On Frenchman Mountain

Taryn arranged for my cousin, Julie, and I to be available for Rachel’s birthday (my sister). Julie met me at the airport. When we got to Rachel’s house, Taryn wrapped us in ribbon and bows. He had made a cake for Rachel from scratch. It was very yummy. Caden, the youngest of Rachel’s boys, didn’t know what to think of me. He was very shy and wouldn’t come to me or talk to me. I guess he’s quite the jabber-butt.

That afternoon, we girls went shopping for five hours or so. For our evening, we hit downtown Denver to check out the nightclub scene. Sixteenth Avenue felt very safe. It was well-lit and lots of cops out and about.

The next morning, Taryn made us pancakes and eggs. I got to spend time with Calvin and Caden while Rachel took a catnap. That afternoon, Rachel and I visited the Denver Botanical Garden, had lunch at Chipotle, and stopped by 6-7 open houses. We found the perfect new home for her family.

It was a quick trip. Loved staying in their basement. It’s the perfect set up with its own bathroom, TV, bed, pool table, and fully-stocked bar. I may need to visit more often!

The girls only have a few weeks at home before they head off to Spokane for summer camp, and then Montana for visiting. We got them going on a few projects to keep them busy…

First, Katy did a 3D model of a carousel First shot is her with the parts, and then the finished product.

Next, the kids wanted to do a baking project out of a cook book Sandy picked up at Barnes and Noble. These were supposed to be graduation caps, but Katy can’t eat the gummi tassles so we left those off…and we didn’t want to make glaze, so they colored some store-bought icing, which was a bit thick to spread. They look a little funny, but they were very good.

All four of us went to the Saturday showing of “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” at the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino. We went to celebrate the end of the kids’ school year. (Yeah! Katy finished the seventh grade and Sandy finished the fourth grade.) While waiting for the show we played a rousing game of “slap hand” and browsed the Marilyn Monroe exhibit.

Once at the show, we had our photo taken and were shown to our table. The room was set with roughly 30 dining tables scattered around a dance floor. As at any wedding, there was a no host bar, cheesy wedding singer, colorful characters, and lots of dancing drunks. I tried to get Sandy to dance; no luck there. The girls had throughly horrifed expressions as Jeremy and I danced. Seriously - how dare parents do something so shameful!

The actors put on an excellent show. But our girls did not have a good time and demanded a do-over of their end-of-the-school-year celebration. Oh, well. We tried. It will certainly be a memorable experience for them. One thing they did love - the Italian buffet!

Rachel posted 114 photos taken with her camera during our recent Manhattan adventure. The picture below was taken at the Central Park fountain made famous on the NBC show Friends. Click on the photo to see the full-size version.

Here are the photos from my iPhone:

On our final day we began with breakfast and a visit to Central Park. We hired a rickshaw and a tour guide. He was knowledgeable but chatty. To ensure we made it to the airport on-time, we left four hours early. Good thing - we got on the wrong subway and had to take a city bus the remainder if the distance. The photos below are from the subway and Central Park.

My conference wrapped up around 2:30 pm. By that time, Rachel had shopped at Century 21 department store, visited an old church, ate lunch, and began her afternoon nap. After my little nap, we took the subway to the Metropolitian Museum of Art. We used the Bank of America’s “musuems on us” program for free admittance.
Following the musuem, we ate at a little Greek cafe then rode the subway back.

Rachel reports that she’s changed her mind about the city. Downtown Denver is looking pretty good compared to this. I would agree.

After my conference activities on Friday, we dined at the Grill Room at World Financial Center. The salmon was great but the chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate center was better. Here’s a photo from our table looking across the bay to New Jersey. Following dinner, Rachel and I walked around the financial district. Pretty boring as no one hangs out in that area at night.