USA 05: Colorado - Red's Visit

Monday, December 2, 2024 – Friday, December 6, 2024

This week was spent doing the same basic routine: I would go to work in the mornings, leaving Thinh at home (still fast asleep when I would head out), then I would return in the late afternoon, we’d have dinner and relax at home. It wasn’t terrible exciting and I felt bad for Thinh that I had to leave him at home every day. My parents were very good about taking him places if he wanted, and he would go for walks around the neighborhood.

On Monday, Thinh and my dad put up the Christmas lights around the outside of the house. Thinh loves all of the Christmas stuff, so he was glad to help out. I’ve never been a huge fan of the holidays, so I think my parents were glad to have someone around who enjoyed it as much as them.

My mom also took Thinh over to an Asian supermarket so he could find some foods to eat during our visit. According to Thinh, the store had a very good selection of foods, including several things that he would typically buy back home in Vietnam. He really appreciated my mom making the effort to find the place and take him there. He also found some food so he could make us xoi (sticky rice) for dinner one night – very exciting!

On Friday afternoon, my best friend Kristina (nicknamed Red) flew in from North Carolina for a weekend visit. I have usually flown to Raleigh to visit her each time I come to the United States, but this year it just wasn’t possible with our schedule and finances. I was very happy that she was able to come to Colorado to visit – this was her first time to the state! We had a full weekend planned of things for us to do around town.

Red’s flight got in around 18:00, so I went to the airport directly after work. Thinh was very kind and said he didn’t mind spending the evening at home – he and my parents had dinner together and had a good day together. I felt bad that I wasn’t able to drive home to get him before heading to the airport, but that would have added another hour (or more, with traffic) of driving. I arrived at the airport just as Red’s plane was landing and I went inside to meet her where the escalators come up from the airport train. She was surprised to see me waiting for her there – she expected to find me outside at passenger pickup. It was so good to see Red again – it’s difficult not being able to hang out more than once a year or so.

After getting her bag from baggage claim, we started driving back towards Castle Rock. We were both hungry and we decided to stop for Mexican for a late dinner. The first place we stopped at in Lone Tree turned out to be a bit of a dive bar, rather than a proper restaurant, and we decided to find somewhere else. Thankfully there was a place nearby that was much better. We had our usual queso and chips to share – we always have queso together – and ordered our food. It took ages for the food to arrive and it seemed like the place was short-staffed. The food was good and it was nice to just have the time to chat and catch up together.

After dinner, I drove Red over to her hotel in Castle Rock. I’d told her that she could stay at my parents’ house, but I think she wanted to have some alone time in the evenings. With two kids and a husband at home, alone time is rare for her, so it was totally understandable. Thankfully the hotel was only about ten minutes from my parents’ house, so it was very convenient. When I got home, I found Thinh and my parents watching television together. I joined them and soon it was time for bed. We had a full day ahead of us tomorrow, so we didn’t stay up later tonight.
 

Saturday, December 7, 2024

Thinh and I got up early this morning and drove over to the hotel to pickup Red so we could all have breakfast together. Thinh and Red had met each other last year when we had visited Raleigh and I was glad that they both liked one another (having the best friend like one’s partner is always important!). Red had hoped to attend our upcoming wedding in Edinburgh, but it ended up not being feasible with work and family commitments, which is another reason why she flew out to Colorado this weekend – she wanted to spend time with us since she couldn’t be at the wedding.

For breakfast, we went to a local café in downtown Castle Rock called B&B Café. Thinh and I both ate there the previous year and really enjoyed the food, especially the giant cinnamon roll. As usual, the place was packed, but we thankfully didn’t have to wait to be seated. When our food arrived, the disappointment began. The cinnamon rolls which we had ordered were cold – not even slightly warmed up – and my omelet was lukewarm, with the cheese on top not even remotely melted. Thinh’s and Red’s food was similarly lukewarm and disappointing. I was really surprised since the last time we’d eaten there had been so good; had this been my first experience at B&B Café, I would never return (indeed, I am still tempted to not return again in the future).

Later this morning we were driving up to my sister’s house, but we still had some time to spare, so I suggested we drive through my old neighborhood and show Red some more of the area. She was very excited by the idea, so we set off for Highlands Ranch. I drove her past my old houses, all around Highlands Ranch, and then into Littleton. Throughout the drive, I kept pointing out the snow-capped mountains to her – something that North Carolina does not have. They claim to have ‘mountains’ in the western part of the state, but they are just glorified hills. We then stopped to get some Starbucks before heading to my sister’s house.

The route to my sister’s took us through downtown Denver, which made Red slightly nervous. Apparently her husband had told her some horror stories about how unsafe Denver was, which could be true in certain areas, but not where we were driving. I did point out to her Colfax, which was historically the area where street prostitutes could be found (though not now). It was fun to drive her through the city so she could really see it for herself though.

Caryn’s house is located between Denver and Boulder, and this was my first time visiting their new house. The route that Google Maps had us following seemed like it was taking us to the middle of nowhere – we even drove by a small horse farm on our way to the house! Caryn’s neighborhood was very nice though, with very large homes. Their house was located on a corner lot, with a huge yard for the kids to play.

When we arrived, dad was outside with Jack and Luke playing basketball. They were excited to see us again and I introduced them to Red (she had only ever met Jack before, but the last time she’d seen him he was only two years old). We went inside and found everyone else. Caryn was busy getting food made for the afternoon, while mom was helping to entertain Lucy and Jane. Today we were there to celebrate Lucy’s second birthday, so Caryn was focused on getting lunch ready for us; mom had baked the cake for today’s party.

The kids were all very excited to show us around their new house, and especially to show us their bedrooms (unlike in their old house, in this one they each had their own room, so it was very special). I had the kids give us the full tour of the house, both so we could see the place and to keep them from bothering Caryn while she was busy. The boys soon went back to play, but Jane still wanted to hang out, which was nice. She showed Thinh the electronic piano upstairs that my sister had bought several years ago, intending to learn to play. Thinh has been taking piano lessons back home in Hanoi, so he was happy to be able to do some practice today. Jane is very talented with the piano as well – she can play some simple songs from memory, without taking any lessons! I left Thinh to play the piano for a bit and went downstairs to hang out with Red, Caryn, and mom.

Red already knew my family from when we all lived in Raleigh, but it had been nine years since they had all seen one another. The four of us sat around the kitchen to chat until it was time for lunch. Andy joined us as well and I enjoyed catching up with him as well. Caryn had made a bunch of sandwich sliders for lunch, which were very good. As usual, it was chaos when all of the kids were sitting around the table eating. The cake mom made for dessert was very good and had cake pops hidden inside, which the kids loved. It was a really enjoyable time hanging out with Caryn and the kids, as well as Red, who was glad to meet all of the kids.

Later in the afternoon, Thinh, Red and I left to drive back to downtown Denver. We had been toying with different ideas for this evening and had settled on going to Elitch’s for their Christmas market, but then mom had reminded us that tonight was the Parade of Lights in downtown Denver, so we decided to attend that instead. We tried to find parking downtown, but that proved elusive, so we drove to a nearby lightrail station and took the train into downtown.

We still had a few hours before the parade was due to begin, so we walked over to the downtown Christmas market for a brief visit. It was packed with people, making it not very enjoyable, so we cut out visit short. Thinh and I had gone to the market last year and it hadn’t been nearly as crowded, but tonight may have been busy due to the parade.

Leaving the market behind, we walked around the streets to find a good place to watch the parade. My plan was to stand near the starting area so we could see the parade and head out as early as possible. It was a bit difficult determining where the parade began, but we soon figured it out and found a very good spot to stand. The parade began about 30 minutes later and soon our area was full of spectators.

The parade itself was simple, but nice. I had once marched in the parade when I was in high school – we had volunteered as the people holding the signs in front of each band/float/group. There were several floats interspersed with the various marching bands. This was the first Christmas parade that Thinh had ever attended, so he was thoroughly enjoying the experience. I told him that we would go to New York City sometime to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – that is the greatest of all parades.

Many of the floats were sponsored by local businesses, including American Furniture Warehouse, which came complete with stuffed animal tigers – and I think Jake Jabs was on the float as well (there was some very old man sitting on the float, and I can’t imagine who else it would have been). There were some fire-eaters who walked around performing stunts with torches, which I enjoyed. The parade ended with the arrival of Santa Claus, of course. Overall it was a very nice parade and I was glad that we had decided to attend.

The three of us made a speed run over to the lightrail station so we could head back to the car. The place was packed with people making their way home and the train was running late. We had nearly given up waiting and were about to order an Uber when the train miraculously appeared. We had to stand during the ride, but it was thankfully just a couple of stops. We were hungry by this point, but there wasn’t much open in the area. We ended up stopping at a nearby Jimmy Johns that was still open, going through the drive-thru and eating during the drive back to Castle Rock. We dropped Red off at her hotel and made plans to pick her up at 08:00 the next morning.

When Thinh and I got home we spent some time hanging out with my parents and told them about the parade. We made it an early night so we could get up early the next morning.

 
Sunday, December 8, 2024

We had an early start to the day today. Thinh and I picked up Red from the hotel around 08:00 and the three of us set off for Manitou Springs, just outside of Colorado Springs. Along the way, we stopped to take some pictures at an overlook where we could see the Air Force Academy. It was a beautifully clear day this morning, which let Red and Thinh really appreciate the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.

When we arrived in Manitou Springs, we drove to the Cog Railway parking lot and proceeded to the train station. Our plan for today was to take the cog rail train to the top of Pikes Peak. I had done this journey a few years ago with my parents and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I thought that Thinh and Red would like it as well. The journey to the top takes roughly 90 minutes and lets riders really see the natural beauty of the area throughout the ride.

For some reason I thought our tickets were for 10:30 departure, but luckily I checked them again and noticed that they were for 10:00, which was in only a few minutes! We hurriedly made our way to the train, boarded and found our seats. Thinh and I were sitting next to one another, with Red sitting in the seat opposite, facing us, allowing us to talk during the journey. The train was full and we soon discovered that the group sitting behind Red were redneck white trash, which provided some amusement as well.

Throughout the train ride there was a conductor who would narrate and give explanations about the various things we rode by, pointing out unique natural features (and telling really corny jokes). As we got higher on the mountain, we could look out at the view over the surrounding area, which was really pretty. We eventually climbed above timberline, which Red had never seen or experienced before – again, the ‘mountains’ in North Carolina are not tell enough to even come close to timber line. It was at this point that we spotted a big-horned sheep grazing nearby, which was a rare sight to see!

The men behind Red continued to exemplify the stereotypical ignorant redneck, telling off-color jokes and just being cringe throughout the journey. To top it off, they were some of the most unattractive people on the train. I joked with Red that she should go flirt with them – and I was lucky enough to snap a photo of her reaction to that suggestion. It was hilarious and perfect!

Once we reached the top of the mountain, we bundled up in our coats to face the freezing temperatures. The group behind Red had no coats – they were in T-shirts and shorts, which was just insane. We were greeted with frigid rain the moment we stepped off of the train and we hurriedly made our way to the warmth of the visitor center. Inside there was a small cafeteria where we grabbed some hot chocolate, as well as some mini doughnuts. I remembered the doughnuts being good on my last visit, but this time they were rather dry. Thinh also bought us some caramel popcorn to snack on.

The three of us then went back outside to walk around and admire the stunning views from atop the mountain. It was ridiculously cold and Red was not having it; she said she would make a quick stop at a nearby viewpoint and then meet us back inside. Thinh and I walked around the summit for a short while, stopping at various places to take pictures of the surrounding areas. We could see for miles and miles around us, with the mountains to one side and the flat plains to the other side. Thinh was really enjoying the experience – especially walking on the snow and ice that covered the walkways.

We didn’t have a long time to spend at the summit before it was time to head back to the train. We met back up with Red inside the visitor center and then made our way back to the train. They had both loved Pikes Peak, despite the cold, which made me happy – it was definitely a wonderful day out together! The journey back down the mountain was nice – we even saw more big-horned sheep! When we reached the station, Santa was visiting and they were handing out free cookies and hot chocolate. We went over to get the food and drinks, and to say hello to Santa as well. I managed to convince Thinh and Red to take a photo with him too!

Once we were back at the car, we decided to find somewhere to stop for lunch. Thinh found a pizza place on our way back to Colorado Springs, so we set off and drove through the main street part of Manitou Springs. Suddenly a small group of deer began running along the road, dashing around, and bringing traffic to a standstill. They were right next to our car, which was exciting. The deer ran up some stairs nearby, but then ran back across the road further ahead of us before disappearing. It was crazy to see them moving about in the town center like that, especially during the day.

The pizza restaurant we stopped at was busy, which was a good sign, and we each ordered two slices of pizza for lunch. We all agreed that the food was delicious – which definitely explained why the place was crowded. We then drove back to Castle Rock, where I dropped Thinh off at home so he could get some rest. Red and I hung out at her hotel for a little while before heading back home.

 
Monday, December 9, 2024

Today was Red’s birthday, so I planned to work remotely so we could spend the day together. I got up early and let Thinh continue sleeping. Before heading over to Red’s hotel, I stopped at Starbucks to get some coffee and do a little bit of work. Around 10:00 I left Starbucks to go get Red and I was surprised to discover that it was snowing! Thankfully the roads weren’t too bad (yet) as I drove over to the hotel.

Red has never liked the snow and was not thrilled about the weather today. It continued to snow harder as the morning progressed. We stopped off at Dazbog in downtown Castle Rock to get some coffee and then decided to drive back to my parents’ house. We had planned to hang out at Dazbog for a while, but the roads were getting worse and I wanted to get back.

The drive back to the house ended up taking us over an hour – a drive that typically takes ten minutes! First there was a traffic jam at a bridge where some cars had gotten stuck on the ice – they were spinning their tires and couldn’t get any traction. We thankfully made it through without issue, going slow, but steady. As we were sitting in the traffic, an ambulance came up behind us with the siren blaring, but there was nowhere for us to move to make way. The ambulance eventually went up the middle of the road, barely squeezing through the cars.

When we made it to the final main road to reach my parents’ house, traffic came to a complete standstill. It was difficult to understand the cause of it, though we could see some police cars on the road ahead of us. It was a two-lane road, so we were unable to pass the cars in front of us. As we waited, several cars ahead of us managed to turn around, but it was not enough to allows us to get through. We sat there for nearly 45 minutes until, finally, traffic began to move. When we reached the area with the police we discovered the reason for the traffic jam: a truck had slid off the road and down the nearby hill! It appeared that the driver was unhurt and talking with the police, which was good.

Red and I were relieved to finally reach the house and be done with the drive. I had messaged work that I was stuck in traffic due to the snow, which surprised them – they had zero snow up at the office! It was definitely a crazy weather day. I gave Red the full tour of the house and then we spent some time chatting with Thinh and my parents. I had to do some work during the afternoon, so I let them all hang out together while I got my work done.

In the late afternoon, Red and I decided that it would probably be best for us to head back to the hotel early. We had planned to have dinner with my parents to celebrate her birthday, but we were concerned that the roads would get worse. I talked with Thinh about the roads as well and we both agreed that it would be best for me to stay the night at the hotel with Red so I could take her to the airport early in the morning (she had made the suggestion and I wanted to make sure it was ok with Thinh). I felt bad leaving Thinh alone at the house again, but he fully understood my concerns about the roads – it would be easier to leave from the hotel than driving through the small neighborhood streets in the early hours of the morning.

The drive back to the hotel wasn’t nearly as bad as the commute earlier in the afternoon, but the roads were covered with snow. Once we were back at the hotel, we decided to walk across the parking lot to a restaurant to have dinner. I didn’t realize until we were inside that I had been there before with my dad, so I knew the food would be good. The place wasn’t too busy due to the weather. Our meals were both good and filling, and then we went back to the hotel for the night. We watched some TV before bed – Red and I have always enjoyed watching trash TV together and making fun of it. It was a nice final night together, even though we weren’t able to do anything exciting for her birthday today. We were both sad that her visit was coming to an end – our visits always fly by far too quickly.

 
Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Red and I were awake at 05:00 this morning to get ready and leave for the airport. We left with plenty of time to spare, allowing for traffic due to the weather. The roads throughout Castle Rock were still pretty snowy, but the highway had thankfully been plowed. The further north towards Denver we got, the better the roads became – they had hardly received any snow the previous day! There was still some traffic and it took us nearly two hours to reach the airport, but I got her there in plenty of time for her flight. We said our goodbyes at the passenger drop off area. I didn’t want her to fly home – we both knew that it would be another year or two before we would see each other again.

After dropping Red off at the airport, I drove to work. It was an uneventful day at work. Thinh had my parents take him into Castle Rock and I picked him up at the library on my way home from the office. I was glad that he had asked them to take him into town – they would happily have taken Thinh anywhere he wanted to go.

Now that Red was gone, we would fall back into our regular routine of me going to work during they days and hanging out together in the evenings.