London - Day 1

Leslie and I arrived safely yesterday afternoon to the smiles of Alex and Ellie. We hopped in the car, popped open the bin of cookies that Jenn sent over with us, and headed out for Alex's parents' house. Roger and Irene are two of the sweetest people we've ever met, and we hope you'll all join us in pressuring them to come visit us some day. We had an amazing dinner, as anyone will when eating Irene's cooking, and then Leslie and I caught up on some very sweet sleep. The morning was beautiful as we had breakfast in the back garden (yard) and then we headed to London proper by way of the underground. We saw Big Ben - actually we saw the clock that encases Big Ben (the bell within the clock tower). We saw the house of parliment and Westminister Abbey and the Globe Theater, in which we will see A Mid Summer Night's Dream tomorrow night if all goes to plan, and generally had a wonderful time exploring London and all of her museums, St. Paul's cathedral, and all of her other diversions. St. Paul's was the most amazing cathedral I've ever been in, but we weren't permitted to take pictures, so these will have to suffice.

12 Hour Layover

On Saturday our flight arrived from Albuquerque to LA at 7:55AM and our departure to Heathrow didn't occur until 9:30 that night, so it actually ended up being a thirteen and a half hour layover. Luckily, Uncle Larry* picked us up for lunch and let us see the costume shop that they owned. The shop was really cool and had tons different kinds of costumes. The restaurant was aweseome, too right off the harbor at seal beach. Our family's been their once before when TJ and I were smaller. Thanks, Uncle Larry!

*not my real uncle

Manitou pictures posted ->

Check it out! We had a good time with the whole fam at Dad's stomping ground.

Wonder Cocoa

This morning, before we hit the road, we had a breakfast of oatmeal for Lesie and granola in soy milk for me. It was awesome. But there something even more awesome that I had: my first cup of hot cocoa in over two years. I stopped taking caffiene a long time ago when I found out how crazy it made me. But my wife, who continually enriches my life in big and small ways alike, found me Wonder Cocoa, which is 99.7% caffiene free. I mixed it with soy milk, which is perfect for camping because it doesn't have to be refrigerated until you open it and comes in small boxes that fit easily into these tiny trailor fridges. I also topped it off with sugar. I feel like Ruth sharing my recipes and secrets of the heart!

Farewell

On our last night of vacay, after everyone but us and the folks had left, we decided to head up to Woodland Park. The Hutchsters said it was a really cool place and we'd have to concure. We found this cool pizza place and passed a wonderful evening with these fine peops that will celebrate their 38th anniversary tomorrow. In these latter years they have become pros at taking pleasure in their family. Thanks for this awesome week, fam. We love you!

We did it!

We're now sitting in the cog rail qay. It takes us right doown the mountain in an hour and a half...the same distance Dan and I just covered in 7.5 hours. We just saw a black bear, too. It was so cool! They don't have maany around these parts. My next challenge, getting to the bottom with no bathroom on this train!

13000 feet

We are currently at that elevation and still have 1100 feet to climb. I was not expecting climbing Pikes Peak to be part of my vacay time, but I'm glad it's worked out that way. There's also a pic of Barr Camp, the half way point, where we met the care takers who have lived up there for three years with one vacation. They can never both of them leave at the same time, and when they do they run the six miles down to the base once a week and take the train back up.

From Tent to House

Well, day three finds us resting up in one of the slide out beds reading and smelling the aroma of italian food wafting from the kitchen. Today we had a great time walking back and forth through Manitou Springs, an amazing town outside Colorado Springs. There was an amazing arcade built over the river on a boardwalk. My ear is sore because Ispent most of the phone with lenders trying to secure the best rate for the house we got on Sunday! It's a cool little number well withing our price range and near school.

Pikes Peak

Here we are waiting for our breakfast at Uncle Sam's, the only place opened at 6AM in the sleepy little town of Manitou Springs. Dan and I are fixing to hike the 13 miles and climb the 7000 feet in elevation to go to the top of Pikes Peak (14,100 feet).

Flying W

Last night we went to the Flying W Ranch and had a huge chuckwaagon cookout complete with chunky applesauce, beef, chicken, biscuits, spice cake, and beans (or whistle berries as they call them here). It was amazing and the weather was perfect.

On the road

Well, we've comenced our vacay and several strange things have already happened. First: we went to McDonald's for the first time in years. I have a feeling we'll probably go more when/if we have kiddos. We also witnessed these strange works of art. The eagle van and the Mona French Fry.