Today we did some more laundry and headed into Denver’s Washington Park to meet Davianna—a great friend who was part of my grad-school cohort and just happened to be visiting Denver! It was a too-quick visit but a lovely morning in the park (aside from the girls just being tired and whinny even though we brought them to this cool wooden playground). Davianna and I caught up a little and soaked in some grad-school juju as quick as we could before the girls were just too hungry to go on.
We promised the girls ice cream with lunch and found a Good Times & Frozen Custard place with outside seating. They had some fun treats, and good shakes and all were happy before we headed over to Golden, CO.
Golden was as adorable as we remembered. We were supposed to meet Rew, Josh, and family but the kids were coming down with a cold so we made our own fun. Keith reminded me we stayed right on the river in a hotel for Kim’s wedding when Elsa was just 8 months old. We went to some shops and down to the river and played in the water. If we didn’t have Willow with us we might have tubed down the river, but the cool water felt good and it was fun to watch the spring break-like mayhem as people tried to get out of their tubes before either the tube or the person was swept away. It was all for the best as the safety guidelines recommended that tubers be 18 years old based on the water flow speed. The girls picked a pizza place for dinner and it was pretty good. I had a great New England Style IPA from Boulder that was top-notch and a roasted beet salad that just hit the spot. We sat outside on the patio watching an extreme sports channel and the girls were given coloring sheets with no crayons because crayons melt on the patio at these temperatures *shrug*. Although it is almost 100, the humidity is around 13%, so when you are in the shade it’s not too bad. After the girls found some souvenirs within their budget (a kite, Rubix cube, and candy), we headed back for showers at the campsite. The site had quite a few washers and dryers and we got our own key to our private bathroom with shower/toilet. The girls did better showering than last year, and I only had to help a few times. We headed back to try for an early night but it always ends up late it seems.
See Photos/Videos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QmFQmGueFRooEuSP9
Elsa & Anna Bday Wishlist (aka everything they want to buy in the shops but can’t): https://photos.app.goo.gl/GUHSgEqsdWSCPpyPA
Note: I added a new map (either on the right sidebar or below the posts—depending on your device) of our tentative travel plan going forward hopefully landing in Florida around the 20th.