Travel 2021

---

Can not believe it has been 5 days since I wrote. HI is now just a marvelous memory. The looks on both my oldest daughter and granddaughter are burned beautifully in my memory. Our last morning was filled with laundry, packing and just hanging out together, staring at the Pacific from Jeanne's backyard and playing with the dog. Trip from Kona to LAX was uneventful, food was really good, having our own personal iPads made entertainment easy. Got to LAX 11:55 Pacific time, and went to a hotel within a mile of the airport to try and catch a few hours sleep. We were already beginning to feel the effects of flying west to east. Were only supposed to have about 4 hours sleep, but at about 2:30am we got a text that our plane was delayed by two hours, so changed alarm time and slept in. Got to Denver, an intermediate stop, at 2 pm Mountain time and then had to wait almost 4 hours for a rental car. This was only a two day stop for me, son-in-law flew out to meet up with us and we went to daughter's stepsister Katie's house in Golden, Colorado. The rest of the gang will be there until Friday, while I was flying home to spend three days with grandson before heading home. Right about the time the rental car was finally ready, this nasty storm moved in. We saw it coming in time to all move inside. Full shuttle buses kept pulling in every 15 minutes and very few people were returning cars. We were supposed to have a full size car, but ended up with a small SUV. In order not to have to wait longer, we accepted it. The turnaround time so fast that all the company had time to do was gas it up and run through carwash. No vacuuming, so told Gerri she made sure that when it was returned they mentioned it. Not that anyone would care, they just wanted to get the cars out. At least ordering through Dollar we were not price gouged. Enterprise was getting $500 a day. Because we had this smaller car and we all had suitcases and backpacks, the drive to Katie's was very cramped. On top of that we had to stop to eat. So picture this, the storage area only had room for three suitcases, the fourth was in the middle of the back seat standing up, Becky's was on her lap, two backpacks were on the floor between us and I had the third one on my lap. Can you say clown car? Denver and surrounding area was very pretty. Katie lives on the top of a high hill, great views, nice older home, but not cookie cutter, lots of logs and wood. I had a harder time acclimating there, wet weather required heat at night and I ended up with nose bleeds. Still have them, but not as bad since I am back at a lower elevation here in Westminster. Also, it is hot here and there is more humidity. Guess nose still has to acclimate. We took a tour of Golden, nice town with cute shops and a beautiful creek park running through it, and got hit with rain - again. Went to top of Lookout Mountain where had a panoramic view of Golden and other towns. Lookout Mountain is where Buffalo Bill Cody is buried, conveniently next to a gift shop and ice cream stand. Ironic, isn't it, that he chose to be buried there? I flew back to MD yesterday. Hate flying west to east, you lose hours but your mind is still fixated on the previous time zone. Had a two hour layover in Minneapolis. They have won an award 4 years running for being a great airport, but from where I landed and took off again, I could not see it. Only places to eat were Subway or a bar, one small gift shop and bathrooms. At least their charging stations were working. Should not complain though, it was the last leg of flying. Now I am here in MD again, dog, cat and Andy are glad to see me. Two days here than heading home, so this is last blog this trip. Watch for upcoming Purple Heart Cruise in October and Key West in December. CoVid take that!

---