Reliving My Childhood

     When I was growing up, my cousin Cindy (who was living in Liberal, KS) spent every summer at our house in the Springs.  We always looked forward to having her come stay with us.  She and I are exactly four and a half years apart - me being the older one.  But our age difference never seemed to matter.  Cindy is the only person that I would let play with my Barbies.  Our grandparents built me a two story Barbie doll house when I was ten.  It was so wonderful with a living room and kitchen on the main floor, a staircase leading up to the second floor which had two bedrooms and a bathroom and there was even a balcony!  We spent hours playing with my dolls.  I still have them - Barbie, Ken, Skipper and Tutti.  Unfortunately, the house is long gone except for a few pieces of furniture and the original carpeting that actually was the carpet in my grandparents' house.  I figured out that I have about $5,000 of original Mattel Barbie dolls, clothes, car, board game, etc.  My dolls were always like a part of our family so I took really good care of them.
     Every summer, my parents and Cindy and I would do all the fun touristy things like the zoo, the North Pole, the Manitou Incline (when it was the actual cog train that went to the top of Mount Manitou!).  We would picnic in Cheyenne Canyon and go camping in and around Tarryall River and Reservoir.  We had marvelous adventures and as long as we had our Barbies and a stack of books, we were never bored!
     So when Cindy spent a few days with me last week, we decided to revisit many of our former fun places.  I picked her up Sunday around noon.  We had lunch with her mom, Aunt Mary Ann, at the Wines of Colorado in Cascade.  They are spending most of the summer at their cabin outside of Cripple Creek so we chose Cascade as our meeting place.  Then after lunch, Cindy and I went to the North Pole!  Oh my goodness, we had a ball!!!  I was very pleased to find that if you are 60 or older you get in FREE!!!

At "Santa's Workshop"

Yippee!!  We rode the zipline, the Ferris wheel, the carrousel, the gondola, and the roller coaster.  I couldn't remember where the coaster was.  (I hadn't been to the North Pole since Andy was little.)  So when Cindy and I were getting ice cream I asked one of the high school kids working behind the counter if they still had the coaster.  He said "Well, we have a KIDDIE coaster"  (Emphasis on kiddie!)  And I said, "Can't adults ride on it?"  "I guess so . . . "  :-)  Needless to say, Cindy and I rode on the roller coaster.  It was not easy getting Cindy's long legs in and out of the little car.  We were laughing so hard and so was the young man who was running the ride!

     We wanted to sit on Santa's lap (one of the ladies who worked in the shops said Santa would LOVE that!), but there was quite a line to get in to see him so we will have to go back someday :-)
     The next day we went to my favorite place - the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!  We spent the morning there and ate lunch before checking out the baby lions.  They can only be seen on a TV monitor as they and their momma are being kept in the "nesting area".  I can't wait to see them in person.  They were born June 25 so hopefully in another 3 - 4 weeks they will be ready for public viewing.  After our zoo visit we drove up the mountain to see the Will Rogers' Shrine of the Sun.  I hadn't been up there since I was little.  It's so beautiful and quite impressive.  A tribute to Will Rogers by his good friend, Spencer Penrose, who built the Broadmoor hotel and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Asha and Dembe snuggling

The Will Rogers Shrine

     The day I took Cindy back to Cripple Creek, we decided to go a little further up Ute Pass and visit our favorite campground from childhood days, Blue Spruce Campground.  It certainly looks different than it did in the 60s.  There are designated camping spots on the other side of Tarryall River now.  And trails are marked and have names.  We tried to find all the rock formations that we had given names to back then - the Monster Cave and the Indian Head, and I can't remember the others.  We couldn't get to the "Monster Cave" as the water was running so high in the river that it covered the access to the cave.  But we really enjoyed walking around and seeing everything and remembering how we climbed all over those huge rocks - and the time that Cindy fell in the river!

Beautiful mountain wildflowers

Near our campground

     We also drove up Cheyenne Canyon to Helen Hunt Falls and visited with the volunteer at the resource center for a little bit.   There are so many things to do in and around this city.  It was a blessing growing up here and enjoying all the area has to offer.  Oh, I forgot to mention the Garden of the Gods!  Cindy and I drove through it and then had lunch at the Trading Post.  My mom loved eating there also.  They have an outdoor patio with a waterfall and "babbling brook".  Very peaceful and lovely.  We exercised self control by not buying a box of their homemade fudge!
     This week I need to start walking, walking , walking!  Our walking tour of Tuscany is in two months.  I've been planning this trip for about a year and a half and now it's upon us.  I did some hiking on Sunday and plan to go again (in the Garden of the Gods) tomorrow.  It's a great place to hike - lots of trails and the scenery is magnificent.  I'll post some photos next week.  What am I doing on the house right now, you ask?  Nothing!  I realized that I'm still in the teacher mentality of it being summer vacation.  I don't want to do anything right now except enjoy my visitors and spend time with my friends and sit outside and drink my ice tea and read!
     I hope you are enjoying your summer also.  I feel blessed to live in a part of the world where we can be outside almost every day of the year.  I love the sunshine and the blue skies.
     Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I always appreciate your comments and questions.  It makes me feel so good to know that there are people out there reading my posts.  And I thank you for joining me on this journey around the many bends.  Merci!