Brian had a job interview Friday morning and we had agreed that when he was through we would get some breakfast. It didn’t really end up working out that way but eventually we got ourselves together and hit a diner for lunch once we met up with Reanna and her daughter, Belle. After that we drove through the Garden of the Gods, which is a really colorful and interesting rock formation left over from a glacier many moons before. Reanna told us her high school was just down the street and there were many times she could remember when people had skipped school and gone to the Garden of the Gods just to hang out and goof off. Those most have been some good times. Certainly nothing like that was around Silver Spring. Next, Brian wanted us to see Pike’s Peak, one of the 30 tallest mountains in Colorado.
It took us quite some time to wind our way to the top of the mountain. I think, in all, it’s a 19 mile drive but it seemed like it took forever. The views from the top were really nice. The pictures didn’t turn out as well, however, because it was a bit overcast. The one complaint from all of us was how cold it was up there! We went from 80-something degrees on the ground to 50 at the very peak. I was really glad I remembered my sweatshirt because the t-shirt and shorts were definitely NOT going to cut it up there for very long. We goofed around in the gift shop for a while since Belle wanted to see the train, which brings spectators up and down the mountain, leave for the trip back down. After that it was a very slow ride to the bottom. They impose strict restrictions on brake temperature and even have a stopping point about halfway down where someone measures it with some sort of instrument. If they deem your brakes to be too hot they’ll make you pull over until they cool down to an acceptable level. I found that really interesting but I guess you can never be too careful when heights of 14,000+ feet are involved.
Earlier that day Brian had bought all kinds of groceries so we could have a cookout. We chowed down on steak, baked potatoes, fresh corn, and various other options. It was a really yummy dinner! By that time, Brian and Reanna’s friend, Robyn, had joined us and we were all getting ready for a little bar hopping in the Springs. Another friend of Reanna’s, Thad, joined us as well and we headed out. As most bar hopping goes there were lots of drinks, laughs, and photos througout the evening. The last place we visited, The Ritz, was my favorite. The atmosphere was really fun and the bartenders were friendlier than they had been at the other two stops. In fact, one of the bartenders turned out to be from the D.C. area … small world. We were having a great time and Reanna suggested that Jimmy and I should stay. We were already feeling very happy and were supposed to be leaving bright and early the next morning for Austin, Texas. I deferred to Jimmy to make the decision since Austin was one of his picks but he quickly jumped on board with hanging around for another day. YAY!
Once we got kicked out of the bar, a few of the revelers had decided that a trip to Village Inn (much like Denny’s or a Waffle/Huddle House) was in order. Everyone except Jimmy and I got something to eat. Pretty soon it devolved into making some concoction in a pitcher that looked like the end result of a long night out … the kind you might find in your bathroom … or perhaps in the trash can next to your bed. The guys were suggesting bets on what it would take for one of them to take a sip. Thankfully, none of them did but at one point I looked up to see Brian, literally, chugging a bottle of hot sauce. I’m sure he was regretting that the next day. Hahaha! As we were leaving the waitresses let us know that the two young girls at the table next to ours had gotten up and left without paying. Even though we were acting like a bunch of kindergartners I think they still liked us better, in the end, since we actually paid for our meal.
We continued the evening back at Brian’s place until everyone had changed into their jammies and was, literally, falling asleep on the couch, on the floor, and everywhere in between. A definite sign of a good time had by all. We had already made plans to spend a good portion of the next day lounging at the pool and I was really loving the fact that we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to hit the streets.
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