Part of the Trip Includes Maggie Time

Sitting on an airplane is working out well for getting out a blog update.  Our three full days in Denver had been so busy that I didn’t do much more than download some pictures each day and saved the second installment writing for now.

The creek and path run below street level so it is nice to be able to  just walk along.  Quite a few bikers and runners were out taking advantage of the beautiful fall weather so we needed to keep Maggie on her leash the whole time. Once those chores were done (and is it really a chore when you enjoy doing it?) we took a little soduku time and on-line time before heading out to explore some more.

Our second day meant a little sleeping in…while for some, but most of you know I was still up fairly early…that just gave me some time to do the last post.  Once Cheri was up and had a little breakfast we took a little Maggie time (since we’d be leaving her alone for much of the day).  There is a nice pedestrian/bicycle path along Cherry Creek which is just outside of Jess’ complex.  So we put Maggie on a leash and headed out. But once we got back to Jess’ complex—the Marquis on Parkway—we took Maggie to their greenway area and we were able to let her run a bit.  Between the three mile round trip along the creek and some greenway time Maggie was pretty tired out.

I had read on TripAdvisor—an online site that has very good travel information submitted by other travelers—that the Forney Museum of Transportation was worth a visit.  Although it seemed a bit out of the way it is a fun and interesting museum.

There are several train cars inside the building and one of the big—both figuratively and literally—items is a “Big Boy” locomotive and tender.  The combined locomotive and tender is 137 feet long, the wheels are 5 feet six inches tall, and it weighs over 600 tons—pretty impressive.



There was also  large display of cars and motorcycles that the Forney family had collected over many years…also on loan from a separate collection were operating models of all the Ford Thunderbirds…overhead they displayed various reproductions of Burma-Shave signs.




We also took advantage of the one vehicle—a Model T—that was available to sit in and take some photos…I feel like a chauffer in the photo with Jess in the back seat.






…and then Cheri took the best picture of the day…







What better way to end up the first foray of the day but to drive over to the Wynkoop Brewery and Restaurant for lunch…and since we were already there we decided to participate in one of Cheri’s favorite activities—a beer and ale tasting.

We picked up our tickets, glasses and a list of the Wynkoop brews available for tasting and enjoyed the experience…no they did not fill the cups up at every stop (although some servers were more heavy pourers than others)…and no we did not drink all of the tickets amount (it was much more than we wanted or needed).

But they had football on all around the tasting area and it was fun (you can check separately with Cheri for her impressions).

Our travels then took us back to Jess’ place for a little more Maggie time and to get ready for the evening event.


Previously Jess had picked up—through her new employee programs at Presbyterian / St Luke’s Medical Center—tickets to the Avalanche and Dallas Stars hockey game.  We had great seats and watched the Avalanche win 5 – 0.





We walked to and from the game, so by the time we got back to Jess’ we had a little time for Wii Mario Karts—Jess was talking trash about how she would win…and I showed her otherwise…even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in awhile.


Sunday morning our plans centered around seeing the Patriots game and getting a little shopping completed.  PJ and I decided we would do the Patriots piece while Jess and Cheri did the shopping piece—we guys went to the Blake Street Sports Tavern and the girls headed off to the Cherry Creek Mall. 


Other than the Patriots losing, this worked out really well.  The room was set up with the Pat’s game on the big screen at one end and four other large flat screens along the walls that let us see other key games.  PJ’s brother-in-law’s brother Sean joined us part way through the first game and it was an enjoyable way to watch a less than enjoyable showing by the Patriots.  Toward the end of the game we were also treated to some fisticuffs caused by a fairly large and well lubricated Patriots fan taking exception to a Browns fan standing up and cheering for his team…we thanked our waitress for the floorshow… .

Following the game we picked up some items to go with dinner and the ladies picked us up to head back to Jess’ place.  PJ and Jess put together a wonderful salad and apple upside-down cake while I took Maggie out.  Then I worked on some mushroom risotto while Cheri tried her hand at a little Mario Karts.

We had a wonderful meal, watched a little TV, enjoyed a late dessert and then off to bed…our morning flight—the one we are on while I am typing—was at 7:05 am.  So the Denver portion of our trip ended with sidewalk hugs as Jess and PJ dropped us off at the airport…they were heading out to go skiing…another adventure of their own and the end of this one for us.


   

No, You are in Washington…

We made it to Denver…our luggage made it…and most importantly Jess made it to pick us up.  Our travels were fairly uneventful except when we backed away from the gate in Providence—an on time departure—we then were held on the tarmac because of weather and back ups at Dulles (our connecting point).  As a result our 90 minute window of time to make a connection started to get smaller and smaller.  Just because there is bad weather keeping flights from getting in doesn’t mean flights are being delayed getting out—on time departures.


Of course the flight from Providence to Dulles is on a United Express jet so the arrival gate is at the very end of the A Terminal; and the Dulles to Denver flight is on a 777 leaving from—we had already figured this would be the case—almost the furthest gate in the C Terminal.  We hurried through the airport…with the obligatory restroom stop…it must have something to do with the pressure and altitude changes in flying…and made it to the gate as they were announcing, “now boarding all rows and all passengers”.


Just to be sure—since we had just turned a corner and there was the gate—I said to the ticket agent, “This is Denver…right?”


And his answer, fortunately with wry grin was, “No you are in Washington.”


So we flew…we arrived…Jess picked us up…and it was off to her apartment.  With the time zone changes and travel although it was only 8 pm in Denver it felt like 10 pm to us so we had a pizza from a shop nearby and went to bed fairly early…so we could begin the adventure in earnest (actually in Denver) the next day.

Then it was into the car and heading out towards the mountains—we made a stop along the way to get a couple of photos proving we are here…

The next morning, after taking Maggie (Jess’ Labrador) out for some ‘fetch’ and outdoor time, we headed over to meet PJ at his apartment and then to a local restaurant for breakfast.  We ate at Snoozes which specializes in breakfast and the selections were great.

   




Our travels began with a trip to Boulder, CO and the first stop was at the home—and only location—of Celestial Seasoning Tea. 


We sampled teas…saw a video…donned hairnets and took a tour.  No photographs are allowed on the factory floor so nothing to show from the inside.



The aromas were strong—similar to going into the Yankee Candle Store—overwhelming at first, but then you get a little bit use to it.  They have a separate Mint Room where they keep the mint leaves—all from Oregon and Washington—before blending into teas.  The door is kept shut except to get the product and when tour groups go in.  The oils in the air are so strong that you can feel it in your eyes and every breath seems to clear your lungs and sinuses.


The production facility is almost fully automated, but there are many staff there to make sure the equipment is operating correctly and to catch errors that the machinery may miss.  When in full production the plant can produce 10 million tea bags a day.

Our next stop…since it was nearby…was the Boulder Creek Winery.  This is the production facility for this Colorado wine and their vineyards are on the western slopes of Colorado.  The vineyards are in the 4,000 to 7,000 foot range so there is no need for pesticides and the strong sun with cooler nights produces a more Bordeaux-like type of wine.

It was a nice tour and of course we took advantage of the wine tasting.


Since the mountains were nearby, and we knew we would need the exercise, we then drove over to the Chatauqua State Park for a little hiking in the Flat Irons area.  The area is named for the way the rocks rise up and resemble flat irons on end (okay…you do have to use your imagination a little).

 
We hiked up to the base of the Flat Irons and looped around back down to the Ranger Station.  Our planning didn’t include the right shoes or clothing for anything more extended—this trip—but it is an area we will probably explore more on one of our next visits.





When we got back to the base I saw a local trail map at the Ranger Station.  It showed a road up to a nearby peak, so we decided to try and drive up there to enjoy the view.  It turned out that the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was located on this peak so we decided to explore the visitor center.


The Center is housed in a building designed by I.M. Pei—he had an interest in atmospheric research—and overlooks Boulder, CO.  Research is conducted through a partnership with the University Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to gather data from around the world and study the impacts on the world around us—everything from weather formation and conditions, climate impact, solar activities, and the history of weather in the preceding 150 million years (plus what that tells us about today). 



The visitor center had some great displays, a small theater and great photos of atmospheric phenomena (plus what causes them).  In addition the center houses two of the largest super computers in the world—operating more than a million times faster than the CRAY Supercomputer of the 1970’s.  It was a great happenstance that we stumbled upon the Center…I’d recommend a visit to anyone in the area.


We got back to Denver in time to take a short break and then we headed out for a very nice dinner at Venice Ristorante—a place Cheri had found on-line during our trip planning.  It was a great way to top off our first full day of the visit.


More Adventures to come…

Catching Up

My editor tells me that I should be writing and updating…regardless of whether I have photos to aid the blog…or not.  So, since i am sitting on a plane…with moderate audio/video offerings…I am plugged into some light classical music and writing.


A few weeks ago our gaming crowd veered away from a BUNCO night and tried our new favorite game…Left, Right, Center.  Once again, we chose a game that required only dice, a little bit of attention, and to make it interesting…some money.

One of the great things about Left-Right-Center is that you can play the game and visit at the same time.  The game also lends itself to eating and libations while playing so we planned a meal of heavy pupu’s—a phrase from our days living in Hawaii meaning heavy appetizers—and surrounding the kitchen island while we played.  It was a crowd with many of the usual suspects…which also meant many great pupus for the enjoyment of all of us.  Of course we did spend the first hour eating and enjoying something to drink before settling into the game.

Food around the outside…beverages on ice in the island sink…dice and money on the island in front of us.

Left, Right, Center is a game that Jessica told us about—she had played it with several friends in Phoenix and thought it would fit right in with our BUNCO crowd.  The playing dice (there are three die) each have two faces with an L (for Left), two with an R (for right), and…for those of you who think you have already figured this out…only one face with a C and one face with a black dot.


The game set comes with the dice and a stack of chips to hand out to the players.  We could have played with the chips, but taking a cue from Jessica’s experience…and not wanting to be whimpy about it…we asked everyone to bring three one dollar bills (actually we asked them to bring six…more on that later).  As the game starts the player with the dice has three bills so they can roll all three dice.  Whatever shows up on the dice is what the player does with the money…either pass bills to the left (one for each die with an L on it), the right (same thing), into the center for each C, or keeping a bill for each dot rolled…then passing the dice to their left for the next player’s turn.  You can only roll as many dice as you have bills in front of you (with a maximum of three dice).  Although you could lose all your bills on your first throw, you are never really out until all the bills are in the center and one player left with at least one bill…because the person you handed the dice to may roll something that gives you some bills back…or the player on your other side may also pass you some bills on their turn.



Play goes round-and-round and with thirteen people playing it can take some time…particularly with money changing hands.  We did play the first round with quarters…just ot get everyone familiar with the game.  Jim Nowak ended up weighed down with 39 quarters.  A few snacks and then we got out the real money—dollar bills.  Susanne Cimochowski won the next round and then Dennis McCarthy won a round.  Everyone should have been out of their six singles by this point, but there was enough interest that more bills were found (or exchanged) so we could play one more time. 

Just as he did with the quarters, Jim Nowak came through on the final round to win again.  He can be seen in the photo with his winnings tucked away into an inconspicuous place.

It was a great night and a game we will surely play again…possibly at a family gathering…bring your bills!

FOOTBALL…Navy Style

A couple of weeks later we headed to New Jersey to join forces for a Navy football game.  When Navy plays Notre  Dame  it is either at South Bend (Notre Dame’s home) or a neutral site (which becomes Navy’s home).  This year it was at the New Meadowland Stadium and Scott had gotten us tickets.

Nana and Papa had headed down earlier in the week and Cheri and I joined them at the Whitney’s on Friday evening…another great opportunity for steak and wonderful wine.  Dan and Monica were there for the evening as well so we were able to catch up with them a bit.  And if that wasn’t enough…it was also Nana’s birthday…a triple header for the weekend!

Saturday morning we guys headed out to the stadium with enough time to find our seats, get something to eat and then watch the Brigade march on.  We had great seats and the new stadium is beautiful.

The game started with Notre Dame getting the first kick-off.  They worked their way down the field and ended up on the one-half yard line and a fourth down…of course they went for it…Navy held their ground and kept Notre Dame out of the end zone.  Besides taking the ball away from them, Navy then marched down the field and scored the first touchdown of the game…it was just a sign of things to come.

Navy was ahead 17 – 3 at the half, but having experienced games against Notre Dame in the past this was not enough of a cushion.  Fortunately Navy got the kick-off to begin the second half and again marched down the field to score.

Notre Dame did come back a little late in the fourth quarter…after both teams had put in backup players…but it wasn’t enough.  The final score…Navy 35  Notre Dame 17…and it wasn’t even that close. You can see that many of the seats on the Notre Dame side were already empty…made getting out of the parking lot fairly easy. 


Three of the last four years Navy has beaten Notre Dame.  It may not continue, but we are enjoying it while we can.

Sort of a Guys’ Weekend

The next weekend I had the rare chance to accompany Cheri to one of her conferences.  It was being held in Portland, ME so we took advantage of the opportunity and stayed at the Morris’ for the weekend.

Saturday morning Cheri was off to her course being held at the Maine Medical Center, Stephanie had some shopping to do and that left James and I to engineer some Saturday morning chores.

We had a garage door to fix, which meant scoping out the job, developing a list of supplies, a trip to Lowe’s, and working on the door structure.  Surprisingly, we ended up with all the right parts, engineered a new supporting design, reinforced one of the other spring arrangements, and had the door working properly in less than two hours.  That meant we had time to take Angus (their black lab) out for a couple mile walk in the woods on a beautiful fall day.  I regretted not having my camera with me on the walk because the woods and the trail were quintessential New England.

After we got back we determined that we needed to continue our manly ways by going to a rib place for lunch.  Nearby is Buck Naked Ribs…so named because the owner’s name is Buck and he only uses a dry rub on the ribs…therefore naked of sauce while cooking.  There are sauces available on the side and we made the most of it.  Hot ribs and cold beer on tap…a manly lunch.

Since it was Saturday…and we had full bellies…it was time to watch a little college football and doze a little.  Cheri joined us later in the afternoon and we continued to enjoy the time with our friends, their famous homemade pizza—it really is outstanding—and some more sports on the TV.  We did take a little break from sports to watch the Rally to Restore Sanity which had been taped earlier and we are not sure but we think we saw Margaret Morris in the crowd.

Sunday morning I dropped Cheri off at her conference and then sang with James in their church choir.  James had a great solo part in a gospel piece we sang and I enjoyed my time with their choir.  Then it was quickly off to pick up Cheri and head back to Connecticut.  We wanted to get back in time for the memorial service for a church friend, Paul Wolf.

Another great series of adventures.  As I mentioned I am on a flight…Cheri and I are on our way to Denver to visit Jessica at her new place.  Jess and PJ are looking forward to our coming out and I will have more on this new adventure soon.

2 Vehicles, 3 Events, 3 Days, 3 States…A Manz Style Adventure

At the end of the weekend we both commented, “…it was busy, but it sure was fun!”  After a busy week at work we once again took separate roads to reach the first destination of the weekend.

Cheri headed out on Friday morning to meet up with several of her classmates from the Mary Hitchcock School of Nursing for a somewhat impromptu reunion.  Her photos and write-up about the get together is another opportunity for a guest blog edition…along with the previously mention Basket Ladies’ Annual Maine Outing—see the follow-on section below.

On the other hand, I spent most of Friday at work finally heading out from Worcester around 4:30 pm on my way to Underhill, VT.  This weekend our separate roads were bringing us back to the annual Harvest Market.  Although the routes were slightly different we ended up at Gail Tuscany’s house Friday evening. 

Our usual pattern in past years has been to show up, pick up some cutlery, and begin chopping onions and peppers to go with the sausages cooked in the refreshment tent.  This year, I sidestepped that portion by first going to the Manz house and having a pizza dinner—I even acted as the delivery man—with the extended Manz and Morris clans.

	Upon my arrival at the Tuscany estate, it appeared that I was not the only one to sidestep this ritual.  Gail and Cheri were enjoying some wine at the dining room table while Michelle, Justin and Michelle’s friend Stephanie were in the kitchen wielding the knives…the onions and peppers didn’t stand a chance.
Not wanting to tempt fate, when I arrived we opened another bottle of wine and retired to the back sun room…so as not to disturb the workers.

   

The next morning we were on our way to the Market area at a reasonable time—we wanted to get parked before the Parade and we managed to sleep in just enough to justify missing the 5k fun run.  Liz Manz is a co-chair of the Country Store tent—which Cheri and I use to chair (we’ve passed it to good hands) and  traditionally work—so we chipped right in by bringing over 100 pies out of the church and setting up displays on the tables in the tent.  I also set up the Cabot Cheese cutting, weighing and sales area.

We had pies, gourds, candy, and cheese…

We just needed to wait for people to come…and although it was a little overcast, soon after the parade they came.  It didn’t feel like a big rush, but it was steady…

And we all worked…and took some breaks…



And by the end of the day 3/4 of the pies were sold, five grain bags of corn cooked and eaten, and over 200 lbs of cheese—sharp and extra sharp—cut, wrapped almost all sold.
 

Then it was off to the Manz home for another chance to share a meal and good times together.  There were toasts to the recently engaged couples, stories that “could have happened to anyone…” , recognition of a new 30 year old, and some time spent by the bonfire (or fire bon as Dan called it…a little too close to Quebec).



This was also a chance to get another generational photo with some additions, but missing Jess, Sarah and Miss Margaret…



We were back to Gail’s early since we wanted to be on the road heading for Connecticut by 4:30 am—it was Jamie Harrison’s last Sunday as the minister of our church after 35 years…we wanted to be there.

Sunday’s service was very moving with all of the choirs performing. Lynn Singleton and John Holt presented a proclamation from the UCC Connecticut Conference and a gift basket of wine from the Deacons. Finally, Jim Nowak presented Jamie with a bronze plaque that will be mounted in the Great Room…dedicating the room as The Jamie Harrison Fellowship Hall.

…and Jamie’s sermon was aptly named, The Last Word. But he didn’t really have the last word since we had a celebration event following the service.   John Cimochowski as the Church Moderator conducted the celebration—reading a proclamation from the Governor as well as providing a life-time Connecticut State Park Pass to Jamie. Bob Donahue gave an honorary sous chef award and some gag-gifts to Jamie for all his work in the kitchen over the years.  I, representing the Board of Trustees and the Staff, presented Jamie with some travel brochures and the “going away purse” raised by members and friends to be used to support some travels of Martha and Jamie.   The plaque includes Jamie’s benediction, which we have all come to know… Dear Friends, we know that life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel with us.  Therefore, be swift to love and make haste to be kind.  And may the blessing of God  Almighty, Creator, Redeemer, and Holy Comforter be with you today and forever more.  Amen

What a series of Adventures….

A Guest Blogger:  Beaches, Baskets, and Nurses…

My September vacation was extended as it coincided with the “Annual Basket Ladies Maine Trip”.  It’s a  tradition that began several years ago with friends from Underhill Vermont.  It’s the same group  staying at the same place in the same rooms.  And we never get tired of it.  

We were missing one of our members as she had conflicting events.  We talked about her…..I mean we thought about her all week-end!! 

It’s a wonderful opportunity to catch up on our lives, laugh a lot, relax, read, catch some sun, and wander through the shops in Ogunquit and Wells.  There is nothing like the fun of spending time with girl friends. 

We arrived on Friday within a short time of each other and since the sun was over the “yardarm”  appetizers and drinks were brought out on the back deck while we admired the view and visited.  We then decided to go down to the beach for a long walk.  Here the ladies are proudly displaying their beach shoes1

Our new favorite summer drink….. Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade.  If you haven’t tried it you are missing a great drink.  Gail and I discovered  this drink when we were in Charleston this year. Of course there is always our annual standard……Lemon Drop Martini’s made by yours truly. For several years I had wanted to check out a new restaurant in Ogunquit called Tapas and ‘Tinis.  This was the year.  We shared a nice selection of Tapas and enjoyed  Latin music.  Then it was back to our rooms for our nightly ritual of  cards and games until the late hour of “almost” midnight.  We’re such a wild group!!  This year’s  games were Skip-Bo and Left, Right, Center.  Left, Right, Center involved money on a very small scale and brought a whole new level of fun to our game nights.

We did  get up early because the sun and coffee were calling most people by 7am.  This time we sat out on the front deck to enjoy the sun and to spend a couple of hours visiting and laughing.   Once we decided the sun was warm enough we put on our bathing suits and gathered our beach gear to head out to the beach.

We had several beautiful sunny days but the wind was blowing most of the time and the temperatures were in the 60’s.  We started out in bathing suits but the towels soon went around our legs and the sweatshirts came out too.  There were a few that thought  it was a personal challenge to see how long they could expose themselves to the sun.  Drinks on the beach didn’t help warm things up but at least we were on the beach!

Whenever I am in Wells it is a must to get over to The Golden Rod and pick up saltwater taffy.  We went there for breakfast and to pick up taffy.  I never get tired of watching them make the taffy through the big windows.  It is such a tradition of my childhood.  I send most of the taffy I bought off to the girls. l

Another treat this weekend was getting out to The Scoop Deck before it closed.  They have many many flavors of ice cream to choose from and it is delicious!   We decided that maybe we should work for some of our “treats” so the last day in Maine we biked the long 1.5 miles to Congdon’s Donuts in the morning.!!  i am sure we burned off at least a couple bites of our donuts!

We had sun, sand and plenty of beach.  Books were read, suduko puzzels solved and we had time to relax together.  We couldn’t ask for more…….at least until next year.  Same time, same place, same group.

 

I was lucky enough to have another very special  “girls time” at the beginning of our busy 3 event week-end.
For several years, since I moved to Connecticut, I have been talking about getting together with several  classmates from nursing school who I still keep in touch with.  Each year at the end of my Christmas letter I write, “we really ought to get together this year.”  Finally, this was the year!  We found a date that worked for the four of us and decided to meet in Walpole NH at Shelia Malloy Lennon’s home. 

Jayne Machaj Fernholtz came from Gilmington NH, Paula O’Donnell Chang flew up from Florida and I stopped off  on my way to Vermont.  On the drive up I wondered how the visit would go once the initial greetings were over and we filled each other in on husbands and kids.  After all it had been 31 years since we had been together.  Could we find enough to talk about? 

I arrived at 11 am and as soon as I heard Sheila’s voice the years melted away and it was like no time had gone by.  Everyone gathered on her porch to beginning catching up before going out to lunch at L.A. Burdick’s Restaurant famous for their handmade chocolates.


Shelia gave us a tour of her new town and her beautiful home.  The only lulls in our conversations were filled by laughter.  Before I knew  it it was 5:30 and I was late for my next event. 

One day was not enough time to spend with these wonderful women and it was very clear that the bonds of friendship that were formed 34 years ago as freshmen are just as strong despite the lack of opportunity to be together.  It will not take us 31 years to get together again!

We don’t think we’ve changed much in 31 years but here is a Then and Now picture.



              CHERI                   SHELIA             JAYNE                                    PAULA

           CHERI                       PAULA                 SHELIA                       JAYNE

 End-note—Keep Reading…

As we finished out this week…and before we could get the last weekend note posted…we received the message that there is another Swenson Boy in the world—women watch out!

Crew Michael Swenson was born on Friday 10/01/10, and Cheri and I took my Dad (Great – Grampy) to meet him on Sunday afternoon.  Here are some photos of us with Crew, including one of the four generation line in this branch of the family.

  


Crew’s Adventures are just beginning…along with mom and dad’s…