Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Over the Mountains We Go

April Snow in Denver!!

On Sunday we moved into downtown Denver to participate in the National CASA Conference. Sunday evening we caught up with the Mountain CASA folks for the awards banquet. One of our CASA Volunteers had been named Georgia CASA of the Year and her name then submitted for National CASA of the Year. She did not win this award but is still an outstanding representative from our Georgia program.

Woke up Monday morning to the above!! By the time the snow ended around mid-morning there was an accumulation of about 3 inches. I left the hotel in the midst of this mess to join the CASA conference about 5 blocks away. Now I remember why I've been carrying the fleece vest and winter jacket on this trip. Attended several workshops today at the CASA conference. Jim stayed at the hotel and did laundry. He got lots of kudos for this.

We get back on the train tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. Really looking forward to this leg of the trip. It is supposed to be a clear and sunny day. The mountains should be beautiful. The route takes us to Granby, Glenwood Springs, & Grand Junction, CO. Then on to Salt Lake City, UT; Reno, NV; Truckee, CA; and finally Sacramento, CA (arv there 3:45 PM Weds 4/29).

Nine hour layover in Sacramento then back onto the train at midnight heading to Seattle. Scheduled to arrive there Thurs 4/30 at 9:45 PM. Guess I'll be off-line until sometime Friday. I'll be taking lots of pictures and will post over on FB this coming weekend. Until then --

Baby's First Swim

Brenden's first swim. Hotel pool, Castle Rock, CO

David (dad), Mandy (mom) & Brenden

On Thursday evening we caught up with Mandy and her new little family. They came to the hotel for a little while to swim and visit. Brenden is such a good baby. He just goes with the flow. He loved the water and was kicking his little legs like crazy trying to swim as they held him. After he'd has his fill of the water Jim and I took him while the kids did some more swimming. Of course we just hated having to be babysitters. After a good visit we parted with plans to meet again on Saturday morning for breakfast.

Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak

Mini-golf at Colorado Springs

Pike's Peak in the background

Jim, Tom & Lisa

Having some lovely weather. Temps in the 70's and lots of sunshine. There are some amazing cloud formations in this area as they come over the mountains. And they move through quickly. We had a good time playing mini-golf. I actually came from behind to win!! Tom posted on FB that maybe I pulled a Tiger Woods move. Everyone very pleased that Lisa was able to do the entire 18 holes without much trouble. Came back to Castle Rock for an early dinner at Chile's then Tom & Lisa home to get some sleep. Tom gets up at 1:00am every morning to deliver papers then moves on to his regular job at a local Wells Fargo Bank branch. He has been on vacation from the bank this week while we are here but still doing the papers. Don't know how he keeps it up but guess you can do whatever you need to when you are young. He says he keeps reminding himself this is something he "chooses" to do. We are so very proud of his accomplishments this past year.

Colorado Family

The view from our hotel window!

Castle Rock, CO

It's been a busy few days here in Colorado. Good to visit with son Tom and his wife Lisa. Lisa is recovering from back surgery but doing very well. Her energy levels are up and she has been able to play mini-golf and do some sightseeing with us. Then of course there is granddaughter Mandy, her husband David and our great-grandson Brenden. What a cutie pie he is. Four months old and beginning to develop his own little personality. Good time being had all around.

Crossing the Mississippi River

Spent the afternoon in our little roomette watching the countryside. Very comfortable. Dinner at 6:30 in the dining car. Sat with a woman also travelling to Denver to visit family and a young man who was travelling around just to see the country. He was headed to Reno, NV then into California, and hoped to spend the summer in Alaska. How much fun is that?

The sun came out and weather finally cleared once we got west of Omaha. Saw lots of corn fields being plowed and prepared for planting in Iowa and Nebraska. After dinner we sat in the scenic viewing car for a couple of hours playing cribbage and generally enjoying the ride. Then back to the roomette where Sandy our porter had made up the beds. I was not sure how or even if I would sleep on the train so was not surprised at a restless night. There was quite a bit of side to side motion and at one point I wondered if I might get thrown out of the upper bunk. There is a sling installed so I guess getting thrown out is not unheard of. Thankfully I did not have to avail myself of the sling. Around 0530 this morning I decided sleep was not going to return so got up, dressed and found the coffee. Sandy pointed me in the direction of an empty room to sit in. Watched the sun come up over the Colorado countryside. Breakfast at 0630 (some really good french toast) and arrived Denver pretty much on-time at 0715.

Got to our hotel and able to have an early check-in so we were napping by 11am. There is still a little bit of snow on the ground from the big Springtime storm last week (42"). Temps in the 70's today so it is disappearing quickly. We can see the Rockies from our hotel window. Always breathtaking! Will get some photos tomorrow.

Spent the afternoon with son Tom and his wife Lisa. Making plans to get up into the mountains in the next couple of days to play tourist. Talked with granddaughter Mandy this evening. Hope to see her tomorrow and meet our new great-grandson Brenden. Of course there will be a ton of pictures taken then.

For now, good night from Colorado.

If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Chicago

ALL ABOARD!!!

Sitting in the 1st class lounge at Chicago's Union Station. Very excited and anxious to get going. The conductor has collected sleeping car tickets and we board in about 30 minutes. Taking advantage of the wifi here in the waiting room. Not sure if there will be any access on the train. Expect not.

Trip in from Racine this morning uneventful. Good thing son John was with us -- he knows the city well and led us through all the streets to the parking lot and then the station and bagage check counter. I've always loved cities and been enjoyed finding my way around but think maybe I've lived in the country too long now -- could easily have walked around looking up at all the tall buildings.

Know why they call this the windy city -- even here at the end of April there was a very cold wind blowing us up Canal Street.

The wedding on Saturday was lovely. Bright sunny day and warm -- a very good thing since it was outside. Always nice to have time with the brothers and extended family that we only seem to see at weddings and funerals. Two remaining members of the generation before us (Aunt Florence and Aunt Dolly) in their 80's now looked wonderful. Aunt Florence had a hip replacement back in February and was using a walker but could still move faster that most of the rest of us.

Oh, I can hear a train's bell in the background. Sounds like something is arriving!! Exciting, exciting.

Sunday afternoon we played with grandchildren -- then again on Monday when they got home from school. Marathon games of Sorry! What fun. They are all growing up so quickly. Daughter-in-law Keri about to finish her nursing program -- 24 more days!! We will be back in time for graduation. Monday morning we sorted through and repacked everything for the train. Left all non-essentials in the trunk of the car. Very proud to say we each managed to end up with a bag to check and a carry-on. You can put 10 lbs in a 5 lb sack!

Guess it's time to post this and pack the laptop away. No pictures today. Next stop Denver.

Birthdays All Around

Saturday morning we celebrated birthdays with the Okimosh/Olson branch of the family. This is Jim's youngest brother Rick's family. As always you'll find more pictures over on FB.

Lots of great gifts all around. Handbags, basketballs, cell phones, flashlights, and of course my personal favorite chocolates!!

We have been lucky enough to get together with sister-in-law Dee three times since January! Twice in Florida and now this visit. Always have so much fun together. Will be seeing them again towards the end of our trip when we land in Minneapolis for a few days. It is coming up on a year since Rick died. We all miss him terribly, but his presence is felt wherever we gather as a family.

Now it's time to get ready for a wedding.