The end of the Trip-finally!

Okay...I decided it was time to wrap up the stories about our trip to Denver. (Since we got home on the 6th...and it's the 19th!!!)On the 4TH of July, Martha and Tony and John and I started the day off with a trip to play golf. It was an early morning...for me...those three always get up early...but I didn't complain. haha
When we arrived...the wind was howling. It must've been blowing about 35 miles an hour down the mountain...as we later found out...it does every morning...then stops around 10:00am. And true to form...it did stop...then it just felt like we were all cooking in a big frying pan or something...it was HOT! It was quite a view...but I still think it's kind of boring...a bunch of rocks. It has it's beauty...but I prefer more green.
A few weeks before our trip John took me out to practice putting...and chipping...I did pretty well, felt pretty confident. (haha)
That morning we were warming up...I took a few shots off the tee...4 or 5 in a row...perfect...nice and straight...good distance...things were looking good for about 5 minutes! haha Well...it was all downhill from there...I played terribly. I don't even know how many times I swung and missed completely....or hit the ball about 20 yards. It was kind of a long day...haha...but I was enjoying the views and the company...and I can only get better. Ha!
Later that day we had plans to go on a train ride....The Georgetown Loop. It's about 40 minutes out of Denver...the train takes you on a loop through the mountains and on the 4TH...they had a special that included a Barbecue and fireworks. Heading out we loaded up our car and Martha and Tony loaded up theirs...David and Paul couldn't go because they had to break down the booth at the end of the art show...but everyone else went. As we drove along we noticed the traffic going in the other direction was backed up for miles and miles and miles...thank goodness we were going the other way...and it had cleared out before we headed home.We arrived 1 hour ahead of time, as we were instructed to...and then...we sat around and waited for an hour......my suggestion would be if you take the trip...1/2 hr ahead is MORE than enough time! We all posed for pictures and then picked out the car we wanted to ride on. Ellen still wasn't feeling 100%...but she she was a good sport and she didn't complain and she made it! The crowd was a little strange...it was a very odd assortment of people no sense of humor...dirty kids, etc...excluding us of course! haha (really...we all kind of agreed the crowd was just weird!..as were some of the townsfolk we passed on the way to the station. At one point we spotted a REALLY strange guy...Bridget said we should start listening for the banjo music )
The dinner was pretty terrible...but what the heck...we had fun. they had beer and wine! The peach cobbler and whipped cream helped...hahah ON the way back to the original station..we stopped on a trestle...to watch the fireworks that come over the mountains. That was pretty cool...literally...haha the temperature dropped considerably We all agreed that we did it and it was nice...but once was probably enough, haha
Notice our red-white and blue clothes...very stylish!
At the end of the trip the line for the bathroom was LOOOOOOOONG...as usual. The Men's room line cleared out and then Tony and John started directing traffic and watched the doors for whoever wanted to use the Men's room.
July 5th things were winding down. We all ate breakfast down in the hotel. Martha and Tony left, Megan and Brenna left. Elizabeth, Ryan and Meredith went out to a Mediterranean restaurant. David, Bridget, Ellen, Anna, John and I went to a place Mark had recommended. It was great! Every place we went was pretty good... we had lots of great food!
While we were taking the train ride...David and Paul were dealing with "car" problems. The van was not starting...they had to unload everything, put it in another rental truck...quite a process. All while they were also breaking down the booth. They were exhausted! In bed before we got back to the hotel.
All in all it was a great 5 days...Denver was a lot of fun. It was great to see everyone again and especially to see Martha who looked great. It was nice to see her looking well...we've been talking to her and hearing good reports...but it was seeing her that convinced me at least...that she really is doing well.





 Here's Tony directing the traffic................ and
Here's David's vehicle getting towed away...it was quite a load! We weren't sure the tow truck was going to make it out of the parking lot of the hotel...
David on his motor bike with Anna




John, Anne , Ellen and Anna out to dinner on the last night in town.