Pre Wedding

We visit the Chief Hosa lodge where tomorrow's Big Day shall take place.  Bill, who will conduct the services, assigns us our marching orders. Eitan given the responsibility of ring-bearer which he takes particularly seriously when told, by Bill, that if he loses the rings we can all go home.  Madeleine, for her part, practises her tie knot - she will wear a tie - and I look at her dress-up shoes which are black trainers (she: "but I wear them to school, Dad").  Since the groomsmen in various pastels, Sonnet irons my lavender as the pink and blue shirts taken.

As with anything involving family and family-planning there is plenty of stress but Marcus and Adrianne take it in stride. Or at least out of site. On my wedding day I chose to have a Chinese with Eric and the Best Man instead of a haircut and barber shave AND I failed to produce the wedding license. But, hey, Sonnet and I have a great marriage and laugh all the time. I wish this for Marcus and Adrianne.

Trading Post Trail

Red Rocks

We visit Red Rocks Amphitheatre, known the world over for John Denver (RIP), but also : a mecca for athletes of all ages and abilities .  The amphitheatre, which holds 9,500 spectators, built into the mountain from 1936-41 , rises 60 or so rows making for the perfect criss-cross jog or, for the more serious , straight up-and-downs, stopping occasionally for a few push ups or to catch one's breath. This is 6,340 feet.  I can see downtown Denver about 14 miles away.

When we arrive there is an outdoor yoga class with a couple hundred people getting their morning high on; others stretch in the sun on the wood seats or do balancing poses either shirtless or in colourful form-fitting Lycra (My grandmother would have been aghast).  A man proposes to his girlfriend and she whoops for joy and throws her arms around him while others clap.  Technicians prepare the stage for the annual Easter mass at sunrise tomorrow, Easter Sunday, checking the sound system with Bob Marley tunes. They erect three giant crosses. So trippy.

The earliest rock-and-roll performance at Red Rocks was the Beatles in '64. It was the only concert not sold out on their US-tour.

Rocks

The rocks in the Rocky Mountains, stretching from 3,000 miles from the northernmost British Columbia, Canada, to New Mexico formed before the mountains raised by tectonic forces. The oldest rock is Precambrian metamorphic rock that forms the core of the North American continent. There is also Precambrian sedimentary argillite, dating back to 1.7 billion years ago. During the Paleozoic, western North America lay underneath a shallow sea, which deposited many kilometers of limestone and dolomite.

The Rockies formed from 80 million to 55 million years before, like, Christ during the Laramide orogeny, a time of mountain building in western North America over the Late Cretaceous period. Since then, erosion by water and glaciers have sculpted the mountain range into dramatic valleys and peaks. At the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range.

The first modern-day explorers,  Sir Alexander MacKenzie (a Brit) then Lewis and Clark, searched for minerals and furs , which drove the initial economic exploitation of the mountains.  Today it is hydraulic fracking. CO Governor John Hickenlooper, a geologist, of the persuasion : "Drill, baby, drill." (source: Rocky Mountain National Park)

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. "
--Margaret Mead, on a trailhead plaque entering preserved Elks Meadows

An Unfinished Story

I ask (demand) Madeleine write a story.

" Once there was a young boy called Tom.  His parents were very rich, though they never spent time with him.  They both had very good jobs that paid well.  His father's job was to design buildings.  He, for example, designed the Empire State Building.  Tom's mother made movies and won an Oscar award.

One dull, grey, day Tom was walking down a long winding road when, suddenly, the whole world seemed to flip upside down.

When the world stopped spinning, Tom opened his eyes and gasped.  He was no longer in Little Hangleton (his boring village) but he was in the swampy marshes of Africa!

Suddenly a figure came swooping from the sky on a vine.  He landed in front of Tom and Tom realised that this thing was half monkey, half human.  He had broad shoulders and long arms that reached past his knees.  He had a rough New York accent.  Tom shrank away revolted.  "Please, don't be revolted by my appearance. It was an accident in the lab." Sighed the monkey man.
"

(Presumably) to be continued . .. .

Denver Art Museum

The Avalanche

The wedding party assembles from Denver, Portland, Buffalo, Montana, Montrose, Vermont, Manchester (UK), London and, of course, Alaska.  Dinner, drinks and hockey.

Eitan catches me and Sonnet kissing: "Ew, gross! Can't you stop doing that?"
Me: "You know, Eitan, it is our love that made you."
Eitan: "But do you have to do it in front of me? "

Sonnet: "I am going to get gas - do you want to keep me company ?"
Eitan: "Ha ha ha ha ! You said gas!"

Following morning wiginess and a stand-off over exercise activities, Eitan agrees to execute a non-sugar contract, which I own during our trip:

"I will not ask for, nor receive, junk food* on the holiday to Colorado 2012.

*Junk food=candy bars, sugary snacks and ice cream."

El Rancho

Katie and Eitan occupy themselves at dinner.

El Rancho has been serving the Eastern Slope since '48, or "longer than you have been alive" Stan points out to Sonnet, having been to El Rancho long before Sonnet has been alive. The restaurant a classic steak and burger joint (note to Justin: hand-to-mouth) but it is the martinis that stand out - and why not, since we are near the Interstate with its 6% gradients from the mountains ? I can think of no better way to cruise into Denver.  Marcelle (who arrived Tuesday) and I agree: they go down nice.

We celebrate Moe's 76 birthday : the kids spend the day preparing presents . From Eitan, a hand-written story and origami flower poster; and Madeleine: a landscape painting of the mountains. Here are some things that happened in April 1936, the year Moe is born:

April 3 - Bruno Richard Hauptmann, convicted of kidnapping and killing Charles Lindbergh III, executed New Jersey

April 5 - A tornado hits Tupelo,Mississippi, killing 216 and injuring over 700 (fourth deadliest in US history)

April 11- The first Butlins holiday camp, in Skewness, NY, is officially opened by Amy Johnson from Hull, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.

April 19 - The 1936-39 Arab revolt in Palestine against the British Government and opposition to Jewish immigration begins.

Super Size

We go to the largest store I have ever been to, in this case, Walmart, to buy a $2.59 roll of masking tape.

Walmart has over 8,500 stores in 15 countries under 55 trading names including ASDA in the UK (which is ghastly : ASDA, to manage inventory, makes shoppers select item codes from an in-shop catalogue which are then used to draw an item forward from an underground warehouse. Believe you me I have done this once, and only once, in 15 years).  Our Walmarts today is around 200,000 square feet which is remarkable when one considers the closest town, Evergreen, has a population of 9,038 which works out to the average apartment size for a New Yorker.

While at the mall, I try on some Polo by Ralph Lauren (you know, that little green bottle with a polo player about to strike a wooden ball or a servant's head).  I have not smelled the perfume since 1982 or '83 when every 15 and 16 year old in America doused himself in it before going to school or a first date.  I sure did, and the memories come flooding back.  I consider buying a bottle for old times sake but some things should not be re-lived. Even from the glory years.

I overhear a 14 or 15 year old girl with boyfriend: "I am going to Victoria Secret, Mom. Don't worry about us."

Bride's Maid Dress

We cruise the SUV Tahoe, about the size of Maine, into Evergreen, Colorado (elev. 7,014) and a foot of snow.  Stan greets us at the hotel with a cheerful 'hello' and we are off to the airport to pick up Gracie and Moe, Katie and Maggie the dog.  This is the first time our families have been together in maybe ten years when we were re-unioned in Montrose over the winter holidays.  The Shakespeares hum with anticipation.

Emerald Lake

We hike to Emerald Lake, 10,080 feet.
 
"Ice measuring 500 feet thick moved across Bear Lake basin between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago.  Originating in the uppermost valley heads, glacial ice eroded high basins, called cirques, and quarried the sheer granite cliffs of Hallet Peak (pictured).  Rock debris from these glaciers formed the ground moraines, or ridges, that surround Emerald Lake."
--Trailhead plaque

Duckie

This is what the kids fought over all morning.

Madeleine: "Dad, Eitan keeps punching and kicking me and pushing my head under water. Make him stop."
Me: "Give it back to him double."
Madeleine: "Really nice, Dad."
Sonnet:
Me: "What? Poolside rules."

Madeleine: "Eitan is always being mean to me."
Me: "It's tough being the younger sister."
Madeleine: "You will never know."

Bones, Bolt and Bob

Me: "So who do you look up to and want to be? Who are your heroes ?"
Madeleine: "Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt."
Me: "Good choices. Why do you admire them?"
Madeleine: "Because they are in the sports that I like and they work hard. And they are winners."
Me: "Excellent. Anybody else?
Madeleine: "Bob."
Me: "Bob?"
Madeleine: "Yes, Bob. He jumped, like, seven meters in the Olympics."
Me: "Bob."
Madeleine: "I think it was 1974 or something."
Eitan: "Mine is Chris Holmes.  He is almost blind and he had three goals, to swim for his country, win a medal at the Olympics and go to Cambridge."
Me: "And did he?"
Eitan: "Yes."
Madeleine: "Plus he had a dog."
Me:
Madeleine: "A guide dog named Lotty."
Me: "It all makes sense."

Dad's note: Madeleine means the great Robert "Bob" Beamon (born August 29, 1946), an American former track and field athlete, best known for his world record in the long jump at the Mexico Olympics in 1968, which remained the world record for almost 23 years until it was broken in 1991 by Mike Powell. This is the second longest holding of this record, as Jesse Owens held the record for 25 years, 1935-1960. Powell's record has stood for over 20 years.

Brisk

The mountains temps drop from 80 degrees to snow and the kids race out of the hotel in shorts.  We get a few strange looks at Kind Coffee and the locals further baffled by the accents but, hey, that's the way this family rolls.
 
Me: "We are going to do some homework today."
Eitan, Madeleine: "No! No!"
Me: "Yep. Just because we are away does not mean we don't practise our skills."
Madeleine: "That is so unfair!"
Me: "You kids are going to be in for a shock come September, and we might as well start preparing ourselves.  I want a book report, both of you. On what you are reading."
Eitan: "Can I write a story? I will re-write the story of Heracles."
Me: "Affirmative. How about you Madeleine?"
Madeleine: "I am going to draw a painting."
Me: "Great."
Madeleine: "What should I do?"
Me: "How about something for Gracie and Moe?"
Madeleine: "OK."
Eitan: "I once had a dream that some parents forced their kids to do work on their holiday. And it was a nightmare."
Me: "Welcome to your world, little dude.
Eitan: "You don't have to seem so happy about it."

Family Peak

I don't have many of posts us together and this one taken on top of Mount Sanitas. We are with Chip and Jenn and their three fabulous kids who are about Eitan and Madeleine's age and so it is a par-tay. We meet them because of David and Tab, who Chip brought together in NYC.  Before that, Chip and David at Chemical Bank  back in the day in first-job territory.  Those bonds are tight. Now Chip travels around the world setting up financial exchanges for Morgan Stanley. Last week it was in Istanbul and before that, Kazakhstan.

The first thing one notices about Boulder is that everybody  is a freak.  We pass groups of cyclists on HW 36 (more riders than cars by a multiple) and runners who are, like, 10 miles from the nearest anything.  It gets no better in town: middle-aged women, ripped, with leathery skin having spent half their living lives outdoors.  The men no different - equally at easy in lycra spandex.  At 9:45AM, this is Sunday mind you, crowds spill onto the sidewalk drinking coffee and eating vegetables and tofu or whatever the hell one eats after three hours of working out before dawn.  Running World magazine ranks Boulder the #1 running city in America. It is also the thinnest.  This the place one goes to live to a 100. We should all be so lucky.

Trailhead, Cub Lake

From urban to outback in one day. Go figure.

Rocky Mountains

Up at 5AM - jet lag ! - and we hit the hotel pool open 24/7 just for us.  Eitan three-peats the breakfast bar.

Today we are in Estes Park and go for a medium ramble to Cub Lake, pictured, in the Rocky Mountain National Park which has 60 named peaks over 12,000 feet with Longs Peak reaching 14,259. Me: "Shall we climb it?" Eitan, Madeleine: "No! No!

"National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."
--Wallace Stagner

Patriot

Pictured : general sentiment after the long haul.  At least the Shakespeares carry their own bags.

In 1990, 11.1 million Americans had passports, according to the US State Department, or about 4% of the population (I recall an investment banker at First Boston in a panic because he had to go to Mexico for a deal and did not have his documents).  Now, 109.8 million have a pp, or 34% of US citizens (I got mine in 1980).  The change, of course, for security : Americans scrutinised by USA Patriot Act signed into law by el presidente in 2001 in response to 911.  It allows roving wiretaps, searches of business records (including libraries) and doing surveillance of "lone wolves" - individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities not linked to terrorist groups. The irony : the Patriot Act led by the Republicans who otherwise want Big Government off our backs.

So I am not surprised then, passing through US Customs, to find a digital hand scanner (this has been a feature, along with cameras, since 2008). I ask the agent who gets finger printed ? and , for now, it is foreign nationals.  Soon, though, it will be any one using an airport : in fact, this would occur now but there is not the budget to tag and track every American. I note that this is an invasion of privacy and the agent replies happily: "only if you are a bad guy."

USA Patriot Act acronym : Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001

We connect in Dallas. Madeleine: "Gosh, I've never been to Texas before."

America Here We Come

We depart Terminal 5 this morning which now seems like last month after a 14 hour flight to Denver connecting via Dallas.  Eitan and Madeleine bloat on media including "Puss in Boots" (Eitan), "Sherlock Homes" (Madeleine), Simpsons (both) , Lion King (both), Premiere League football highlights (Eitan) and other in-flight crapola (Me, I read "War And Peace." No kidding - I really am ).

Me: "Good news, guys, they are going to let you on the plane." 

Eitan: "Yessss!"

Me: "You know, Madeleine, if they find a knife or a gun when you are going through security they lock you in that room over there, sometimes for three or four weeks."

Madeleine: "Really? Mom, is dad joking?"

Sonnet:

Me: "I never joke about security."

Madeleine: "Now I know you are joking."

Me to security guard, winking: "Do you lock kids up in that room for three or four weeks if you find a knife or a gun in their bag?"

Security officer: "Yes siree. We take passenger safety seriously here young lady. I would hate to see you in that room for a while . ."

Me: "See?"

Madeleine: "Oh my God."

Good Bye Rusty+Girls

I take Rusty to the kennel, feeling guilty, as we depart for Colorado tomorrow.  Rusty is all, like, "woof, woof, woof" and I am sure he knows he is being dished off.  Maggie, for instance, gets first class treatment and travels with my mom whenever she flies, like this week, when we will see them in the Rockies.

I drive Eitan, Jack and Joe to football practise. Me: "So who do all the boys fancy?"
Eitan: "Dad!"
Joe: "J - everybody fancies her."
Jack: "In my class, it's A."
Joe: "They all fancy her. But she is really annoying. And she stinks."
Me: "She stinks?"
Joe: "Yeah."
Me:
Joe: "Like perfume. And I have to sit next to her all the time."
Jack: "Ha ha!"
Eitan:
Me: "So what do you boys do if you fancy a girl?"
Joe: "Well, everybody knows it.  Like S, he fancies J 95% and B 80%."
Me: "That doesn't even add up. It must be the addition of L'Amour."
Eitan:
Me:  "Do your palms get all sweaty and you break out into a terrible rash?"
Eitan: "It's not like we're teen-agers or anything."

Eitan and I watch Mission Impossible III; Tom Cruise kisses a women and takes off her blouse:
Eitan: "Arggh, Uggg!"
Me: "Turn away! Turn away!"
Eitan: "Why do they always have to do that?"