Although allegedly I am a per diem worker and technically should be able to take off work whenever I want to, my boss told me that this holiday I wouldn't be allowed to do so. How this makes sense, I have no idea. Thankfully Darren's family came to us and we were able to introduce many of them for the first time to the greatness of Colorado.
The city's iconic Garden of the Gods. I came as quickly as possible after I was done with work and literally ran to meet them here.
Introducing the family to Adam's. The restaurant really should give us commission for the amount of people to whom we have introduced its goodness.
On Saturday we tried to think of all the fun, free things we could do in the Springs. The Pioneer Museum was closed for the holiday, so we went to the Olympic Training Center instead. Midway through a very emotional video presentation, all the power went down, and they informed us that we could walk around, but that they wouldn't be doing any tours due to the incredible wind outdoors. We were indeed almost blown away, but we wandered the complex and saw a multitude of swimmers paddling there hearts out.
Brandon and Trenton really wanted to go to a Nikola Tesla museum which I learned had been shut down a few years ago. Amazingly, I was able to find another fellow through the internet that has his own "museum" and "demonstration," and we were able to get a hold him just in time to see it. Wow, was the presenter lengthy and all over the place. His show in the bottom of a bed and breakfast was almost as random as the hand puppet show I saw in Prague. But it was memorable, we got to light bulbs with a tesla coil, and it re-emphasized that Thomas Edison was a royal jerk!
Take that, Edison! You can have your direct current!
We still had some daylight, so we slipped our way up and down the trail at Helen Hunt Falls. If it hadn't been for "Play him off, keyboard cat," accompanying every fall, the hike may have ended with some very unhappy, bruised boys.
A few of us somehow stayed up to watch a motorcycle and snowmobile do a crazy long jump at midnight, and then the next morning woke up to wander Boulder before part of the family flew out. Boulder, of course, never fails to please with its weirdness. Our first stop was at a coffee shop (more for the opportunity to use their bathroom then anything) where a gal was wearing what looked to be a leotard...as in, she wasn't wearing any pants. Then we watched one of the ubiquitous juggler shows and the picture below occurred. I'm glad the family got in some good culture before they had to leave.
