others?)

Charlie, Bryn and Oma in Denver Botanic Gardens

We usually have him for an overnight once a week.  We have become adept at pretending to be Star Wars characters or any number of Super Heroes. (Adept, but old and slow...)

A typical day?  It will sound really boring, but we are happy.

Larry, an early bird, gets up around 6:30 am or so and goes to the exercise room and takes a walk.  He then has his daily Honey Nut Cheerios and reads the online version of the New York Times.

Charlie, Oma and Opa at Denver Botanic Gardens

Around 8:00 am Sue rouses and does stretches and yoga in the bedroom, thus giving Larry lots of morning private time.

She is not an early morning eater, so has a cup of tea with Larry on our small balcony, and we both admire the mountain view for a while.

After that, there are always chores around the house, online news to check and emails to delete—does everyone get as many unwanted emails as we do?  

Sad to say, at least Sue is a terrible correspondent.  I should write more regularly and am always composing in my head, but don’t have follow through.  I think Larry is better at this.

Lily Pond at Denver Botanic Gardens

Anyway, Sue is usually the chore do-er while Larry practices his electric piano.  Though, Larry does the laundry and we both share serious cleaning of the apartment.

We try to get a swim in, weather permitting, either just before noon or in the late afternoon.  The swimming schedule totally depends on the storms that seem to appear almost daily this summer.  

View from our cabin in Rocky Mtn. National Park

Blue skies, we jump into our suits; black clouds, we stay in and watch the show as the storms come rolling towards us from the mountains. 

We’ve had some pretty spectacular storm watching—and have lost a thing or two from our balcony; they can get pretty fierce!

Lunch is catch as catch can, and we often go out to the grocery store or to the Botanic Gardens or the Denver Art Gallery during the early afternoon before our nap—a late afternoon nap is really essential to good health, don't you think? 

Bear Lake in Rocky Mtn. National Park

Soon, cocktail hour is upon us, and we love our G&Ts with mixed nuts as we watch TV news—local, Lester Holt and then PBS.  Lots of news; we love it. And with the elections, there always seems that there is something to cheer or jeer.

Sue generally cooks dinner while listening to Gwen and Judy—lately using online meal service, Blue Apron: a lot of work, but a lot of fun three days a week, especially as we have opted for the Vegetarian selection.  

Wildlife in Rocky Mtn. National Park

Other days it’s the lifelong standards that had become boring; thus the Blue Apron perk up.

The evening ends with too much TV.  We keep telling ourselves we are going to break the habit, but it is really, really hard.  

We do turn it off to eat, but head back to the couch afterwards for a movie or a program we think is interesting.

 We used to take an evening walk, but it has become too hot this summer and we stopped doing it.

Us with Cynthia and Nancy in NC

We are looking forward to cooler climes to start that up again. Finally, a bit of reading in bed and then lights out.

This August we did make manage to make it up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  Like so many other national parks, it is a national treasure, and we are so fortunate to be able to visit it and enjoy it.  

Now that we are seniors, we took advantage of a program that the Parks Service offers--a life time membership for $10.  

We will be able to visit any National Park or Monument, free of charge, for the rest of our lives.  We stayed in a little cabin along a babbling mountain creek, just three miles from the entrance.  

We had a great time and managed to take a few interesting hikes (or in our case, walks).  Driving thru the park, along the continental divide and above the timber line is extraordinary--we recommend it to all.

We should volunteer or do some other do-gooder thing, but haven’t found an avenue for that yet.  Maybe if we stay here a full six months as we’ve promised one another, something will appear. 

Ah, but the elections have given us the opportunity to volunteer, at least for a few weeks.  We are making phone calls or roaming the the Saturday Union Station Farmers' Market trying to get people to register.

Johan, Erin, Angie, Larry and Diego the Cat in DC

Earlier this summer, we took an extended trip back East, and got to visit with Erin and some other friends and family, but our favorite entertainment is to have visitors and we are hoping to have some this fall.  

Several people have promised us…we can’t wait!