A good week in Denver

We're getting ready to leave Denver tomorrow (Thursday) and we've had a good week here.  It started out with snow and cold, but got better over last weekend, and reverted back to some unsettled rain and clouds today -- and through tomorrow, so we'll probably get some rain as we head northeast into Nebraska and Iowa.


We've had a great time here during the week, seeing friends and relatives, doing a bit of shopping, and getting a few other things done.  Mandy's sister Penny, and her husband Rex have been great hosts, and we've truly enjoyed our time at Cherry Creek State Park.


While we were here we had dinner at David and Jennifer's -- David is Penny and Rex's son, and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting them and their daughters, Brianne and Nora.  David was born within 3 months of our oldest son, Brian, and they were playmates for their first several years.  Here's a picture of them all just before a lovely dinner at their house.






Mandy was pleasantly surprised on Tuesday to find flowers waiting for her at the motorhome when we came back from some shopping.  The card with them informed us that they were from our son Brian, and his wife Christy, and our grandson Garrett --for Mother's day.    They're beautiful, and we'll do all that we can to make sure that they last until we get to Des Moines this weekend.






We had a great visit with Greg's brother Tom and his girlfriend Trish, who also showed us around some antique shops and downtown Denver.















While we were here we also met up with our cycling friends from Yuma, Sandy and Mark, and had a great lunch with them.  We hope to be able to see them again this summer, as they will be in the Midwest.





The last item that was accomplished was the installation of a drop hitch extension for the tow bar that we use to tow the Odyssey behind the motorhome.  We'd been concerned about the downward angle of the towbar between the motorhome and the car (which was at the maximum recommended by the manufacturer), and we'd also noticed some additional tire wear on the Odyssey.  After checking with the experience of some other owners on the Tiffin RV Network website, we decided that the drop hitch was necessary, which dropped the towbar by 4 inches at the motorhome end and put it at a more level attitude.  After installation, the towbar was virtually level, and we believe that our problem is solved.





It's back on the road tomorrow, up I-76 to Nebraska, linking up with I-80, and with a planned stop in North Platte for the night.  We will meet up with our friends Mark and Sue in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area the next night, with arrival at Adventureland in Altoona on Saturday.