Monday, 10/1 through Thursday, 10/10 –

• Normal activities including volunteering; going to Tampa (for the last time as Ken will be allowed to go home soon); and helping clear out JP’s old house.

Special activities:

• Vanessa and I helped set up for the North River Care Pregnancy Center’s 20^th annual banquet on Thursday, 10/4.  Much to our surprise, we both received awards for volunteering at the banquet that evening.
• On Friday, 10/5 – I drove to Ocala to pick up Dad for an overnight visit with me.  Also, I received a text from Jackie in the evening that Ken has been given permission to live at home again.  They have already left the apartment that they occupied for the last two months in Tampa.
• On Saturday, 10/6 – I took Dad back to the Ocala Health Rehabilitation Center in the morning and watched FSU football with JP in the afternoon.  After we had an impressive first half, Miami won by 1 point.

Colorado, October 11 through October 15, 2018

Thursday, 10/11 – I was greeted by my sister-in-law, Mary Cambre, in Denver just before noon.  Before going to pick up my brother, Bill, from work we took a walk down the trail at the Writer’s  Vista Park.  Mary pointed out many different types of trees along our walk including the cottonwood tree in the picture below.  I was impressed by the bark on the tree which reminded me of the oaks we have in Florida but on a much larger scale.  In the evening, we ate at the Pint House which is near their apartment.  Mary retired in August and Bill took Friday and Monday off, so after supper, we planned our outing for tomorrow.

Friday, 10/12/13 – After breakfast at Lucille’s Creole Café, we drove out to the Garden of the Gods.  According to the plaque on one of the rocks, the property was given to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909 by the children of Charles Elliott Perkins in fulfilment of his wish that it be kept forever free to the public.  Today the original 480-acre Perkins land donation forms the center of Garden of the Gods, which now totals 1,367 acres.  We saw many sandstone formations, both red and white.

With a permit, you are allowed to climb the rocks as we saw in the picture below.  (You might have to click on the picture to enlarge it to see the climber on the right side of this rock.)

We also saw a very popular site in the park called Balancing Rock.

On good days, Pikes Peak can be seen from the park.  I took the picture below of Pikes Peak when we stopped for gas. 

The Utes climbed the mountain as a special rite.  In 1820, Dr. Edwin James, whacked through dense timber to become the first documented white man to reach the summit.  In the late 1800s, workers built trails, a carriage road and a cog railway up the peak.  Pikes Peak Highway opened in 1915 allowing more people to see the excellent view.  The following year a race was begun to the top of the mountain.  With some interruptions for wars, the race continues today.  Now, over 500,000 people per year hike, drive or ride the railway up the mountain.

Our last stop was at the Red Rocks Canyon Ampitheatre.  This is in Morrison and was constructed by the CCC from 1936 to 1941.  When I posted on Facebook that I was here, I received a reply from a friend saying that he saw the Eagles in concert here.  The pictures below show the top, the bottom and the view (of Denver) from the top with my brother, me and my sister-in-law.

Saturday, 10/13 – Today would have been my 46^th wedding anniversary.  I miss Rick every day, but I’m very glad that I chose this time to come for this visit.  We started our day driving up to Golden, Colorado.  We drove by the Coors brewery but decided not to take the tour, so we continued up to Lookout Mountain which is the site of Buffalo Bill Cody’s grave.  Over 20,000 people attended the funeral of Buffalo Bill Cody here.  He lived from 1846 to 1917.  His wife Louisa is buried next to him.  She lived from 1844 to 1921.

After visiting the grave site, we went through the small museum which included a short movie as well as the painting below and lots of memorabilia.

We stopped for lunch at a little deli in Idaho Springs.  Founded in 1859, Idaho Springs was the site of the first significant discovery of the Colorado Gold Rush. Mining was largely responsible for its creation and growth.  The deli was on Miner Street across from the Tommyknockers Brewery and Pub.

After lunch, we drove up to Echo Lake for a short walk.

On the drive home, we saw many beautiful aspen trees with bright yellow leaves.

On Sunday the 14^th we awoke to an early snowfall.  We took a walk in the park across the street from Bill and Mary’s apartment.

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We spent the rest of the day inside playing games in front of the fire.

We had a late breakfast/brunch at the Toast Fine Food & Coffee Diner in Littleton Monday (October 15^th) morning before taking a stroll around the town browsing and shopping in many of the small, interesting shops.  The town has decorated almost every corner for Halloween.  Below are a couple of examples.

I had to be at the Denver airport at 4:00, so we decided to go to Denver after shopping and see the sites there before going on to the airport.  Our first stop was at the Denver Broncos football stadium where we saw the sculptures pictured below.  We also drove by the Coors Stadium, but I didn’t get a good picture.  Coors Field is a baseball park located in downtown Denver. It is the home field of the Colorado Rockies, the city’s Major League Baseball franchise.

We drove around town to see most of the sites, including the gold-domed capital building and the home of the “unsinkable” Molly Brown pictured below.

We parked near the 16^th Street Mall and walked down to the Union Station, then took the free bus back up hill to our parked car.  On the way out of town to the airport, we passed by the civic center and saw a very unique bear standing on the outside – looking in.

Many thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for hosting my long weekend.  I caught a 5:30 p.m.flight in Denver and got home, in Parrish, at 1:00 a.m.

October 16 thru 31, 2018

Back to my normal routine:  Christmas Cantata practice on Tuesday nights; lunch with Vanessa before volunteering at the North River Care Pregnancy Center on Wednesday afternoons; monthly massage; watching the FSU play football on Saturdays; and church and Sunday school.

New:  I have been informed that the County from which I retired will no longer provide drug insurance, so I attended a meeting with my supplemental insurance advisor

BIG EVENT:  On Thursday, 10/25 – I drove to Ocala and brought Dad home to live with me.

Fri, 10/26 – Took Dad to the Tax Collector’s office where he got an official State ID card to replace his driver’s license.  In the afternoon, Dad was visited by a home healthcare nurse, who said that he seemed in good health.

Sat, 10/27 – Bought some pants for Dad (as we discovered all his old pants I saved for him were too small). 

Sun, 10/28 – Dad and I picked up Vanessa and we all enjoyed Sunday school and church together.  Then we went out to eat lunch at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar in Ellenton before bringing Dad back home to watch more football on TV while Vanessa and I returned to church to work at the annual Fall Festival.

Mon, 10/29 – Another visit from the home healthcare nurse in the morning followed by a visit from a physical therapist in the afternoon.

Tues, 10/30 – More shopping for pants for Dad.  He also had a visit from an occupational therapist.

Wed, 10/31 – Vanessa and I went to lunch before volunteering at the North River Pregnancy Center.  I skipped choir practice in the evening, so I could hand out Halloween candy while JP and Kellie took Emma trick-or-treating in the neighborhood.