It’s been a couple of months since I last posted on this blog. Not to fret, though. All is well at the Vintage domicile. We’ve been busy preparing for a wedding!
Wedded bliss for the youngest Vintage daughter
Our youngest daughter tied the knot in June. Even though we have known about the happy day for nearly a year, for some reason those last five or six weeks just flew by. Our attitude went from “oh, there’s plenty of time left” to “holy crap, we’ve got so much to do, and so little time to do it in!”
The ceremony and reception were held at a open space in Estes Park, Colorado, near one of the entrances to Rocky Mountain National Park. The day of the event was chaotic and messy, as such things tend to be. The flowers for the bridal bouquet didn’t arrive in time, so store bought flowers had to be substituted. The photographer was late to one of the scheduled shoots. The weather was unseasonably hot.
And yet, all was perfect by the time the ceremony started. The bride was absolutely gorgeous, the groom was a mess, the mother of the bride went through handfuls of kleenex, and the father of the bride was happy, tearful and sweaty. The reception was a blast; a good time was had by all.
Doing touristy stuff with the eldest Vintage daughter and her family
The eldest Vintage daughter, most tenured son-in-law, and the grandsons flew in for the wedding. The grandsons were especially handsome ringbearers, if grandpa does say so himself.
In the days after the wedding, grandma and grandpa spent time with the eldest Vintage daughter and her family checking things out in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Funny thing, even though Mrs. Vintage and I have spent almost all of our lives living in Colorado, neither one of us had ever visited Manitou Springs. Which is kind of weird, as it is only about an hours drive from our house.
Things we saw
Not to worry, I’m not going to bore you with details about our trip. I just wanted to share a few photos of some of our adventures.
First up, Pike Peak:
How can two people who’ve each lived for over six decades in Colorado not make the pilgrimage up to the top of Zebulon Pike’s mountain until this year?
Then, on to Seven Falls:
Mrs. Vintage and I let the youngins climb all the stairs up to see the upper falls. Instead, we made us of some rocking chairs located under an arbor, where we were able to enjoy the relaxing sounds of the falls.
This attraction has an elevator the whisks you up to Inspiration Point, where I took the photo you see above. Saved much wear and tear on the knees.
Manitou Cliff Dwellings
I will bore you a bit on this attraction. Technically, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings are artificial. I say technically, because once upon a time the building were a legit Anasazi cliff dwelling located near Cortez, Colorado. However, around 1900 somebody got the brilliant idea of moving the dwelling closer to the more inhabited Front Range of Colorado. They dimantled the ruins, shipped them by train to Colorado Springs, then hauled them up to Manitou Springs by carts pulled with oxen. Once there, they then rebuilt the dwellings to mimic the original ruins.
Basically, Manitou Cliff Dwellings is a replica, not the real thing. That’s the downside. The upside is that you can wander and explore amid the “ruins” far more intimately than you can in places such as Mesa Verde and Hovenweep. This gives you a more interactive feel for how the Ancestral Puebloans live, and make you realize just how small they were.
There is an enormous multilevel gift shop where one can shop for and buy all sorts of Colorado trinkets.
To finish up, we explored Garden of the Gods.
Beautiful rock formations that have been etched by wind, rain and time over the eons. A nice way to
Back to the routine
Once both Vintage daughters (and families) returned home, Mrs. Vintage and I spent a little time getting back into our groove. I found that I had little appetite to write.
But I am back now, and I will update you on how the Vintage garden is doing, as well as fill you in on my summer reading with possible recommendations, in the next few weeks.
How is your summer going so far?
