A Week in Telluride with Amanda and ALL of Her Boys - Days 1 & 2

It is a beautiful day to travel!  I am off to Telluride, Colorado to visit Amanda and all her boys.  Mister has to work and my flight is in the afternoon so I am using public transportation as my mode of travel to the airport.  I start out with a bus picking me up at the driveway to my home and am delivered to the train station nearby where I catch the DART train, making one transfer and arriving at the airport with plenty of time to get checked in and through security.  This entire trip has cost me $1.75 -- We all need to use this type of travel more.  I am so glad this option is now available in Dallas.  For some reason this city didn't link the airport until this year -- bizarre, I know, but so glad we have it now.  And I am off.  Look at the beauty of this take-off.

After a quick stop in Denver, I am soon on my way to Montrose where Amanda will pick me up.  As we fly over the Black Canyon, our pilot is amazing.  He tips the plane first one direction and then the other to let everyone have a peek.  Pretty cool and interactive.  How hard is that to do a little something for your customers?  Pictures aren't the best, but hey -- it is through a window.

As Montrose comes into view, my heart loves all the pretty fall colors that I see.  The leaves in Dallas have not started to turn yet and I do so love this time of year.

First stop after I leave the plane is the lady's room where I discover just how much we are all creatures of habit.  As I reach for the toilet paper, I spot this.  The funny part is that I, along with an amazing number of others I guess, didn't even notice the holder on the right side of the stall.  Too funny.

It seems to take quite awhile to get my suitcase, which was taken from me in Dallas because it didn't fit in the little container at the gate.  I am flying United and Mister has used this suitcase for YEARS flying them and always carried it on.  What is up with that?  Anyway, they checked it for free all the way to Montrose and now I am fidgeting while waiting for it and hoping it has arrived with me.  THIS is why I don't like to check bags.

Finally, it arrives and I am soon reunited with Amanda who has been in Montrose all day running errands and has a car full to the brim with "stuff".  The drive to Telluride is about and hour and a half so we start that way, visiting the entire time.  It is so fun to have her all to myself for awhile before the busyness of children sets in.

Once we arrive at her "heaven on earth" of a home, I am greeted by grandsons who want first thing to show me their Halloween costumes.  How fun is this that I get to be a part of the holiday?  Ryan is off playing so I will see his costume later.

This is me trying to get a close of up Caleb's face and each time he drops his head just as I take the picture.  I guess he wants you to see the costume instead.

Trent has made dinner so we imbibe and then set about getting boys homework finished and off to bed.  I show Amanda the beanies I am working on for the boys and crochet away as we sit and visit until almost midnight.  Oh my, we need to go to bed.  Night.

Thursday - It's a busy morning and once the older boys are delivered to the bus stop, Caleb brings a LEGO to build and I crochet some more while mom makes his truck and manage to finish the beanies (except for the puffs on top).  It is a bit of relaxing time but soon we need to get moving.  Amanda has a software demo at the office that will last a couple of hours so Caleb and I are going to get something to eat and then visit the library.  At least that is the plan anyway.

Once I am dressed and before we leave, I peek outside and cannot help but grab the camera to save some of this beauty and take it home with me to share here.  Seriously.  Just look at these pictures taken right off Amanda's deck.

The aspens are just about finished with their autumn splendor but there is enough left that I can imagine what it must have been like a couple of weeks ago.  Oh my.

It's time to go.  Caleb is in the car and we are ready.  It takes about 25 minutes to get down into the town of Telluride and the drive is absolutely gorgeous.  Ah, what a great little town.  It kind of reminds me of the Bigfork that I grew up in only a bit larger.  A sleepy little village that is just waking up and loving life.  We drop Amanda off at the office, leaving Caleb and I in hot pursuit of the bakery as I am absolutely starving now.  I love the old brick building we pass along the way.  You can barely read "First National Bank" over the arched doorway on this one.

We find the bakery and as I am looking at the menu deciding on what to eat (it is lunch time now), Caleb selects the donut he wants.  Well, it IS Gammy time right?  So a donut is what he gets.  Using the designated paper to pick it up, he is soon one happy camper and walks up to pay for it only for us to discover that their debit/credit machine is down and they are taking cash only.  Well, that's a problem as I have not been to the cash machine yet.  I ask where the nearest ATM is and then tell the lady at the counter that she is just going to have to trust me that I will be back as there is no way I am taking the donut away from Caleb.  So, with his donut in hand, we walk the couple of blocks to the bank.

As we are walking back, I spot the ski runs and the gondola that runs right into town.  Normally, it operates for free and you can ride to the top and back for some incredible view.  However, it is shoulder season here and so it is closed for a couple of weeks for maintenance and cleaning.  Drat.

By the time we are back at the bakery, Caleb has finished his donut but wants some juice and I am really hungry now.  I order a greek salad and my little grandson just has to sit and wait while I eat.  He is amazing and just sits and talks to me the entire time, never once leaving his chair.  He is fascinated by the artwork on the walls and has something to say about each one of them.  My salad is finally here (yep it took a very long time) and it is huge.  Well, Caleb will just have to wait a little longer and talk a little more.  Yum.

Okay, I am finished and it is time to go to the library but I take "the scenic route" so that I can see a bit of the town on the way.  I manage to confuse Caleb with is directions, but he is so good and just walks along with me.  Well, that is not quite true.  He is usually full steam ahead one block before me.  We discover some beautiful purple leaves and stop to play for a few minutes.

We are now directly across the street from the library and Caleb comments that he just doesn't know where the library is.  I tell him to stand perfectly still and walk in a circle looking around.  He still doesn't see it and I giggle as I move his body to look across the way.  NOW, he is excited.  There is a bench out front and he climbs up and says, "take a picture Gammy", so naturally I do.  And, naturally, I move the camera a bit so it is blurry.  Standard Gammy.

This library is amazing and Caleb knows exactly where to go.  There are bins of toys and an area that already has several other children quietly playing in it.  Amanda says that this is the "hot spot" after school and that many children come here until their parents are off work.  Nice.  We play for awhile and then are informed that the area we are playing in will be occupied shortly by a class coming from the school for storytime.  Caleb helps me clean up his trains and I ask if he wants to stay for the story.  He says that he does and climbs up beside me on the bench when the children arrive.  He lays back against me, crosses his feet, and doesn't move until the story is over.  He is so good, in fact, that the teacher comes over and comments on how he wishes his students had been as well behaved as Caleb.  Yep, this little guy is a perfect angel when with me and I adore him.

It's been almost two hours so we walk back to Trent's new office and see if mom is ready to go yet.  She is, and we are soon on our way back to the house.  Before I go in, I grab a couple more pictures of just what you can see from her property.  This first one, she said you couldn't see the other house until the trees dropped their leaves.

This one shows the creek that runs right next to the house.

Since I was able to finish the basic beanies this morning, when the boys arrive home from school, I am able to give them and watch the smiles (well some smiles anyway) light up faces.  What a great feeling.  Also, Ryan now takes the time to show me his costume as well.  So fun for me.

Grandpa has included some toys from him in my suitcase so I choose now to share them.  Within no time the boys are playing and of course fighting with and over them.

It's been a great day but now is homework, dinner, and bedtime.  School again tomorrow and Amanda has to work all day as well.  Rest for everyone.