Back to the Future

I also toyed with titling this entry "Scott, his pet boy Sherman, and the WayBack machine," but I was woefully afraid no one would know what the heck I was talking about.

On the Wednesday of our trip to Colorado, we awoke to head north to Denver and parts west - shortly after securing a one-day fishing license for yours truly (the boys fished for free in the great state of Colorado).

I've detailed before that I hadn't been to Colorado in nearly 20 years, and Tammy & the kids hadn't ever been there before this trip. This is where this point comes in handy...I was lucky as a kid - we were able to head to California nearly every year for like 5-6 straight years (and then another 4-5 straight years after that following a couple of years break). Every year, we'd drive through Colorado and head west on scenic Highway 6 between Golden and Idaho Springs, and we'd pull off on the side of the road next to Clear Creek and let me fish, throw rocks, etc.

This year, we headed north from Colorado Springs and got into Denver, driving past Mile High/Invesco Field, Coors Field, and Six Flags over Denver before exiting onto I-70 and subsequently Highway 6. I'll let Tammy write another time about the scenic beauty of literally driving through and at the base of the Rocky Mountains, but I'll write about this part - sure enough, about 10 miles into our Highway 6 trip, we ran across the same pull-off I used to stop at two decades ago. What a true treat to spend time with my wife and kids at the same spot I was able to have so many special moments as a child. It was just awesome.

Then later, we headed out I-70, windows still down, moonroof open, and breathing in all of that fresh, 70-degree cedar and pine air and went through tunnels and over mountains. A real treat for the kids was going thru the Eisenhower Tunnel just west of Georgetown and east of Dillon. It takes nearly 2 minutes to go through this tunnel at 60mph, to give you a handle on how big this thing is (if you've never traveled through it yourself).

Once we returned to Colorado Springs, we met up with Ms. Brandy, and after the boys had a brief dip in the pool (on a relatively cool evening, though the pool was heated with the overflow from the outdoor hot tub), we headed to a guided (by Brandy, of course) tour through Compassion International. Brandy, of course, is a staff writer for this great organization that does so much with so little. Tammy and I are prayerfully considering sponsoring a child in the organization. Brandy does a tremendous job for them, and we're proud of her work there.

But, then Brandy had to get us somewhere else in Colorado Springs. And, again, here's where Brandy McNally came up aces.

Tammy told Brandy she would like to go to a Target to stock back up on lunch meat, snacks, etc for lunches & snacks on the drive home. So, Brandy, being the great hostess she can be (did I mention she gave us great welcoming gifts when we arrived - welcoming gifts, friends...welcoming gifts!), she directed us from Compassion to the nearest Target store. We were all talking on the cell phone with Sabrina during the trip, and we ended up having a very detailed conversation with Ms. Price. This is because our SuperTarget we were shopping at was located in Tuscon.

Seriously, it was in Colorado Springs, but like, oh, 50-60 minutes away. Seriously - I had digested my meal already once we had arrived at Target.

OK. Anyway, we get to Target...oh, sorry - SuperTarget - at around 9:45. We're no sooner in the store - which assumedly was open 24 hours - when I hear, "Attention, SuperTarget shoppers: we will be closing in 15 minutes. Please complete any shopping and bring all items to the store front for transactions at this time."

WE JUST GOT THERE. I ran up to Tammy, Brandy, and David (Jonathan & I had just visited the SuperMen'sRoom) and said, "Did you guys hear that? They're closing in 15 minutes."

They were knee-deep in a quick-to-end conversation with Sabrina, so they hadn't heard.

And, our shopping spree began. Ever seen one of those old Laverne & Shirley shows where they've won a shopping spree & are running around the store? That would be us. Again, I'll leave the details for Tammy to write regarding her take on the deal, but the workers there were less than kind, to say the least.

Anyway, and that's how that day went. On to the departure tomorrow. But first...